The Original Clam Tavern

The Original Clam Tavern is incredible. We go there a lot and we have never been close to being disappointed. The food is outstanding, the wait staff and service exceptional. Walking into The Clam Tavern is like walking into Cheers, they make you feel welcomed. Tony, the owner, is the ultimate host, he truly wants you to enjoy not only your dinner but everything that makes going out to dinner special. If you go to The Clam Tavern you will be a customer for life.

Came here with a friend from Maryland, who was a little hesitant to try the cab cakes. We were both amazed with the clams, scallops, and yes, even the crab cakes! Special thanks to Andrea for the greatest service, and Tony (the owner) for the warmest welcome; we felt like we were at home. Best restaurant from our Philly experience!

We there for the first time last week and it was great. I got stuffed mushrooms and a crab cake platter and it was delicious! The staff was also very pleasant… Will be back

Stumbled upon this place after nice Unilocal reviews. The menu is expansive but not overwhelmingly so. The atmosphere is homey with great cozy nooks. The service is wonderful and personal and genuine. Andrea is a gem who added to our overall experience. DO NOT miss the baked clams; and, the Veal & Lobster is life changing. I’m head over heels for this little gem!!!

Anniversary dinner with hubby. Still the best place for seafood. Love eating here. Place is consistently good, the staff is very friendly and they go out of their way for you.

I can’t even write a review to justify how very much I love this place. My Boyfriend and I go here all the time. We have NEVER been disappointed. The food is amazing and the service has always been unbelievable. The owner has been there every time we have gone. It’s almost like family. So much positive vibes! Everyone is friendly!!! We love it! The oysters are outstanding, lots of variety and always taste nice and fresh. Thank you Tony for your hidden Gem!!!

It’s our last night visiting Pennsylvania and I wanted to find a special place for dinner with my boyfriend. Let me mention that I have been a vegetarian for several years but I have kind of missed clams. I found this restaurant on Unilocal and the reviews made me want to come here for clams even more.
It’s a super fun, family environment. We were welcomed right away and our server was Lindsay. She was extremely helpful with suggestions on the menu, as well as things to do before we leave. The service was exceptional, and we had the chance to meet and chat with the owner. Everyone was so friendly here! We had several great ideas given to us by them for our last day tomorrow.
The food was incredible! We started with New England clam chowder and it was so flavorful and made my stomach smile. We also had the potato skins with crab which were topped with cheese. I ordered linguini with clams and my goodness!!! It tasted so much better than I remember. The clams were steamed perfectly and the sauce was flavorful and absolutely delicious. We took a chocolate peanut butter dessert back to the hotel with us and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Overall it was a perfect experience. I definitely recommend this place for people who are craving seafood. Thanks a lot everyone!

I was there one time with a very good friend of mind and totally enjoyed the all you could eat mussels on one night and another night I enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner that was superb!!!

I like the Clam… Having said that, tonight was disappointing. We sat at the bar while waiting for a table. Once seated, we waited at least twenty minutes for a server… And we had to ask for someone to take our order. No apology. Our server, Lizzie, was terrific once she was aware she had a table. We ordered oysters Rockefeller, a special… Quite good. Our entrees, crab imperial and stuffed shrimp were honestly too hot to eat, unlike the side dishes which were warm. I am hoping that we’ll have a better experience next time. Also I would think a better wine list

2^nd time here and still impressed! Friendly service, and quick! I had the pasta with crab meat, fresh perfect pasta, and more crab meat than I have ever gotten with this dish, my guy got the fried platter, it was light and airy not greasy at all.

Great local place to visit. Been there twice now and I really like it. Friendly service, very good food and just a fun experience. Great baked clams and I had the veal/​crab marsala — wonderful. I’ll go back again when in the PHL area for sure!

A great neighborhood bar and restaurant! The service and wait time is great! I will definitely come back!

Upon driving here, I asked my wife if were were in the right area because it’s smacked dab right in the middle of a neighborhood. House house house, bam — restaurant, more house and more house. There isn’t a parking lot for this place, so you will have to hunt to community and park in front of someone’s house (I would hate to live in this neighborhood because it’s not a place that’s really quiet.) Moving on —
Walked in and was surprised by how busy it is. Owner asked us how many, and we were seated within 5 – 10 minutes. I do recommend a reservation though, as I think we just got really lucky that a table got up right when we were coming through the door. Service was really nice. Everyone seems very family oriented and basically knew everyone. Well, I’m sure you don’t want me ranting about this and want to know about to food, so here goes:
Baked clams — First bite was without hot sauce. Ehhh, they were ok. After puting some hot sauce on it though, it was perfect.
Mussles in white sauce — these were great. Nice portion, mussles were decent size, and the sauce was very flavorful. If you order this, save some bread they give you to dip the sauce.
Strip Steak and Crab Imperial with a side of pasta — the steak was cooked perfect, but a tad on the bland side. I think it could have used a tad of seasoning and it would have been really good. The pasta was in the same sauce as the mussles. The sauce was great in the mussles, but I felt it to be a little bland with the pasta. I had to throw tons of Parmesan cheese with a dash of salt and pepper to give it some Oumph. The crab imperial was great though. There was barely any filler — not lump crab meat, but definitely stuffed with tons of shredded crab.
Salmon Oscar — this was my wife’s dish. The salmon’s skin was nice and crispy. They did an amazing job with this. There was also nice lumps of crab meat on top. I enjoyed having a taste of her meal.
Overall — I will be back. You get great service with really good food.

