Union Oyster House

THE BEST CLAM CHOWDER EVER!!!!

I found the restaurant extremely dirty. The servers do not clean the tables well. The food was not prepared well, and came to us cold. I did not eat the oysters because they were warm. The atmosphere didn't impress me either.

We brought my sister and her family here on Sat 7/30/11, as they were visiting from out of town. The food was TERRIBLE and OVERPRICED. We were HIGHLY disappointed in the restaurant taking full advantage of their 'oldest restaurant' status. So sad that this has turned into another TOURIST TRAP RIP OFF......It could be so much better as the character of the building should match the quality of the food. The calamari and seafood entrees were greasy, and nothing special, and the oysters were overpriced and presented terribly (not over ice - with only plastic container of cocktail sauce, no horseradish, mignonette or anything..) Very disappointed...I wouldn't waste your money here...it's too bad...

The food was great. I went with some friends and we all had different seafood dishes and I was able to taste a bunch of them, they all were great. The prices are fair, the only downside is that there is a long wait if you go on weekends.

This place is delicious. i went out here with my boyfriend a few nights ago and we had the best oysters ive had in a looong time. If you go get the, duh, oysters. or at least the platter with the oysters. Its also really cool how old the place is, like 1800 or something. The area is really fun to go out afterwards too, especially if your visiting Boston on vacation go check out the area, very Boston.

Pros: I love oysters

Cons: needs a better wine selection lol

This is America's oldest restaurant and it has visitors ranging from politicians, historical figures to celebrities. With a great history behind it, Union Oyster House has been featured in Travel channel and Food Network. Therefore, it is one of my must-visit stop to Boston despite some mediocre reviews I saw.

It looks like this restaurant still keeps it old design and decor with some posters and photos of celebrities who came to dine here. They have a bar on the first floor and quieter dining areas and private party rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor. After an hour or so wait, we finally got seated and our waiter was super friendly and nice.

Since I don't eat oysters, I have my boyfriend do the honor for me, ordering a dozen of the native oysters. We also shared a bowl of their famous Clam Chowder. For entree, he got the boiled Seafood Platter and I got the Seafood Newburg.

The clam chowder is very thick and creamy. They definitely add a ton of heavy cream in it and it is undoubtedly tasty. Honestly, I think they could add more clams. Oysters on the other hand, according to my boyfriend, are very fresh and contain little after-taste. I really like my entree, Seafood Newburg. It is consist of shrimp, lobster meat and scallops sauteed in creamy sauce with a cream puff and side of rice pilaf. They gave you a generous portion of seafood and the creamy sauce is just perfect.

The boiled seafood platter is amazing too. They gave you salmon, scallops, sword fish and shrimps with potatoes. My boyfriend and I were both stuffed at the end. What do we think of Union Oyster House? It serves pretty damn good seafood and just think about the fact that JFK, Sam Adam and other famous people used to dine here, I could say I have been here too!

Pros: Historical, big portion and fresh seafood

Cons: slightly overpriced and touristy

If you want a coke and a smile go to the mid-west. Your in an old dirty building on the east coast in a city rich in american history and Boston attitude. I eat there ever time Im in town and its always good.

Pros: Hands down the best fresh oysters and maine lobster!

Cons: A little dirty and not the best servise...

The group that owns the Union Oyster House does not compare to the Father and Son who owned it up until the mid 1970's... back then the food was great... the wait staff had been there forever and it was a career and not just an annoying "job". The management is uncaring--- after the buck-- and move on .... They do not know good old fashioned New England Cooking.... the owners are not familiar with this type of food ... maybe they should turn it into a spaghetti emporium, some kind of cookery they are actually familiar with. Go to any other Boston seafood eatery...

Pros: Easy walk to something better

Cons: Lousy Food and Service

Why this place was praised so much as a must come to see for Boston ? Besides, its history, I don't think the place and the food are worth the trip. The foods were awful and expensive. The drinks were bad, but still better than the food and you have to wait longer than 30 minutes to get to their tiny dining room upstair when they stacked people into isolated corner and you waited forever for the waiters to notice you are there, since they are not really busy.
My worst experience so far in a Boston's restaurant.

