The Daily Catch

First thing I will say is that the food was great. However, the food experience was ruined by several things. 1. The entire restaurant was filled with smoke. We were told that the smoke is an ongoing problem with the ventilation system. To try and minimize the smoke they opened the doors which then made it cold. At the end of the night, our clothes and coats were saturated with the smell of fried food. Literally need to have everything dry cleaned. 2. The staff was on the floor and swearing at each other. 3. The waiter was unable to tell us anything about the oysters except that they were from Maine. 4. Finally, I called to talk with the manager. I left my name and phone number for him to call me back to discuss our experience and he never bothered to return my call.
Overall, very disappointing especially as we were entertaining out of town guests.
We will not be back

If you come here and don’t get the squid ink pasta, you are wasting your time. It’s what they’re known for and it’s actually a pretty interesting experience! It’s thicker and more al dente than I’m used to but delicious nonetheless. I got the alfredo and was plenty satisfied. I will say, I came here on a Friday night around 7pm (prime dinner time) and it was dead. Like we were literally the only people in the place. So that struck me as odd, although I think their North End location is more popular. This place has solid pasta though, so no real complaints from me! Not amazing, mind blowing pasta, but definitely still good!

I hate to give this place a 1-​star rating since it used to be one of my favorites, but it seems the quality has fallen recently.
The squid ink pasta that was served was not the delicious homemade style they used to serve. Instead, it had the texture of low-​end supermarket pasta that was dyed black. The puttanesca was weak and had uninteresting flavor. The seafood tasted stale. To top it off, it was more expensive than the North End location.
I will not recommend this location. Try the North End one, (or maybe the Brookline one? I haven’t been there yet).

The monkfish marsala is the most strange and unpleasant dish I have ever tasted, and it was recommend by our waiter. We were only able to have a couple bites before deciding it would be left untouched for the rest of the night.

First I’ll go by saying, the food was great.
Having the clam chowder and calamari to start was perfect.
Only thing I really have to say, and the reason I’m only giving two stars is because the service was horrible.
Sitting at our table for our night out, we were surrounded by yelling and screaming fans by the bar, directly next to our table. Plus, children running around didn’t help either.
We came when it was not busy but yet our server only was at our table a total of three times for the whole evening. It was so brief, that he never even said his name.
If we go back, it would be take-​out.

Great wine selection, attentive service (though some 15 – 20 min gaps between checking up on us). I got the black pasta aglio olio, which was definitely intense and very flavorful. The oysters were very fresh and came with a great mignonette and all the traditional sides. The wine pairing suggested by the waiter was great with our seafood. The back area where we were seated (party of 6) was basically empty, but we came later in the night and I guess not a lot of people were there eating around 8pm that night.

We went here looking for seafood near South Station. The food was mediocre to say the best– for the prices, it should have been amazing food cooked with care. The pastas were basic with some seafood thrown on top. The culinary skills of the chef were elementary. I really liked the wait staff, but the food was priced double what it should have been. Tourist trap? Throughout our whole meal the restaurant was filled with smoke and we had to open the door, despite it being december. Icing on the cake was waking up with a batch of food poisoning.
I do not recommend.

