Ted's Fried Clams totally lives up to the hype I've heard about. The fried clams were crispy, fresh, and full of flavor -- honestly some of the best seafood I've had in New England. The portions were generous, the staff were really friendly with smiles all over, and the bar looks beautiful. it's definitely worth stopping in. Already looking forward to my next visit! read more

First time since reopening. I was there on 5/16. First, it looks great inside. The bar, a new edition, is very nice. Service was top notch. I have never had someone clear my table at Ted's before this. We were also asked several times about our food. Here is where it went downhill. I ordered a Clam 'Dinner'. I did not count the clams but it was a really small order (Maybe 6 or 7). And most of the clams were pretty big. They seemed like the clams you'd get on special from a restaurant that does not serve clams often. The batter was also not sticking to the clams. Too bad. I used to eat fried clams 1-2 times a year and only at Ted's. I won't be having them there any more. I will return to try a few other things. But not the clams. read more

Decided to come check it out with the new owners and I'm glad someone did! The inside of the place looks about the same besides adding a bar which is nice! We ordered the Fishermen platter which is about $50 which is a little pricey compared to others in the area. It was pretty good, wish they added more clam belly. read more

Ted's Fried Clams - Fishermen Platter - Seafood Near Me - Shapleigh, Maine

Been there twice. Twice no flavor and lots of fries and I'm still young. It is NOT my favorite place.

I really wanted to like this place. It's been a few years since they had the fire and they are now reopened. Unfortunately I will never be going back in for one reason and one reason only. They are serving a truly inferior pre-packaged tartar sauce with their fried food. Kraft tartar sauce has to be one of the worst moves they can make. The seafood was fine, the scallops were slightly overcooked, but not terrible. The amount of haddock that was served was small, but not tiny. But fried seafood requires a good tartar sauce, preferably a homemade tartar sauce, but certainly not Kraft. read more

We have given the new teds a couple of tries and have been disappointed. The fry for seafood is bland. The lobster roll just didn't taste fresh and for 38$ for a jumbo the amount wasn't fantastic. The food was cold and overall just not good. Over 100$ for two people. We got a jumbo lobster roll and a 3 combo. There are lots of other seafood places in the area that are more affordable and better quality. I would skip. Maybe once they've been open longer it'll improve? read more

Very disappointed with fried scallops . They had a very soft soggy coating which fell right off the scallop and left a bare scallop. Should be a crispy coating that stays on the scallop. 5/16/2026 read more

Food was very greasy , batter was horrible and didn't stick to the seafood. Very small portion for seafood platter , four clams, scallops tasted frozen. I asked for well done and when I went to the owner he took my plate and gave me a tiny plate with three clams and two scallops. read more

new owners bring traditional fried seafood into today's world. beautiful bar cold beer and old school fried seafood . been coming here for 60 years. 20 more to come read more

Asked for no Tatar sauce guess what got Tartar sauce the had only one job lol. Never again.... Also Haddock was very small. read more

This place, was supposed to reopen a year ago, well, it didn't! After changing their sign at the real Ted's many times, they opened at the small mall in downtown Sanford! This is a disaster when compared with the original location! If you want to try their small place in the downtown mall, they are not what you would expect of the Ted's you would remember read more

This is the old location. The new location and new owner and new food is awful! The only thing from the old location is the name. Don't waste your money. read more

They need to get with the times and not serve there shrimp scampi with thin spaghetti and a dinner roll. Go to Lord's and see how it is done. I did contact the manager about this and he never ever got back to me. So sad Teds use to be my favorite read more

this is the type of place you want Gordon Ramsey to visit. the food is expensive and definitely not for the seafood quality but bc they use plastic , paper and the is way containers for everything, even if you " dine in " I gor a baked seafood which was 2 frozen and microwaved scallops with 4 already cooked salad shrimp buried in one inch of ritz crackers and a cold roll. a side of broccoli florets which were ice cold inside and boiling outside ( microwave results ) ugh such a gross disaster place. drive a bit farther to Kennebunk and pay for quality or if you are desperate and craving seafood better to get a sandwich at Wendy's or even at Cumberland farms read more