Pros: historic place

Cons: everything

Not sure what all the hype is. Not traditional New England seafood . It's for out of towners.. that do not know where to get good New England Seafood. Anyone can get Chowder from a can, and through some clams in it!!!! Not worth the $$$$.

Pros: None

Cons: Dirty, terrible service, long wait, rude employees

I have been here 2 times over the last year and stuck with the Clam Chowder and a Sam Adams. I've eaten at the bar every time. Based on the mixed reviews here, I haven't tried anything else. I want to keep going back here for the traditional New England Clam Chowder. It is made with the traditional ingredients and I haven't had anything else in Boston that comes close. It's thick and flavored just right. The clams have always been fresh. Note, the cornbread is downright horrible, so just stick to the basics of beer and chowda and you'll understand why this place is still around. Plus, the original side of the restaurant has some great history. Be sure to walk around. I love this place and will keep going back for the right reasons.

Pros: Clam Chowder!

Cons: Small seating capacity.

Located on a on a cobblestone street that smells of urine. Have they ever heard of a hose??? Waited 45 min. w/reservation. . Brought us to a table that hadn't been cleaned. Waitress came to clean it with a dirty rag. Floors /chairs were filthy. Thank god for my purell wipes!! The waitress had a horrible cold, and was blowing her nose. It was disgusting. We ordered appetizers, oysters (warm to boot) We didn't even touch them. The shrimp cocktail was soggy. Main dishes came out in two orders( there were 6 of us), and were cold. The waitress was obviously displease that we were not happy, and copped an attitude. We asked to see the manager, but she couldn't find her....Not really sure what all the hype is about this place, but it is clearly a dump! Don't waiste your time or money on this place.....

Pros: none

Cons: Absolutey filthy

The Union Oyster house was one of the most interesting restaurants I went to on my recent trip to Boston. That it's filled with history goes without saying. The raw oysters were great, very meaty. Very reasonable priced and our waitress was funny and very attentive. Great experience!

Pros: Historic, delicious oysters, gift shop!

Cons: Crowded downstairs

We called too late to make a reservation, but were told if we showed up in the next 15 minutes we would have a half-hour wait for our party of 9. So we went ahead and put in our name, and ended up waiting 45 minutes. This in itself would have been fine, but once we were seated and had ordered, it took another 45 minutes to receive our appetizers, and then another 45 minutes after that to receive our entrees. All told, we spent about an hour eating and 2 hours waiting for service. This is ridiculous on a Tuesday night. On top of that, our waitress forgot one person's soda and we waited 30 minutes for that; she assumed that the child in our party would not want the cole slaw that came with her fish and chips; and the potatoes that were supposed to come with the Shore Dinner were completely missing. To her credit, when we asked about the potatoes and cole slaw at the end of the meal, she apologized and said she should not have assumed about the slaw, and offered to give us the potatoes to take home. These are small consolations for the obnoxiously long wait, though. The food itself was good, but nothing to write home about. Certainly not worth the prices nor the wait.

Pros: decent food, interesting history

Cons: unacceptable service

food was cold when served, steamed clams are not cooked enough this far south of maine,
chowder is too thick and can-like.

Pros: nice historic atmosphere

Cons: not new england home cookin

We had Native Oysters (1/2doz.), Cape Cod Cherrystones (1/2doz.), bowl of Clam Chowder, grilled Native Swordfish, Sauteed Seafood Medley, and of course the corn bread.
FRESH FRESH FRESH yummy half shell, the clam chowder is creamy and chuck of clam, the sauteed seafood medley was full of tasty seafood big portion (tasty leftover for lunch tmw), and I want the recipe for the corn bread. The swordfish was over cook and dry, since the piece of swordfish that we have didn't have much of fat in it so it was tough to eat. Overall it was delightful and I would go back again and again.
Side notes on the service: I called to make a reservation 1 1/2 hour before (tuesday evening), and the reception said "it's ok just come in anytime!" so when we arrived we were told that we have to wait 20mins due to other reservation, so I'm guessing if you plan to eat here please make reservation a day in advance to avoid hungry tummy.

