The Original Clam Tavern

Tony Blanche shucked clams here as a kid. He left for a career in sales, then came back and bought the place.

The Clam Tavern is the kind of restaurant that has all but disappeared around Philadelphia: a genuine fish house, in a blue-collar town, with fair prices and no fuss about any of it. The nautical ambience is not a theme — it is just what has been on the walls the whole time.

But the Clam is the place I covet. Nothing says tradition quite like the signature baked clams, the juicy middlenecks roasted whole in a distinctive steel tray beneath lightly browned Italian seasonings and a tangy, mysterious red dot.

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“It’s not pimento, which is what most people think,” says Blanche. “It’s ketchup. I never figured out why. But I stick by the recipe.”

The kitchen, run with Chef Nick Ciafre, turns out clams casino, jumbo lump crab cakes, red-sauced mussels, creamy chowder, lobster fra diavolo, and a crab imperial made to the tavern’s own recipe. Steaks, veal and pasta round out a menu meant to please any palate.

When Tony bought the bar across the street, he found waffle irons abandoned in the kitchen. That accident became the jalapeño-cheddar waffle, and Broadway Bar & Grille — the comfort-food counterpart across the street. Two kitchens, one block, one family.

Reservations are recommended, especially Friday and Saturday. Everything on the menu travels except the raw shellfish, and we cater events of any size.