Ipswich Clambake

Food mediocre. Overpriced for quantity. Had the shrimp/​scallop combo small. In my opinion, 16.50 is too much for the three small shrimp. The men’s restroom was not handicapped accessible, and I’ve never seen so many flies in my life. In addition there was insufficient toilet paper in both restrooms and we were there early in the day. No excuse.

With a name like Ipswich Clambake, I had pretty high expectations as we’ve eaten seafood at some great restaurants in Ipswich.
The Good:
Service was good. The place was clean and décor was appropriate. The dishes we ordered were cooked correctly (i.e. not overcooked, came out hot as they were made, and the pasta was properly cooked al dente).
The Bad:
The food had absolutely no taste. It wasn’t bad, but completely bland. It was really kind of strange.
Clam Chowder: I’ve had some great clam chowder in New England so I’m not sure where «award winning» came from. Very few clams, lots of potatoes. The consistency was right, but there was zero flavor. Kind of like a cream broth with potatoes.
Steamers: Again, cooked perfectly, but ZERO flavor. I’ve always cooked steamers with beer (generally stout), perhaps some tomatoes and other fun stuff, but these tasted like nothing. Worse, the melted «butter» they gave was basically that fake butter/​oil combo mix which also had no flavor.
Mussels: Garlic and White wine was nearly non-​existent. You would kind of expect to see pieces of garlic in the broth. Even the bread had little taste (generally I’m used to garlic bread with this dish). Even the remaining broth had little flavor.
Lobster Mac and Cheese: Was just «meh». Very little lobster and not a huge amount of flavor you generally expect when you properly mix in some sharp cheeses. At least the pasta was cooked correctly.
Seafood Casserole: Same as above. Breadcrumbs were pretty salty, but nothing mixed in.
It’s kind of odd since I wanted to give the place higher stars. If they could fix the taste of the food, it could easily get 4 or more stars, but I’ve simply never eaten anywhere with absolutely ZERO flavor. I gave it 2 stars since our meals were cooked right and the service was good.
Hopefully they are reading these reviews as it appears I’m not the only one who found very little flavor in their dishes. If they can find some better recipes and teach the chefs how to prepare them, it could certainly be more of a gem. Until then we won’t be back as it’s not cheap.

Came in just for the chowder and was not impressed was filled with potatoes and many of them were not cooked that well. The flavor of the chowder was decent, but on top of the potato problem there are very few clams in it. The staff was nice and the menu looked like it had good option, but if they parade having world famous chowder that is not that great o don’t feel confident trying to explore more.

Service was outstanding shrimp crab claws and oysters are ½ off from 2 to 4. Come early because the bar fills up. This restaurant is clean with great food

I went there in a recommendation and was very disappointed. I ordered caesar salad, oysters, and a cup of clam chowder. My husband got the fisherman’s platter (fired shrimp, clams, haddock, and french fries). He also ordered unsweetened ice tea. His ice tea came sweetened; the wrong bag had been hooked up to the wrong line.
The bartender was nice; new to the area so we chatted with him a little. The food came out quick enough and hot enough but one of my Oysters was so bad I couldn’t eat it and the same for most of my husbands clams. The grease on the fried food also tasted a little old.
I will say the clam chowder was very good.
The atmosphere was a little strange we sat at the bar, which almost seemed like sitting at a counter in a diner rather than a bar.
It isn’t any place I would recommend or go back to.

I’ve eaten here three times. Each time I go I’m hoping it will be better than the previous visit… and it never is. Their food is mediocre and the portions are small. Their clam strips are a mushy mess — I have yet to get them cooked halfway decent here. The fish and chips might as well be from a TV dinner — they give you three nugget sized pieces for $ 14. Their clam chowder has no seasoning, it tastes like cream soup with an occasional clam. Even their coleslaw is watery. There are other, better seafood places in the area, don’t waste your time here.

