Legal Sea Foods - Kendall Square — Restaurant in Cambridge

Delicious food & great service, especially if you need to adjust the ingredients for allergies or sensitivities. The food at Legal Seafoods is wonderful & they have a big selection. A lot of their meals have wonderful buttery or creamy sauces which I'm told are delicious! Buuuut.... I have a gallbladder issue and can't eat buttery, creamy, oily, fried, or spicy food. I talked to the waiter and he spent time at our table helping me decide what to get; he was very knowledgeable about the ingredients and sauces which I thought was impressive, and he was honest with me, so he'd say "no, I think that might be a little too heavy for you" and I really REALLY appreciated that. He helped me discover that they have an ala carte section where you pick the fish, how you want it made, choose from a list of sauces (or you can have it without sauce) and 2 sides. They have a list of sides that come with the meal, plus they have a list of premium sides which cost a little more (but I think it's only +$1.50). I got 1 side dish from each. From the included sides I got sautéed mushrooms; it was a good size bowl of them & they were delicious! From the premium sides I got brussels sprouts with bacon, sooo good!! I ended up getting salmon from the ala carte menu without any sauce on it. I was worried that it might be kind of dry or boring, but the waiter said it wouldn't be and I figured I could always add a sauce on the side. Per the waiter's suggestion I had it cooked medium, and it was so good!! It was juicy, and not even remotely dry, but it didn't have that gelatinous undercooked taste either. It was perfect, and much to my surprise it was delicious without any sauce; it was just cooked with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. It was a nice big piece of salmon and the side dishes were big enough that I had leftovers of each (no leftover salmon, I go bed that down!). My friend got a fried seafood dish that looked and smelled wonderful and she said it was amazing. Great presentation, and it wasn't overly oily like some fried seafood can be. Lastly, we are both slow eaters. We ARE however sensitive to the fact that wait staff needs the turnover of tables in order to make good money, so we went at 9:15 pm and it wasn't busy so we weren't rushed. The waiter waited a long time before he even asked me if he should take my plate away. I thanked him for that, because any slow eaters out there, I'm sure you've had many times where waiters take your food away when you're nowhere near done just because you put your fork down. He didn't do that which was impressive because I usually tell wait staff that I'm a slow eater, but a really good tipper because of it and I had forgotten to tell him that that. Altogether a great experience. If I find my receipt and the waiter's name, I'll update my review because good customer service is hard to find these days and you'd be sure to get it if you sat in his section; you might spot him though because he's REALLY tall (like ~6'8!) Cheers and...

We were visiting from Chicago. My husband went to school in Boston, and when we visit, we plan to dine at Legal Seafood at least once. It’s been a few years. We typically go to the downtown Boston location near the harbor. Today we were in Cambridge for the afternoon and decided to go to the MIT Kendall Square location out of convenience.

It was by far one of the worst dining experiences we have ever had. The restaurant was not busy at all (throughout the entire visit on aSaturday). We were seating immediately at a bar table. A server who appeared to then bartend took our order. We started with the house salad and a bowl of clam chowder. I will say that the clam chowder was fabulous and still some of the best chowder anywhere! That was the highlight. We ordered two entrees: husband got the cod with lemon and capers, and I got “Haddock cooked Anna’s way” which is listed as a “Legal seafood classic”.

Unfortunately, the haddock was not cooked. The bread crumbs on top were browned, but as soon as I bit into it, I knew it was raw in the middle. It took a bit to get someone’s attention, and when another server came by and saw it on my plate she said “oh my God”…,(validating) apologized, and took it away. I told her I’d keep my plate (with broccoli and rice pilaf) and please just get me another piece of fish— I asked for the cod this time as my husband’s fish looked cooked through.

The waiting started. In the meantime, we discovered that the lemon and capers were missing from my husband’s entree. So, while his fish was at least cooked through, it was pretty bland.

The waiting continued. My husband just squeezed some lemon on his fish and finished his meal. I’m still waiting for a piece of replacement fish.

The server explained that she had reported to the chef and manager and they offered to buy a dessert. We passed. I just wanted dinner. I finally did get my fish… at which time the manager took my now cold sides and said he’d replace them. He did, but now I’m eating a piece of fish so it doesn’t get cold and my husband is watching me have dinner since his meal had long been done.

I did let this very nice server know it wasn’t her fault. We tipped her. When she brought the bill she said I wasn’t being charged for the meal — which I took to mean either one: the half raw fish or the cod I waited forever for. Nope. They meant that I wouldn’t be charged for the undercooked fish. Thanks, I guess?

We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Hoping this isn’t indicative of all locations. We expect quality dining and seafood from “Legal Seafood”. Just so disappointing for the meal we saved for our last...

A terrible measly 4oz salt-fest of a swordfish steak for $30 thanks to an annoyed chef...Never going back.

A work party of 14 went to Legal Kendal Square tonight for a dinner. Everyone got drinks, appetizers, main courses, desserts. We're talking a very big check for the restaurant.

For the main course I order a swordfish steak, blackened. Several people in my party hear it. The waitress hears it, too, because she repeats "swordfish steak, blackened..." Fine.

Well, the food comes, and my swordfish steak is not blackened. It's just a broiled swordfish steak. It's a decent sized steak. I note that the steak is not as I ordered. The server takes it back. No apology, mind you. But he takes it back.

3-4 minutes later a replacement arrives. This time the steak is a joke. If it weighs 4 oz I'd be shocked. It's about half the size, maybe less, of the first steak they brought me. And it's thinner as well. For $30. Sorry, but there is no swordfish steak worth $30 for 4oz. Clearly, the cook was pissed off I returned the steak that he messed up and he was going to punish me by sending me a really small serving.

On top of that, it was almost inedible. It was not so much blackened but covered in a bit of a blackened glaze and a HUGE amount of salt. I am not "allergic" to salt, but this was off the scale ridiculous.

I didn't want to create a scene, so I ate it. But it was both horrible and such a small portion, as the joke goes.

I'll tell you this: I've worked in the kitchen before. I know sometimes customers can be a PITA. I'm not that kind of customer (clearly; I didn't even bother returning the second steak, when I should have). I only return things that are grossly different than what I order. This was one of those cases. But also clearly the chef was pissed. Or maybe the waiter was pissed and did it in cahoots with the chef. He certainly didn't apologize for the messup in the first place. But in any event: They made a mistake, then got pissed that it was brought to their attention, and decided to make a point.

Well, let me make a point: I will never go back to this restaurant (and they've taken plenty of my money over the years). And I'll make sure my company doesn't either.

Prey that when you go, they don't...