You don’t have to be a Bostonian to revel in chowdah. Clam chowder is every bit as beloved on the West Coast, where chefs at waterside restaurants — and more than a few inland — pride themselves on their creamy New England-style soup, whether it’s served in porcelain bowls or rounds of sourdough bread. But you don’t have to venture to Fisherman’s Wharf for such deliciousness. Here are four fantastic chowder options across the East and South Bays.

Forthright Oyster Bar & Kitchen

Address: 1700 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell

Contact: 408-628-0683; www.eatoystersatforthright.com

Hours: Open daily for dinner, and Wednesday-Friday for dinner. Chowder joins the weekend brunch menu options at 11 a.m.

Sure, you can guess that a place with oyster in its name would shuck a gazillion of those bivalves every week. But who knew that Forthright Oyster Bar & Kitchen sells 100 quarts’ worth of clam chowder too? Turns out the recipe was the first one that restaurateur Jim Stump learned back when he was a teenager working at the Pruneyard’s Outlook, and he’s been fine-tuning it ever since, he says, over 20 years at the Los Gatos Brewing Company and since opening Forthright in 2016.

Head to this Campbell hot spot and tuck into a cup ($5) or a bowl ($10) while you peruse the seafood-laden menu. Stump calls it a West Coast style, roux-based chowder, and it’s packed with surf clams, potatoes, celery, onions, applewood-smoked bacon (“and I like a little corn in there”), then finished with heavy cream. OK, so after that you’ll order grilled fish or ceviche and skip dessert, right?

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Walnut Creek Yacht Club

Address: 1555 Bonanza St., Walnut Creek

Contact: 925-944-3474; www.wcyc.net

Hours: Open for lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday

OK, so downtown Walnut Creek may not be the place that springs to mind when you think of good clam chowder — and you may be worried that you can’t get into the Walnut Creek Yacht Club without a membership. No matter.

You don’t need a membership, and this island outpost offers chowder that is everything chowder should be and nothing it shouldn’t. Rich and creamy but not heavy. Well-stocked with clams and bacon — and not drowning in potatoes — this Topneck Clam Chowder ($9-$11) was a pleasure to slurp down on a chilly winter night.

If your tastes run more to the piquant and less to the luxurious, try the West Indian “Pepperpot” ($8-$10), a tomato broth stocked with fish, prawns, chicken and more. I could have used a little more spice or acid to cut the sweetness in the cinnamon-y broth, but it was a great chowder alternative.

To make a light meal out of your chowder, you can add the Dungeness Crab Cakes ($16), served with an apple, fennel and Brussels-sprout salad, or the Maine Lobster Mac & Cheese Gratin ($25), swimming in a pungent Emmental and provolone sauce.

Billy’s Boston Chowder House

Address: 29 East Main St., Los Gatos

Contact: 408-827-4005; www.bostonchowderhouse.com

Hours: Open daily for lunch and dinner

Boston-trained chef Bill Reynolds grew up going to Fenway and spending his summers eating in the crab shacks of Maine. But the restaurant he and fellow Red Sox fan Lance Wagner opened in Los Gatos in 2010 is no shack. Billy’s Boston Chowder House is a casual, yet intimate restaurant with classic New England eats, including cioppino, hot buttered lobster rolls and linguine and clams.

Reynolds is kind and gregarious; he’ll likely swing by your table to make sure you and your food are wicked good. You can’t go wrong with a cup ($5.95) or bowl ($9.95) of the classic New England Clam Chowder, which is creamy, piping hot and loaded with Manila clams and diced potatoes. We also liked the Lobsta Bisque ($7.95/$11.95): velvety smooth with bits and slivers of lobster meat. Order the Chowder Sampler ($14.95) and you’ll get both of those, along with the Manhattan Clam, which features a soothing yet slightly under-seasoned tomato broth.

Lake Chalet

Address: 1520 Lakeside Drive, Oakland

Contact: 510-208-5253; www.thelakechalet.com

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Milpitas Trader Joe’s opens doors to customers You can’t beat the location. The Lake Chalet restaurant and bar are perched on the banks of Oakland’s Lake Merritt, with views of gondolas, twinkle lights and sleek, quacking mallards. Whether you’re sitting indoors or out on the deck, where market umbrellas shade the dining tables, it’s a splendid spot to be on a sunny day no matter what the season.

And if that season happens to be winter, you can still dine al fresco — New Year’s Day was astonishingly balmy. Just order your house Lake Merritt IPA ($7.95) and clam chowder ($7.95) at the bar, before heading outdoors. Lake Chalet’s generously sized bowls hold classic New England-style chowder. It’s thick, creamy and studded with Manila clams and chewy bacon — and just the thing after a brisk lakeside walk. A 3-mile hike has to offset some of those calories, right?

What’s your fave?

Clam chowder has passionate devotees. We’ve shared a few of our favorites in the East and South Bays. Now it’s your turn. What did we miss? Boudin? Scott’s? Every single spot on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf? Email your favorite chowder spot — and tell us why you love it — to jburrell@bayareanewsgroup.com.

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