I feel the low reviews are justified. Everything I ordered, specifically all the seafood in the fisherman’s platter, was tasteless. For the $ 26 price, ¾ of the platter were french fries that were just as bland as the seafood. The portion size was meager (I think there were a total of 3 scallops.), but at least they threw in a bunch of gross french fries that gave the impression that the customer was getting some value out of their dollar if you happened to be getting take out.
The final straw was biting into an $ 11 cod fillet sandwich (a bunch of tasteless french fries included) that made me yearn for the $ 3.69 Wendy’s Premium Cod Fillet sandwich I should have gotten instead (there’s a Wendy’s not 15 seconds from here). I mean, do they purposeful not give any flavor to their food? I won’t be going back! Licking sweat off your arm leaves almost a better taste in your mouth than their food (I’m serious… I just compared flavors, and it was a close call).

I went for the first time a week or two back. me and my friend (The Worlds Strongest Man) Ted Arcidi went for lunch. They hired a new chef, and he came out to our table to greet us. Very nice guy. The food was top notch. Ted said it was a huge improvement since the last guy (chef) was let go (or he quit). Everything was fresh (Oysters on ice, huge belly clams, etc) and the manager is a great girl, also came to our table to make sure we were happy. Our waitress (wish I remembered her name) was awesome as well… cant wait to go back… A new fave (as long as they keep this up)…

What a hidden gem! My friend visited the Ipswich Clambake last night for dinner and I’m so glad we did because its our new favorite seafood place!
We were greeted by a very friendly hostess/​waitress and seated prompted. We loved the décor. It had the feeling of being down at the Cape without having to drive all the way down there. Nice accents of dark oak tables, fish tanks and blue walls make a calming environment. We started off with the Bacon wrapped scallops which were perfectly cooked. The bacon was nice and crispy and the scallops were tender and perfectly cooked. My girlfriend loved the clam chowder. It was thick and creamy and seasoned just right.
For entrees I ordered their new Mahi Mahi fish tacos and OMG, it was delectable! Soft flour taco shells, the fish was cooked perfect and had a nice kick of spice to it but then the pineapple salsa paired perfectly with the spice to give a bit of a cool down. My friend had the lobster roll which was plentiful (lots of claw meat) and had a nice light coating of mayo.
She had the rum specialty drink which she loved even though she doesn’t care for banana liqueur. The banana was very faint and gave it a little something so we were glad she tried it as it was. I had the moscato off the menu and it was great partner to my fish tacos and scallops.
Through the entire time we were there the waitstaff was very attentive, friendly and personable. The chef, Derek, (recently came over from the Bedford Village Inn) was checking in with tables to see if people were happy with their dishes. This is the mark of a prideful chef and one who really cares about what his customers like. He told me they just added this mahi mahi taco and I conveyed it was a very good choice!
We will definitely be back. Between the food Derek cooked and the outstanding service from our waitress, Leah, we were blown away but this unseeingly outstanding restaurant in Manchester.
Oh and side note… they are currently constructing an outside deck for outside seating!

The wait for the food is extremely long. The breading has ZERO flavor. The fish is NOT seasoned. The place has potential because the seafood is fresh but sadly a not flavorful dish for a high price is disappointing. Meh… Try at own risk.

I’m going to preface this review by saying that I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for 12 years and I’m typically one to give a place a second chance if I wasn’t dazzled the first time. I will not be giving this place a second chance.
There are plenty of 5 star reviews for this place and I just don’t understand it at all. I know it’s Manchester and there’s a serious lack of seafood joints, but this place warrants the drive to Nashua to go to Surf rather than pop over to Second Street for this stuff. Our server was pleasant, she was doing her job just as she was supposed to. We ordered haddock hush puppies and a cup of chowder to start; hush puppies were pretty good. The sign out front boasted that their chowder was award winning… how? It was potatoes, clams, and cream. No seasonings in any way, shape, or form. There was a clam belly roll on the specials menu, so my fiancé ordered that. He almost puked when he started eating it. The bellies tasted like they were either on the verge of going bad or had been frozen for way too long. His onion rings had no flavor, either. I had the clam strip plate with fries; once again, no seasoning on anything. The oil in the fryers must have just been changed because I despise the taste of fresh fry oil, it tastes like petroleum. The clam strips were ok, kind of tough, no flavor to the breading. The fries weren’t anything to write home about. I’m a sucker for cole slaw, but this stuff was cabbage, carrots, mayo and water (I can only assume it was watery mayo) without seasoning of any kind. Do they not have any containers of seasonings in the kitchen? No salt, pepper, Old Bay, paprika, onion powder, etc???
I do have to say the draft beer selection was nice, quite a few IPAs with an IPA tasting of all 4 on draft. Good move since IPAs are the hot thing right now.
Nice atmosphere, but other than that, I can’t say that it’s worth the money. The people that give this place 5 stars need to expand their horizons and try a seafood joint that has real, fresh seafood delivered daily — it’s really the only way.

