Union Oyster House

11/24/09

Gone Down Hill .... Expensive , Poor Service, Lousy Food

by Monica Jean Fox at Citysearch

The group that owns the Union Oyster House does not compare to the Father and Son who owned it up until the mid 1970's... back then the food was great... the wait staff had been there forever and it was a career and not just an annoying "job". The management is uncaring--- after the buck-- and move on .... They do not know good old fashioned New England Cooking.... the owners are not familiar with this type of food ... maybe they should turn it into a spaghetti emporium, some kind of cookery they are actually familiar with. Go to any other Boston seafood eatery...

• Pros: Easy walk to something better
• Cons: Lousy Food and Service

09/30/09

Worst restaurant ever

by Kim BC at Citysearch

Why this place was praised so much as a must come to see for Boston ? Besides, its history, I don't think the place and the food are worth the trip. The foods were awful and expensive. The drinks were bad, but still better than the food and you have to wait longer than 30 minutes to get to their tiny dining room upstair when they stacked people into isolated corner and you waited forever for the waiters to notice you are there, since they are not really busy.

My worst experience so far in a Boston's restaurant.

• Pros: historic place
• Cons: everything

04/15/09

Dirty

by CarolD at Citysearch

Not sure what all the hype is. Not traditional New England seafood . It's for out of towners.. that do not know where to get good New England Seafood. Anyone can get Chowder from a can, and through some clams in it!!!! Not worth the $$$$.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Dirty, terrible service, long wait, rude employees

11/18/08

Go for the Chowda! It's the best and the original.

by gelly88 at Citysearch

I have been here 2 times over the last year and stuck with the Clam Chowder and a Sam Adams. I've eaten at the bar every time. Based on the mixed reviews here, I haven't tried anything else. I want to keep going back here for the traditional New England Clam Chowder. It is made with the traditional ingredients and I haven't had anything else in Boston that comes close. It's thick and flavored just right. The clams have always been fresh. Note, the cornbread is downright horrible, so just stick to the basics of beer and chowda and you'll understand why this place is still around. Plus, the original side of the restaurant has some great history. Be sure to walk around. I love this place and will keep going back for the right reasons.

• Pros: Clam Chowder!
• Cons: Small seating capacity.

10/24/08

What a dump!

by lauram213 at Citysearch

Located on a on a cobblestone street that smells of urine. Have they ever heard of a hose??? Waited 45 min. w/reservation. . Brought us to a table that hadn't been cleaned. Waitress came to clean it with a dirty rag. Floors /chairs were filthy. Thank god for my purell wipes!! The waitress had a horrible cold, and was blowing her nose. It was disgusting. We ordered appetizers, oysters (warm to boot) We didn't even touch them. The shrimp cocktail was soggy. Main dishes came out in two orders( there were 6 of us), and were cold. The waitress was obviously displease that we were not happy, and copped an attitude. We asked to see the manager, but she couldn't find her....Not really sure what all the hype is about this place, but it is clearly a dump! Don't waiste your time or money on this place.....

• Pros: none
• Cons: Absolutey filthy

10/24/08

Historic place, must visit!

by BostonTracey at Citysearch

The Union Oyster house was one of the most interesting restaurants I went to on my recent trip to Boston. That it's filled with history goes without saying. The raw oysters were great, very meaty. Very reasonable priced and our waitress was funny and very attentive. Great experience!

• Pros: Historic, delicious oysters, gift shop!
• Cons: Crowded downstairs

08/13/08

Decent food but unacceptable service

by erasure76 at Citysearch

We called too late to make a reservation, but were told if we showed up in the next 15 minutes we would have a half-hour wait for our party of 9. So we went ahead and put in our name, and ended up waiting 45 minutes. This in itself would have been fine, but once we were seated and had ordered, it took another 45 minutes to receive our appetizers, and then another 45 minutes after that to receive our entrees. All told, we spent about an hour eating and 2 hours waiting for service. This is ridiculous on a Tuesday night. On top of that, our waitress forgot one person's soda and we waited 30 minutes for that; she assumed that the child in our party would not want the cole slaw that came with her fish and chips; and the potatoes that were supposed to come with the Shore Dinner were completely missing. To her credit, when we asked about the potatoes and cole slaw at the end of the meal, she apologized and said she should not have assumed about the slaw, and offered to give us the potatoes to take home. These are small consolations for the obnoxiously long wait, though. The food itself was good, but nothing to write home about. Certainly not worth the prices nor the wait.

• Pros: decent food, interesting history
• Cons: unacceptable service

08/01/08

The country's oldest restaurant in continuous service lures touristy crowds with its fresh seafood and award-winning chowder.

by Eric Grossman at Citysearch

In Short
Dating back to 1826, the Union Oyster House maintains a suitably old-fashioned tavern decor, with lots of weathered wood and a casual atmosphere. Tourists and locals rub shoulders to slurp down oysters and tuck into thick chowders and substantial pieces of grilled or baked fish. Bivalve lovers gather around the old-school raw bar to sample fresh cherrystones, littlenecks and steamers. Desserts include hot Indian pudding, homemade gingerbread and warm apple cobbler.

06/10/08

nice historic, unattentive seervice, BUT mostly poor food.

by josh608 at Citysearch

food was cold when served, steamed clams are not cooked enough this far south of maine,

chowder is too thick and can-like.

• Pros: nice historic atmosphere
• Cons: not new england home cookin

06/10/08

Great Fresh Seafood

by hlwong at Citysearch

We had Native Oysters (1/2doz.), Cape Cod Cherrystones (1/2doz.), bowl of Clam Chowder, grilled Native Swordfish, Sauteed Seafood Medley, and of course the corn bread.

FRESH FRESH FRESH yummy half shell, the clam chowder is creamy and chuck of clam, the sauteed seafood medley was full of tasty seafood big portion (tasty leftover for lunch tmw), and I want the recipe for the corn bread. The swordfish was over cook and dry, since the piece of swordfish that we have didn't have much of fat in it so it was tough to eat. Overall it was delightful and I would go back again and again.

Side notes on the service: I called to make a reservation 1 1/2 hour before (tuesday evening), and the reception said "it's ok just come in anytime!" so when we arrived we were told that we have to wait 20mins due to other reservation, so I'm guessing if you plan to eat here please make reservation a day in advance to avoid hungry tummy.

• Pros: too much, please read my review
• Cons: NO parking, street parking is very limited