A New England Clam Shack Right on the Beach

Blakeman’s is a quintessential New England clam shack, the kind you see in movies and wish you could visit. Owners Dana and Missy Battista summered in Bar Harbor when they were young and loved to visit clam shacks there. They wanted to recreate that clam shack experience in their hometown of Duxbury.

Blakeman’s offers casual, full-service dining and is located on Duxbury Beach. The dining room, which is like a fun covered porch, overlooks the bay, and diners who time it right are treated to a view of the sun setting over Powder Point Bridge. The outdoor patio is on the ocean side with its own great views.

The building—or a building—has been there since 1941. The original building was destroyed during the Blizzard of ’78, and the second building was destroyed during the Perfect Storm in 1991. When the Battistas took over Blakeman’s in 2000, it was just a beachside snack shack. One rainy summer, they were standing in the back junk room as the sun set and realized it would be a great spot to serve dinner. They added the restaurant around 2008.

The menu is mainly seafood, and food is cooked to order. Fried seafood is hand-breaded and lobster is hand-shucked. Oysters are from Powder Point Oysters, visible from the restaurant, and all other seafood is sourced from Rick’s Seafood in Plymouth.

Appetizers include creamy clam chowder, steamed clams, and sautéed mussels. A fresh summer salad has great seafood add-on options, like grilled shrimp, seared scallops, a scoop of lobster salad, or a handmade crab cake.

New England-style rolls can be fried oysters, lobster salad, hot lobster, scallops, or clams. Fried seafood baskets come with fish, oysters, scallops, clams, or shrimp. Sandwich options include a handmade crab cake, fish, and lobster grilled cheese.

Entree choices are pan-seared haddock or scallops, a fisherman’s platter, a steamed lobster with corn on the cob, or fish tacos. There are also a few burgers to choose from as well as a kids’ menu.

Beer and wine are served and all of the beers have a beach theme. Local beers include Cape Cod Beer, Cisco, Hog Island, and Harpoon.

Blakeman’s opens for the season on Memorial Day weekend and closes the second or third weekend in September. It’s open daily from noon to 8 pm, except for Monday nights.

Things to know: credit cards are accepted. The dining room is casual.

Blakeman’s
260 Gurnet Road
Duxbury, MA 02332
(781) 837-3112
www.DuxburyBeachPark.com/dining