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Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
"The lobster roll didn't last a minute against my friend and me, standing under a random building awning in the rain. Just enough mayo to…" read more »
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The best thing about the Salty Dog is the location. Their bar sits in the middle of Faneuil Hall. It's a great place to people watch and enjoy summertime in Boston. Try the clam chowder it's very good.
Only bad thing about the outdoor bar is sometimes you smell something bad coming somewhere.
Wow, what was I thinking.
I read some reviews and supposedly this place was a good people-watching spot. WRONG! No good angle to see the action in front of Faneuil Hall and no view of the side where others perform. Nothing good to see and no good conversations to overhear.
The clam chowder was pretty bad. It was very thin and runny, and chock full of celery and onions (wheres the clams and potatoes ?!?). Canned clam chowder tastes better.
Skip!
I wish we heeded the warnings from others. We took a chance only because we had a dog, we were very hungry, and it is in a great location. I wish we had kept walking...go to Wagamama's instead, just a few feet down (same plusses, AND great food.
Awful, boring, bland food!!! Very good onion rings. Horrible Bloody Mary!!! Dog friendly if you keep dog outside chain railing. Not enough shade on sunny patio.
Only go if you want a place to sit, relax, people-watch, eat onion rings, and drink something they can't mess up.
Fun bar to sit at (outside) and watch the tourists go by. Friendly and efficient bartenders. My issue with this place though is that the chowder was awfully thin and the "Cajun Grilled Shrimp" appetizer yields only 5 shrimp and costs $10! 2 tap beers, one cup of chowder and 5 shrimp for $32, including tip? I mean, I probably should've known better considering I was in the middle of tourist central, but still. Just not worth it.
This place gets four stars for the raw bar and seafood quality. If you are going here for a fancy meal or drinks, forget it. I had regular oysters, cherrystones, shrimp in the rough, and little necks-all fresh, cold, and delicious. The raw bar itself is small, masculine, and very new england. I've been there for swordfish too, which is tops. Not the best date joint, but perfect for raw oyster fans to get their fix and a beer during the day. The chowder is mediocre, but not terrible.
I am a New England transplant long-living in California. Luckily another recent business trip to Boston area presented me enough time to run down to Quincy Market area for some seafood. I craved clams... raw on the half shell. I recall I had an enjoyable meal at the Salty Dog on my last trip when I ate in the dark, cramped, underground dining room. Touristy, yes, but authentic? Very.
The September day was warm with bay breezes scenting the air as only the Atlantic can do. I elected to sit at the outdoor square bar in front of the entrance which was active during lunch hour. Many libations were available and the friendly barister was busy filling orders of raw clams and oysters. I noticed he faithfully washed his hands after handling each order. I requested six cherrystones on the half shell which he opened immediately. Clams were plump and delicious accompanied by the right amount of cocktail sauce/horseradish and lemon. So good, in fact, I decided to continue with my bivalve lunch and ordered the clam roll. The clam strips were fried, not greasy, but served with too much tartar sauce and not enough of the spicey marinade listed on the menu. No complaints about the french fries, however; they rounded out a traditional dish which was as good the famous fried clams from Ipwich.
I have been going to The Salty Dog for quite some time now and realized I had never given them the credit they deserve. I went down for lunch today and had oysters and swordfish, both super fresh and tasty. The patio was closed, but decided to stay and was reminded that the dining room downstairs is a great option when dining downtown. I will be back soon!
I had ordered a cup of clam chowder and the bowl of clams in garlic broth. The clam chowder was pretty good. Simple and clean but flavorful. The bowl of clams was not very flavorful and didnt taste very garlicky. But the service was nice! They have both outdoor and indoor seating and a bar downstairs.
This is a tourist spot, smack dab in the middle of Faneuil Hall. And we were tourists. We were hungry and wanted something decent. Living in the desert (essentially), we wanted seafood and lots of it while in Boston. Some locals said the food was decent so we sat down and ate baked seafood and fish and chips. Despite being crazy busy, our waitress was extremely nice and attentive. The baked scallops were fresh and perfectly cooked. The fish was fried in a thicker batter but was tasty. Our son got to watch all the people going by and enjoyed the fish and fries. They weren't salted so he could eat them. If you're like me, pour malt cider vinegar on them and salt to your heart's content. Delicious.
Great place to eat outdoors on a warm and sunny early afternoon. Ordered some fish and chips. Pretty decent, batter not to thick, but light. Another coworker had a crab salad sandwich, and another had some fried-fish sandwich.
Food wasn't really spectacular, but good enough. Nice outdoor setting to sport on a pair of shades, and enjoy the world pass by, while nursing a couple of beers.
Stopped in for dinner the other night with a friend and 2 small children. It was GREAT to finally be able to dine al fresco, and fun to watch people coming and going and hear the street performers singing while we ate. Both adults ordered the Crunchy Calamari Salad, an exciting concept - cool, fresh lettuce to balance out the greasy friend calamari. It was pretty good, though I'm not completely sure that the raspberry vinaigrette was a great match. The Boston Cream Pie was surprisingly delicious :) All in all a fun place to sit outdoors and people watch while enjoying a "touristy" day downtown.
