The Best Whole Belly Clams To Try In Connecticut This Summer

It's the middle of July 2025, and I've eaten whole belly clams at 5 different restaurants in Connecticut over the past 6 weeks. Here are the three best I've tried so far this season.

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Do you know the difference between fried clam strips and whole belly clams? Then this article if for you. I can eat clams every day, and living near the Atlantic Ocean helps. Fried whole belly clams are not Littleneck, Quahog, Cherrystone, or Atlantic Surf clams, they are softshell/steamer clams, native to New England.

WHAT ARE WHOLE BELLY CLAMS?

You may also know them as 'piss clams', steamers, longnecks, Ipswich clams, or Essex clams. Ipswich and Essex are nods to the geniuses at Woodman's in Essex, Massachusetts who were among the first to shuck and fry the little pissers. These soft-shell clams are removed and fried and served whole, while your typical order of fried clam strips are basically chopped quahog, topneck, or Atlantic surf clams. That little burst of belly contents that taste like a bite of ocean? You don't get that in clam strips.

My three favorite orders of whole belly clams in Connecticut during the Summer of 2025 (So far)? - All inland, nothing on the shoreline impressed, especially Lenny & Joe's in Madison (Tasteless) and Jasper White's Summer Shack - Mohegan Sun - (Bland)

1. Saybrook Fish House - 460 Albany Turnpike - Canton - My reigning champion so far this season. The whole bellies I was served were bursting with the taste of the Maine coastline, perfectly battered and fried.

2. Denmo's - 340 Main St. S - Southbury - Tough call, but I liked the Saybrook ones a little more than Denmo's. Excellent breading, and the bellies were huge.

3. West Shore Seafood - 449 Bantam Lake Road - Morris