The Daily Catch had long been on my must-​try list. This past trip to Boston, we made sure that we finally got there. We chose this location because it was a short walk from our hotel plus it is a lot larger than the original North End location.
Although we made a reservation for a Sunday night, it turned out to be unnecessary. We got there around 5 p.m. and the place was just about empty. The staff was welcoming and friendly. Our server was prompt, attentive and efficient plus he knew the menu very well.
We started out with drinks. My husband got a Bloody Mary that had pepper vodka in it and proved to be a very spicy drink. I had a pomegranate cosmo which was very well flavored.
For starters, my husband had a cup of clam chowder and I had a cup of Sicilian fish stew. My husband enjoyed the clam chowder as it had a generous amount of clams and potato chunks. Yet the bacon in it was a stingy portion. He later admitted that he likes Legal Seafoods’ clam chowder better.
I enjoyed the fish stew. The menu said it had «flaked fish». In reality, it was chunks of some white fish plus tuna. The broth was tomato based and had a generous portion of mixed veggies. It was topped off with a small piece of crusty garlic bread.
My husband chose broiled scallops for his entrée. This dish consists of 8 or 9 sea scallops that are breaded. It’s described this way on the menu: «crispy topping, olive oil, garlic, romano, bread crumbs». This dish is served a la carte so he ordered a side of penne with red sauce. He really enjoyed the scallops saying that they were properly cooked and very flavorful. As for his side dish, the penne was cooked al dente and the red sauce was on the spicy side as it was seasoned with red pepper. The portion was very generous and could have been served as a main dish!
I chose a ½ portion of «black pasta» which consists of: «fresh homemade black linguine made with squid ink». The style I chose was «Puttanesca» which consists of: «mushrooms, peppers, onions, olive anchovy butter». I also (for an extra charge) added calamari to the dish. This was my first time having squid ink pasta.
When you order pasta dishes at the Daily Catch, they are served to you in the pan that they were cooked in. I have to say that when the dish arrived, it looked like a hot mess. Don’t let appearances put you off — this dish was delicious! The pasta had that fresh, homemade taste and was cooked al dente. The Puttanesca sauce was tasty. I worried that the anchovy butter would overtake the dish but that didn’t happen. Instead, all the flavors melded together quite nicely. I was glad that I added calamari as it was perfectly cooked and very tender.
We were given a basket of Italian bread that was the real thing — not some cheap imitation as often happens in DC area Italian restaurants.
All in all, an enjoyable meal and well worth the money. We are glad that we finally got to go there!

Fast service, attentive waiter, good food, and prompt check. I have no complaints.
I got black carbonara pasta and I think they made it pretty well! Not too salty or too heavy. Just right.
My favorite was the fries calamari. The squid wasn’t dry but had just enough moisture to retain the texture without making the outside layer soggy. I usually don’t like dipping in marinara sauce but theirs was good!
I wasn’t blown away or anything but it’s definitely a restaurant well worth the buck.

Ended up here for dinner because there was too long of a wait at The Barking Crab. Sat inside, but would recommend others visit during the day and enjoy the patio seating because the décor is pretty outdated. Plus, it’s waterfront so take advantage!
Overall the food was good, but wow, small portions! Tiny little mussels. Seriously, I’m wondering if this was a fluke because I’ve never been served such tiny ones before… or is everything really bigger in Texas?! The clam chowder was very good, full of chunky bites, but again, the bowl was less than half full. Crab and lobster cakes were 2 small patties, but at least it came with a small salad, which I appreciated.
I gave it an extra star because we were served quickly and I was hungry, but can’t say I’d return. Shame, because the chowder was tasty.

Awesome, it’s really delicious. You can try on the lobster fra diavolo. You can choose for two or for one.

If you want good seafood pasta, go to the north end. This location was quite disappointing. First off, we had a party of 20. So did the table next to ours, yet their table was formally set up with table cloth and looks way more presentable than our table. It felt like we got shafted. I guess we weren’t as important as the other table even though we paid way over $ 100 pp. Second, the food was only ok. I got the surf and turf thinking I would get a decent lobster tail and steak but instead got two small pieces of claw meat on top of the overcooked steak. My husband ordered some pasta dish but it was very bland, same with mussels we had for apps. A couple glasses of wine helped. Fried calamari was good and these stuffed clams thing.
The only pros for this place is the view and being able to accommodate large parties. Aside from that, the food was ok and the staff was decent. I was surprised when the bill came and the tip was taken from the total as opposed to pre-​tax. We still tipped 19% of the pre-​tax bill but it was really deceiving when they listed the suggested tipping off the total. For a small bill it’s no biggie but when the bill comes out to about $ 2k, it’s pretty significant.

Server claimed they are known for their fried calamari… However it is very, very far from the best calamari I’ve had. The batter didn’t have a ton of taste and it was almost soggy — definitely not crispy at all. However, the squid ink Aglio Olio pasta was very good — homemade squid ink pasta. Came here before the dinner rush started, but servers were more occupied with setting up tables for later in the evening than being attentive to us.
Great view of the waterfront!