Pros: too much, please read my review

Cons: NO parking, street parking is very limited

went there two restaurant weeks ago. it was the ONLY place that i came out satisfied.

didn't have their fresh oysters & clams, although was little tempted. nice "coarse" corn bread. their seafood linguine was SO good. so much seafood (even for restaurant week menu!) that it's good for two meals. i think none but one at our table could finish. we all packed it home. lots of merchants only want to use promotional tactics (and i'm not just talking about restaurant week) to attract customers and then cheat them off (at least offering less-than-average portion or quality). i don't appreciate these shady practices at all. hence, i applaud for union oyster house's generosity and vision (that's how you get returned customers on regular days!).

however, couldn't applaud for the service. it was slow at best. first we had to wait for a table even though we made reservations--and it wasn't busy when we arrived. then waitress didn't seem too happy upon hearing that we're restaurant week customers. i mean, again, if anything goes wrong it's 90% management's problem. if you consider us "cheap" customers, then don't participate in restaurant week! if you want to have people try out your restaurant in order to attract potential future returns, then get your staff to appreciate their business at their first visit! as the saying goes: you don't have a second chance to make the first impression.
:)

Pros: great seafood

Cons: not so great service

This is a great place to go for simple, good New England seafood. Lobsters are fresh and served hot; chowder is delicious; wait staff is great, nice bars with lots of room. As authentic an atomosphere as you could want. Very casual. good place to go with kids, or without. Oysters and clams were fresh and plump. nothing fancy on the menu -- just the basics, but lots of them.

Not sure about other people's experiences as my husband and I had a great time. We dropped in for dinner and had to wait 30-40 minutes. It gave us a perfect reason to hang out at the bar. Our waitress recommended a great local beer for hubby. I had a margarita; didn't expect much but was tasty. We were led upstairs to the dining room. The hostess reminded me of the boss lady from Monsters Inc. with the glasses and voice. We used our Boston USA card for a free lobster app. and started with a cup of chowder. We enjoyed the ravioli though wondered if that really was the usual portion. The chowder was good, very thick and flavorful. I did like the seafood chowder from Boston Chowda at Faneuil Hall a bit better. I had the shrimp and scallops stir fry. Scallops were a bit overcooked but fine. There was a mountain of rice pilaf, not a bed at all. With the sauce or without, the rice pilaf was fantastic complement to the shrimp/scallop. Hubby had Seafood Newburg, which he enjoyed. After the appetizer and dinner, we were stuffed. It's not a fancy place for new takes on classic dishes, but it's great flavors and comforting. We enjoyed ourselves.

Pros: Good food, charming street

Cons: Couldn't find waitress

This place definately has some ambience. The food was very good. We both had the lobster rolls and the clam chowder. The prices are a little high, but that is because its near Fanieul Hall. The service was good as well. The only negative I found was that the booths are small. I watched quite a few average sized men have trouble climbing in.

Pros: Location

Cons: Small Booths

One of the best Boston has to offer. The history behind the Union Oyster Bar and the artwork that covers the walls are reason enough to go but you'll return because of the GREAT seafood and excellent service.

Love this place

We went to the Union Oyster Bar on a Sunday afternoon in February. Place was busy with the bar humming and a wait list for tables. We were seated in less than the 20 min the hostess told us. 9The service was friendly and efficient.
The oyster were pre-shucked and hanging around. They had lost all of the liqueur that keeps them plump and gives that good briny burst when you slurp them. I have only seen this tried one time before in more than 30 yrs in the Restaurant business. The were dead on arrival.
The combo plate of crab, fish and lobster cakes was good served over nice mixed baby greens. The Lazy Man's Lobster was over cooked. I have eaten here many times over the years. The kitchen seems well prep by the chef , but talant of the shift varies greatly.

Pros: Ambiance, Service

Cons: Inconsistant kitchen skills

The lobster tasted like "frozen food", its meat was chewy like bubble gum.
The service was very rude !! After I complained about the lobster, she told me "chef said its fine."
well I kept arguing, and finally, they made another tasteless lobster for me ?
I gave up, agreed with the chef "its fine" ? ? ? this is how the food is in THE UNION OYSTER HOUSE ...

Pros: historical site, worth a visit (but just one visit)

Cons: ... ... & ...

The service is extremely poor. You can actually get better service at Friendly's!
Stay away from this tourist trap.

