Outstanding!! We frequently travel this way and wanted to try something new. Service was quick and…read morevery friendly! Cold lobster roll... ok the reviews say it's a must try, so we did. Delicious!! Nicely buttered roll with so much lobster you have to eat some of it before you can even pick this roll up. And not just claws like some places this was all solid lobster meat. $30 with fries- wish we remembered to opt for the onion straws (next time). Lobster was tender and flavorful with not an over abundant amount of mayo just the tiniest bit to hold everything together and it was tender, flavorful, and overall delicious. Arnold Palmer wasn't powdered lemonade either, it was perfectly fresh and not overly sweet. Then shop at the Amazing food co-op next door. Looking forward to our next trip here. Looks just like the many pics already posted.

Captain Jack's Roadside Shack is the kind of seasonal seafood spot that attracts attention the…read moremoment the food starts coming out of the kitchen. We walked up to a casual outdoor seating area with picnic tables set alongside the road, giving it the laid back atmosphere of a New England seafood shack where the focus is entirely on generous portions and classic seafood favorites rather than anything overly polished. The setup is simple and relaxed, making it an easy stop for a casual lunch or dinner during the warmer months. The lobster roll is the clear highlight here. The portion was surprisingly large for the price, packed generously and substantial enough to feel like a full meal on its own. The lobster was the star of the sandwich, and the overall value stood out given how expensive lobster rolls have become across Massachusetts. We also ordered the fish and chips, which came with an equally generous portion size, though the fish was a little drier than expected. While it was still satisfying, it lacked some of the moisture and flakiness that would have made it more memorable. What stands out most is the portion to price ratio. Nearly everything coming out of the kitchen is oversized, which helps explain why the restaurant has built such a strong reputation as a destination for seafood in the area. The food leans toward hearty and filling rather than refined, and the experience works best when you arrive hungry and ready for a substantial meal. Service moved efficiently despite the steady crowds, and the casual outdoor setting kept the experience relaxed. For anyone looking for a classic roadside seafood stop in Western Massachusetts, Captain Jack's delivers generous portions, solid seafood, and a lobster roll that easily justifies the visit.

The food here is consistent. The haddock is excellent and the batter is fresh. This restaurant is…read moreconsistently busy, and I've never eaten in the restaurant because of that. Every time I get food from here I get takeout. The restaurant itself is definitely an old style restaurant with no recent updates. Everything I've been told, the service is great if you eat there. However, the woman that runs the desk is not as kind with pick up. When you call for a pick up order, they give you a time to pick up your food which is generally around 90 minutes after you call. I usually try to come as close to that time as possible but a few times I have been five or 10 minutes early. If you are early for your order she gets frustrated and is not very nice about it. I have also noticed every time I've been in there to pick up food there are children there just sitting at the front desk. I am assuming that they are family of whoever owns the restaurant or someone that works there, but it is just strange to see kids just sitting at the front desk when you're there to eat or pick up food. It's not something that would cause me not to go back to the restaurant but I could see it bothering someone else. I've never had a bad experience with the food and my mom absolutely loves it so we go there pretty regularly but I would just suggest if you are picking up your food do not be early.

The food was excellent and served very quickly. They had beautiful seascapes on the walls to make…read morethink of days at beachside enjoying seafood

First timer coming here. Not sure why I waited so long! We had a reservation for four at 7:15P on a…read moreSaturday night. Surprisingly, we wouldn't have actually needed the reservation; the place was pretty quiet for a Saturday night. Though, the college students are all gone for summer so that might play a part in it. Nonetheless. The food was DELICIOUS. The drinks were FABULOUS. We each had a few drinks and everyone seemed to enjoy what they had. I ordered the Don't Text Your Ex and that was so yummy. I loved the dragonfruit dusting on top. Our server, Scotty, kept us fed and hydrated all night. We started with 16 oysters, tried 4 different kinds, of all sizes. I wish I remembered which we did but they were all very good. Next came the calamari with hot honey. That was eaten up pretty quickly as well! Highly recommend. Entree wise, I ordered the Seared Scallops for myself, and the other party goers had the Lobster Roll (which comes hot, not cold), the Seared Tuna, and the Casarecce Vongole. Everyone was part of the clean plate club that night. All the dishes were so good I know I keep repeating myself! The bill can get pretty pricey if you're not paying attention. We will definitely be going back!