It is what it is...... a great place to grab a beer and some seafood platters while shopping around the Quincy Market area. Sit on the patio and people watch as you enjoy your meal.
The batters on the fried seafood were light and didn't overpower the fresh fish. A friend of mine got a seafood pita which looked appetizing.
I'd come here again.....
Keep walking! Today was my second experience with Salty Dog, and there will not be a third. I had a bad lunch there many years ago after dropping a friend off at Logan--bad service, nasty food, overpriced.
Today we were denied a table for four outside, even though there was only one other party seated because not everyone in our group was eating. Mind you, we conveyed to the hostess that we were interested in bloody mary's and beer for the grown ups and a little lunch for the five-year-old with us. She offered to seat us at the bar (their bar stools have no backs...). With a five-year-old? Uhh, yeah, we'll head on down to Ames Plow Tavern, save some coin AND be treated like proper customers, thankyouverymuch!!
Went here after a friend of mine came up from NY. She really wanted lunch at a seafood place. She was dying to try New England clam chowder and a lobster roll.
I tried to convince my friend that this was a touristy type place and that I am sure we could do better. She was very hungry though and liked the idea of sitting outside.
Place is decent. Nothing special. My two complaints would be the prices are a bit high for the quality of food and also that the tables outside are not level! They rock and make it difficult to just relax and eat. The service was pretty slow too. Considering we had to wait quite a while for two small mugs of clam chowder.
I think this is a place you eat once (if you must) and then move on. I wont be coming back since I know there are many high quality seafood places (I just need to find them/be able to afford them, hah!).
Really small, cramped seating area that just felt sticky to me. The lower seating area is really not for those who may be prone to feeling claustrophic (feels like you're in the bottom of a boat -perhaps that's the idea but it didn't appeal to me). The onion rings were not good at all-- the breading on them tasted like a thick layer of plain flour without much flavor. In my opinion, there are much better options in the area, especially in this price range.
I got the Creole Seafood Dish around $18 off lunch menu. Not sure what creole style tastes like but the dish was good and made for a very satisfying lunch.
The soda was flat, not a big deal since I should probably crub the diet soda addiction.
Judge by my coworkers, tthe portions were good size so you don't feel too sick after eating so much fried food. Anywhere else the prices would be too high, but it is Fanual and thats the price you pay for eating there (unless you perfer Mcdonalds across the street)
One thing I did like was that the fried food was fresh and didn't taste like its been refried a few times too many like in other fried seafood places.
This place was ok...nothing special. I was visiting boston, and brought my boyfriend to Quincy Market to show him around. We were starving and we wanted to sit outside, so we stopped here. The shrimp was great, but a bit overpriced for what you get. I guess it's someplace to eat, but once you've been here, i can't imagine you'd be dying to go back. Pretty cool to sit outside though and grab a beer, and people watch! haha....
Great patio and buzzing, lively atmosphere in the summertime, and cozy ship-like ambience in the winter - I really like this place!
The food is really fresh, tasty, but not too heavy, the quality has never disappointed me. Aside from me loving the atmosphere, the staff is friendly and accomodating, and although it is touristy it is still really nice to be around the Quincy Market area in the summertime anyway. I love having a leisurely, delicious, fresh seafood lunch at the Salty Dog then going to grab some ice cream at Sluggers around Quincy Market afterwards. :)
First of all, how can you not go to a place called the Salty Dog. It's such an unusal name for a seafood restaurant.
Regardless the name, the food is fairly decent, especially after a night of drinking the beer.
We all started off with the clam chowder. Hmmmm, clam chowda. Yum. Creamy, meaty, oyster crackers, potatoe.... outstanding.
My Fish & Chips were served hot, not salty or oily at all. The people I was with had the Seafood Creole, which they say was really good. Hmmm, creole dish in Boston... a stretch, as long as the people like it and it sells, who cares. The table next to us, several folks order the Seafood Creole dish as well.
There are two sides of the establishment that was open in 1972, one side is the bar and the otherside is the restaurant area, and smack down in the middle, the kitchen.
I'm all about supporting the small businesses, "f" the chain restaurants in the area.
I cringed when the work crowd ended up here -- I hate these touristy places. On a Thursday night, the 1st server said she'd seat us at a table if more than half of us were ordering food. Ok, the boys would eat, and the 2 of us that don't eat seafood would just have a drink and an appetizer. We sat (at 8PM on a Thursday, it's pretty quiet), ordered drinks and all of sudden we are informed that we ALL need to order a FULL MEAL in order to sit at the table, or else we were "just wasting two whole tables". Umm..seriously now? The boys oysters ain't cheap, so I guess the waitress backed down a bit, but wow, seriously rude, considering there were at least 3-5 open tables that we could see around us. It was nice to have the cool evening breeze, but the rudeness of the staff and the whine of the passing tourists just completely kills it for me. I'd rather hit a Union Street bar, thankyouverymuch!
