Union Oyster House recognized as North America’s Best Landmark Restaurant

This week, the historic Union Oyster House was named North America’s Best Landmark Restaurant by the World Culinary Awards, beating out other popular nominees including Katz’s Delicatessen in New York, Tadich Grill in San Francisco, and Arnaud’s in New Orleans.

© Kayana Szymczak for the Boston G
Union Oyster House near Faneuil Hall opened in 1826.

Opened in 1826, Union Oyster House is well-regarded for its oceanside fare and has operated under COVID-era restrictions through most of 2020. The city’s oldest restaurant previously appeared on “best of” lists at Open Table, Condé Nast Traveler, USA Today, the National Restaurant Association, and more.

Several North American establishments were honored in other World Culinary Award categories: Le Bernardin in New York City (Best Restaurant), Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel (Best Hotel Restaurant), and JOEY Shipyards in Canada (Best New Restaurant).

But as proud Union Oyster House owner Joe Milano pointed out to Boston.com, his was the only Massachusetts establishment nominated for the award, and that’s a good feeling, especially now.

Launched in 2019, the new World Culinary Awards series is the sister program to the 27-year-old World Travel Awards. It was “developed in reaction to overwhelming demand from the culinary industry for a [program] that was fair and transparent . . . with a mission to serve as the definitive benchmark of excellence, and to help to foster a new era of growth on a global scale,” according to its website.

Members of the public and industry officials were allowed to vote in the process.

Diti Kohli can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @ditikohli_.