Legal Seafoods now that it's a chain

I always wanted to eat at Legal Seafoods in Boston. Now it's a chain, comprising about 30 restaurants, most of them in the Boston area but the rest scattered all about. The Palm Beach Florida location is a possibility for us when we're there later this month. So, the obvious question is: now that Legal Seafoods is a chain, are they no better than a Red Lobster? Or do the restaurants retain some of the "magic" (whatever that was or is) of the original location?

oy, what a difficult question to answer. I don't find Legal particularly magical -- it is, in fact, torture, but not for the reasons you would think (it isn't the food). The rolls are the same, the chowder the same, the grilled fish the same. There's a lot that's the same...and it is what keeps folks like mom going back once a month. My grandmother would take us there to lunch, and at one of these lunches I learned that "ladies only tip a dollar per lady", regardless of the bill. I waited until she left the area to plunk down slightly more proportionate tip. My mother still tortures me with visits there every time I go back to Boston. It isn't that it is bad, it is just that there is so much better out there now. At least the fish is exceptionally fresh.

Legal has a very consistent menu, but changes approximately 25% of it regularly. One of the new Logan Airport outposts even features a sort of Legal test kitchen where you can sample experimental dishes that may make it on to the regular Legal menu someday.

Since I have never eaten at a Legal outside of Boston, I can't comment one way or another on how the Florida restaurants compare to the New England locations. My thoughts? If there is reputable local dining, try that first. If not, Legal is consistent, if unexciting.

Do you still have to pay before you are served? I haven't been for about 30 years, but I clearly remember at the original Inman Square location being surprised when the bill arrived before the food. Actually, it had one big advantage. When you were done, you could just stand up and leave - no flagging down the server and waiting for the bill, waiting for the bill to be picked up, and then waiting for the change.

Bill/SFNM

Oh, no...you pay just like in any other restaurant now. In the old days, before they went all chain, they served food as it came up -- they never held plates or tried to coordinate the serving of a single table -- and they let you know in advance with some very wordy paper placemats that told their story and explained why they were different. As a result, you could be almost finished by the time your dining companion was served. That isn't so much the case anymore.

I haven't eaten there much since maybe 10 years ago, but the seafood at that time (when they were already a pretty big chain) was of high quality. I haven't ever eaten at a Red Lobster, but I would guess that Legal Seafoods is much, much better. I do still stop by the airport locations if there's time before my flight. Always order the fried (whole) clams, which are exceptional.

I have to agree with Chris- Legal is no Red Lobster. Banish the thought. It is apples and...plastic apples. Red Lobster isn't even a dumbed down version of Legal. Its a stick figure version as imagined by a large corporation that is singlehandedly responsible for the lion's share of shrimp abuse in this country. There is no comparison whatsoever.

The one time I went to Legal Seafoods was a little more than a year ago, just off the property of the Providence airport. I'd say it was considerably better than the one time or two I've been to a Red Lobster--I had a crab roll that was excellent. Everything we got seemed to be very fresh, but unexciting hits the nail on the head.

The service was exceedingly slow (just what our then-10-month-old needed between a 2.5 hour flight and a 2 hour drive), but I can't say whether that's an anomoly or common.

I've not only eaten at a chain-gang Legal, I've actually eaten at the location in question (Palm Beach, FL)...

I found it much more on the level of say, Cheesecake Factory, than of your typical Red Lobster/Olive Garden. It was decent seafood prepared and served competently. I'm not certain I'd get that excited or go that far out of my way to eat there, but there are plenty of wors options.

I know it's not seafood, but check out the little Italian place by the fountain in CityPlace, just across the street -- Il Bellagio, I believe -- or we've eaten well at the City Cellar, too.

Queijo wrote:I have to agree with Chris- Legal is no Red Lobster. Banish the thought.

_____Hell no, Legal Seafoods is still a force for east coast seafood. I've been traveling back and forth from the Midwest to the Boston area since 2000 and always stop at a Legal. It's better for me that they're a chain since I can hit it at a variety of eastern seaboard destinations. Red Lobster?...come on now.

