Legal Sea Foods

Alyssa
Alyssa
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
13
Reviews
11
Photos

Legal Sea Foods

  • November 26, 2003
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Emily Marie from Bronx, New York
When the first Legal Seafoods first started popping up, they were situated in the Boston/New England area. As I think about Legal, I can easily remember four loacations in the Boston area: Logan Airoprt, the Park Plaza area, and two in the Copley Place/Prudential Center mall complex.

Legal has good seafood at rather decent prices. They change their menu slightly every few months. My personal fave my last few times at Legal was the salmon burger: salmon ground up and seasoned and served on a bun like a normal burger. They seem to take pride in their clam chowder at Legal, and it's a good buy as a starter.

Most of the Legals have a somewhat rustic, fisherman's look to them--buoys, pictures of boats, and stuffed fish adorn the walls. The Legal in the Colpley mall (above the movie theater) is more of a trendy-looking bar, and I remember the prices being higher here. The menu in the bar is also different. The other Legal in the Prudential section of the mall is better in my mind, and fits into the chain's atmosphere.

Boston is a big seafood town. Legal is a convenient, affordable way to experience seafood in Beantown.

From journal Baseball, Boston

Legal Sea Foods

  • August 22, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by dwhen714 from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
Great quality food and a nice dining experience. They have a children's menu but at the same time, it is truly a fine dining experience place. It's a good place to treat yourself to a nice meal on a night out.

From journal Boston, Plymouth, and Cape Cod Trip

Legals by the Aquarium

  • March 8, 2003
  • Rated 5 of 5 by cabanaboy from Boston*, Massachusetts
If you are looking for quality seafood, this is the place to go. With many locations in Boston, you are sure not to miss this restaurant.

From journal Boston Baked Beans

Editor Pick

Legal Sea Food

  • September 5, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by kjlouden from , West Virginia
Legal Sea Food

Perhaps you know the concept of "legal seafood." The waiter explained that the establishment has their own inspectors who meet the fishing boats directly, so that the lucky customer could count on the freshest seafood possible. I counted on it with the Boston scrod and was pleased. It was delicious and reasonably priced at about $16. My friend, who doesn't like seafood, found many chicken dishes to choose from and found his delicious, and we both enjoyed healthy fresh steamed vegetables. Altogether, dinner was a pleasant sidewalk experience serenaded by violin, so forget noise from the street, which is mostly a walkway for humans, anyway. There is a bar and a good wine list, but we didn't imbibe.

Aside from the food, we chose this restaurant because there are tables outside, where we could enjoy the fresh air and see all that was going on at Long Wharf. Tour buses and ferries to the Charlestown Navy Yard are all stationed right across the street, and we, having just arrived in Boston, were content to watch them come and go. We were happy here observing the activity, but later we found the more secluded Rowe's Wharf, totally away from any noise from the street. Still, Legal Sea Food is a convenient and delicious stop before or after a bus tour or ferry ride.

From journal Boston’s Impromptu Serenade

Editor Pick

Legal Sea Foods

  • September 3, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Idler from Poolesville, Maryland
Legal Sea Foods

Although I don’t often make a point of seeking out well-known restaurants when travelling and tend instead to simply follow my nose when my stomach rumbles (a habit, alas, which has done nothing for my waistline), my husband is a more deliberate diner and wanted to sample one of Boston’s signature restaurants, the venerable Legal Sea Foods, while we were in town.

Starting as a fish market back in the ‘50’s, Legal Sea Foods came to wider notice when Julia Child began buying seafood for her television program there. The owners soon branched out into the restaurant business, opening a simple no-frills spot with sawdust-strewn floors and communal plank table seating. From there Legal’s reputation for the freshest fish, expertly cooked, took off, and the single Cambridge location has gradually expanded to no fewer than 26 restaurants up and down the East Coast. Their slogan, proudly trumpeted in numerous TV spots and print ads, is "If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t Legal!"

The Legal’s Park Plaza restaurant is in an attractively renovated art-deco style building near the theater district, a convenient spot for tourists and townies alike. We were grateful we had made reservations, for the crowd on Tuesday night looked to me more like that of a Saturday night. One thing that impressed me, however, was that although the restaurant was busy, the staff didn’t seem rushed and the noise level was a relaxed rumble rather than a cacophonous din. Subdued lighting, with hanging spot lamps casting a mellow glow over each table and a hip Asia-meets-Art-Deco décor further contributed to a relaxed ambience.

The test of any restaurant, however, is its food. Legal Sea Foods, I’m happy to say, lived up to its reputation for fresh, expertly prepared seafood. We three whetted our appetites beforehand with tasty appetizers of clam chowder, Greek salad, and shrimp cocktail, respectively. Then I opted for a mixed assortment of wood-grilled fish and shellfish, while my husband had stuffed flounder and my son ordered wood-grilled trout. I was very impressed with my selection, a trio of four-ounce cuts of different fish (tuna, salmon, and blue fish), succulent grilled scallops and juicy shrimp. A baked potato and crunchy stir-fried squash complemented this ideal sampler meal. We selected a half bottle of reasonably-priced Venetian Pinot Grigio from Legal’s award-winning wine list to accompany the meal and promptly wished we’d ordered a whole bottle of this crisp, flavorful wine.

The service was attentive; in fact, one oddity was that no fewer than three managerial staff came by to ask us if we were finding everything satisfactory. Clearly, quality control is a very big thing at Legal Sea Foods, which is all to the good, but we found the repeated inquiries somewhat obtrusive. However, aside from that we were very happy with our meal and overall experience there and hope to dine at one of Legal’s Maryland locations the next time we’re up for a seafood splurge.

From journal You Say You Want a Revolution

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