Fried clams, lobster rolls at New England Eatery & Pub
When we were flying into the Melbourne Airport regularly in 1987, and driving down A1A to our home under construction on Vero’s South Beach, we discovered the New England Eatery in Melbourne Beach — a casual restaurant (okay, very casual) that had opened the year before.
The restaurant’s specialties, the sign on the wall said, were Ipswich clams (otherwise known as whole belly clams, not to be confused by non-New Englanders with clam strips) and Maine lobster rolls.
We probably haven’t dined there more than two or three hundred times since, and for fried clams (one of my husband’s favorites) and lobster rolls (my preference), there are few spots along the Massachusetts North Shore or the Maine coast that can top them.
This restaurant is not to be confused with the New England Fish House in Jensen Beach, which actually has been around a few years longer and which supplies fresh fish to many of the restaurants in the Vero Beach area.
The two restaurants are totally unrelated, and the Jensen Beach restaurant — probably because it is linked to a thriving wholesale and retail fish business — offers a wider variety of seafood dishes in a slightly more upscale dining room.
But for basic seafood dinners of the kind you would hope to get in a seaside shack along the New England coast, the Melbourne Beach restaurant after almost a quarter of a century ranks right up there.
I’m embarrassed to say that in the many times we have stopped there, we only occasionally have sampled the haddock, scallops or scrod. These invariably emerged from the kitchen perfectly prepared — certainly, no complaints there — but the next visit always saw us once again ordering fried clams or lobster rolls.
The most recent visit was no exception.
On this occasion, my husband started (as always) with a cup of the New England clam chowder ($4.25). Regular readers of this column will recall that he considers himself one of the world’s leading connoisseurs of New England clam chowder, and he has consistently rated this one of the top three in the area (the chowder at the 12A Buoy in Fort Pierce currently reposes in first place).
I personally prefer their mahi chowder (okay, I am not a native New Englander), a tomato-based chowder which is good but not great ($3.95).
Then we get to the entrees. My husband, as usual, had a large plate of the fried clams ($17.25, or $13.25 for a small plate). While his view is that all you need say about fried clams is that they either are good or they’re not, these tend to be lightly coated and generally emerge from the kitchen light in color — suggesting the oil is changed frequently, allowing the clean clam taste to predominate.
I, as usual, had the lobster roll ($13.95). The New England Eatery’s version consists of chunks of lobster meat from the claw and knuckle — not ground up, or mixed with filler — on a hot dog bun lined with lettuce. I generally ask for extra lemon slices, since it is never seasoned with enough lemon juice for my taste.
This remains, in my view, the best lobster roll in the area.
On this most recent visit, we had a companion with us, who ordered the shrimp plate ($11.95) – a very nice plate of lightly fried shrimp. All dinners come with onion rings and a choice of potato, rice, mixed vegetables or cole slaw. For $1 extra, you can forego the coleslaw and get a house salad.
Desserts here are okay, but not great. Old timers may remember a fantastic Key Lime pie made especially for this restaurant, but that’s been gone for years.
The New England Eatery and Pub has been considerably spiffed up over the years — with the biggest renovation occurring after the 2004 hurricanes — but no one is ever going to confuse it with fine dining.
But for fresh, tasty seafood that will remind you of summertime meals at seaside shanties along the Massachusetts and Maine coasts, you cannot find anything finer.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
Hours
Monday through Wednesday: 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Thursday through Sunday: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
Bar
Full Bar
Address (MAP)
5670 Highway A1A, Melbourne Beach, Florida, Phone: (321) 723-6080
Online
www.newenglandeatery.com