Was in PHL on business and picked this place off the Unilocal reviews and not too far from the Airport hotels. Wow this place was amazing! Food was fantastic and the service was super attentive and friendly. I will be going out of my way to eat here every time I travel to the area.

Delicious!
A solid neighborhood place serving great food with great service!
I like dining with the local crowd. And the Original Clam Tavern is excellent. Very friendly wait staff. Delicious and plentiful servings. My boyfriend and I shared the baked clams, beet salad, and tavern fries. He got a bowl of the New England clam chowder and it may have been the best ever! I felt at home even though I was just visiting town.

We went in tonight. I called earlier in the afternoon and it was iffy if we’d have a table. They were able to fit us in, and from what I could see, the restaurant wasn’t very busy when we arrived, but only slightly busier when we left.
The service was good, our server was kind and informative and had lots of patience with us. They kept bread on the table and quickly refilled if empty. We ordered an appetizer, I forgot what it was called, but it was bacon wrapped shrimp with a horseradish sauce. It was good, the bacon was a little too crispy, but still good. In my opinion, not actually worth the cost, I believe $ 10 for 4 shrimp.
We wound up sharing the appetizer, broiled combination platter and a fried platter. It wound up being the absolutely perfect amount of food for the 2 adults and 2 good eating kids. The broiled scallops were cooked perfectly and the clam on the broiled platter was good. The fried platter had a light and crispy coating, with wasn’t seasoned. We got fries and broccoli with one dish and a garlic and oil angel hair side with the broiled platter. One of my daughters loved the pasta and finished that off with some parmesan cheese!
Honestly, the meal was just good. It wasn’t amazing and the hubs and I were shocked at what high reviews this restaurant has. It’s not bad, by any stretch of the word, but is it a 5 star Unilocal restaurant– not in my opinion.

I was visiting and wanted something decent for dinner and I wasn’t up to head to Philly so I Unilocaled this place. I brought my family, and they not able to accommodate us on a Friday night. Apparently reservation was set for the night. The girl pointed us across the street and said, «They serve the same menu as ours.»
My mom and I had oysters and mussels. Wow! Fresh, Fresh, fresh, oyster were like $ 1.65 per, not bad! Compared to a South Street place? Mussel were much larger than other places I been too and sweet and succulent. It’s was yum!
My niece, had the chicken and waffle and the rest pasta. They were pleased. I had the steak sandwich. It was different yet I liked it.
I’d come back again.
Only draw back, food arrived late, only two waitress working that night. But you know, it wasn’t enough to hindrance to score it 4 Stars.

I’m a big fan.
I have been a delco resident for almost 9 years. Pretty mad it took me that long to find this spot.
Over past 3 months, we have dined here twice.
First. On the weekend get a reservation. You need one.
Second. The food is excellent.
Clams
Mussels
Shrimp lejon
All have been excellent. .
The bisque is off the charts good.
Crab imperial, crab cakes also just as good.
Each time I’ve been here service has been friendly.
The wife and I love this place.
We will be back. It’s almost a bit of a dive bar, which considering I grew up in Mayfair section of Philly. I am well versed in dive bars coming up with some surprising good eats.
Delco. Get here. It’s worth it

Few seafood joints can outdo these guys. And the prices are pretty reasonable.
Weird location in a weird neighborhood, but it’s worth the voyage.

Not bad, not great, I don’t know how I feel about this place anymore, it used to be a real treat to go here when I lived in Drexel Hill, it’s a divey bar/​restaurant a little dated the food is generally good. I go to the shore a lot, this reminds me of an off the beaten path shore restaurant that forgot to update the décor. It is a 3 – 4 all day long, I just don’t think it is a 5. The service is always good, I have had more good experiences than not so good with the food, but all that means is that they are on target, or average, not really exceeding my expectations. Maybe I am ordering the wrong things. I am not trying to be harsh, I go here every year or so for nostalgia with local friends, I used to go here once a month. In the past I feel the monthly visits were still a 4 maybe a 4.5 on a really good day.