Select Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Boston

We had reservations at 7pm on a Thursday night. Traffic was horrible so I called from the Uber to say we would be 10 minutes late. That was not a problem for them and she even changed my reservation time on Open Table for us to 15 minutes later.

We sat at the bar (our choice) and Alejandro took excellent care of us. The whole staff behind the bar were fantastic, as were the staff we met at the front door. The place is long and narrow and full of energy, which made for a higher noise volume. We loved the vibe.

We started with a lovely bottle of Alvarhino (on the glass list, but we bought the bottle). We then ordered three different kinds of oysters; the Island Creek being our favorite. We loved the little bottles of sauce that came with them. Great way to reduce sauce waste! We followed with the Red Snapper crudo special, the Tuna Tartare, and the Hamachi Crudo. We thought the tuna was way too salty. The Crudo special had excellent flavors, but a couple of the pieces of snapper were a little fishy. The Hamachi was plump and fresh but the lovely sauce was a bit overpowering for the fish. A little dip of sauce per bite was all you needed.

A big flavor surprise was actually the Romanesco cauliflower dish. It was absolutely delicious! The mussels were also fabulous. We did not try a main as we were fully satiated from all of the fish dishes we had. If we lived in Boston, we would frequent this place. We recommend...

One of the best spots in Boston for fresh oysters and amazing seafood dishes.

Recently came in for an early dinner to enjoy some good quality oysters in the Back bay area. We were surprised to see that the restaurant was almost completely full and were fortunate to grab the last available table in the main hall.

We started off with a dozen oysters with 4 varieties. All were extremely fresh, and except for the Canadian one, they were more briny than what I’m used to. Nevertheless, they paired well with the sweet pickled vinaigrette. The tuna tartare and the salmon crudo were very flavorful, and the sweet spread on the crostini was a fantastic complement to the uni. We also really enjoyed the blue prawns which had a weirdly addicting smoky seasoning. Blue crab salad was the only item that we thought was mediocre for the price, but it was still worth a try.

For the entrées, we shared the petite clams and the Icelandic arctic char. Arctic char was very similar to a trout, but it was more buttery and its combination with the little gem lettuce was fantastic. Petite clams came in a nice broth, and we were surprised by the sheer number of clams in the broth. Although we weren’t able to finish it, it was a hearty way to finish off our meal.

Overall, Select oyster bar was a great choice for us who love fresh oysters and contemporary seafood dishes. Service was also excellent, and we’ll definitely be back to try more...

We've been to select before, the food and drink are good but very expensive. On our last visit we got a table in the outdoor space which seemed fine- until the Trader Joes Truck showed up to unload. When our server came to take our dinner order, we asked how long the loading would take. Literally, the loading entrance is right next to the patio... we had already been bumped by one of the carts- it shook the planters enough to get a little dirt on my plate. The waiter assured me they were usually done in 15 minutes, so we ordered. The unloading was still going on an hour later, as we left. We asked to speak to a manager- to express our concern, or to ask why we were not warned of the noise/inconvenience. There was no manager available (on a Friday night?) And when I went to the website to send an email, there is NO contact info available- only a media link to the parent (hospitality) company. At these prices, I expect more. The fact they have no only onsite or online to listen to customer feedback speaks volumes. They lost our business and 2 other tables that were equally frustrated to be eating on a loading dock. BTW- service was fine- though our waiter was much less attentive after we complained about the noise. The 1 star for service was this plus ZERO manager on hand to address...