The No Name Restaurant: Dive for your Seafood
Written: Mar 14 '07
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Pros: Reasonable prices, good seafood, free parking
Cons: Ugly decor, on a pier - off the beaten path
The Bottom Line: Good seafood for a good price in a dive restaurant.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: No Name |
The No Name is one of those Boston legends that has been around and on restaurant lists forever. The restaurant itself is almost 100 years old. I ate at the No Name in March 2007.
AMBIANCE
To put it mildly, there is very little ambiance at the No Name and most people would call it a dive. Sure, it is a dive with good service and local color and good prices, but it is still a dive. The restaurant is located on a pier on the outskirts of Boston. There is not much that you can walk to from the restaurant although you can get a good view of Boston harbor.
To enter the restaurant, you have to walk along a pier and go up several stairs just to get to the sidewalk that leads to the restaurant. The entrance looks industrial as does the pier location. Entering the restaurant is like stepping back into the 1970s with wood paneled walls and somewhat bleak decor. To get to the main dining room, you have to go up a flight of stairs. The main dining room is a large, open room with some old, uninteresting pictures on the walls and vinyl fake wood tables.
The crowd is dressed casually. Many are in jeans. The lighting is bright and the restaurant is noisy. This is a place to get good seafood cheap - not a place to bring a date.
Our table got a plastic pitcher of water and some plastic cups to serve ourselves. The menus are paper with handwriting and copied on a Xerox machine. Napkins are paper. Placemats are paper and have a picture diagram of how to pull apart a lobster. The feeling was perhaps one step above an outdoor picnic.
THE MENU
The menu is the reason people come to the No Name. The menu is all about fresh seafood including scrod, lobsters and scallops. Presentation is very simple. Lobsters come steamed. Fish can be broiled or baked. Side dishes are french fries and cole slaw. It definitely isn't gourmet.
I got a lobster as my entree which looked to be one of the most popular menu items. When you order a lobster, the waitress will promptly come over and tie a big, plastic white bib on you with a big red lobster imprinted on it. Shy people should dine elsewhere. Those who like lobster generally prefer lobsters around 2 pounds because the meat is usually sweetest and most tender at that size. Unfortunately, when I ate at the No Name, the lobsters were all around a pound or a pound and a half. They had a twin lobster deal with two lobsters for $20. The entree also included a side dish of french fries or cole slaw.
I got just one lobster but most people would want two to feel full. My lobster was cooked appropriately but the meat was not as sweet as it could have been. The french fries were very, very good. The No Name has a wine and beer license and nothing tastes better with lobster than a cold beer.
For dessert, I shared a piece of warm blueberry pie with ice cream. It was good but not gourmet.
SERVICE
The waitress at our table was very friendly and efficient. Service was just great and I felt like I was in my mom's house because the waitress was so great on doting on us.
OTHER THOUGHTS
They used to only take cash. They now take mastercard and visa.
This restaurant isn't really for anyone with mobility issues. There are lots of steep stairs inside and outside.
They have free parking in front of the restaurant which is a rarity in Boston.
We visited on a weeknight and the restaurant was surprisingly full.
Kids would like the restaurant if they like seafood. Picky kids won't like it.
Vegetarians won't find much on the menu except seafood.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
If you like good seafood with a reasonable prices and friendly service, then the No Name might be for you. The ambiance isn't great but the friendly staff and prices make up for it.
DINING OUT IN THE BOSTON AREA? TRY THESE BOSTON-AREA RESTAURANTS:
BOSTON: Radius; Caffe Vitoria; Excelsior; Jacob Wirth; Cottonwood Cafe; Imperial Seafood House; Sibling Rivalry; Fleming’s; 29 Newbury; Grill 23.
BROOKLINE: Mr. Sushi; Fugakyu; Takeshima; Tsunami; Anna's Taqueria; Zaftigs Delicatessen; Bangkok Bistro; Golden Temple.
NEWTON: Appetito; India Paradise; Blue Ribbon Barbeque; Ice Cream Works; Baker's Best; Bill’s Pizzeria; Cafe Nicolas; Union Street; O’Hara’s; Yeradi’s; Johnny’s Luchonette.
CAMBRIDGE: S&S Restaurant; The Japanese Mall; Jasper White’s Summer Shack; Dali .
WEST ROXBURY: Cafe Misono.
BRIGHTON: Tasca.
FRAMINGHAM: The Aegean.
ESSEX: Woodman’s.
SAUGUS: Kowloon; Hilltop Steakhouse.
CHAIN RESTAURANTS: Not Your Average Joe’s; Bertucci’s; Legal Sea Foods; Cheesecake Factory; Rainforest Cafe; Fire & Ice; Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse; Friendly’s; Ikea Cafeteria; Longhorn Steakhouse; TGI Fridays.
COFFEE, BAGELS AND DONUTS: Bruegger’s Bagels; Finagle a Bagel; Dunkin Donuts; Peet’s Coffee and Tea.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Scallops are good. Try the lobster.
Best Suited For: Friends
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modernmarvel
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Can anyone recommend a western family dude ranch for a vacation this summer?
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