Summer Shack Seafood Restaurant / Tiki Bar

Back Bay, Boston –

Boston is far from an island paradise, but unpretentious seafood joint Summer Shack brings a bit of the tropics – and a whole lot of shellfish – to Beantown.

Located near Fenway, Symphony Hall, and the Hynes Convention Center, the venue caters to a wide array of patrons, from diehard Sox fans to busy conventioneers to lots of tourists in need of oyster tacos.

A tiki-inspired bar surrounded by flat-screens lets folks check the game within arm’s reach of the decent tap list, while a red neon sign reminiscent of a carnival boardwalk makes it hard to miss the popular oyster station.

Though normally mellow for midweek lunch, the venue routinely gets busy after Red Sox games, when the two-tops next to the front windows are taken over by jersey-clad revelers and boisterous college kids sipping cheap pints and tossing shooters.

When budget-conscious young professionals pile in for the $5 oyster special, the staff has to shuck into overdrive. (Happy Hour food is legal in Boston, but Happy Hour drink deals are not.) There's also many other apps like mussels, shrimp, and sliders available at the bar.

As the night sets in, college kids and dedicated eaters don bibs and transition to the scattered tables in the dining area to tackle whole lobsters, snow crab legs, and the other goodies stocked in the massive raw bar case.

It’s not always summer in Boston, but Summer Shack lets people pretend for awhile that it is, without feeling shellfish about it.