From Portuguese cuisine with a fish-filled beer with outstanding RAW bar options on the beach you can eat in the Whaling City.
Hummer on the black whale. / Paul Clancy
New Bedford – Now thanks to the New South Coast Commuter Rail line, which is more accessible by Boston from Boston, is the richest commercial fishing port in the country. So when you visit, you should eat some seafood. Here are five top fish restaurants that you can try out. Relatives: Our A-to-Z-New England Seafood Guide from our edition of August 2025 has everything from the stories of the fishing industry from New Bedford, fried mussels and oyster crackers to the meaning of “Scrod” and much more.
1
Fathoms Waterfront Bar & Kreisergrill
Talk about Fresh: Fathoms owned by a local fisherman and seafood gross dealer and falls on seafood options of his sister fleet of boats.
255 Popes Island, New Bedford, 508-993-3400, fathomsbarandgrillille.com.
2
Antonios restaurant
Waves of immigrants from the Portuguese -speaking world have influenced New Bedford since the 19th century. In Antonio, they go for classic Portuguese cuisine, from linguiça-filled shells and grilled sardines to shellfish that are sautéed in the saffron sauce from gnoblöcken.
267 Coggeshall St., New Bedford, 508-990-3636, Antoniosnewbedford.com.
3
The black whale
This elegant place shows the seafood industry from New Bedford not only on the massive menu, but also in the view of its first -class location at the working facility.
104 Co-Oop Wharf, Pier 3, New Bedford, 508-990-7100, Theblackwhale.com.
4
Cisco kitchen + bar
The Cisco experience may have started with Nantucket, but New Bedford has now perfected her with a full service restaurant and a RAW bar, not to mention a beer garden on the sandy beach with frequent live music.
1482 East Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford, 774-702-4726, ciscokitchbar.com.
5
New beige
New beige is in the community (with a Portuguese accent). The restaurant offers seafood options from Hummer-Nachos to Piri-Piri-Gulf shrimps to scallops with the new Bedford-Jakobshofs and also offers a café in the ferry terminal.
39 Union St., New Bedford, 508-742-6099, new –ge.com.
A version of this guide was first published in the print edition of August 2025 edition as part of a feature entitled “The New England Seafood Bible Untrided”.
