Clam Box of Ipswich

This was our last visit to Clam Box after 30 years. Drove one hour to go there to celebrate my husband’s birthday. A small line, no problem, we are used to coming in summer, waiting an hour in line. But today it was chaos, and no one cared. While waiting to order, 8 people pushed thru the line, saying they already had seats. Later could see them gather at menu boards, since none had ordered. They were at least 10 people behind us the line out the door. Another person pushed thru line, saying they were using restroom. Once we had ordered almost $ 60 worth of food, we went to wait for table. None available. Another woman who hadn’t ordered pushed past me and took table, her party hadn’t ordered. At least 5 tables hadn’t ordered. They were close to our number, so I said something. The terrible people sitting at tables were yelling at us. We went and got our money back. They were upset that our order was already being cooked. Not our problem, we weren’t going to eat on bench or outside because you can’t control your patrons to follow the rules. We always brought people from out of town here, and visited when nearby. You have lost us forever. You ruined a special day. This is expensive food. People expect a table.

No one even close. They have ruined our ability to enjoy fried seafood anywhere else. Light batter with fresh oil is what makes them the best. Its never over cooked dark, crunchy batter that makes your stomach heavy after. The gold standard

What can I say. The absolute best around. Had scallops that melted in your mouth and were so sweet. The clams were a good size and delicious. Will never go anywhere else!

Thank you, Unilocal,for helpfully reminding me that Clam Box is a seasonal hut, shucking sizzling, savory sand stones for my gaping maw during non-​winter months.
You’re a jerk, Unilocal,for reminding me I can’t get these wonderfully fat whole bellies with a side of decent rings when it’s a blustery single digit temp, arguably the best time to indulge in salty, fried goodness.
The Clam Box is an institution. I prefer it over Farnham’s, and find it belly-​to-​belly with Woodman’s. Take it as you will.

These were probably the best fried clams I have ever eaten! Crisp, hot, salty, perfectly fried. Yeah, you know what I mean.
You walk in and order right away, then wait for a table to open up in the dining room. Now, let me tell you about this dining room. It’s really small and hideous. It’s dark, old, and definitely needs a renovation. If the Clam Box ever fixes this, I’ll easily say that this place is perfect.

We took the day and drove up the north Shore specifically to come get some clams. My father in law says this place has the best fried clams.
The drive itself is just idyllic. The leaves were changing, the summer crowds are gone. We took our time sightseeing the antique shops before stopping at this roadside eatery.
Everything is fried. Fish, shrimp, clams, fries, etc. I was told in the summer or on weekends the line can be a quarter mile long to get in. Interior seating is limited but there are several outdoor picnic tables. Décor is nothing fancy.
The food is greasy fried goodness. Although the batter is not too thick, it’s more on the light side and you can actually taste the seafood. We ordered a fisherman’s platter and it easily fed 4 of us. Piled high on a paper plate was a mess of clams, scallops, shrimp, and fries. It came with a small side of coleslaw and a small bread roll. Of course anything fried is food but clams are especially delicious.
We also ordered a cup of clams chowder each. It was thick creamy, and full of clam chunks.
You order at the window and they call your number for pickup. It was a great little day trip. Now, I should probably do a couple hundred burpees to clear out my arteries.

It pains me to write such a poor review of The Clam Box. Many years ago I wen here and it was the best fried seafood experience in my life — the line was 30 people long out the door and I had to wait through an fryer oil change, and yet it was still worth it. Today, however, my experience was terrible.
For one, the person taking our order was incredibly rushy and rude, scolding us for failing to read the posted signs saying that clams were now $ 5 more expensive than normal. I’m sorry, I was reading the menu board, where the prices were «normal» and didn’t have the extra $ 5 added.
Fine. I expected it to be worth paying for, because they’re known for great food. So I bit for a fisherman’s platter.
The seafood was greasy and not very crispy. And the shrimp had an oddly sweet taste. They served it with the tiniest thimble size tarter sauce. The meal ended up bothering my stomach for the rest of the day.
But worse yet, my 7 year old got a burger and was complaining of it tasting «stale». Like all kids, she can exaggerate so she can not eat her food, but I tasted it and it had a foul, rotten taste.
I brought it to the counter and was offered something as a replacement. We opted for some chicken fingers. But when they were brought out to us, the same lady who scolded us about prices, now was scolding us because «the meat is taken out fresh daily» — whatever that means — insisting that we were just wrong.
Nothing like giving your customers a poor meal, and then yelling at them for it.
Such a shame when the teenage girls working there have ten times the professional attitude a woman 5 – 6 times their age has when dealing with customers. I sincerely hope this wasn’t someone in management, or else this has to happen to others.
I will not be coming back here. Ever.

