Top photo: Oysters on the half shell in Cambridge, Mass. (file photo). Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Hub guide, checked Oct. 29, 2026. Places are listed by region, not ranked. Hours are seasonal on the coast; confirm before you go.
Looking for the best oysters in Massachusetts? This Boston Report hub gathers 23 oyster bars and raw bars across Boston, Greater Boston and the North Shore, the South Shore, and Cape Cod and the Islands, each checked against its own website or a recent local source in late October 2026. It also explains where Massachusetts oysters are grown, what the state’s fisheries data shows about the industry, and when to plan an oyster trip. For broader dining picks, see our Boston restaurants hub and our list of the best restaurants in Boston.
How we built this list
We included restaurants whose own sites or recent reporting describe a raw bar or an oyster focus, and we confirmed each is operating or open seasonally. We did not visit these places for this guide, and we do not rate them. Two well-known Boston names are no longer open: B&G Oysters in the South End closed in late 2024, and Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square has been replaced by Row 34.
Boston oyster bars
Neptune Oyster
North End · 63 Salem St. · Official site
A small North End raw bar on Salem Street. Its website lists daily opening at 11 a.m., and an Oct. 1, 2026, menu check by Oyster Tasting Guide found Island Creek oysters from Duxbury on its list.
Row 34 Fort Point
Fort Point / Seaport · 383 Congress St. · Official site
The original Row 34 opened in 2013 in a 1908 warehouse. Its Sept. 30, 2026, raw bar list named 10 oysters, eight of them from Massachusetts, including Duxbury, Wellfleet, Barnstable and Dennis growers.
Row 34 Kenmore Square
Kenmore Square · 498 Commonwealth Ave. · Official site
Opened in 2025 in the longtime space of sister restaurant Island Creek Oyster Bar, next to the Hotel Commonwealth and steps from Fenway Park. It posts a weekday and weekend oyster happy hour in the bar and lounge.
Saltie Girl
Back Bay · 279 Dartmouth St. · Official site
Kathy Sidell’s seafood bar, now about a decade old, began as a tiny space and later expanded into the room next door. Sidell plans a new raw-bar spot, The Shell Bar, for the former B&G Oysters address in spring 2027, according to Boston Magazine.
Union Oyster House
Downtown, near Faneuil Hall · 41 Union St. · Official site
The restaurant bills itself as America’s oldest restaurant and still runs a raw bar in its historic building. Read our coverage of the Union Oyster House sale.
Select Oyster Bar
Back Bay · 50 Gloucester St. · Official site
A seafood restaurant in a Back Bay townhouse, open since 2015, whose site says its raw bar features local oysters. See our earlier Select Oyster Bar profile.
Eventide Fenway
Fenway · 1321 Boylston St. · Official site
The Boston outpost of Portland, Maine’s Eventide Oyster Co. is a counter-service raw bar open daily, with oysters by the half dozen and dozen plus a fried oyster bun on the menu.
Not strictly an oyster bar but worth knowing: the raw bar at Legal Harborside in the Seaport, which we covered separately.
Greater Boston and North Shore
Row 34 Cambridge
Kendall Square, Cambridge · 314 Main St. · Official site
The Kendall Square branch of Row 34 serves lunch and dinner daily, and its posted raw bar list in September 2026 named seven oysters.
Row 34 Burlington
Burlington · 300 District Ave. · Official site
Named an Editors’ Choice for raw bar by Northshore Magazine, which credited chef Jeremy Sewall’s team for its shellfish towers.
Elm Square Oyster Co.
Andover · 2 Elm Sq. · Official site
Northshore Magazine says the restaurant keeps a rotating list of more than three dozen oysters, sourced almost entirely from New England, served with house-made sauces from a scratch kitchen.
Sea Level Oyster Bar Salem
Salem · 94 Wharf St. · Official site
A two-floor waterfront restaurant on Salem Harbor whose raw bar lists local oysters, littleneck clams, chilled lobster and jumbo shrimp.
Sea Level Oyster Bar Newburyport
Newburyport · 1 Market Sq. · Official site
Sits on the main floor of the Firehouse Center for the Arts, with patios facing downtown and the Merrimack River and a raw bar that includes seafood towers.
Brine
Newburyport · 17 State St. · Official site
A downtown spot built around “oysters, crudo, chops,” with a full raw bar menu and shellfish towers for groups; Northshore Magazine named it an Editors’ Choice for raw bar.
1606 Restaurant & Oyster Bar
Gloucester · 55 Commercial St. · Official site
Inside the Beauport Hotel, its raw bar was added in a 2021 expansion with harbor views and won Northshore Magazine’s 2026 Editors’ Choice for raw bar.
South Shore
The Raw Bar at Island Creek Oyster Farm
Duxbury · 403 Washington St. · Official site
A casual raw bar on Duxbury Bay at the Island Creek farm, serving the oysters the company grows. Its posted fall and winter hours run Wednesday through Sunday, first come, first served.
Salt Raw Bar
Plymouth · 170 Water St. · Official site
A raw bar on the Plymouth waterfront; recent listings show evening hours and a Tuesday closure, so check before going.
The Oysterman
Scituate · 345 Driftway · Official site
A harbor-town seafood restaurant whose menu opens with a raw bar section and seasonal specials.
Trident Galley & Raw Bar
Hingham · 23 Shipyard Dr. · Official site
Part of the South Shore’s Galley restaurant group, with posted hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at Hingham Shipyard.
Cape Cod and the Islands
Many Cape and Islands raw bars close or cut hours after Columbus Day. Status below is as of Oct. 29, 2026.
