If you’re visiting Boston, a must-see, albeit touristy, attraction is The Barking Crab located directly on the water in Fort Point Channel. Not your average clam shack, this casual seafood year-round hotspot boasts a funky nautical themed interior with wood burning stove. Fresh seafood is the focal point with items like Blue Point oysters on the half shell, lobster and crab dip, steamers, shrimp cocktails and Old Bay crawfish.

In the warmer months, the restaurant opens the back deck complete with picnic tables, but closes the area in the winter. The interior section offers private tables and a small bar, but the restaurant is anything but formal. Don a lobster bib and your server will present you with a plastic bucket to deposit the shells from the gargantuan legendary and signature Neptune platter, which comes complete with a two-pound lobster and a four-pound mixed crab bowl, corn on the cob and coleslaw. The lobster ravioli here just may be the best in the city. The Boston cream pie is the perfect ending here.

Kids love to come here for the fun atmosphere and parents love the $7 kids menu, which even includes desserts for tots under eight. Check out the website at barkingcrab.com.