Summer Shack Reviews

Excellent seafood that's moderately priced and so definitely fresh. Servers were prompt and attentive to our dining needs. Consistently pleasurable experience every time I dine there.

A nice fresh seafood restaurant, but not the cheapest. The food is tasty and the huge live lobsters in the aquariums are quite a sight. With so many guests and a very open area the ambient noise levels are quite high. If you are looking for a nice romantic place, this is not the place to go.

Just found out about balloon Sundays for kids. Will definitely go back. Price and the quality of the food is really good.

The decor feels like a crab boil on the beach with red checkered tablecloths, bright fiestaware, and streaming lobster pots. It was perfect on a rainy, unseasonably cold June day.

The service was good. The wait staff clearly knew the menu and could make recommendations. We got refills and check-ins enough but not too much.

The food was great. My California daughter loved her fish tacos, though they are a slightly different style than what we are used to from the other coast. My husband thought the first and chips were great--the batter on the fish fries up incredibly light and crispy. It was also delicious. I had clam chowder because nothing more classically Bostonian than clam chowder on a cold gray day. The fresh clam flavor shines and it was excellent. I loved it and would get that again anyday!

Needs renovation, but seafood is top notch. Try the whole belly fried clams.

get the lobster roll warm style. The lobster is so tender and sweet and off the charts good

Mediocre food for an exorbitant price. Mediocre service.

Good seafood dinner with lot of lobster, fish and other seafood dishes. I had the baked haddock and my friend had the stuffed lobster, both were tasty. Overall great service but dishes are pretty pricy, especially the lobster dishes, definitely way above market grocery prices. The restaurant is big and there's a big parking lot, so definitely pluses in Cambridge.

I had the crawfish boil appetizer and it was absolutely outstanding. Spicy, with a hint of star anise, and cooked perfectly. My wife had the fish tacos and they were great, very fresh tasting.

The server was very nice; attentive and very knowledgeable.

The gluten free menu doesn't exist anymore despite what the website says.

Overly priced for amount of food received. Go to Tony's Clam at Wollaston Beach

Very disappointing seafood for Boston area. Server was friendly enough but he botched up the check and it took awhile to sort it out.

It's fine. The food is OK, as are the drinks. It hasn't really changed much in ages, but still probably your best option in an area that doesn't have much.

Tasty lobsters and other seafood in a casual setting

We love this place. Since they reopened post Covid we ve had several excellent experiences mostly sitting outdoors. Great seafood and sushi! I recommend going midweek though you ll have better service. We went Friday of Labor Day and they were definitely overwhelmed. I ll still give them 5 stars as that was not the norm there.

Very good lobster roll! Very family friendly as the kids can check out the lobsters in the tank and the noise level was loud enough to dampen the random kids squealing :)

Great food but feels a bit to main stream for Boston

Great place for seafood, some of the best in the area. Also a good bar ti hang out with friends

Super long wait after ordering but the food was decent enough. Nothing amazing but not bad.

I don't understand the good reviews for this place. This is mediocre at best. The fried chicken is stale and overly greasy, the sweet potato fries are soggy and disgusting.
The ceviche is at minimum C+, providing no palate, simply a one flavor meal. They gave 5 chips to eat this with.
The crab cake is GREASY, I have never had a crab cake this greasy and full of half crab half filler, no chunks of crab. For the price of this I could go anywhere better . The crab cake is GREASY and covered in a bread crumb outer shell that tastes like pan fried sadness
Heck I could get trader Joe's Crab cakes from the freezer and have them be better!
I am appalled at the food here. The whole idea that this place is a local favorite astounds me. Truly.

The food was not bad, but was definitely on the pricy side of things. The atmosphere was nice but I can't really see anything special about this place. 3 stars, not great, but not bad.

Excellent quality seafood, wide variety, generous portions

Best seafood place around! Lots of options lots of oyster options! Great Raw Bar! And all sorts of seafood specials Beyond Compare! Best of all awesome creme brulee!

I picked up food for someone and it was my first time inside. Great looking place inside.

Our server was amazingly nice and the food was fresh and delicious it is worth every penny!

Crab cakes were not tasty but the Cole slaw was good. My waiter made me a whiskey sour with egg whites in it - surprisingly good!

Came for chowder. Clam chowder contains swine, and they will not remove it. When asked about other creamy soup options, directed us to a stew (not creamy or chowdery at all, and contained beef instead of pork). Smaller-sized lobster roll for about $25. Won't even refill sodas despite $3.50 price tag. The two of us left over $50 poorer with a small and average quality meal...and still hungry.

Why this place can't offer a non-pork chowder is beyond me. Pork and seafood do not (have to) mix. Just about any other restaurant happily serves a seafood-only chowder...

Great for families with little kids. The lobster tank is a big hit. Lots of room.

The reason why I'm rating this restaurant 3 stars was the service not the food. We sat at the bar- at the end of our meal we overheard the bartenders make comments about how we were only going to leave a $15-$20 tip because of how expensive the food is (I've been here numerous times & know the price of the menu) That was definitely not the case. But instead of leaving a hefty tip we only left 18% because of how uncomfortable they made us feel.

