Best of Boston

Best Chowder

2019 Best Chowder

Boston Sail Loft

Boston
Hot take: A spoon should be able to stand straight up in a proper bowl of New England clam chowder. Layered with tender clams and [...] read more»
2018 Best Chowder

Boston Sail Loft

Boston
For a generation, this minimal-frills North End eatery at the water’s edge has attracted a legion of fans with its herb-y, unpretentious, preposterously thick take [...] read more»
2017 Best Chowder, Clam

Legal Sea Foods

Boston
You don't mess with success. Legal's classic formula—a creamy base, loads of clam flavor, firm potato chunks—has been warming Bostonians' souls for decades. It even [...] read more»
2016 Best Chowder, Clam

Sonsie

Boston
We know what you’re thinking: With all the seafood joints in Boston, you landed on Sonsie? Stifle your preconceptions for a moment, because when it [...] read more»
2015 Best Chowder, Clam

The Daily Catch Seaport

Boston
With a just creamy enough texture, generous potato chunks, meaty pieces of clam, and a house-made biscuit in place of the requisite oyster crackers, the [...] read more»
2014 Best Chowder

Grill 23

Boston
For the finest chowder in town, you’ll have to turn to a steakhouse. Grill 23’s version stars quahogs, but takes the humble bivalve-and-potato soup into [...] read more»
2013 Best Chowder, Clam

B & G Oysters

Boston
Anatomy of a Winner: Here in Boston, it's tough to stand out in a veritable ocean of chowdah. Here's how Barbara Lynch's oyster bar shows [...] read more»
2012 Best Chowder, Clam

Ned Devine’s

Boston
That's right—Ned Devine's. We were won over by the buttery, not-too-thick texture, bits of fresh thyme, and sweet, chopped cockles and clams that make this [...] read more»
2011 Best Chowder

Legal Sea Foods

Boston
Like spaghetti sauce or competition chili, clam chowder is one of those foods that's better made in enormous quantities. The big-batch approach melds all the [...] read more»
2010 Best Chowder

Legal Sea Foods

Chestnut Hill
Surely someplace other than Legal can whip up a great chowder, we thought. And so we set about finding it. Countless gloppy, thin, and off-tasting [...] read more»