My summer after work bar. (I've actually never been in the winter)
I love going to Salty Dog in the summer because I get to sit outside at a bar. You get to feel the breeze and get some sun...it's great. Summer in Boston is sooo short so you've got to enjoy every second.
Salty Dog does get a little touristy but there is usually a good-sized after work crowd. The tourists are kind of fun to talk to cause they're usually so chipper and gitty with excitment about Boston. The bartenders are nice and make good conversation.
My only gripe (hence only 4 stars) is that the on-tap beer selection is quite pitiful (only 3 beers on tap). But they've got fresh oysters and killer fish and chips. AND it's an outdoor bar!!!
Strolling around Fanieul Hall can be tiresome. We decided to re-fuel with some beers and apps and happened upon the Salty Dog. Outdoor seating was key for us, so we grabbed a table on this sunny Sunday afternoon. Not shortly after, our waitress came over and broke the news that they weren't offering almost all of their menu items because their manager didn't order enough seafood that week. Calamari? No. Mussels? Nope. Shrimp cocktail? Sorry. Chowdah? Nice try. Crabcakes? No- wait, what was that? Crabcakes?? Oh... No.
This sucks! Totally put a damper on our mid-afternoon plan. And, double whammy, they were out of Blue Moon! So I can't really write an educated review of this place because they didn't give me the chance.
Super-touristy and usually a spot we'd avoid but we were hungry and didn't feel like walking around or dealing with people at Quincy Market. Chowder was decent, though clams were a little scarce. My husband had calamari salad and he liked it. Cheerful service. Definitely wasn't terrible, but not somewhere I'd go back either.
The food was average at best if you don't like too many clams in your clam chowder though the slaw was very unique...quite refreshing to say the least.
Service was good and location is near the marketplace so there are probably better places to go...
ehhhhhh mediocre....this place thrives on mediocrity...the food, the atmosphere...from walking through the pint-sized kitchen to get to the other side, to squeezing into a 1-foot by 2-foot bathroom, nothing screams mediocrity like the Salty Dog. I might go here again if a meteor takes out surrounding restaurants. The slaw tasted like a kenmore refrigerator
For this out of town girl in Boston this was the perfect break we needed from shopping all over town. We sat on the outside patio, where with a cold glass of wine, and a quick snack of a dozen oysters each, we sat and people watched while chatting about our lives and work life. A place like this makes me love Boston, it was relaxing, there was wine, and the people watching was phenomenal. Casual and chill with great service and great bartenders. Oh, and the oysters hit the spot perfectly!
Other than the fact they ran out of lobster before lunch was over, this place is a serviceable place for lunch. Friendly bartenders, good menu, and a nice location at the marketplace are highlights of this establishment. There's better places for food, but the location is close by and it's great for taking the family too. All in all, it's a pretty decent place if you're just shopping or taking a tour nearby.
The place is small but the meal I got there was a shrimp salad in a pita and it was delicious. I'd definately go there again.
The weather was nice, so we sat outside on a bustling Saturday afternoon.
My chowder was average, but I did like the crunchiness of the celery they put in.
The crabcakes were not too bad - a bit more greasy than I thought, but pretty tasty.
All in all, a pretty mediocre dining experience. A bit on the pricier side.
Terrible all around. Horribly rude service. We experienced Incorrect orders, sub-par seafood with prices that don't reflect the quality and poor poor table service. Highly don't recommend.
This place has good food and a good location for lots of touristy things to do in Boston. My parents and I always go here when they're in town. Still, the quality of the food outweights the touristy location, even for locals. It's a good, sometimes (but not always) less crowded alternative to Legal Seafoods.
i don't know why but we always call the place The Salty Hog. h^mmmm.
i got some type of grilled fish thingy that came with rice that was way undercooked so i started spitting it at people through my straw. ahhhh, to be 35 again.
The food is acceptable, the beer is good (but where isn't it!) and the people watching is unrivaled. I go just about weekly for lunch with some colleagues and we prefer to sit at the bar, have a beer and an app while watching the throngs of touristas strolling by. It can be quite entertaining.
Great place to eat some fried seafood, drink some beer, and people watch on the outside patio. The line for a table can be long, so be prepared. At least you can pass the time mocking the tourists outside Quincy Market. Now that's entertainment!
Ok so this place is a bit touristy, especially in the summer. But that doesn't make it less delicious. The fish selection is good. The fish and chip portion is generous and well priced considering that this place is down town. Also, decent chowder and boston creme pie. Basically if you have friends visiting from out of town, and you're showing them around and want a place with "Boston Food" down town, this is as good as any.
decent chowder (not great), decent food with decent portions. little pricey for what you get, but not a rip off. service was good.
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