Ipswitch has the best service in Manchester the live music on Friday night is amazing. I love the steak tips and the variety of beer on tap.

Best seafood in the area, and a great atmosphere for hanging out, meeting great people, and watching a game. Warning: The tuna sliders are addictive.
I will be back as often as possible, especially when local musician Chad LaMarsh is playing. Great entertainer, and incredibly attractive women seem to follow him from venue to venue.

This was the first time ordering from here. I ordered takeout — the fisherman’s platter for my husband, the seasonal salad with cranberries for me and a side of onion rings. I don’t eat seafood so it was nice to see they had options for people that may not like seafood.
I brought the food home and immediately my husband said «this is really good». I tried the onion rings and french fries and agreed! The only drawback was the salad. It was $ 7.50 and I felt it wasn’t enough for the price. If a side was included or bread if would have made more sense to charge that amount of money.
Overall, we’ll be back but I won’t order the salad.

Just spent an afternoon here to watch some football. A friend requested it and I’m so glad he did. Though the name infers seafood, which looked and smelled awesome, I had wings. They were great and served fast.
What a huge improvement over the old joint that occupied this location!!! Hip, cool, tons if huge TVs for the game, great bar. I was impressed with the place, the waitresses and food.

I went after seeing their ad in the Hippo newspaper. I was low on cash that day and needed a good deal They were advertising 25 cent wings and half price raw bar. The place is new, very clean, and kind of modern décor — very nice.
I sat at the bar where Audra, the bartender, took very good care of me. She was pleasant, but not overbearing. I ended up having 12 shimp for 50 cents each — a great deal. The wings were kind of gooey, as expected, but fresh and big. Again, a great deal. Then I added 3, 16 ounce Bud lite drafts at $ 2 each — bringing my mini-​meal (12 fresh and juicy cocktail shrimp with lemons and sauce, 8 chicken wings — 4 buffalo, 4 bbq, and 3 draft beers) total to $ 15 — not bad!
I was very impressed with manager, a young guy who was changing the beer taps in front of me. He had tossed me some extra napkins earlier when he saw the mess I was making with the wings. We had a nice chat and he exhibited a kind of low keyed professionalism I find very admirable. He reminded me of the help I met years ago in Toronto, Canada, at Allen’s Restaurant, owned by legendary restaurateur John Maxwell (
), who gets my vote for top restaurant owner/​operator on the planet.
I’ve read some other reviews and it seems clear this place is going through some growing pains, and the results have been mixed for some customers. I had a great experience, but will go back and dive deeper into the menu and report back.
One appetizer, Hush Puppies, for $ 4.50, is deep fried chunks of haddock. A customer near me said they were super. After 8 pm, these are half price, or only $ 2.25. This has to be one of the better deals in the state of NH!
Hopefully, they will work out the kinks in the system and be successful They have a great location, and a another good seafood place is needed.

I almost didn’t go here for dinner, because the reviews were so horrible… I guess it was a combination of a lust for fried clams and a morbid curiosity to see how bad a place could truly be.
I can vouch for it: this place is great! Nearly empty on a Monday night (thanks, 1-​star reviews), warm décor, friendly staff. The pint of fried whole belly clams was too big for this big guy, but the ¾ serving I ate was terrific: fresh, juicy, well-​fried, crispy but letting the focus stay on the clams themselves.
I asked the bartender about the bad reviews, and he was aware of them. He said they had a soft opening and it took them awhile to hit their stride. Consider it hit.
Didn’t have room for dessert but the coconut sorbet in. Coconut shell sounded intriguing.
This is a place to keep in business! Bound to get popular, but for now, enjoy a great seafood restaurant that you’ll have nearly all to yourself!