We had read unfavorable reviews, but we wanted to go for the history, being our first visit to Boston. We went at a slow time, mid-afternoon, and wanted to sit at the raw bar, but it looked scary, with bivalves already shucked and waiting, so we were seated in an uncomfortably hot dining room. We passed through a much cooler, but closed dining room. We looked around at the faces of the other diners (mostly older tourists, like us) and no one looked happy. So we opted for just bowls of chowder and a Sam Adams. The beer was warm and the glass greasy. We had chowder three places on our trip, and this ranked last, but it was better than a can. We are from the South, so we did not like the cornbread. We scarfed it down and then rushed out, abandoning the other diners to their fates. So we checked that one off the list, but I couldn't recommend it.

I'm glad I just discovered this website because I really needed to discourage tourists from dining at the "Oldest Restaurant in America". Locals already know to avoid it because of poor service and high prices for below average seafood. Their highly touted Chowder is edible, but nearly everything else served can be found for half the price and higher quality at dozens of other Boston restaurants. $21-$22 a dozen for clams is outrageous for the area. I know what they pay for their clams from the boats and lets just say they are "netting" about $15 a dozen in profit. That is highway robbery. Their fried clams are another overpriced disaster. $16.95 for fried clams? Ridiculous for the Boston area. You have been warned. Caveat emptor!

Pros: Below Average Chowder.

Cons: Service, Price, Value, Quality, Waitstaff, Management, Parking.

The wait was not so bad, but we went during a weekend, still a lot of tourists. My boyfriend and I started with clam chowder it was very good, then we had the oysters and lobster ravoli also very good. The oyster were huge!! Then I had the scrod and he had the scalliops and also very tasty and good. I didn't even use tartor sauce on the fish it was sooooo good. Dessert is also very good. If you have people in town visit you take them here it is worth every penny!!

Pros: The food

Cons: No patio

Found this restaurant in the City Pass book and thought we could not go wrong eating here. We ordered our free lobster ravioli and a cup of chowder to start. The waitress brought out the appetizers and I must say the chowder was great, the free lobster ravioli also tasted great. We noticed that the 11.99 ravioli appetizer was only two ravioli's on a small plate. I would have been extremely disapointed if I had to pay for this but it was free so no biggy!

The waitress then took our entree orders, my girlfriend ordered the stuffed sole and was warned that this was a bad choice because you only get a few tiny pieces of fish in a lot of batter. Why is it on the menu if there is nothing good about the dish? She suggested a change to her order and I ordered the sword fish.

The food came out and my girlfriends entree was certainly full of fish, the problem was that it was a fried fish in batter with little to no taste. For 19.95 I could have found a walk up fish/chip stand and gotten this for 6.99. My meal came and I dug in but was not too excited about what I found. My sword fish tasted like oil, no taste at all to the meal, for 24.99 you expect some type of flavor. I must also add that my water glass had dried bits of food on the inside!

Even receiving the bill was odd and lacked class, The standard black wallet they bring your bill in was missing. The waitress brought the bill and dropped it on the table I picked it up and put my credit card on the table while I read over the bill. She made another pass of the table and scooped up my credit card. Check out was fast just seemed to lack class.

Over all it seemed that the restaurant did the minimum to get by and the goal was all about saving money. It seems that they are riding on the pricipal that all of the tourist will try it once.

I highly recomend that you do not go to this restaurant and tell everyone you know the same. I wish there was some way to remove this restaurants add out of the City Pass Book.

Pros: Great chowder

Cons: Expesive, Tight seating, Lack of taste, Bad customer service

This is my first time writing a review but I was so angered by my experience that I felt the only way to relieve my frustration was to warn others. Our food was okay but nothing special, chowder was good, oysters average, entrees salty. I can deal with that but the attitude of our server was unacceptable. I used to be a server and even on my worst day I would smile at my customers. Our waitress did not smile, seemed annoyed when I asked a question about the oysters (odd since it is an oyster restaurant!), never asked how our food was, never refilled our drinks, etc. I went to complain and the manager had to be paged 4 times before he appeared. He repeatedly asked me if our waitress was just busy and if that was the reason for her poor attitude. I stated several times that it did not matter if she was busy, there is no excuse for rude behavior. He said he would let her boss know but I'm not sure that I believe him. I will go out of my way to steer people away from this restaurant and am sorry I wasted my time and money for such a terrible experience. After reading the other reviews I feel somewhat satisfied that I am not the only one to feel this way.

