Boston's Best Lobster Rolls, Maine-Style and Beyond

This waterfront seafood market keeps its lobster roll simple and generously filled with fresh lobster meat. Diners can order it plain, dressed with mayonnaise, or served warm with butter. Regular rolls come on toasted New England-style hot dog buns, while large versions use five-inch bakery rolls.

For a fast-casual spot, the loaded lobster roll at Luke’s Lobster is exceptional. Then again, with lobster in its name, it had better be. The lobster roll flight is particularly fun, offering three half-rolls filled with chilled lobster dressed three ways: lemon butter, spicy honey butter, and truffle butter.

The regular line at this North End institution is worth braving for heaps of Maine lobster, served hot with butter or cold with mayonnaise on a toasted Iggy’s brioche roll. Feeling indulgent? Top it with caviar for a burst of salinity that is well worth the extra dollars.

When this Portland, Maine, oyster bar expanded to Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, it brought along one of its signature dishes: the brown butter lobster roll. Eventide swaps traditional drawn butter for its nuttier, slightly sweeter browned counterpart, then tucks warm lobster and chives into a steamed, bao-style bun. A gluten-free bun is also available.

For a fanciful twist and an excuse to have lobster for breakfast, Woods Hill Pier 4 serves its lobster roll inside a warm, airy popover. The popover’s slight caramelization complements the chilled, sweet local lobster, tossed with crème fraîche (who needs mayonnaise?), celery, and red onion.

The Banks serves its lobster roll hot or cold on a house-baked brown butter brioche bun Choose lobster warmed with butter or chilled with mayonnaise; both versions are finished with sea salt and chives. A side of house-baked Old Bay potato chips makes for a crunchy denouement.

Lobster enthusiasts are spoiled for choice at this Back Bay hotspot. Beyond the usual Maine- and Connecticut-style preparations, Saltie Girl offers a TABASCO® sauce roll topped with crispy shallots and an off-menu fried version finished with corn beurre blanc.

What began in 1994 as a seasonal spot to indulge in lobster rolls overlooking Boston’s Fort Point Channel has become a year-round institution beneath its familiar striped tent. Its traditional lobster roll is a no-frills bun loaded with chilled lobster, mayonnaise, celery, and lemon. For those who want to go even bigger, The One and Done piles one pound of lobster meat onto a toasted roll.

Hotel restaurants don’t always succeed at capturing local flavor, but this swanky spot inside Fairmont Copley Plaza is a fine exception. Its Maine lobster roll dresses lobster with roasted lemon, parsley aioli, and fresh herbs, all tucked into a pillowy-soft, buttered bun.

Renowned for its oysters, this regional favorite prepares just about every kind of seafood brilliantly, including chunks of locally caught Maine lobster spilling from a brioche bun. The warm roll bathes the lobster in butter, while Ethel’s Creamy combines it with mayonnaise, crème fraîche, pickles, celery, and red onion. Named for chef and owner Jeremy Sewall’s grandmother, Ethel, the roll takes its cue from her recipe.