This was my first time visiting Amherst Oyster Bar, and while it's a super cute addition to the…read moremain street, I don't know if I'll be going back. I'm a vegetarian, and although a couple dishes had the option to swap the seafood for tofu, veggie options were lacking. The sesame cauliflower was very good as an app! I had wanted to try the burnt end mushrooms but they were no longer on the menu. Service was incredibly slow. I know the waitress was hustling and it's not her fault, but I'm not sure why it took 45 minutes for our entrees to come out. She kept apologizing and saying it would be out soon but we were there for a full 90 minutes before we got our entrees which was weird. I ordered the harvest bowl with tofu and it was fine. It was a big portion size, great variety of veggies, and the pesto was good. But there wasn't enough pesto for the whole dish and without the pesto, nothing else was seasoned at all. It was so bland. The tofu was just big chunks of lightly seared plain tofu. I saw on the menu you can order fish and chips with tofu instead, but it seems silly to come to a place known for seafood and swap their fish for tofu. Especially after eating the harvest dish, I don't know if they would even know how to properly prepare the tofu. Maybe this is a good spot for drinks and oysters but that's about it!

great local seafood wholesaler!…read more Living in Fitchburg my entire life, I have been blind to many local offerings that my quaint town provides. It was only a couple of years ago that a coworker of mine was raving about this place and couldn't believe I had never gone. The parking spots in front of the building fill up very quickly. However, if you drive towards the back where the trucks pull in, you can actually drive up the slope for several more spots. I believe there's another adjacent bunch of spots to park on the ground level, but I'm not confident. As soon as you step inside, there are 2 lines you can wait in. Towards the left you can order food from their kitchen and enjoy the typical assortment of fried seafoods that you've probably already familiar with from many other joints. In fact, this place has a sister location called Kay's Dairy Bar in Westminster. Towards the right, you stand in line for the wholesale products. Today I came in the some big ol lobsters. The staff here are all super friendly, as well as all of the customers. I had pleasant conversations with everyone. I was able to get my three 4-pound behemoths steamed here, and you can eat ask for a cup of drawn butter from the restaurant side. Since I was feeling hungry, I grabbed a plate of fried scallops too. Lobsters - I follow their FB page and I was drawn in by a couple of the posts showcasing some behemoths. I was slightly disappointed that they maxed out at about 4-pounds on the day I showed up, but everyone in line said that it was better that way anyway. My lobsters took about 30min to steam and when I got home and cracked them open, the meat was perfection. Fried Scallops - I love love love scallops. This place does it just as well as Kimball's and I think I'm just going to come here from now on to support a local business instead.

Walked in for a side of whole belly clams. Service was ok…read morebut they took a while and came out dark and overcooked. Not a good experience this visit.

Stopped in for a quick lunch yesterday. In their clam chowder. It was awesome. Was with my…read moregrandson and great grandson. They were so kind. Brought him a sliced orange that he loved and then some ice cream. Their service was very attentive.

Food was pretty darn good if I'm being honest, and she was good about refilling my coffee too, but…read moreI don't go out to eat to be waited on by someone who looks miserable, barely acknowledges me, didn't even smile when I asked her to compliment the chef (We got the loaded potato fries and a French dip, which, I've never liked anywhere, but it's what my wife wanted and we share as she's had the bipass surgery and can only eat a few bites)...I admitted to her that I don't like French dip, but it was PHENOMENAL. I don't even like au jus, but it was so good, I would've been happy just to drink it. Who doesn't even smile at a compliment like that? Especially as I later found out she was one of the owners. She should have been over the moon. I'd say it wasn't technically a bad experience, but it also wasn't a good one. Also, it was right at the end of their first open mic and we knew the host personally. You'd think after seeing we knew their entertainment, she could have, at the very least, faked a smile. Kind of her loss as I'm a DJ and could have easily boosted their clientele, but I'm not going to recommend a place that makes it seem like it's a chore to wait on you. Even though she didn't know that, as someone who has also been in the restaurant industry for a large portion of my life, the very first rule of customer service is to make them feel wanted, no matter how you're feeling, and smiling at them is the easiest way to do it. Even if you're only doing it for the tips, being nice to people is one of the easiest things you can do. And being nice to others, will almost always make you feel good in return. It's a win win. As for the ambience, top notch. It's a very comfortable and relaxed atmosphere and it's not crowded like a lot of other restaurants (meaning the tables are properly spaced and you're not on top of other customers)

Stopped in with family and friends. Nice place set up in an old home. It's first come for tables. I…read moregot two items, 1st is the whole belly clams, not bad. They was battered but the clams was small. But did enjoy them. Then got the burger and was very happy with it. A thick burger, I can from Florida and smash burgers are the thing there and missed thick burgers. Cook perfect and great flavor. Service was good and we had a group of 13. Everyone enjoyed their food. I tried the meatballs and enjoyed them as well. Mom enjoyed her scallops. When come back to town, will be back for sure.

