Seafood, Outdoor Seating, Casual

[wingman]

The title says it all, my summer internship doesn't start until June 1st, so I get to enjoy my girlfriend's company until then. She has had a busy week at work and we'd both love to enjoy the weather this evenging sitting outside having seafood (or something healthy) and some wine. If there is a byob place that fits the bill that would be outstanding. Any area of Boston is fine, prefereance to the water front. Any help is appreciated and of course I'll report back!

[Kitamonster]

Maybe not so healthy since I love their onion rings, but... best fresh seafood with a view in all of Boston, IMO, is to get take out from Yankee Lobster (on the waterfront) and walk up to the gorgeous park behind Moakley Courthouse. Incredible view of the whole Inner Harbor from their very nice picnic tables. Don't tell (ssshhh) but we've poured wine into a Nalgene-type bottle and brought it with us. Way cheaper than any restaurant too!

[SASSYMI2]

How do you get from Yankee Lobster to the park? Is it a long walk?

[9lives]

10-15 min..Just take a right out of Yankee and walk along Northern Ave..past the Fish Pier and the World Trade Ctr..take a right when you see Anthony's..there's a nice path behind the ICA and along Fan Pier to the park.

It's right along the harbor and 1 of my favorite bike routes..plenty of nice spots for a picnic.

[ced9]

Also, Seiyo (sushi) in the SE has outdoor seating and it is attached to a wine store...

[catsmeow]

You might want to take the boat to Hull(it leaves near the Aquarium and only takes about 20-30 minutes) and then eat at Jakes which is steps from where the boat comes in. It's a seafood restaurant that also has a fish market attached to it. Their diningroom has a "wall" of glass that opens completely and overlooks Hull bay. At high tide, the water is only a few feet below you. It's not upscale, and jeans would be fine. The Red Parrot is about 2 blocks away and has a great deck overlooking the ocean. Their food is average....the usual pub type, so you might want to go there for a before or after cocktail and take in the beach/ocean view.

[teezeetoo]

if you're driving, i understand the waterfront in Quincy has some outside fish restaurants that are creditable. Sorry I don't know them and think you can't get there by train. Anybody know about those? My own favorite is a drive: Chauncey Creek, near Freeport, ME, bring everything you want (wine, flowers, desert) and they'll give you the lobster and oysters, etc.

[alwayscooking]

Quincy marina bay has unfortunately nothing to do with CH - just adequate drinks and food. And many people on the weekends looking to party.

[Science Chick]

Both The Clam Box and Tony's Clams on Wollaston Blvd serve up excellent seafood (I prefer Tony's). They are smack across from Wollaston Beach. Nothing like B&G, but nice casual fish joints near the beach and not too far from downtown.

[HDinCentralME]

Correcting the geography...Chauncey Creek is at Kittery Point, ME, considerably closer to Boston than Freeport.

[teezeetoo]

thank you for the correction! i'm usually not the driver and i just sit back and enjoy getting there and I don't think it takes much more than an hour and 10 minutes from Boston to Chauncey Creek. Its such an enjoyable day out though it can be a wait on a gorgeous weekend day.

[Science Chick]

Yuck......their lobsters may be ok, but I had one of the worst experiences of my life at Chauncey Creek a couple of years back. Lobster rolls made with Miracle Whip, and pre-frozen little fish thingys passed off as "fish bites and chips". They can't have real fryers there, so they use these self contained things to cook stuff. I actually got my money back for the "fish"...it was horrible! Very beautiful location, though. I'm sure if you want to do the picnic thing and buy a lobster from them, it would be nice....otherwise, steer clear!

[teezeetoo]

we only get the lobsters and steamers at Chauncey and bring everything else. the lobsters and steamers are all they need to be: fresh and not overcooked. And I second the Yankee Lobster for pick-up, take it to the park, great view, good seafood.

[chuck s]

The place in Freeport ME is the Harrakeeset Lunch, a lobster pound about two miles from downtown.

[chuck s]

Harrakeeset Lunch

[MC Slim JB]

Not cheap, but great seafood, seafood-friendly wines, and a lovely South End patio at B&G Oysters.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[alwayscooking]

Strong second for B&G

There are also a few other restaurants in the area with patio seating. There isn't a decent waterside restaurant (that I know of).

[hotoynoodle]

we thought sushi-teq at the intercontinental might have outdoor seating, but they do not. lovely patio on the water for drinks and apps, but there isn't a single sushi place that even has outdoor seating. please, somebody correct me if i'm wrong.

you could get take-out sushi, like from sakurabana, and stroll down to the waterfront.

[SuperFineSugar]

Actually, I think Sushi-Teq does have outdoor seating/service. That patio is great too, and Miel is opening their terrace wine bar at the end of the month. Same patio, just the other side, further away from Sushi-Teq.

[hotoynoodle]

we were there last night. no dice for sushi-teq outside. we could have ordered apps from the rumba menu, but no sushi.

[SuperFineSugar]

Oh shoot! Sorry, I really thought they had it. Thanks for coming back to post.

[Kitamonster]

last summer we had sushi outside at Sushi-Teq - might be worth calling them to see if it's just set days/hours??

[9lives]

Oishii SE has a few tables outside.

I don't find them particularly appealing but they are outside. I prefer to eat sushi at a sushi bar.

[MC Slim JB]

Yeah, many South End patios are exposed to seriously close car and bus traffic, but the Washington Street ones are the worst: Oishii Boston, Banq (coming soon), Stella, Toro. Not so nice. The Red Fez has a lovely Washington Street patio, not sitting right on the sidewalk: too bad the place sucks so bad otherwise. Myers + Chang has a little one overlooking the park, but I've never seen it in actual use.

My favorites in the neighborhood are set back a little, or sheltered from cars somehow, or on a quieter side street: Rocca, B&G, Hamersley's, Picco, Orinoco.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[purple bot]

Another strong second for B&G patio.. plus a strong "NO" for the Barking Crab. Blech! Don't do it! Dirty, dirty, dirty. Spend a few bucks more and get fantastic wines and great seafood at B&G. Not on the water, but waaaay better.

[finlero]

This might be a little different than you had in mind, but I'll throw in a rec for Atasca, a very good Portuguese restaurant in Cambridge (sorry, not waterfront). Lots of seafood on the menu, with many of the dishes reasonably healthily prepared. They have a nice little patio out front; I've had a number of really enjoyable meals out there while splitting a pitcher of their pretty good sangria or an inexpensive bottle of vinho verde. Not dirt cheap, but certainly reasonably priced.

[BoDubya]

i'm not a huge fan of the barking crab - but you can't beat the view on a day like today. keep it simple - fish and chips, etc and you'll be okay. and if you check this link you can get half price...woop!

http://www.weeklydig.com/dig-deals

[hotoynoodle]

byob is illegal in boston.

[wingman]

Oh wow, really? Guess my dream of sushi, outside with my favorite bottle of wine from King's Family Vineyard in Virginia is out the window!

Well outdoors, casual and seafood/ sushi is hopefully doable (outdoors is the least important I guess)

[JoeM]

Why not take a picnic to the Garden/Esplanade? It isn't too hard to be discrete with a bottle of wine (or sake), and sushi is one of the few foods that is still great in take-out form.

[hiddenboston]

I see people drinking bottles of wine by the Esplanade all the time. ;-)

[C. Hamster]

Or to Castle Island.