Durgin-Park

I got the spaghetti and meatballs along with the Boston crème dessert. the pasta came with a salad, which was drenched in Italian dressing. pasta was ok, a bit over cooked in my opinion. the Boston crème was good I would recommend — not too sweet and not too heavy.

While in town visiting me, my Dad brought me to one of his old favorite spots in Boston. I came with an open-​mind, as my Dad is a foodie such as myself and rarely misses the mark. We came to Durgin Park on a Tuesday night for dinner. The restaurant was empty except for 2 other small tables. An off-​night, oh well.
Our waitress was friendly and took our order promptly. I ordered the scallops and my Dad got his favorite from there: the prime rib.
To start, we each order a cup of chowder. It was average for Boston standards. A little too salty in my opinion.
As for the main dishes, my scallops looked beautiful but were slightly undercooked (I know it’s a delicate balance between over and under cooked scallops). The mashed potatoes were a nice consistency but a little cold. The seaweed salad on top of the scallops was a strange addition but I was hungry and ate it anyways.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed with Durgin Park. Seems more like a tourist destination restaurant near Faneuil Hall.

I’ve been to Durgin Park several times over the years, and I’ve never been disappointed. I’ve always loved the place, maybe for the atmosphere more than the food (I don’t think anyone comes here expecting to be wowed by the food).
On a recent trip to Boston for a conference, I ate at the bar for the first time ever. It was my first time back since 2005. I ordered a cup of clam chowder and the standard sized prime rib. The prime rib was awesome, just really perfect in every way. I used to think you couldn’t go wrong ordering prime rib any place because all a restaurant needs to do is cook it properly, low and slow. It doesn’t have to be very high-​quality beef if it’s done right. But lately (I mean maybe last 15 years or so) I’ve been getting some really bad ones sometimes. Strange cuts sometimes that don’t even look like prime rib, dry and tough cuts sometimes that are only tender on the edges near the fat, etc. So I was so happy to see that perfect beautiful cut, cooked just right, the perfect size and shape. And it tasted as good as it looked.
The clam chowder wasn’t good at all – salty and starchy and straight from a can I’m quite sure. But that’s OK. I actually had a still-​warm takeout container of a cup of lobster bisque from Boston Chowda Co. with me so I finished that instead of the clam chowder from Durgin which I abandoned after a few spoonfuls.
The bartender was very friendly and professional. The people on both sides of me at the bar were friendly. And the John Durgin ale (made for the restaurant by Harpoon) was really great.
I had a great time there like I always have in the past. I’m glad some good things don’t change.

So we totally stopped in here simply for the Baked Beans. We got a few odd looks, but I’d heard so much about their Boston Baked Beans that I perserved. The bar is located on the ground floor. Dinner is served upstairs. We were seated at an adorable table covered with red and white checkers. Cornbread comes out for you to munch on while you wait. Ummm… yes please!
The Boston Baked Beans were the best we had in all of Boston. They were slightly smoky with a hint of beer flavor underneath the signature sweetness. I really appreciated the complex flavors and it made all of the other baked beans pale in comparison. We also enjoyed a Boston Crème Pie Martini. Yum!
The servers were so great here. It is much bigger than I anticipated. Great for large groups!

I met another couple here for a drink, and I liked the vibe of this place. It was a classic dive bar with history. We didn’t eat anything but the drinks were served quickly and we appropriate price/​taste wise! I would come back if I was in the area. Lots of space and lots of history.

Disgusting. I should have known not to eat here, as a man exciting the restaurant yelled out how terrible it was as i was entering the place. Unfortunately, I failed to heed his warning. And I never give 1 star reviews because there’s usually something positive to put a spin on. The place just isn’t clean. The baked beans in molasses are gross. Thanksgiving sandwich was like dried out leftovers slopped onto a roll. I know it’s been around forever and is somewhat of a historic restaurant but that’s the only reason a sane person would ever dine here.

We went here just before Christmas with family — mostly because they could give us a large table together (17 of us) and took reservations. Food was surprisingly good — though not great. Service was excellent — they have definitely toned down the «salty server» shtick — though that could be because it was a slow night.