Excellent clam chowder!
We’d read an article on the best soups and the best lobster rolls, prior to coming to Boston. The Daily Catch was one of the ones listed for best clam chowders. We planned a stop here on the way to the Institute for Contemporary Art (this museum was terrible) as the two were within walking distance of one another.
The Daily Catch is kind of connected to the federal court house, although it stands alone in terms of hours/​audience. At 6:30pm it was packed and bustling with «suits.» We ordered a large bowl of the chowder ($ 8) and also an order of the crab cake appetizer. Despite the crowd, the food didn’t take too long (about 15 minutes). Waiter was super friendly and, with his east european accent, added to the cosmopolitan experience. We also sat at the counter facing the wharf (because all the tables were taken) but it was ideal anyway as we were able to people watch and stare out on to the harbor.
The Chowder was amazing: the soup-​base was thick and creamy and it was loaded with chunks of everything — potatoes; celery and lots of (big) clams. The flavor of the soup-​base was also spot-​on… a little spice but not so much as to overpower the «clam» part of the soup experience. The portion, for $ 8, was also very reasonable (I’m guessing a good 12oz for the larger «bowl» size). The crab cake was equally good — although on the small side, it was packed with crab (and not with fillers) and (surprise) had a delicious small salad accompanying it on the same plate. I think the crab cakes at Legal Seafood are slightly better but I would not hesitate to order this one again if I were in the area.
For comparison, we also tried the clam chowder at James Hook & Co (just a few blocks away) on a different day and, while Hook’s lobster rolls are terrific (see separate review) their chowder was quite disappointing at $ 7 for about 10oz — it was more watery and lacked the chunkiness and quantity of clams that was present in The Daily Catch’s chowder.

Came here last week with a large group and everyone was thrilled with everything. The food was amazing (I got the squid ink black pasta alfredo with scallops — absolutely incredible. The only downside is that everybody wanted to try it). We also got a few appetizers — the calamari was great, but I think the calamari meatballs were even better.
The ambience was amazing — we sat outside with a beautiful view of the harbor. We came around dinner time, so got to experience the sunset, which made the night even better.
Couldn’t have asked for better service. The waiter was attentive and offered us recommendations on food and wine. The manager checked in to make sure all was well with us. Overall, very friendly service, and that is always much appreciated.
Amazing food, gorgeous views, and excellent service? I’ll definitely be back.

I feel like I could open this restaurant in 2 weeks if you gave me just the location and some cash. Décor is boring and feels dated and space is too sterile. The patio overlooks the harbor, so there is a view. Our server didn’t know the menu well and really wasn’t confident or knowledgeable — but at least he was kind of funny.
Food: really underwhelmed. Crabcakes had too much mayo and were bland. The littleneck scilliano was rubbery and boring, the fennel added a complex flavor. The gnocchi side was mushy and bland.
I do have to say, however, the black squid ink pasta and alfredo sauce did taste pretty good, so the pasta is done right. When you start adding seafood into the mix, the price adds up and you get diminishing returns. I wouldn’t come back.

It’s hard to beat a beautiful view of the Boston Harbor nicely framed for patio dining. Food was very good, not anything spectacular. Garlic and fennel offered up good flavor for mussel and clams. Staff was very friendly, but felt a bit amateur given the price of the food.
Downside. No easy parking if you are in your own car. Cab it if possible.

Overall OK. The Daily Catch in Little Italy is by fr the one to visit. The atmosphere is fine when not busy, but once the restaurant fills, so do the smoke from the kitchen.

This place is overrated. Got the lobster/​crab cakes. Pretty good but a tad salty. Got the mushroom puttenesca squid ink and regretted it. I have heard people rave about it but it was so oily. I liked the texture of the pasta but not enough to order it ever again. For dessert, I got the hazelnut chocolate cake. That was good.
Service was decent. But I am unlikely to come back here again.

On a hot summer night in Boston — with a view of the skyline to die for — this HAS to be my favorite al fresco Italian seafood restaurant in the city! Pan pastas and seafood served searing hot right in the pan, this joint crushes it. Make sure you try the Squid Ink Black Pasta with Minced Clams. Add shrimp or scallops and you’re good to go! If you want that tiny hole in the wall North End atmosphere, try waiting in line at the original restaurant on Hanover Street.