I May Never Eat Oysters Again -- Neptune Oyster, Boston

I May Never Eat Oysters Again -- Neptune Oyster, Boston

When Bill Barclay, an old friend of mine and recently deceased English professor at Elmhurst College, had a bowl of French onion soup in France, after he helped win WWII, he decided it was so good, he never wanted to have French onion soup again. That post-war potage was so earth-shakingly excellent, perhaps for reasons of historical moment as well as taste, he saw no point in having any version of this dish that would inevitably be less good and that would, I suppose, sully the memory.

Last night, the family and I went to Neptune Oyster in Boston’s North End. It was a rainy and crummy night, but inside it was crowded and warm and we felt good together.



We had oysters as an app…and after our entrées, oysters for dessert.



Four Island Creek oysters (Massachusetts) and four Pemaquid (Maine) were the perfect way to end my oyster eating forever. Like the oysters (Wellfleet, Katama Bay, and Island Creek) we had before dinner, these were some of the finest bivalves I’ve ever had and maybe will ever have. Each one, beautifully shucked without a speck of shell and with a good mouth-filling splash of liquor, had a personality, a deep oceanic succulence that would not let go. An hour later, this morning, tonight, I can still imagine their living flavor.

The Wife, daughters and I had a wonderful dinner together. We frequently do, yet this was kind of a different night. Better than usual.

The oysters still resonate, soft yet powerful, deep, and I'm not sure I want to mess with that memory.

Neptune Oysters
63 Salem
Boston, MA
617-742-3474

I totally know what you mean after eating in Boston last winter.

The Neptune is a great place beyond its food. It is the epitome of comfort and just exactly the place I could see wanting to wait out some rain. In fact, the atmosphere there is so good, I'm inclined to discount your oyster observations but for the fact that I know the oysters are that good.

And the scary thing, the oysters at B&G were just as good; I thought at least.

Thanks for the reminder!

I'm not an oyster fan, but did partake of the awesome lobster roll (served hot with dripping butter) at Neptune two weeks ago. I got there a little after 6pm on a weeknight and got the last seat at the bar. By 6:45, there was a line forming outside the door. Popular place, and I'll be back.

Ah! Boston. You just gave me the answer as to what to do with my 1 trip worth of frequent flyer miles. Oysters, Lobsters and my favorite Buckets of Steamers which you really can't get anywhere else.

wizzy wrote:I'm not an oyster fan, but did partake of the awesome lobster roll (served hot with dripping butter) at Neptune two weeks ago.

At Neptune, I had the lobster roll (being in Massachusetts, I had it, as you did, Connecticut-style: warm with butter). I must say, this struck me as an odd thing: the ingredients were good, but it was a case of the whole being exactly equal to the sum of the parts. It reminded me of Dr. Johnson's critique of Swift's Gulliver's Travels, which I paraphrase: "Imagine a small man in a land of large men, or a large man in a land of small men, and the rest follows."

It was good bread with good butter filled with good lobster, no more or less, exactly as one would think it would be. I know I sound a little disappointed, and I can't account for that, because the sandwich was exactly as one might imagine.

David Hammond wrote:The oysters still resonate, soft yet powerful, deep, and I'm not sure I want to mess with that memory.

If you make it to the West Coast anytime soon you might want to mess with your memory a little bit by enjoying a meal at Swan Oyster Depot, IMHO, the holy temple of bi-valve goodness.

Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109-3606
(415) 673-1101

Made it into Neptune on my last day in Boston. Really wanted to check out B & G Oyster in the South End, but alas, it was not to be. I can wholeheartedly state that the oysters at Neptune are what I would describe as "another thing" from Chicago oysters. I'll still eat what many fine restaurants serve around here, but it would be insane to expect Neptune quality.
I followed up my oysters with some equally superior Maine mussels in a traditional celery, bay leaf, and white wine broth. Not a stinker among 'em.
Really a top-notch little joint in the North End simply doing what Boston is known for, in a casual yet refined environment, with the highest standards.

After our most recent dozen at J's Oyster in Portland, ME, my wife and I have sworn not to eat oysters outside of Paris, where they uniformly rule. Glad to hear there may be a worthy destination in the US.

I agree. I just ate at Neptune last week and thought they were the most delicious, succulent creatures I've ever had of the specimen. So fresh, so juicy, perfectly shucked. Perfect. It'll be hard to eat them anywhere else. Except maybe the Publican. But still...

This is a rave, please excuse the gushing.

I had one of the best meals of my life, and easily the best meal of this young year, at Neptune Oyster Bar this week. We had the hotel conceirge call ahead and he was able to help us get in without too bad of a wait on Monday night at 8pm. We had been quoted an hour wait on the telephone but our concierge was able to get us right in with a 5 minute wait.

We started with a dozen east coast oysters that were sublime. Perfectly shucked and so fresh that you could taste the sea, these were the best oysters that i have ever had the pleasure of eating. We also shared an order of the fried Ipswich clams that were served with a very mild tartar sauce which was superfluous as the clams were textbook perfectly fried, big and juicy, and just didnt need any accompanying sauce. We also had a plate of the crudo of the day which was a baked octopus and red sauce concoction that ws really really tasty and bowls of chowder. For our main course we split a lobster roll three ways, served hot with butter and accompanied by perfectly fried french fries. For an entree I went with the Monday special of Lobster Spaghettini which was more of the awesome but to be perfectly honest, was served with a third bottle of Barolo and thats all I have to say about that.

What a great place, just a treat, someplace I rank right up there with the Swan Oyster Depot s my favorite respite for bivalves. Thanks LTH for the intel.

I got to Neptune Oyster 15 minutes before it opened. Good thing because after the first group of people were seated (we only got a seat at the bar) a bunch of people were left waiting for up to an hour.

This is as good as oysters get. Impeccably fresh, served with plenty of oyster liquor and nice garnishes like lemon, mignonette, and horseradish. I couldn't bring myself to use the sauces (other than a spritz of lemon) because the oysters were so amazing on their own. There were three of us, and we ordered one of each type, including the two raw clam options. The pictures we took (yes we were playing with our food) sum it up nicely.

Before:


After:


On the flip:


If you get a chance, and like oysters even a little, Neptune Oyster is as good as it gets. The other food was great too, buttery (in texture) scallops and delicately fried, flaky fish tacos. But I can't fathom heading to Neptune Oyster and not ordering a huge plate of their freshest oysters.

Made it there yesterday. We showed up within 5 minutes of opening and got the last seats at the bar. After that they were quoting 1 hour waits. Ordered the oysters; Wellfleet, Island Creek, IC Newptune,Thatch Island, Taylor Bay (all from MA), and East Shore Blonds (RI). They were the best oysters I have ever had. Fresh and such a taste of the ocean. After that had the steamed littleneck clams, also fabulous. It will be a must stop my next time in Boston.
I am a eat whats local guy and can wait again two years (my last trip to Boston) and go without oysters,rather than have a poor imitation of what i tasted here. Nothing in Chicago that I have had is even close to this place.

We did spend time in RI and another place if you are anywhere in the south county area to go is the Matunuck Oyster Farm. It has been open just over a year. It has become my favorite place in that area. We ate there two of the three nights we stayed there. I will post up a review.