When does Ted's new location terribly disappointed service was good two girls are on the counter worked very hard the food that's a whole different story I had scalloped dinner had a roll no butter french fries we're cold the scallops were very salty onions we bought also were cold would not go back again read more

Ted's is temporarily closed due to a fire, unfortunately. This was the best fried clams around. Plus great ice cream. Hope they're back soon. read more

Every time I come to Maine I make sure to visit Teds. I usually try to go on Sunday's when the seafood platter is on special for $27. It comes with tons of fried seafood that could easily feed 3 people. The quality of fish is always really good. Definitely the best fried clams I've ever had. Their Thursday ice cream special is great, I bought an ice cream for around $4 and it lasted me 3 days because it was so big! read more

Ted's Fried Clams - Seafood platter - Seafood Near Me - Shapleigh, Maine

It was excellent in the old location not good at all now I bought the fried haddock awful coating.

meh, felt like everyone was bummed about being there the operation hours seemed like more of a goal than anything else and overall it was really average at best with lack of effort and no real sense of anything that would make me feel like I would ever return for more the best thing is that it's perfectly forgettable for no reason whatsoever read more

New location in Sanford a real disappointment. Prices higher, portions smaller. Person taking order messed up almost every order he took and someone else had to come out after each order, delete it and reenter. 45 minutes for box of shrimp that was half full AND had other stuff mixed it. Clams, and not sure what else. Another person ordered clams and came back while I was waiting because they were given calamari. Won't be back read more

New location has opened in Sanford, food is wildly disappointing and unappetizing. Wait times are tremendous for how little food you're served and the quality is some of the worst I've seen. The owner needs to be replaced because he treats his business like a playground. The owner claims the tartar sauce is homemade but it is the most obvious pre-packaged tartar I've ever tried. Will not be giving this place another chance. read more

For what it is, it's five stars. I tried the baked haddock today. It was cooked perfectly and delicious. The onion rings were amazing as always. Even the French fries are great. Highly recommend! read more

It has been a few years since my first review of Ted's, so since it just reopened for the season I took a trip in. First, the decor hasn't changed a bit. Still so dated, and dark. The dining area has no appeal. I will say that I do appreciate how many tables they have, and the seats are of good size. Even with so many tables, you don't feel crammed. I also appreciate that they have a section where you can grab extra paper plates, to go bags, and a water fountain to refill your drink. The staff was friendly, and they had the dining area super clean. Well done! Now, let's dig into the main event, the food. I ordered the special of the day which was baked or fried haddock dinner for $14.99. I chose to upgrade to onion rings, and ordered a drink as well. My end total was $21 and change. I was given a number and a buzzer that would buzz and light up when my food was ready. I only waited 10 minutes, if that. I was stunned at the portion of haddock that I was given. Very impressed. I always used to complain that when you ordered a dinner here, you got mostly fries or onion rings and only a tiny bit of seafood. I will give them props, I felt like I got my money's worth. A equal amount of fish and onion rings. Could it be that Ted's was finally listening to their local customers? Unfortunately I was let down by the flavor. This again has been a long time issue. I split my dinner with my other dining guest who had a chicken tender dinner. Everything was so bland. The only thing on the plate that had any flavor was the coleslaw. I don't think they use any sort of seasoning at all. Even after salt and pepper, still bland. My onion rings were a bit on the soggy side. The French fries I tried were crisp, but again, bland. It's so disappointing seeing that the lack of flavor and passion in their food. Such potential not being used. If you are looking for geriatric food, or a hospital food flavor, then you'll love Ted's. However if you are looking for some Maine seafood I'd skip and go elsewhere. I'll be back in another 5+ years and see if there is any improvement then. read more

Ted's Fried Clams - Fried haddock dinner with onion rings. - Seafood Near Me - Shapleigh, Maine