Went here with family. Service was good and staff nice. The prime rib i got was excellent, french dip was excellent… and the clam chowder. Wow! Only complaints… our food didn’t cone out all at once. Great, fun nostalgic place for adults and kids. This place is a landmark in Boston and we enjoyed it tremendously. Make sure you go early or make reservations… this place gets crowded fast!

I ate here over the summer with my sister and her friends who were just visiting for the weekend. They heard about Durgin’s steaks & I can you tell you now, the steaks her are prime. They’re generous portions and cooked to perfection. Oh-​so tender. I wasn’t that hungry so I just got fish chowder and some fries. Fish chowder? Underwhelming. Under-​salted. Fries? Good and crisp, like I like ‘em. My sister got the mussels and they were pretty flavorful.
I’d like to give Durgin Park another chance, hopefully when I have more of an appetite.

I’ll be the first to admit. We went to this place rather wasted from SantaCon. One person in our party was pretty much completely passed out at the table during the entire dinning experience. We kept poking at him and offering him food to make sure he was still alive, so don’t worry.
The food actually started quite good, with appetizer of fried calamari that was pretty tasty. There was just the right amount of breading and the picked peppers on the side added some contrast. The shrimp scampi appetizer was also quite good, but the portion was rather tiny with only 5 shrimps. I also enjoyed their garlic fries. It wasn’t mealy and it was crispy, just the way fries should be!
Then things kind of went down hill.
The clam chowder was rather bland. In a city like Boston, clam chowder needs to be good. I ended up mixing in the left over shrimp scampi juice into my clam chowder to give it some flavor.
We also had the hamburger with bacon. This was also rather bland and tasteless. The hamburger meat didn’t seem like it was seasoned. The only thing saving it was the bacon.
Finally, someone got the pesto penne pasta with grilled chicken. The chicken had good seasoning but was rather dry, and the pesto pasta was bland.
I wanted to give this place two stars, however the service salvages another star for this place. There was only one server for the entire place on a very very busy night with drunken Santas and scantily clad elf girls pouring in all night. The server managed to keep our waters filled, and our orders coming. One person knocked over their drink twice and they came to clean it up. Our server even rigged up a make shift to go jug of water for our passed out friend to take with him.
Overall, this place gets 2 stars for the food, but 3 stars for the admirable service on a particularly crazy night.

I’ve been to this establishment several times because it seems to be the only place in the area where I can get a decent salad that has the name Greek attached to it. For the most part it’s good but I just don’t like feeling slighted on the ingredients or to think that they deliberately skimp to save money. That is one sure way to lose me: Stripping the value from something that might otherwise be OK. For the most part it’s a good experience but it can be different with each visit. It’s nice in the summer because they have patio seating that is great for people watching.
On my last visit there was this screaming stupid music. I understand you’re trying to make it fun but seriously. The volume on the music alone is enough to make me never want to go back. If you want to cater to all age groups, this is not the thing to do. If you only want millennial types coming in then have at it. I’m not going to be sitting across the table from my mate while having to yell to be heard. It’s ridiculous. Here’s a rule people. You play the music for your patrons, not for yourselves.
The only reason they’re getting 3 stars is atmosphere and occasionally hitting it right on the salad. Personally, I probably wouldn’t consider anything else on the menu. For the most part I think restaurants in Faneuil leave a lot to be desired.
This place makes me think of one thing I would like to share with fellow Unilocalers. When you take photos in an establishment, please include shots of things other than your food. Nobody really needs to see it because it doesn’t say a lot. Maybe a few interior shots mixed in would be a good thing. Seeing the physical plant is way more helpful than looking at your plate of food, especially if it’s half eaten. Thank you :)

Really expensive and slow waitresses… I asked for the bill, after 25 mins I got the bill…
I ordered a Coke and fish and chips… No refill was offered or given…
Update, the manager Patricia sent me apologies for the day. That’s fine for me.
Everybody can make mistakes, and there is a busy place…

Food = delicious
Service = awful
The fish & chips with garlic fries are a must! My husband had pot roast also great. We went on a Saturday evening — there was more than one table open. The hostess asked if we were there for dinner, we said yes. A busboy came over immediately with water and cornbread. We didn’t see anyone else for 20 minutes. The bus boy kept checking on us and trying to find us a waiter. When we finally got served, it was like nothing had happened.

