It isn't the Brooklyn Bridge and the lights of Manhattan, but it is a view both grand and funny. The food aims a notch higher than at the old summer place. This is not to accuse the Barking Crab people of anything like a self-conscious style. If a sailor wandered in, he or she would feel right at home, and so would a Harvard professor on a date with a stockbroker. On a cold quiet evening, the staff here was roasting chestnuts on the parlor stove and passing them around, and letting kids toast marshmallows.
Appetizers are frankly good without elegance.
The dense bread and butter is terrific. If you like belly clams, the clams are outstanding. The calamari, with garlic and fried pepper flakes, are likewise excellent. And the shrimp are perfectly fried. Ours were unusually large and juicy, and authentically a little sandy.