America’s 35 best seafood shacks

No other type of restaurant is quite like the waterfront seafood shack. Sure, you can go to just about any five-star restaurant and load up on shrimp, lobster and fish, but sidling up to a waterside picnic table on a brilliantly sunny day with a full plate of simply cooked fish or shellfish that was just plucked from the nearby water is one of the best ways to cap off a day of your beach vacation. In order for a place to be a great seafood shack, a lot of variables have to be perfectly aligned. Location is important, obviously; if not located directly on the water, it should be no more than a stone’s throw away from it. Just-caught local seafood needs to be cooked and served simply and without any frills, and it should all be done for a reasonable price. Appearances don’t matter much, especially if there’s an outdoor deck overlooking the water, but being up there with the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants in America certainly doesn’t hurt. And there should be an air of low-key camaraderie among those who’ve also made the pilgrimage, content with the knowledge that they’re in the perfect spot to enjoy a beautiful afternoon. These 35 places definitely fit the bill.