Legal Sea Foods - Downtown Crossing — Restaurant in Boston

We've dined at several Legals over the years, and have always loved 4.5-5 star service along with 5 star food. Last night we went to Legal Downtown Crossing and while the food was right up to par with what we've come to expect with Legal, the service was a 3 star experience. We were there for a show across the way. It wasn't an overly busy Tuesday night. We had a reservation for 5:15, and the host who greeted us was great. Very pleasant, so it was looking good so far. We decided to take 2 seats at the bar instead. This is where the service was not up to "Legal Standards" in our opinion. My wife ordered a drink with some mango in it and the bar server let her know there was no mango because deliveries aren't great. That's okay, we've come to expect that these days. One of us has diabetes and was beginning to experience a fast drop in blood sugar, so we asked our bar server for a quick glass of orange juice. She disappeared for a little bit and let us know that there was no o.j. in the house either. Not a problem because our health issue is our problem, but it was a bit strange to not have orange juice at a bar and restaurant. Anyway, it was just slow and wonky service there. It seems she may have not had enough help. Two patrons sat next to us and waited probably close to 3-5 minutes before being greeted by the bar - again, she might have just acknowledged them and promised to be back, but that didn't happen. Then after we were finished with our plates, they sat at the bar for a good 5-6 minutes in front of the empty chair to our right. Another patron sat there with our dirty dishes in front of him for a few minutes until someone cleared them away. Even the presentation of meals when they came out could be done better. They'd just be delivered in a deadpan voice - "salmon, simply grilled..." deadpan, "halibut..." deadpan. No smile about it, no happiness in the presentation...just deadpan. It seems to me that this is simple Hospitality 101 - serve with a smile and some happy intonation. Then, at the end of our meal a server came out with a platter of rolls and just started announcing “bread anyone? Warm bread?” It was like there had been no bread (which on reflection we weren’t offered any at the beginning of the meal like we normally would be at other Legals) and a delivery just came in. Again, just really off from what we’d expect at a Legals.

Finally, the A/C seemed to be off. It was inordinately warm in there. which at this time of year I could see because some buildings are conserving. But, it was a pretty warm dining area. When we asked about it, the bar server said we were near the dishwasher so it might be hotter in this area of the bar. Hmmmmm.

The food was delicious though. The bisque and calamari was right up to standards, and the grilled salmon and haddock was delicious. So, no complaints or criticism there at all.

So, overall it was one disappointing visit we had to a Legals. We're likely to never return to this location even if we see another show across the street. Anyway, maybe corporate will look at this as an opportunity to teach the staff at...

Horrible location. Very small no seats were available upon arrival. After a 2 hour ride to vist the city and months of planning this restaurant changed our plans.

We don't remember seeing anything advising us to make reservations or we would have. This is why I am stressing this here. They said something about the theater across the street.

Take out to eat in our hotel room. The food was ok, but definitely not as good as eating in. We ordered meals for 3 and we only received two rolls. This was odd and we wondered which meal did not include a roll or did they mess up.

My teen who love salmon ordered the salmon meal. He said it was not as good as the salmon he usually eats from our local farmers market and he would get the chicken fingers on a return vist. Szewan. My teen did like the fries and said they were better then average. Although we tried the salmon and thought it was fantastic and would consider getting salmon on a future vist.

I love to try something new when I try new restaurants like this. For me I got the Szechuan Green Beans. They were yummy slightly soggy maybe from being packed up. However they were very yummy with a good flavor. I also got the haddock meal. The haddock had a nice flavor and texture and survived the trip to the hotel I intact. It had a nice Crumb on top with a good salty flavor. I found the rice broccoli fish and extra side to be sufficiently filling but just average in taste.

We also ordered a southwestern salad with grilled shrimp on top. The shrimp portion was small and after eating the salad we were still hungry. This is where ordering in is better as one can order more food.

It was over 20 years ago since I last ate at a legal seafood and my recommendation is to definitely call for a reservation if you wish to eat here or go somewhere else if you...

Disappointing. I signed up for the current promotion and ventured into Legal for a late lunch. I ordered a 20 dollar glass of wine and ordered the fish and chip special and told the bartender I had a free cup of chowder with my meal and gave him my phone. Waited for the chowder but got served my fish n chips. Told him I had a free chowder and he claimed I didn't tell him. I did tell him but maybe he didn't hear me. Fair enough. However, the food runner brought my chowder while I had my fish and chips in front of me. I said I didn't want it now since the meal would get cold while I had the chowder. No offer to keep it warm for me. In fact, after that no communication at all. Never asked me how the meal was or asked if I would like another glass of wine despite the fact my wine glass was almost empty. He had a conversation with the gentleman next to me without talking to me once. As I was finishing my meal he dropped the check off and said I will take this when you are ready.

I was in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. I was interested in the promotion since it gave me a chance to have a few glasses of wine with my lunch. I don't normally have the budget for this kind of lunch. I am disappointed I was not asked how my meal was or if I would like another glass of wine. I had the budget for wine. I am not cheap and know how to tip. In fact, when he dropped off the check he said I was only charged for my wine. That was not my intent. I wanted to have an experience I normally cannot afford. I still gave him a 20 dollar tip and then got to hear him say sorry it was a mix up. Yeah, ok. Misunderstandings happen but never engaging me after that was wrong. I did not speak rudely or anything. Do...