I’ve been going to the Clam Box for years. Usually around Labor Day, my friends and I take the 45 minute drive and stuff our faces. The food and line is well worth the wait.
This past Labor Day weekend my friends and I made they trek, waited in line, and got our food. The dining area was so infested with flies that it was a distraction. We had to move our seat before we got our food because they were so bad near the window. Also, at our new seats which was near a trash barrel, an employee came by and changed the trash right next to us. All in all, I would definitely rethink making my yearly visit up to the Clam Box because of the unsanitary conditions there.

Having a shellfish allergy in the middle of a seafood adventure means looking at all other menu items.
So I found the haddock fish and chips. The white fish was moist and juicy, with a light batter. This made for a light lunch after eating too many cannolis. Paired with lightly cooked French fries and a soda
There was many other items to choose from, you can eat inside or outside, a great place to eat!
Give this place a try

Been here multiple times and probably tried every single seafood item on the menu. If you’re like me and suffer from food FOMO because you’re afraid of missing out on something delicious, get the fisherman platter which gives you a smattering of everything.
But, now that I’m a Clambox frequent flyer, the usual things I stick to are a BOX OF SCALLOPS AND SHRIMP. By far the 2 best items on the menu. Clam strips are decent, but it’s a high batter to meat ratio so not worth it IMO.
And, if you’re choosing between fries or onion rings, go with the fries. Much crispier than onion rings.
Lastly, be prepared to wait in line if you’re looking to dine there. BUT, if you want to enjoy your food in 15 mins, call ahead and order it as takeout. Food still tastes amazing to go.

I have filed «try Ipswich clams» in the back of my mind as a bucket list item even before people had bucket lists. So when I found out I was going to be in New England, it was pulled out as one of my «must eat» on this trip.
On our way to New Hampshire from Boston, we detoured to the Clam Box in Ipswich so I can finally have my Ipswich clams. I heard about the long lines so I wanted to arrive when it opened. Just like Mike’s, the time management God was on my side again as there were only 2 people in front of us but after we ordered and turned around, there was that line.
For the mini meal, you get 1 side, for plate, you get 2. Since we just consumed 3 decadent cannolis less than 2 hrs before, we went for the mini meal. For me, what else but Ipswich Native Clams and poor shellfish intolerant hubby, the fried haddock. Luckily the fried haddock was a delicious alternative to welcome him to NE, as it was moist and perfectly cooked. But we were too full to eat our onion rings and fries sides.
Picnic tables outside was perfect for a nice day like we had. Otherwise indoor seating available.
Note: Due to increased clam costs, clam plates and boxes has a $ 5 surcharge on top of regular prices

I’m hardly in the North Shore area but a friend and I decided to play tourists in Rockport and Gloucester last weekend. We stopped by The Clam Box in Ipswich for our dinner and we were in for a surprise. We saw some dark clouds as we were driving toward TCB but little did we know we were going to be in the middle of a thunderstorm when we got there. We sat in the car inside TCB’s parking lot for about 10 minutes before speedwalking to join the line that had already formed. Luckily it was a short line and we waited outside in the cold rain with a small umbrella for about 20 minutes. (20 minutes in the rain is really nothing if you’ve waited for 2 hours in the dead of winter for ramen.)
A young girl was behind the counter taking orders. She was precise and polite albeit slow. They really should have two counters for ordering, to be honest. It would be a lot more efficient. This place has been around for so long that I guess regulars love it enough to put up with waiting for so long.
We ordered two lobster rolls, a small native clam box and a small calamari box. The total was around $ 90. Yes, it’s pricey but the lobster roll was worth it. The roll was toasted and the lobster meat was overflowing. Same with the other two. We were already stuffed by the time we finished the rolls and I had to take the clam and calamari boxes home to feed my family. I can’t say the fried clams and calamari were the best that I’ve had, but it was pretty good.
I noticed that a lot of people around us ordered the plates and mini meals. Now those are humongous and I would probably have to bring in the whole family to share just one plate. Not sure how people manage to eat one set by themselves but wow. Kudos to them.

Wonderful spot that is full of history and has yummy food. First of all, no matter what time you come here or what day expect a wait… A pretty long one. But, it’s worth it!!! They have delicious fried clams and fish sandwiches. For those non-​seafood lovers they have pretty good burgers too.
The mini meals are just fine for one person — the platters are huge and can feed two or two adults and a child.
About 7 tables outside if you want to enjoy the scenery — tables are tight inside and again you will prob have to wait longer if you do that. Here’s a game plan you might want to do: have half your party order for everyone and the other half stake out tables.