See all

The new location is NOTHING like the Emery Mills location as far as food goes. I have to say that we didn't visit the ORIGINAL location after it was sold. However that being said when we went to the Midtown Mall location and got a haddock dinner to try we were VERY disappointed! It was ICE COLD when we got it home (travel time is only to Springvale!). The fish was NOT the flaky filets with crispy batter like we were used to but huge CHUNKS of fish with nasty tasting batter. And not at all white haddock but GRAY in color! We were used to the haddock being very white. We substituted onion rings for the usual side of fries - what a mistake! They were NOTHING like we had had from the Emery Mills place but THICK and oily. I can say that we are HUGELY disappointed and will not go back unless ownership changes or SOMETHING to get the menu back to what people expect from an established restaurant. read more

This place has take out seafood and it is delicious. The fried haddock basket was fresh and cooked to order. My husband had fried clams and said they were the best he has had in a long time. We will definitely be back and soon! Don't miss this gem in Maine. read more

if I could give less then 1 star I would. the food was dark from old/over used grease. had to send back fried clams because they were shriveled up from over cooking. the fried scallops were mediocre at best and the fries were barely passable. my step-dad's salad was frozen from being too cold, but at least they gave him dressing where as the tartar sauce was only offered after having the fried clams redone, which they were only marginally better once brought out. I was looking for their famous glam chowder, BUT they now only offer it some of the time. we also got a chicken parm sub and fried mushrooms which might have been the best part but was borderline bland. Then to top it off, I don't know if he was the manager or the owner, he spent the whole time we were there sitting out in the sitting area on his phone the whole time. With the exception of when we returned the severely overcooked fried clams, and he said he was sorry on behalf of the two new cooks they were training. the best part of the whole experience was the kind young lady that took our order. I have worked in the food se industry for over 20 years and if I owned Teds I would be embarrassed. if you were looking for the old Ted's, it's gone and no longer worth going to. For $110 we were given overcooked old oil cooked food and one of us ill afterwards because of the food while the others with unpleasant aftertaste in our mouths. read more

Excellent seafood! Incredibly fresh - best lobster roll! Fried clams incredibly lightly fried, delicious steamers and very clean restaurant. A must stop for tourists!! read more

Ted's Fried Clams - Seafood Near Me - Shapleigh, Maine

See all

I love this place! They make really good sea food. I recommend the Captains plater. It feeds a family, and you don't feel regret after you eat it. There ice cream is really good. Make sure you have your kids order the ice cream because they put extra on it. It is a little pricey but it's a local restaurant and I want my money to go to them. I wish you guys weren't a seasonal restaurant because the food is so good. read more

Worst place ever!!!! Spent 60.00$ on burnt fried clams and squid. You guys have one job and you can't even do that right

I've had better clams. As in, these clams were a tad over fried and to me really lacked any kind of flavor overall. I will give them credit that it wasn't greasy so I would say they use fresh oil and at the correct temp for frying. As well as their fries were crisp, and nicely salted. My fingers, nor the container holding my fried items were oily at all which I would say is pretty impressive since they were pretty busy. Not a long wait for food. Service was overall fine, some of the girls seemed a bit frazzled, but still friendly enough. I just didn't care for their clams at all. I wanted to taste their ice cream, but sadly they do not allow me to swipe a credit card, only debit and it is a $5 min to swipe. Pretty disappointed, but this place I would say is mostly for tourists because.. well the prices are pretty high. 11+ for a clam basket? No thanks. read more

I found $30 worth of gift cards in a birthday card in my draw. Even though they were old, I knew the law says that they do not expire. It's too bad that the Ted Fried Clam's owner is above the law will not honor them. I even showed him the law on the website and he told me to call a lawyer. Here is the law directly from the website: In Maine, state law requires that gift cards be honored indefinitely, even if the card is considered abandoned property. As a result, we determined that Maine's law does not conflict with federal law. I feel bad for the staff there since I am one of those customer's that knowing the effect on the employees from COVID, I tip extremely well. And if would have just said - yes, I will even though I don't think I need to, I would have given most if not all of it back to the staff in a tip. Where did he learn "Customer Satisfaction".... obviously, never did. Wouldn't recommend this place at all if you want to be treated well! read more