Air conditioning nonexistent on a summer day. Thirsty? No Coke! Dingy inside. Oh yeah, cash…read moreonly. Waitstaff mediocre. Poor parking. One and done for this place.

You won't find better food or better people anywhere! The lobster rolls are the best around. They…read moreare big and absolutely delicious. They have both hot and cold. The lobster mac and cheese is stuffed with so much lobster, it is a great deal! And don't sleep on the clam fritters. They are amazing! On top of that it is a really cool nautical theme inside and there is a beautiful new patio. There is no point in going anywhere else.

This is the complaint email that went unanswered, I am…read morewriting this as a long-time, loyal customer who has supported this establishment since the new ownership took over. However, after our experience this past Sunday, I am incredibly frustrated to say that we will not be returning. The issues began before we sat down. We attempted to order the Valentine's Special as advertised, only to be told it wasn't available. When another member of our party tried to order a luncheon item, we were told it wasn't served on Sundays--despite the menu giving no indication of such a restriction. The service and food quality only declined from there. We ordered a large clam strip dinner, a lobster scampi, and a sea scallop dinner. After an excessively long wait, the food finally arrived, but it was a mess. My "large" clam strip dinner was relatively small, and instead of the lobster scampi, we were brought a lobster mac and cheese. When I informed the waitress of the mistake, she took the mac and cheese back, but it took another five minutes just for her to return and officially put the "rush" order in for the scampi. By the time my wife's meal finally arrived, the rest of us were completely finished eating. To make matters worse, the scampi was a total letdown--I've never seen a scampi served with a cheese sauce and no tomatoes. It was so unappealing she couldn't even finish it. To top off a day of errors, the waitress approached us after we placed the corrected scampi order to tell us we owed more money because she had initially charged us for the wrong item. Being asked to pay an upcharge for a mistake made by staff, especially after the kitchen failed to have the meal ready with the rest of the table, is completely unacceptable. We have enjoyed coming here in the past, but after the lack of professionalism and poor food quality we've seen over our last few visits, we have lost our confidence in this restaurant.

I drove all the way out here for fresh seafood, not a surprise episode of Restaurant: The…read moreReckoning. The sign says Fish Market & Chowder Company, but what you walk into is 95% restaurant, 5% "technicality fish market," and that last 5% is doing the kind of work that would make a union rep cry. Let's be clear: The Angler is no longer selling fresh seafood. Not in any meaningful, market‑based, "take this home and cook it" way. What they are selling is the idea of a fish market -- the ghost of one -- while running a packed dining room full of people slurping oysters like it's a Cape Cod tourist trap in July. And speaking of tourist traps: They've got a tour bus parked outside. A tour bus. For a "local fish market." That's like seeing a stretch limo outside a Dollar Tree -- you immediately know something is off. As a chef, my time is valuable. As a food reviewer with an actual show, my time is documented. And nothing ticks me off faster than false advertising dressed up as nostalgia. If you've abandoned the fresh fish counter because the restaurant side makes more money? Fine. But update your signage. Update your branding. Stop wasting people's gas and goodwill. I walked in looking for fresh haddock. What I got was wall‑to‑wall oyster eaters and not a single square foot dedicated to what the sign promised. You can get oysters anywhere. You cannot get a proper local fish counter everywhere -- and certainly not in a space this cramped. If ownership wants to reach out and explain the pivot, I'm open to it. I'll even give them a redemption arc on one of my platforms. But right now? This new direction is the wrong fit for the location, the footprint, and the legacy they're trading on. Call me when you're ready to rebuild. I'll help. But today? Today was a misstep -- and an avoidable one.

Ordered take-out of baked stuffed shrimp. Receipt showed baked stuffed $33, but we received grilled…read moremarinated shrimp $28 (not to our liking). Called and explain the issued and asked for a refund of only the difference in cost between the two. Even offered to send a picture of what we received. Sadly, the manager kept arguing the receipts shows baked stuffed shrimp, as if we were lying, and hung up on us. Called back and she agreed to refund the difference. BIG SURPRISE...no refund!!! Poor way to treat customers and conduct business.