First visit was decent. Food was ok prices ok, service was good.
Second visit, however, has made it so that I will probably not go back. Nothing to do with the food, all to do with the service.
I went in with a party of 6 late on a Friday night for dinner with my wife’s family. She had an aunt in town and they wanted seafood, so thought this would be perfect since we thought things were good the first time.
It was a little busy and the host seemed reluctant to seat us. He said they had a wedding party that they were expecting just then, but said they would put together a table for us in 10 – 15 minutes. 30 minutes went by and we were patiently waiting, not a single word or even acknowledgement. We asked once or twice how much longer it would be from other staff and were told they were «setting up the table now». We finally started to get a little impatient and asked the host again, who told us that it was going to be a while.
It took a lot of restraint not to make a scene in the restaurant for this lack of respect and extremely poor service. Not only that, but the supposed wedding party never showed, and it seemed as though they were turning people Away, so not sure what the deal was. I guess they just did not want our business. Not to mention that we were sitting there with my wife’s parents and aunts who are older and really did not appreciate the complete lack of attention from the staff.
The restaurant is nice, but with service like that it is not worth it. I would not bother going if it was any more that a couple of people, and even then I would be reluctant. Poor service is one thing, but when you can’t even get them to give you any service after waiting so long, that is ridiculous. Hope for their sake they can turn it around,

Yuck. What a major disappointment. The décor is nice, but a huge bar almost overtakes the place. It was dinner time but the place was empty. It should have been a warning.
My daughter had a cup of chowder which was «fine», as was the service. We split a Fisherman’s Platter and it was very, very bad. Huge bellied gritty greasy clams, extremely small tasteless scallops, shrimp that tasted as if hey had been frozen, then boiled, then fried. Weird haddock fish sticks rounded out the mess on the plate. The cole slaw tasted sour. The fries were the best thing and even that was a stretch.
The menu is very limited (no fried haddock sandwich?) and what they do offer they can’t even get right. The service was fine, but the server should have realized we were unhappy when we left most of our food on the plate or should I say bowl? Who serves fried seafood in a bowl?
Don’t bother going, they shouldn’t be there very much longer. $ 33 for disgust and empty bellies.

Ipswich Clambake (formerly Clam King) opened recently on Second Street, under new ownership. The place was renovated from a very casual 1980s style takeout restaurant into a modern and casual New England style seafood restaurant and tavern (Castaway’s Tavern). The dining room is one long open area with hardwood floors, rows of wood tables and high top tables and a long bar with seating. The walls are freshly painted ocean blue and there are oceanscape paintings on the walls. There are 11 flat screen TVs for your view pleasure and light reggae music was playing in the background. Upon entering the restaurant, there are blue live lobster tanks near the front door.
The menu offerings consist of fried seafood plates (haddock, shrimp, scallops, calamari, clam strips, whole belly clams), appetizers (steamers, mussels, lollipop chicken wings, bacon wrapped scallops), lobster rolls, cod sandwich, burgers, chowder, salads, coconut lobster, beef tips, Cajun sea scallops, broiled haddock and a few desserts (just opened). The bar offers several beers on tap and bottled and cocktails too.
I stopped in here for an early dinner recently. The place was not busy and I was seated immediately. The staff here were wearing black uniforms, some wore black pants and others black shorts. For a starter, the cup of Clam Chowder ($ 4.50) had a mix of chopped clams, potato cubes,& parsley in a light cream broth, oyster crackers on the side. The cup was on the small side and the chowder was good. For dinner, the Ipswich Belly Clams ($ 13.95) with homemade onion rings and Cole slaw was served on a rectangle plate, the portion just the right size. The whole belly clams were soft and moist and deep fried in a light flour & cornmeal breading, not greasy. The onion rings were lightly breaded and deep fried, not too greasy, some breading falling off. The Cole slaw in a small plastic side cup was crunchy & creamy with chopped cabbage & carrots.
After I finished my food, the waitress asked if I was all set. I quickly asked about desserts, but was told they just opened and the dessert choices were a lemon dessert and brownies. I will get dessert next time. Overall, I thought the food I had was pretty good and the dinner reasonably priced. The chowder portion was small for the price though. The service was adequate and the food served in timely fashion.

(3.65÷5.00)