I just left teds his girl friend the manager waited on me . ( she the one who told me this info) I have never been treated rudely yell and gave me the finger and did not give me the eight change back. I order clam strip basket with onions rings . She screamed out the window not direct at anyone and yelled we have no clams strips . I proceeded to tell her she did not have to tell it was me . I said I would like to get two hot dogs then she abruptly walked away I said I would like r4ies with that not onion rings . Yes I had been on the phone but I gave her my full attention . Then I said there will be a difference in the price she threw 2 dollars at me . They give you numbers when you oder she was so abrupt with me she did not even take the number . I ask to speak to a Manger it was her and her reply was good luck I am john girlfriend . I said that's sad customer is awful in the this world and now has hit shapleigh maine . I have been going to teds for 35 years I have never had this problem before very sad read more

The website, Google and Facebook all listed their hours as open until 9. When we arrived, we were rudely told they close at 8. In the middle of my sentence, the woman turned around and ignored me completely. An hour of wasted gas just to be treated unprofessionally, all because they can't be bothered to change a single number. We went last year and the chicken and clam strips were overcooked. Was hoping to see if they did better this time. read more

I had eaten there one several years ago so I decided to stop there yesterday to get my fried clam fix. I ordered the clam chowder and the whole belly fried clams basket. With the chowder I was happy to see that it was on the thinner side, not the thick goop that a lot of places serve. It could have been seasoned better. The fried clams, on the other hand was exceedingly disappointing. They were clumped together. The batter had absolutely no flavor and they were overcooked. As I said exceedingly disappointing read more

Always consistent, good food. If they had call ahead take-out service I'd be going a lot more. The only thing I will complain about is lack of salt, but I can understand the reason they do that. read more

Went to Teds Fried Clams for the first time. We asked counter person if clams were whole belly clams and not clam strips or the large CoHog belly clams. She assured my wife and me that the clams were whole belly native clams like Ipswich clams. So we ordered a clam dinner at $21.99 for me and a clam basket at $12.99 for my wife. When the meals came out, it looked like a lot of clams but between both of us we has one clam with a belly. The rest was nothing but clam strips and batter. I asked to talk to the manager and a lady said she was the front manager. I told her about the clam strip and her response was that the bellies were small. I told her they weren't small because they were non-existent. Fried strip would be a much lesser cost. When she insisted that the clams were small, I told her I would never come back because it was misrepresenting and promoting strips as belly clams. All she said was she was sorry to here that. We plan to tell everyone on the lake about our experience and recommend they not go there. Dennis Lapointe Lebanon, ME read more

Best lobster roll and chowder for 15$! I usually don't like a cold style lobster roll but this one was pretty spectacular. Full of fresh lobster with a light mayo on a hot crunchy butter toasted roll. It really all came together perfectly. The clam chowder was surprisingly delicious and full of clams also. It's fun there's separate chowder window too. I also tried the onion rings which were huge fresh and delicious. Deff need to share the rings w a friend. Get a lobster roll if you're driving by, I had my second one in the car an hour later and it was amazingggg. read more

A good local place with some hits and misses. The fried claims are great as is just gettinf some lobster at a good price. The fisherman's platter is a great option with all the good stuff, so much you coukd feed 4 people with it. Rhe Misses tend to. E the kk ster rolls are not the best uve had, not bad but nothing to rave about worse. The worse would have to be the claim chowder snd lobster stew/bisque. E everything else seems to be made so nicely where these tend to be last thoughts premade or just crram added and microwaved. Both lack flavor or actual substance and disappointing when other items are delicious. Last comment is a bit disappointed in their strong use of Styrofoam. read more

Been going there since I was a kid be it at the shack in Wells years ago and to the one in Shapleigh Me. Thank you Johnny

Seafood platter...enough said. Very generous portions for the $$$. The place is always packed yet the service is great and the food is served quickly. Can't say enough great things about Ted's. read more