First you wait for 45 – 50 minutes just to place your order. Yes, it’s almost an hour literally to PLACE the order.
Then you realize just HOW expensive the food is – which would be OK if the food was good. You are looking at $ 20/​mini plate of just about anything with one side (fries, coleslaw, or onion rings). If you get the larger plate, you are looking at ~$ 30/​plate.
Right after you place the order, you wait another 15+ minutes to get your food. At this point, you would eat a card board box if it was available — but instead, you get some crappy overly deep fried food which has no taste what so ever.
Ordered:
1.) a Lober Roll
2.) Mini plate of Scallops (w/​fries)
3.) A Box of Shrimp
4.) Two drinks (coke, raspberry iced tea)
The lobster roll was good. Very small, but good. It needed to be ~25−30% larger for the price in my opinion, but again, it was good!
The scallops were «mediocre to ok». They were overdone. Not the worst we have had, but definitely not even close to good.
The shrimp was absolutely disgusting. It had an after taste of a bland «chemical». It was truly the worst fried food we have had. If the line wasn’t so large, we would have returned it.
The fries had NO taste what so ever. You could have literally deep fried branches and have achieved more of a flavor. Adding salt did not help either. I am not sure how it’s possible to deep fry anything and get 0 taste from it.
Would never come back to this place. Even if the wait was 5 minutes and the prices were cut in half, it’s still not worth the food. Do yourself a favor and go to one of the other 10+ places with great seafood.

If you don’t mind waiting out in the hot sun, this place is awesome. Quite often there is a fairly decent line. I had the Clam Chowdah which was very good. For some reason I like my Chowdah to have bacon in it. I also had the Whole Clams and Scallops, fried. They were cooked to perfection. I even liked the cole slaw. I will be back.

First of all, the restaurant itself is the cutest thing. The red and white awning, the staggered siding and playful typography — it’s hard not to smile when you see it!
I came here with my family after a wonderful beach day at Crane. Honestly, If you’re coming here… you’re going to wait. Bring some friends and family to chat with and make sure your iPhone is charged. It’s worth the wait because the food and service is great. I waited about 30 minutes to put in an order and another 20 minutes to receive the food.
We got the calamari and chicken finger plates with fries/​onion rings as well as clam chowder. They are very generous with the portions. Fried seafood tends get really greasy but they do it right with ample crispiness. The batter they use is tasty but throwing some salt and pepper will perfect the dishes. I brought leftovers home and it still tasted delicious after baking. Oh and their clam chowder was heavenly, creamy goodness. The employees are super busy but maintains great customer service with a smile on their face.
I don’t come by Ipswich too often but heading to Crane Beach in the morning and then Clam Box for lunch makes a perfect summer day. I can’t wait to go back :)

I’ve been here many times in the past, but this is the first time I’ve gone back in years and it’s still as delicious as I remembered. My all time favorite is of course the fried native clams… When you bite through the crispy batter, it’s like a burst of ocean in your mouth. This time around we also tried the lobster roll (my first time)… Pretty good but the lobster probably needed just a touch more seasoning.
Come here for the fried clams. They are too good to miss (even with the long line and I hate lines!) :)

This was my second visit to the Clam Box, and I was much happier with visit number 2. This place is super popular and as such, you may wait a long time in line just to place your order. Now, please note, when you finally get up to the front window there is a sign which states:
«Please take your seat AFTER placing your order.»
I wish they had that sign outside at the END of the line. There were people standing in front of us in line that had half their group save a picnic table outside the whole time we were waiting in line. Which ended up being an hour. So, basically, a table was being held for over an hour when that could have been used for other people who already had their food. Rude.
Anyway, yes, if you go on the weekend or a holiday as we did, you will wait. No matter what time of day. 3:45pm on a holiday weekend we waited an hour. My first visit was on a weekday about 5:30pm, so we didn’t have a wait at all. Either way, it was a nice sunny day so it wasn’t so bad. Although, had I known it would have been an hour, I would have worn more sensible shoes! Anyway, the fiancé and I both got the clam strips without the bellies and a side of onion rings. The clams were delicious and the breading was plain and simple without spices so you could actually taste the clams. The onion rings were the same. Not greasy at all.
The Clam Box has been here forever (1935). Could they be more efficient? Sure. Could they give nicer paper plates? Sure. But, I’m glad they don’t. That would take away from the charm of what they do. Standing in line, and getting good, basic fried seafood is what they do best. Why change it up? Just enjoy the experience!

They have been serving famous Ipswich clams here for almost 80 yrs!
Ultra fresh.
Change the oil 2x a day
Sweet succulent tender plump whole belly clams
Most sweet huge sea scallops I’ve ever had!
Check out this list:

The story goes like this… we drove to Woodman’s in Essex to try the fried clams & we were like «we’re only a few miles from Ipswich… when are we ever going to have the opportunity to try fresh clams from both areas again??!» So we did.
Lordy. All I can say is if you are looking for a fresh, earthy yet sweet tasting clam, take the extra little drive out to Ipswich. Yes… the Clam Box is more ‘divey’ than Woodman’s, but is it about the décor or the food?!
Ask your stomach…