The Wicked Oyster
Wellfleet · 50 Main St. · Official site
A Wellfleet restaurant that runs a daily oyster happy hour until 5 p.m. and live jazz twice a week; it is currently open Tuesday through Saturday.
Pearl
Wellfleet harbor · 250 Commercial St. · Official site
Pearl says its raw bar is built from the transom of an old wooden fishing boat and that its oysters are farmed across the street. Closed for the season; reopening May 6, 2027.
Viera on Main
Chatham · 593 Main St. · Official site
A Main Street restaurant with a full-service oyster bar, patio and bar seating that are first come, first served.
19 Raw Oyster Bar
Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard · just off Main St. · Official site
An intimate, walk-in-only oyster bar in downtown Edgartown. Open through Oct. 31, 2026, then closed for the winter.
CRU Nantucket
Nantucket · Official site
An oyster bar that bills itself as Nantucket’s premier oyster bar. Closed for the 2026 season; it lists a May 13, 2027, reopening.
Massachusetts oyster farming and growing regions
Most oysters on Massachusetts raw bars are farmed. The state Department of Agricultural Resources says Native Americans and later colonists cultivated shellfish on Cape Cod, but commercial shellfish aquaculture only took off in the 1970s, when better hatchery and growing techniques arrived. Today the state counts nearly 400 private shellfish farms and 29 municipal propagation programs in 37 coastal towns (MDAR).
Names on Boston menus map to those towns. Row 34’s September 2026 list, for example, included oysters from Duxbury and Saquish in Duxbury Bay, Kingston, Wellfleet, Barnstable, Dennis and Yarmouth. Duxbury Bay is home to the Island Creek farm, and Wellfleet has been tied to oysters for well over a century; state Fish and Game photos from 1907–1910 document Wellfleet oyster houses and seed beds. Research and technical support come from groups including Woods Hole Sea Grant, MIT Sea Grant and the Southeastern Massachusetts Aquaculture Center at Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, and growers are represented by the Massachusetts Aquaculture Association.
By the numbers: oysters in the state data
The Division of Marine Fisheries reported that the Massachusetts aquaculture industry produced shellfish worth nearly $30 million in 2023, mostly oysters and hardshell clams. In a November 2025 release, state officials said oyster aquaculture alone contributed $31 million in 2024, a 13% increase in landings value over 2023 (Mass.gov).
DMF’s 2024 annual report puts all Eastern oyster landings that year at 10,196,389 pounds worth $35.2 million, making oysters the third most valuable species landed in the state, behind only sea scallops ($263.1 million) and American lobster ($115.4 million). Among inshore shellfish, oysters were worth about 5.6 times soft-shell clams and 6.9 times northern quahogs, and they brought about $3.45 per pound, compared with $2.42 for soft-shell clams and $1.39 for quahogs (TBR calculations from DMF Table 6).
| Species (2024) | Pounds | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern oyster | 10,196,389 | $35,178,890 |
| Soft-shell clam | 2,588,409 | $6,270,553 |
| Northern quahog | 3,689,677 | $5,113,279 |
Source: MA DMF 2024 Annual Report, Table 6 (ACCSP Data Warehouse, April 12, 2025).
Oyster events and seasons
The biggest date on the calendar is the Wellfleet OysterFest, started in 2001 and run by the Wellfleet Oyster Alliance. The 2026 festival was held Oct. 17–18 in downtown Wellfleet, with oysters served by local growers and the festival’s Shuck-Off contest (Wellfleet Oyster Alliance). In 2025, Gov. Maura Healey declared November Massachusetts Aquaculture Month. Island Creek’s Duxbury farm tours ran from late May to late September in 2026, with 2027 details still to come.
Oysters are farmed year-round, but many coastal raw bars are seasonal, so winter is the best time to lean on Boston and North Shore spots. Food safety: the state warns that raw or undercooked oysters carry a risk of Vibrio infection, especially from May through October, and that people with liver disease or weakened immune systems should eat only fully cooked shellfish (Mass. DPH).
More seafood reading: our Boston clam chowder guide and our profile of the Barking Crab in Fort Point.
FAQ
Where can I find the best oysters in Massachusetts?
This guide lists 23 oyster bars and raw bars in Boston, Greater Boston and the North Shore, the South Shore, and Cape Cod and the Islands. Many serve oysters grown in Duxbury, Wellfleet, Barnstable and other Massachusetts towns.
Are Massachusetts oysters farmed or wild?
Most are farmed. The state counts nearly 400 private shellfish farms, and officials said oyster aquaculture was worth $31 million in 2024.
When is the Wellfleet OysterFest?
The 2026 festival took place Oct. 17-18 in downtown Wellfleet. It is held the weekend after Columbus Day.
Is it safe to eat raw oysters?
Massachusetts health officials warn that raw or undercooked oysters can carry Vibrio bacteria, with higher risk from May through October. People with liver disease or weakened immunity should eat only fully cooked shellfish.
Did Island Creek Oyster Bar and B&G Oysters close?
Yes. B&G Oysters in the South End closed in late 2024, and Row 34 opened in the former Island Creek Oyster Bar space in Kenmore Square in 2025.
Sources
- Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources, Aquaculture
- Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries, 2024 Annual Report
- Mass.gov, November declared Massachusetts Aquaculture Month (Nov. 7, 2025)
- Mass. Department of Public Health, Vibrio parahaemolyticus
- Wellfleet Oyster Alliance, OysterFest FAQ
- Boston Magazine, The Shell Bar to open in B&G Oysters space
- Boston Magazine, Best restaurants near Fenway Park
- Northshore Magazine, North Shore oyster spots (Aug. 2026)
- Northshore Magazine, BONS raw bar winners
Additional sources
Each restaurant’s official site linked above, plus: