Best of Boston

2012 Best Seafood Restaurant, Casual

Yankee Lobster Company

The waterfront boasts flashy seafood emporiums mad with pricey cocktails and massive TVs, but we still head down the wharf to this retail arm of a decades-old lobster wholesaler. Sure, the napkins come in dispensers and the stellar view is of the street, but this is the freshest affordable seafood around. Grab a bowl of thick chowder, a basket of fried scallops, or go for lobster (in a bisque or on a roll) for a meal that’s big on substance, not on flash.

300 Northern Ave., Boston, 617-345-9799, yankeelobstercompany.com