Queijo wrote:The rolls are the same, the chowder the same, the grilled fish the same. There's a lot that's the same...

_____I think the experiences with your grandmother have turned you off to this great restaurant. Sure the majority of it is the same, but what they make is so d*mn good! Why break it?
_____They do try, actually. Last time I was out there, I ate at a location down on a wharf next to the aquarium and theaters? Anyway, they were trying a variety of Asian-inspired dishes to spice up the menu. None of my family tried any because we loved the old staples and could barely get enough of those!

Holly of Uptown wrote:Everything we got seemed to be very fresh, but unexciting hits the nail on the head.

_____I don't consider my palette dulled, but it may have been after reading the mediocre reviews. Maybe it’s because I'm a Midwesterner, but in my travels, gaining my masters in Milton, MA, and just memories alone, I don't see how anyone could pass a visit to Legal up. In my humble opinion, Legal is a cornerstone of solid east coast seafood cuisine which makes a confident contribution to the vibrant offerings of coastline living. I wish I could have a bowl of chow-dah right now!

Well, as someone who lives in Boston these days, I can't help but add my two cents. I have found the Legal Seafood chain a lot like the Hilton. It's dependable wherever you go. It doesn't have the character of, say, the Union Oyster House. Now, admitedly, I'm a big fan of lobster, and theirs was the first I tasted, so I'm a bit biased. I will also say that their clam chowder (or "chahdah" as the locals say) is quite possibly the best I've had. That said, I'm not the biggest fan of clam chowder, so my experience with it is somewhat limited. I've been to six Legal locations (Park Plaza, Fenuiel Hall, Kendal Square, Hahvahd Square, Providence Airport, and Logan Airport), but like has already been said, I can't speak to the ones outside New England.

Rob wrote:(or "chahdah" as the locals say)

Speaking strictly as a "local", its chowdah, not chahdah.

Back to elocution school wichu!

Zin wrote:I don't consider my palette dulled, but it may have been after reading the mediocre reviews. Maybe it’s because I'm a Midwesterner, but in my travels, gaining my masters in Milton, MA, and just memories alone, I don't see how anyone could pass a visit to Legal up. In my humble opinion, Legal is a cornerstone of solid east coast seafood cuisine which makes a confident contribution to the vibrant offerings of coastline living. I wish I could have a bowl of chow-dah right now!

Having been born and bred in New England (and having also gone to college in Boston, MA), I don't think anyone that I've known there would consider LS a cornerstone of east coast seafood. I think it's viewed probably along the lines of some of the steakhouses here in Chicago. You can get a solid meal, but you wouldn't consider most of them as serving some the best steak in the Midwest. There are lots of other places that locals would go to first if they wanted really good seafood.

I agree with the others that I wouldn't make a point of going to the chain if there were better options available.

what aschie30 said! Having both grown up in Boston and earned my undergrad there (on the better side of the river), I can say with certainty that there are countless other seafood shacks, joints, and even upscale venues that are many times more interesting than Legal. This isn't saying legal is bad (it isn't, not at all), but why satisfice when there are better options out there?

aschie30 wrote:Having been born and bred in New England (and having also gone to college in Boston, MA), I don't think anyone that I've known there would consider LS a cornerstone of east coast seafood.

_____Alright my people. I can take a few hits. My Midwestern palate maybe more dulled and my experiences less expansive then those born and bred there.
_____I may have also been a bit strong with my verbiage on the whole "cornerstone" of today's Legal Seafood chain-restaurant. But if a cornerstone is an important support and link between the bricks of a building, then I think what Legal has done would have allowed other restaurants to build off of, be inspired, or simply supported by it?
_____I wouldn't be offended if someone said Uno's was the cornerstone of Chicago-style pizza. Sure, like Legal, it is a chain nowadays and has, in some people's minds, digressed as a result. But from this cornerstone the great masons of deep dish pizza created Lou’s or Giordano's.

"Agree to disagree?"

one dish that always shines for me are the freshly breaded clam strips, wonderful. I usually try different items when I go to restaurants, not at LS.