This most recent trip to Boston, we decided to go to Durgin Park because we wanted to relive our childhoods. I’ll explain — growing up in MA, a local tradition was to have franks and beans for Saturday night supper. Ask any of your classmates what Saturday night supper was and more often than not, the answer was franks and beans.
During our previous visit to Durgin Park, we had considered ordering that but instead opted for other menu items. This time, we decided to have a late breakfast/​early lunch and went there when they opened at 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday.
We were immediately seated and our server was prompt getting to our table. She was a middle aged lady and very clearly a native Bostonian. When it was time to order, we noticed franks on the menu but it was in a section of entrees that said all the entrees came with potatoes and a vegetable. My husband asked if we could have franks and beans and pointed out what was on the menu. She said that was what the franks came with. When we told her we wanted to relive our childhoods, we ended up having a nostalgic conversation with her with all of us talking about how that’s what our mothers served us on Saturdays.
You can get the franks either grilled or boiled. I chose grilled while my husband chose boiled. When they came to our table, we were both surprised to see 3 franks on the plate! A normal Saturday supper was 1 frank!
It was good to have a trip down memory lane! My franks were perfectly grilled and, as usual, the baked beans were awesome. I still think that Durgin Park has the best baked beans. Here is a clip from «Bizarre Foods» (there’s nothing «bizarre» about baked beans, LOL!) The only thing I take exception in the video is this — Durgin Park existed a long time before 1927!
Do give Durgin Park a try when you are in Boston! When we took our daughter there 2 years ago, she became the 4^th generation in our family to have eaten there. Next up — getting the grandkids there to make it 5 generations.

Went here for my sister’s 21^st birthday. Our server was Kevin. We had a big party. He did alright I feel as if he was overwhelmed. I think for such a big party next time put your more experienced server. After a while they noticed he couldn’t handle our large party all by himself so the sent someone else to help. Other than that the were cool. The bartender that nice was alright at one point we had to return a drink cause it tasted like water.
Food was delicious everything I tasted was good. I ordered the lobster Mac and cheese and also ate some of my friends shrimp scampi pasta. The lobster Mac was way better in my opinion and she agreed. The mussels were delicious and the sauce was incredible.
Staff overall was great they did accommodate us and we’re cool with music they let us jam to this little radio in our own corner of the restaurant.
I enjoyed my time here I would come back we were the last to leave the restaurant.

The Yankee Pot Roast was very good. Mashed potatoes and gravy are just like homemade. Potatoes definitely made with real cream and butter. The cut of meat wasn’t the most tender, but had great flavor. The sweet squash purée is a great compliment to the savory flavor of the gravy. Service was EXTREMELY SLOW, but they were very apologetic and made it up to me with fresh, just out of the oven,
Corn bread. As good as my Grandmother’s.

It’s been 20 years since I’ve been here and not much has changed, including the waitresses, which is part of the charm … Ask for Gina. I remember great prime rib, but decided on a French dipped sandwich made of the same beef and it was delicious ($ 15). This is one of those historic restaurants that hopeful will be around a long time.

We ate outside on the patio. At first it took about 15 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us sitting there. Once a waitress finally came over to us the service was pleasant.
My wife and I both had the fish and chips. I must say this was one of the BEST fish and chips I’ve ever had. The batter was amazing! Some fish batters are too crunchy this had the right amount of crunch and a delicious flavor. I also enjoyed the garlic fries that came with the meal. If in Boston again I would definitely go here again.

I went here because my Mom used to talk about going here when she was a kid. She would be 87 now, if she hadn’t passed away. I had also always heard that it was a tourist trap. Mom would talk about the Schrod and the Indian Pudding. I went there with a buddy that was visiting from N.C. I found out that they have been there since 1827, long before they opened Fanuel Hall as a real tourist trap.
In honor of my Mom, I had the Schrod and the Indian Pudding. My friend also had the Schrod. And to be totally honest with you, it was the best fish that I have had in a long time.
The Indian Pudding was okay, but I really don’t have anything to compare it with.
I am looking forward to going again sometime soon.
Plus, I got to meet Ben Franklin.

I think you have to grow up coming here to love this place… it’s seems like the only people that really like this place are locals. The staff was nice enough, but this is certainly not exactly fine dining.
Meals are rather over priced for what they are. But on a positive note the beer list is a decent one!