The Best Lobster Rolls In Boston, Ranked

As one of the first spots in town to serve a tinned fish plate, Saltie Girl has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to seafood. And while their regular lobster roll is great, served cold or hot with a white wine butter sauce, where Saltie Girl really levels up is with their top-secret off-menu roll. The lobster is fried in a light, tempura-like batter and tossed in beurre blanc sauce before being piled into a warm buttered roll and served alongside housemade salt and vinegar chips. While Saltie Girl has a perfectly lovely sunny dining room, the small windowless bar that’s slightly hidden behind the big dining room feels like being on a yacht, and is the ideal place for a clandestine lobster roll mission.

The views at Belle Isle, which is just a few minutes out of the city, are matched only by the size of their overstuffed (and best-in-class) lobster rolls. You can choose a classic lobster meat roll or upgrade to an all-tail roll for a few bucks more. The latter, even though it’s over $40, is beyond worth it for how much meat you get. Each is served with your choice of french fries, onion rings, coleslaw, or rice pilaf. This old-school joint also keeps their lobsters in the tank, which means they’re fresh from the ocean (and also watching you eat their friends, you monster). Remember to bring cash, because they don’t take cards, and even though there’s an ATM, it doesn’t always work.

At some point, you should eat your way through the menu at Neptune, as everything on it is excellent. But today, you’re here for lobster rolls. Grab a seat at the bar in this bistro with nautical vibes, and order a dozen oysters and an enormous Maine lobster roll, served hot or cold, on a sweet, buttery brioche roll. After doing this a few times, you have our permission to hit the rest of the menu in this bright, packed restaurant.

This Newbury Street spot is basically a love letter to the seaside shacks of New England, but make it a little bit fancy and drop it in a Back Bay brownstone. The roll is available cold with mayo, or hot with butter, but what lands this bad boy on our list is the buttery brioche roll from Iggy’s Bread over in Cambridge. The super dense roll isn’t heavy, but still manages to keep its structural integrity in the face of melted butter and mayo while soaking up all the lobster juice, which your mouth is going to be super happy about.

The chef’s grandfather at Row 34 was a lobsterman, which we mention because they keep things super classic here—just cold meat tossed with mayonnaise, pickles, celery, lemon juice, celery salt, kosher salt, and pepper. They also do a hot roll drenched in butter, and both come with the typical slaw and chips. Both are great, and any lobster you eat in the industrial Boston Wharf Company textile warehouse space is going to satisfy your crustacean cravings. There’s also a Cambridge location if you don’t feel like crossing the river.

Strictly speaking, this is not a roll. But we’re not about to let bread-truthers boss us around—especially when this cold “lobster sandwich” that comes on toasted slices of white bread is as good as it is. This thing is all about that sweet fresh lobster meat, but the sandwich bread does a good job holding everything together, and provides a nice little crunch to go with the lobster meat and a smear of mayo. This is a pretty bare-bones, counter-service spot, but there is a nice little patio with picnic tables where you can chow down on your not-so-alive-and-kicking-anymore lobster roll.

This simple seafood shack is the type of place where you read the board behind the counter and yell your order at the person manning the register. Everything is served on trays, and you might have to bus your own table before you sit down. None of that matters when you bite into the lobster roll, which is loaded with cold meat and a little mayo, all on a grilled hot dog bun. The meat is exceedingly fresh, and the meat-to-bread ratio is perfect.

For nearly 25 years, this easygoing spot—basically a clam shack with locations in Boston and Cambridge—has been a go-to for casual, fun seafood dinners. If you have seafood-starved friends in town for a day, and everyone is wearing Sox jerseys, take them here. What you’re going to tell them to eat is the lobster roll. The meat is steamed and slowly poached in lobstery juices, meaning you’ll never have a tough bite at Summer Shack. Served cold with housemade tarragon mayo, the chopped cucumbers and scallions that are mixed in never overwhelm the sweet meat.

One of the best spots for brunch in Boston also has one of the most unique takes on the classic lobster roll. Served at brunch and lunch only, the lobster is mixed with crème fraîche, celery, and red onion, and then piled high on a warm, split New England popover. The giant muffin has a similar texture to a croissant, and you should use it to scoop all that sweet lobster meat while enjoying a harbor view that might be the only thing competing with your popover covered in lobster.

This brown butter and steamed bao is probably the least conventional roll on this list, but sometimes—like when the Sox finally broke the curse in 2004—traditions are meant to be broken. Come hungry, because this brown butter beauty is rich enough to buy property in the Back Bay, and you’ll want to have enough room to try the fish charcuterie board. The shop also adds a cold lobster roll during the summer months that includes mayo, dill, and lemon on a griddled steam bun. You can’t go wrong with either, but the brown butter version is like no other roll in town.