Row 34 - Seaport | Boston — Restaurant in Boston

I have been coming to Row 34 for the last 5 years and each experience has been stellar other than this occasion. To start, the service was poor. My table sat for 10 minutes before being greeted by the server. We ordered the shellfish tower and oyster cups. From there, we did not see the same person come back to the table for the rest of the visit. Our second server came to the table 20 minutes after we had placed our appetizer order. He filled our waters and walked away; no introduction. A third server came and took our drink order. The lettuce cups arrived at our table and were mediocre in flavor and lacked the typical crunch from the breading, in addition to a lack of aioli sauce. Then, our shellfish tower arrived. I have continuously ordered the shellfish tower since coming here for the last 5 years and I will most certainly not order it again. This used to come with lobster tails and now it has been replaced with some tasteless creamy sauce with mussels along with a blend of random chips and some sort of odd and tasteless clam blend with what looked like beets. The oysters of course were delicious along with the jumbo shrimp and ceviche, but for the price point of $85, this appetizer is no longer worth its value.

In addition to the shellfish tower not being worth its value, neither is the lobster roll. The lobster roll has been my go-to since day one and has progressively increased in price throughout the years (as it expectedly should); however, the lobster roll has now increased from $37 to $54 for a 6 inch hot dog bun with hardly any lobster on it.

Apart from the lobster rolls that were ordered by my companions, I had decided on ordering the hamburger with fried oysters and requested NO aioli sauce on the burger (sauce on the side), in addition to an order of 242 fries. The order I received included the aioli sauce on the burger along with shoestring fries. The server came to the table and asked how everything was, and observed I was not too pleased. He took my plate back to the kitchen to remake the food but never apologized. Secondly, while the remaining people at the table finished their food, I sat for nearly 25 minutes until I received a bowl of 242 fries while I waited for my burger to arrive nearly 10 minutes later.

After I had consumed my meal, we requested the check. To my dismay, my meal was not comped. I believe any restaurant that cannot get the order correct should at the very least apologize for the incident, and I did not even receive that. We quietly paid our bill and left.

I had decided that since I had come to Row 34 with friends for my birthday to not make a fuss in front of everyone, which is why I write this today. I had emailed the restaurant on 3/27/2022 and it is now 3/30/2022 and I am yet to hear a response from this...

Wow! A layover of over 7 hours at Logan demanded another venue. Had been thinking of oysters, but saw nothing on unsafe side of gates at Logan terminal A. Row34 was highly rated in several publications and reasonably close, well a $20 cab fare close. Arrived about 1pm, the place was packed, managed to squeeze in at bar, my favourite location, much to learn and observe from there. Didn't see raw oysters on the menu? The New York gentleman sitting next advised there was a 'Raw Bar' oyster list which a server brought to me. Ordered up six different random ones along with chowder and the first of three excellent Sunny Sea IPA, for hydration.

The oysters were amazing, came with 3 sauces(vinegar/shallots, cocktail/seafood with horse radish and a sorta thin franks type hot). As well a lemon wedge was provided which I later found had a secondary purpose. I tasted the sauces but all very over powering of the subtlety of the glorious New England oyster. Only the lemon had some merit. Consuming them neat allows the palate to appreciate the unique tastes.

Being from the prairies of Alberta, in no way am I qualified to discuss oyster tastes at even an amateur level. That said I do know what I personally like. All six were magnificent, a mix of briney, floral earthy maybe, tastes foreign to my western beef palate ? I missed the instruction as to which oyster was which but that was of no importance.

The chowder is first cabin for sure, can't get this quality west of Boston.

The oysters were so good I had them hit me again with the four I missed on 1st round and a repeat of the top two on list. This time I listened and was told the oysters were sorted clockwise from the lemon wedge top to bottom of the chosen items on list. Again that was of no importance, but great for reference.

Of interest the barman told me he had worked there 7 years! Amazing in todays world, not many gold watches passed out anymore. It was the 1980's last time I was employed at a place that long. A 401k, livable wage, good hours, about all a serf/slave can ask for in the banker/elites rigged world...

No disappointment with round 2 except I noticed the plate only had five oysters on it? On inquiry a server more than made up for the error with two more.

A couple hours well wasted prior to a returning to Logan for a second 5 hour flight home. The memory of the Row34 oysters will linger on, a repeat for sure should I find myself in...

DINNER REVIEW

After living in Boston for over a year, I had heard so many good things about the seafood over at Row 34 and I finally made it out. This place is typical Seaport. High-ceilings, loud, lively ambiance, good-looking people wanting to see and be seen. That's not to detract from the food but just expect this type of experience when you come here. Don't expect to get seated right away either, this place gets busy. We had to wait 20 minutes even with a reservation.

FOOD: I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love the small menu that this place has. It's both diverse and shows that they focus on a few good things. We ordered a lot so I will break it down into what we would order again and what we wouldn't.

What I would get again (you can tell it was a good meal by the majority of items being in this category):

Tuna Crudo - Do yourself a favor and just get this. It's one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. The fish melts in your mouth and whatever it sits on top of is delicious.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts - some of the best-fried brussels sprouts I've ever had. I feel like these are "in" right now and Row 34 does them so well.

Crab Cake - my friend who is a self-proclaimed crab cake connaisseur said this is one of the best ones he's ever had.

Croquettes - I typically don't like croquettes but these Salt-Pollock croquettes were delicious, just the right balance of fish and everything else.

Lobster Rolls - ok these probably are not worth $34 for the amount of lobster you get on them but they are still good. The buttered and toasted rolls they come on are delicious and the lobster is obviously fresh. We got both the brown butter version and the classic version and I was surprised that I liked the cold, classic version better. I just like that it comes with more elements than the warm butter version.

What I would skip:

Onion Rings - Nothing special, I wish they were a bit crispier

The desserts - we got both the apple crisp which was honestly underwhelming (apples were on the harder side) and the chocolate chip cookies were warm but they weren't special either. Save dessert for elsewhere.

Overall, a great experience and when friends are in town and wanting to have some fresh seafood in a lively environment, I'll take...