Boston Sea Party was a Celebration of Sea Food

Mar 06, 2014

Here is another restaurant I have only heard about from their commercials, Boston Sea Party. The chain of seafood restaurants no longer exists, but they got their start and delicious pun of name around 1976, during the U.S. Bicentennial. It looks like an all you can eat Red Lobster-type place, which would have been very popular with my family had they opened one in our area of New Jersey.

When I first wrote this posts, I asked if anyone ever experienced the magic of a Boston Sea Party? I did get a response from Michael Collins. Who visited Boston Sea Part often in the seventies. He was nice enough to allow me to share his experience at BSP here.

YES! It was all that and more. Overindulging at BSP (created by International Multifoods) was never a problem especially when you’re in your mid-twenties and can digest enormous amounts of food relatively quickly. We visited BSP many times from 1976 before it ultimately closed. I, for one, always ordered the whole lobster in addition to partaking in their tables aptly named “piers”. The cold seafood pier and the hot appetizer pier were visited many times before AND after the entrée. Their other entrees included prime rib and a fish filet or catch of the day.
Decisions become the main problem for some folks. Cold pasta salad, tossed salad, vegetables with sauces, fruit salad, soups and chowders, oysters on the half shell, boiled and chilled shrimp in the shell, fresh clams, herring, caviar, split crab legs (these were thick & juicy & tender), steamed mussels, scallops, ribs, fresh fruit, cheese, chocolate mousse, cheesecake. What to do, what to do? Just go for it!
After BSP, we usually headed over to the Hala Kahiki Tiki Bar on River Road in River Grove for drinks then on to the Thirsty Whale in River Grove for more drinks & some great rock and roll. Sadly, BSP and the Thirsty Whale are both closed but Hala Kahiki is still going strong since the 60s.

Thanks, Michael! This is exactly how I pictured this restaurant, as well as how people enjoyed restaurants back in the seventies. For those who enjoy Tiki culture who live in the Chicagoland area, do check out Hala Kahiki. I have been there a few times, and it was always a lot of fun.