One of my favorite restaurants in Boston is Neptune’s Oyster in the North End. I have a weird way of ordering the fried Ipswich clams with the bellies. I order a half order at a time so the second batch is as hot as the first batch. This time I ordered 1 1/2 orders and got an half order first and then a full order second. Vinny pictured below was terrific and when I gave him the order he asked if I was lizziee from LA. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I certainly have a reputation.
Neptune is a small restaurant with most of the seats at the bar. As they take no reservations, I usually plan my flight from LA to land on the early side so I can have a late lunch at Neptune and not be stuck in a long line waiting to be seated. What a girl will do for fried clams with the bellies!!
Vinny
The oysters at Neptune are terrific and you check off from the list what you want.
Oysters
My first order of fried clams were stupendous – lush bellies, juicy, just perfect.
My Dad ordered the Maine Lobster Roll with fries
Just see those beautiful chunks of lobster, perfectly cooked.
Unfortunately my second order of fried clams had been overcooked – a couple in front were OK, but most were dry and shriveled. To Vinny’s credit, it was taken off the bill.
Now, I did a sort of no no and decided to take a photo of what our neighbors were eating as most of my photos from Neptune are nothing but fried clams. Descriptions are edited versions from the on-line menu.
Maine Lobster pan roast, grilled corn, chorizo-spring onion, littlenecks, blueberries
Seared Georges Bank Scallops, Israeli cous cous, English peas, Littlenecks
This is essentially a gastropub version of a clam shack – fun, casual, very busy, great service with a very friendly neighborhood vibe.
This sounds so much like a little place that we were fortunate to enjoy several times before it was sold and the concept changed. It was on Hanover, so leaving the airport we just swooped out of the tunnel, careened around the corner and parked legally almost in front. The plates were way too large, but the quality of the fried clams and calamari was so good that we would wolf the plates and moan in ecstacy and agony for the next 50 miles.
We’ve copied out your lovely address for future after flight rewards. Many thanks.
Margaret, you will love this place, although parking is a problem. You can even get great Italian charcuterie from all the Italian shops in the neighborhood.