Row 34 Boston: Fort Point Oyster Bar and Lobster Rolls

Row 34 Boston is a lively oyster bar and seafood restaurant at 383 Congress St. in the Fort Point neighborhood, opened in late November 2013 by the team behind Island Creek Oyster Bar. Its raw bar, lobster rolls and long beer list keep it busy, according to the restaurant’s Seaport location page.

This guide pulls together what we could confirm from the restaurant, Eater Boston, Time Out, Bon Appétit and other outlets, with dates noted where coverage is older. Menus and hours change, so check with the restaurant before you go.

Row 34 Boston: Address, Hours and Getting There

Address: 383 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210 (Fort Point). Phone: 617-553-5900.
Hours (per the restaurant): Monday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., drinks until 11 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m., drinks until 10 p.m.
Transit: Time Out lists the Silver Line to World Trade Center, and Frommer’s lists the Courthouse T stop. See Time Out and Frommer’s.
Parking: the restaurant says it validates parking at the Stillings Street Garage, 11 Stillings St., for guests who enter after 5 p.m. With validation the rate is $12 per vehicle for up to four hours. Metered street parking is also nearby.

How Row 34 Started: A ‘Workingman’s Oyster Bar’

Eater Boston reported at the time that the restaurant opened in Fort Point as a more casual, gritty sibling to Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square, billed as a “workingman’s oyster bar.” An Eater piece from that week named the owners as Skip Bennett, Jeremy Sewall, Garrett Harker and Shore Gregory.

The name comes from Bennett’s oyster farm. The restaurant says Row 34 refers to the 34th row of oysters grown in Duxbury Bay on the South Shore. In an Eater interview, Bennett recalled that oysters from the trays in that row tasted different from their neighbors, which led to the name.

The building has its own story. The restaurant describes the space as a renovated Boston Wharf Company textile warehouse first built in 1908. Eater’s 2013 coverage described the property differently, saying the Fort Point building dated to around the turn of the 20th century and was originally home to the Crucible Steel Company, and that diggers found oyster shells under the foundation. We are noting both accounts rather than choosing between them.

What to Order: Oysters, Lobster Rolls and More

Time Out Boston, in a review page dated Nov. 25, 2024, called out the icy raw bar cabinet and said fresh oysters on the half-shell and cherrystone clams are standard orders. Its menu highlights included tuna crudo with black garlic aioli and avocado, lager-steamed Maine mussels, fried oysters, Maine crab cakes and hot and cold lobster rolls. See the Time Out listing for the full write-up.

Bon Appétit’s city guide, which is undated on the page we saw, pointed to the deviled crab toast and the smoked and cured section of the menu. It also praised the beer list. Specific dishes may have rotated since then, so treat these as starting points and check the current raw bar, dinner and lunch menus on the restaurant’s site.

A current online-ordering listing describes two lobster roll styles: a creamy version with Maine lobster mixed with mayonnaise and crème fraîche, and a warm buttered version, both in a brioche bun with coleslaw and chips. The restaurant itself says guests are looking for “the city’s best lobster roll,” which is its own claim, not an independent ranking.

Reservations, Crowds and Tips Before You Go

The restaurant takes reservations through its website and OpenTable. A summary of diner reviews on that page says the Seaport location is often busy and that some parties report waits at peak times even with a booking. That is a summary of diner opinion, not a guarantee.

Practical tips based on those sources: book ahead for dinner, consider an earlier or off-peak time, and call 617-553-5900 if you are planning a large group or private event. The restaurant lists a Cooler Room for private events.

Awards and Other Row 34 Locations

The restaurant’s OpenTable listing says Row 34 won a 2025 Boston Magazine Best of Boston award for Best Seafood Restaurant and was named to a New York Times list of 25 best restaurants in Boston. Those are the restaurant’s own descriptions; we did not independently confirm the award details.

The Fort Point restaurant is no longer alone. Row 34’s main website lists five locations: Seaport and Kenmore Square in Boston, plus Cambridge and Burlington in Massachusetts and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

More Boston Seafood Spots

If you are comparing oyster bars around the city, see our guides to Neptune Oyster in the North End, Saltie Girl in Back Bay and the historic Union Oyster House.