Best clam cakes in the SouthCoast

Clam Cakes are made with chopped clams (usually quahogs) in light dough and fried to a perfect crispy golden brown on the outside. From Rhode Island to the SouthCoast of Massachusetts, clam cakes are served in clam shacks, piled high in paper or cardboard boxes and often ordered as a side dish with other clam shack delights.

Local traditions include adding a splash of vinegar or tartar sauce, submerging clam cakes in chowder or enjoying them right from the box. Clam cakes are savored in the summertime as a seasonal and regional specialty.

Clam cakes are indigenous to the SouthCoast and were invented in the Point Judith neighborhood of Narragansett, Rhode Island. In 1920, Carrie Copper, of Aunt Carrie’s, added fresh clams to corn fritters and the clamcake was born.

Rhode Island

Dartmouth

Westport

New Bedford & Acushnet

Fairhaven

Fall River & Somerset

Wareham

Taunton

Plymouth

Mattapoisett