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If we only have one evening to eat really great seafood, what do you suggest?

socialworker

I know many will have opinions, but Boston is a seafood city. To me this question is very difficult to answer, akin to asking for the best beef in Kansas....I mean can there really be such a thing?

For freshness, cleanliness, quality and purity of the fish, no one beats Legal's. However, are those the criteria for judging what is really great seafood? Or is one referring to the mode of preparation?

We go to Legal's on the average about every 3 weeks. We like it for the consistency and the quality. Some people like other places....

hpeabody

Yummmmmmmmmmm, I have been to Legal Seafood a few times (I am from CA, but get to the east coast once in in while.) I agreee with the previous poster, Legal Seafood is a good bet.

escargot

here is a link to a recent thread here on where is the best seafood (as well as other requests regarding Boston)

you might find some great suggestions here:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=35029067

gail

Just remember, even close to coast, good seafood is not cheap - if you find a place where it is, you are getting forzen fish and are in the wrong place.

peggybauer

I have been to Legal Seafoods many times. It is best in its category. It offers variety, quality and usually good service. The one time I did have a problem, the manager came to our table without me having to ask, and more than compensated us, we left very happy. I recommend you make reservations if you can. There is a reason they are so busy.

travelbuff

The other posters are right on, but I'd like to suggest the No Name, which is also VERY good and the Union Oyster House, which has LOTS of history and is next to Fanuiel Marketplace for a little more fun and history.

gail

Jasper White's Summer Shack - the one in Cambridge on Red Line at Alewife over the downtown location. Casual, big lobster tanks, partially open kitchen. Raw oysters and cherrystones if you are into that kind of thing. Daily balckboard specials. Really excellent corn bread before dinner and incredible pies after.

TxTravelPro

I just got back from a week (8 days) in Boston.
We went to Legal on Saturday night and I had the Lobster with Polenta and onion strings.
The polenta was DELISH.
The lobster tail was tough, the claw mushy. I was very disappointed.
One member of our party got her food 25 minutes later (also lobster) and they said "Oh, sorry... no more polenta" without offering an alternate.
We got stuck going to the one at Copely Place.
I had some great food in Boston, but Legal was the low point.

Hubster

Legal Seafoods started in the Boston area, but it is no longer synonomous with the area, being that it has multiple locations on the East Coast and Florida.

I would recommend the Union Oyster House, which happens to be the oldest restaurant in the U.S. in terms of continous service.

gail

To each his/her own - I am not a Union Oyster House fan, despite its history. I have eaten there at times when I swear I got some of the food from its original opening.

socialworker

HI TX--if you really are a travel pro, you should have told someone about your dissatisfaction w/the lobster. Servers come by and ask how things are and you had very good cause to give them an honest answer!! That being said, the Copley location (in the mall?) is not the best one, but that is *no* excuse for sub-standard fish! The one time (in ~ 150 lifetime vistits) our fish at Legal's was not up to snuff, it was replaced immediately and apologetically.

However, upon reading Hubster's comment, I agree that if there is only one night to go out, Union Oyster is probably the best choice, b/c one gets a quaint historical experience along with the food. Altho after 30 years in Boston, we have only eaten there once or twice, the fish was very good and the place is a one-of-kind experience.

socialworker

Hi gail, just curious, what did you have there? I thought the chowder was better than Legal's and that the scrod was really tasty and well-prepared. My BIL had the fried fisherman's---not nearly as good as Legal's---but overall it was a great place for a tourist...

Hubster

To each his/her own...I have been to Legal Seafoods in Chestnut Hill when I had to settle for my 4th choice from the menu, because my first 3 weren't available, though listed.

TxTravelPro

It was a tricky situation.
930pm on a Saturday night. It appeared they were running out of food. We were a party of 12 or so.
It took 15 minutes to get a waiter and then we got him only because we grabbed him as he walked by.
Took another 15 minutes to get drinks, then another 15 for appetizers.
Entree's came out staggered and incorrect and as I said, one member of the group got hers 25 minutes after the rest of the group.
There was loads of complaining going on and I felt anything more than a comment to agree that mine was tough would have been rude.
The manager did come over and offer a 50.00 credit. The bill was huge, and 50.00 did not seem adequate, but I was a guest and did not want the host to feel any worse than they already did.
We had a reservation at the Longwharf location but it somehow got messed up resulting in a 90 minute wait. The hostess called the other location at the mall and sent us there...

I had meals at Tremont 647, Sel De La Terre, Upstairs on the Square (Cambridge), Rumba Bar, KO Prime, Sauciety and a few others...

Sel De La Terre was my favorite!

socialworker

HI TX_---Thanks for the deatils....why dont' you copy what you just sent here to the corporate wedbsite? That is just so unbelievably outrageous that I feel you must let them know of these totally unacceptable occurrences.

I found this online and all you would have to do is cut and paste your fodor post. I urge you to do it. Corporate should know about this and there should be some consideration beyond the paltry $50.

http://www.legalseafoods.com/index.c...ices/pid/11313

socialworker

ps to Tx and everyone else....my son had a temp job one summer in college in the customer service dept of a rstrnt chain. When people wrote in with *detailed* accounts of the problem they had at a rstrnt, they received compensation. And this was a low-medium priced family-style restaurant chain, so I would expect even more from an upscale place who so values their reputation....