On the other hand Great food! The oysters were fresh, delicious and perfectly shucked (not any shells). The grilled clams were amazing! They were juicy and perfectly cooked. The steamers were clean and tasteful. The wood grilled lobster something worth trying-but I still prefer steamed. The 2x different chowders were more of a soup than a traditional thicker chowder. Good flavor but not my favorite. Lastly the lobster &corn fritters were awesome- fluffy and light and the dipping sauce was on point. All in all great seafood restaurant

Fresh delicious seafood, appetizers, and great service.

Food is truly love here. Best food, great people, amazing atmosphere, and well managed. Given the staff has some of the lowest turnover over the last decade, I think speaks volumes in terms of how wonderful Summer Shack is.

This place is pricey, but totally worth it if you want some good seafood. $45 may seem like a lot but it's totally worth it for the broiled lobster; I've had a lot of lobster and this is far and away the best I've ever had. Also great selection of fresh oysters they were all good and had 6 types on offer. My favorite boston area seafood place.

Our favorite seafood restaurant is Summer Shack. Lobster and clams we all love lots of outdoor seating. Large menu. Great service and friendly staff. I highly recommend it.

Photo shows grilled scallops and shrimp - cooked perfectly.

We came here on a Friday night for Restaurant Week. So it was $33 for a three course meal. My family ordered the sampler app which was just the SMALLEST oyster, a shrimp, and clam ceviche that was all onion and lime basically. I got the lobster potstickers which were actually pretty tasty! The New England boil was a bit over boiled? My shrimp scampi was good but nothing memorable. They ran out of apple crisp for our dessert so we all had brownie sundaes. Overall the food was good, but definitely did not meet expectations. Didn t even take pictures of the food because I didn t care too much for it. But the service was great though!

Nice big open room, with live lobsters and pots cooking in open space (but no bad smells), and pretty good lobster and seafood offerings at reasonable prices. Short walk from Alewife T Station

Mediocre minus and overpriced food. And they were late with their order - I had to wait 15 extra minutes.

Crab cakes is actually one crab cake. Fries were cold.
Meh.

Good oysters and lobster in a very casual New England setting.

It was my favorite when I worked in that area years ago. I went back there again last week and it is still the same - friendly staff, good quality food!!!

Food was mediocre at best. Not the place to go for seafood in Boston. I've had better food at red lobster.

Deck dining in the summer of al fresco was great at Summer Shack. Eating seafood outside felt perfect.

I had the fish and chips. The fish was a single huge filet battered and fried. They only gave a small cup of tartar sauce, which wasn't nearly large enough and the fries were not very delicious. The atmosphere was good.

Always great food and awesome service. Get the Fisherman's Brew!

The snow crabs were better then ever .
I don't understand that I need to travel to Boston for the best Canadian crab legs

Good drinks and tasty food. Staff has always been attentive and polite.

Its really a shack. Didnt enjoy the atmosphere at all.

This restaurant provides first-rate service as well as tasty menu. My favourite restaurant in the city. The food served quick and the rates were affordable. Will definitely recommend this spot.

Excellent service and consistent. A regular spot for me the last decade..

Amazing friendly staff with delicious fresh seafood!!

Excellent swimming pools for the lobsters! Amazing service and real southern hospitality here. Food is cooked perfectly and was very fresh.

I've eaten here before and enjoyed it, but the fried food was substandard. The clams were terrible, overcooked and greasy. Everything was way too salty. The fish was okay but not exceptional; a sub shop would have been better, faster, and half the price. The fish wasn't fresh. The slaw had a lot of caraway. The potato salad was both over and undercooked. The lemon tartar sauce had barely any lemon; it was mostly mayo. The service was slow. The cornbread had been reheated. There are many good places to get seafood, this isn't one of them.

If you love seafood there's no where better than Summer Shack. Delicious.

Good food went there for an event.
The scaloops ans shimp were good, as was the blueberry pie.
Nice people.

However, don't be in a hurry they are a bit slow

Had some seafood here with my coworkers a few weeks back! Haven't had it in a while and it was a great reintroduction to the taste again. Will be back to try the lobster soon!

The swordfish skewers we amazingly tasty, especially with the sauce. I regret waiting so long to visit this restaurant, I'll definitely be back to try out more of the menu options!

Go there for lunch often, food is great, always fresh, and service is great.

The pan seared lobster is the next level for a lobster lover.

Great place. Fast, friendly service. Food is great. Prices are high, however well worth it.

The forever from are like new England poutine... Amazing

From the outside it looks bad but from the inside its awesome

Great kid friendly place. Good seafood selection and the food is delicious.

Large selection of great seafood, raw bar, decent beer and wine selection, good for large groups and kids, decent service, and accessable by the T. This is my go to place for large holiday get togethers. It's kind of a Cambridge institution. They accept all the usual credit cards. It's a seafood restaurant, so it's not inexpensive. Plates average $22 and up.