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Union Oyster House, Boston, MA

Photo: Seasider53, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Eat & DrinkFoodie FavoriteHistory BuffIconic

Union Oyster House

41 Union St · Boston, MA

Why you should go…

Serving food since 1826, Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in the country known to have run continuously, set in a building from around 1716 one block from Faneuil Hall. The oyster bar still sits in its original position, and Daniel Webster was a regular customer there. Before it was a restaurant, the future French king Louis Philippe lived upstairs teaching French, and the building is a National Historic Landmark.

  • #oyster bar
  • #seafood restaurant
  • #historic restaurant
  • #freedom trail

Good to know

General eat & drink guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Go early or go late

    The simplest way around a wait at a popular room is to sit down before the rush or after it.

  • Reservations open on a schedule

    Where bookings are taken, tables tend to be released a set number of days in advance, often at a fixed hour.

  • Menus move with the season

    Treat any dish you read about online as a maybe, not a promise, especially anything local and seasonal.

  • Ask what the place is known for

    Staff will point you at the thing worth ordering faster than any list will.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Union Oyster House, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Eat & Drink
    Foodie Favorite

    Faneuil Hall Marketplace & Quincy Market

    Free

    Historic 1742 marketplace packed with food stalls, street performers, shops, grab chowder where revolutionaries rallied.

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Old State House

    Under $25

    Tour Boston's oldest surviving public building, where the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony in 1776.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Revolutionary Spaces

    Under $25

    Boston's Old State House and Old South Meeting House, twin landmarks of the American Revolution.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Paul Revere House

    Under $25

    Walk through the North End home Paul Revere owned at the time of his midnight ride, built around 1680.

    0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Eat & Drink
    Iconic

    Cheers Beacon Hill

    $25–$50

    The real Beacon Hill bar whose exterior inspired the TV sitcom Cheers, tucked beneath the historic Hampshire House.

    0.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Eat & Drink
    Local Gem

    Samuel Adams Boston Brewery

    $25–$50

    Sam Adams' working Jamaica Plain brewery, with tours, tastings, and a look at small-batch experimental beers.

    4.0 mi awayMore like this