Cons: Terrible service, dismissive management

Best NE Clam Chowder in the city, ask for JFK's old booth, grab a brew and a chowder and call it a day!

Service & ambience great... oysters fresh but $22 a DOZEN- lobster roll sent back as it was not fresh & not good. Good baked beans... newburgh was excellent... shrimp bisque is thin and fishy.... $180 for lunch for 3 with 4 beers... Once was good enough for me...

Pros: Great heritage. Oyster bar guys were FAB-fresh good oysters

Cons: Cost and shrimp bisque/lobster roll were not good

This place is amazing. The historical aspect and the ambience set the tone. But the clam chowder and lobster are unbelievably delicious!!! The clam chowder was so fresh and the perfect thickness--not too creamy. The clams tasted right out of the ocean. The lobster was perfection. Juicy with buttery stuffing. You have to try Union Oyster House. It's worth every penny!!!

Very dissappointed. Have been waiting a long time to come here and when I finally did I wish I never had. The service was awful, from the hostess to the waitress. The waitress didn't bother bringing us bread or hot sauce or ask us how things are or if we wanted another drink. For being an oyster house you would expect a little more. There is no selection and the oysters are not shucked properly. The food was nothing special, price was high, and service was the worst. Reading through the reviews this is a common thread. I don't understand why citysearch gives such a high rating. There are plenty of great restaurants in Boston, avoid this one.

Pros: None

Cons: Service, Food, Atmosphere

The ONLY good thing about this place was the Chowder. While this restaurant is recommended by locals claiming" you won't be disappointed", we were. The wait was extremely long even though we had reservations, the service was not good and the prices were high. The spaces are small and crowded, though the architecture and bits of historical info posted throughout are interesting to look it. I would not recommend this place to anyone visiting Boston and will not be a repeat customer. The Jersey shore serves better lobster dinners than this place for half the cost.

Food was quite bad. A total waste of time and money. I don't imagine that they get much
repeat business.

Cons: food is bad

I was visiting Boston on 10/21/06. Touring the historic sites along Freedom Trail, my boyfriend and I decided to eat at "country's oldest restaurant." The wait was long, for dinner menu, so we decided to eat from the lunch menu instead. The food was good, but the service was unpleasant. Our waitress was rude, impolite, and had a negative vibe. I can understand the long wait but there is no excuse for poor customer service, especially when your location is on a high density tourist area, and your know as "country's oldest restaurant."

Pros: Food was good

Cons: crowded, long waited, the place is small

Overpriced terrible seafood, dry oysters not even served on ice, they basically add a bucket of salt to everything. Every glass of wine that was served was half spilled coming to the table and served with wine all over the bottom of the glass so that it got all over the table. The service was inappropriate considering how much you pay per entree....I live in Boston and I am embarrassed of this restaurant and advise no tourist go here....terrible...never again!

Pros: Good location

Cons: poorly run restaurant in every aspect

My experience with the Union Oyster House got progressively worse each minute I was there and do NOT recommend it to anyone. I went here with my father and sister after my sister was inducted into the MA bar. We were so excited and happy. When we walked in no one spoke to us, even though there were two employees standing right there. They ignored us for about 5 min until I finally asked if we could choose our own seating. They just looked at us and said yeah. The waitress came to out table and curtly introduced herself. She was very brusk and didn't seem to want to serve us. When we were ordering I asked her a question about one of the dishes to which she VERY rudely replied. When I accidently dropped my fork and tried politely to get her attention, she never came over. When I tried to order something to drink, she never came over. I was finally able to order something to drink when she brought out our food (which she essentially threw on the table). One of the dishes we ordered was a baked and stuffed 1 pound lobster. What we got was about 5 small bites of stuffing and two small bites of lobster. I love lobster and know how much lobster meat there is in a 1 pound lobster - this fell VERY short of 1 pound, I would say 2 ounces was more like it and they charged us $40 for it. Overall, the food was not good and the waitress was the RUDEST I have ever had in my entire life. I would like to note that my family and I are incredibly polite people. I still cannot believe that this restaurant exists under such poor management. I personally think they are riding on the fact that they are the oldest restaurant in America, but in my opinion, that's not enough.

Cons: service, food