Legal Sea Foods - Short Hills — Restaurant in Millburn

I wish Legals wouldn’t open restaurants where they aren’t operated properly. They closed down one location in this area of Jersey and I understand why. I go to Short hills and it’s even worse!! I have been sick for the last two days with salt toxicity I’m sure from a simple order of chowder I had. I called hours ahead and to order a quick quart of chowder since I would be coming close to closing I wanted to be sure it wasn’t a problem. The girl was so confused the call took me longer than even necessary I called again to request a entree I remembered having years before I described it and the young lady wasn’t familiar with item. I said let me leave earlier to decide if I can figure it out on the menu which is a 40 minute ride. I arrived granted about 20 minutes before closing 8:40 and find the menu item under “classics”. Which I explained I had many years ago she couldn’t look up classics😳?? I’m there and say I know it’s late but please ask the chef if he can make this classic item.. a simple fish with bread crumbs.. I’m not a chef and don’t know what it takes .. but I would say no kitchen is closing. Instead I was told yes. I was grateful even tipped the young lady for asking … and then received the moldiest piece of fish I EVER!! I’m from Boston and there’s no way Legals should be alright with this it was slimy in my mouth!! The chowder was another thing. I don’t want to believe it was sabotage for ordering late which I was calling from 7:15 to make sure. The amount of salt in that chowder was obnoxious while it was hot. I drank it when it was cooler and I paid for it. I’m afraid of this Legals for sure. The manager called me just asked for my credit card for the refund and not even an apology. Wow. I was speaking with someone in the lobby and they said they also had the best seafood in their life in Boston. The staff at this location should try it.

Ps. The next day a family member walks by the trash I started just earlier and asked what’s that smell? I said the fish from Legals and she then went on to tell me her horrible family birthday experience at that Short hills Legals. ...

This was our first trip to the Short Hills mall. My wife and I got hungry while shopping and was deciding between Legal Sea Foods and a steak restaurant. We so lobster roll on the menu, which we were craving, and went for it. Overall, this restaurant was a great experience. Despite not having a reservation we secured a table easily around 4:30 PM on a Sunday. I like the restaurant vibe with how it is designed with cool looking tables, and the bar setup in the middle. They also have TVs playing games so it's a good mix of casual bar + nice restaurant vibe.

-=Food=-

The starter bread they give is warm and pretty tasty. Good but nothing special Clam chowder, my wife is a big fan of clam chowder and she liked it a lot. Chunky with a lot of content and right amount of salty flavor. It came out within minutes or ordering which we appreciated. We wanted something warm prior the main meal. A recommend Lobster roll, we got the warm butter style, which is traditionally a Connecticut-style. The lobster and bread bun were just on the point. It was great. I would want to try to mayo style next time. Cioppino, seafood assorted in tomato broth, was pretty good. Tasty sort but nothing amazing.

Overall the food was great! no complaints, and we especially liked the lobster roll and clam chowder.

-=Service=-

Our server was a pleasant lady named Shaelle and she was probably the best server we had in recent memory! She was attentive and checked upon us just at the right frequency, and helped with food and drink recommendations She was very considerate, picking up my wife's input on the style of lobster roll (which was my order) she cut it in half and brought it out on two separate plates for us. We were really appreciative She just had overall good energy with pleasant vibe that makes customers at ease and happy

Service was superbly awesome. Thank you Shaelle!

We liked the experience here and would likely come back if we happen to be...

I reserved a table for my 45th birthday dinner party at Legal Seafood on 12/10/22 and the service was unwelcoming and cold. There was no acknowledgment of my birthday by anyone even though the staff was notified twice and a note was made on the online reservation. When leaving, we asked the hostess if Legal Seafood celebrates birthdays and she said yes but we just do not sing. There was no celebration for me, one bit! Legal Seafood was petty about their drinks. Unless there is an unwritten policy about no ice in drinks in the restaurant industry, asking for no ice should not warrant the same cocktail being placed in different glasses. Someone asked for no ice in their drink order and in return they were given the cocktail in a 13oz glass as opposed to someone else who received the same cocktail in a 21 oz glass. A simple explanation would suffice. The waitress spilled juice from an oyster platter on one of our jackets. She was unapologetic, never showed remorse and stated the Restaurant Manager would see us. The restaurant manager, Robert Monaco, mimicked the waitress’s unapologetic response and was flippant in his approach as he stated it was not oyster juice - it was water from the ice. It felt like they did not want us in the establishment (certainly NOT warm and inviting like restaurants are suppose to be). It was insulting how they acted about the situation. There was an offer to pay for dry cleaning. We were instructed to email the dry cleaning receipt over to Robert, which we will be following up on. For the amount of money we spent, the service did not align. When I patronize a restaurant with the intent of spending a significant amount of money, I expect quality service which I did not receive. I believe because we were a black party, this is why we were treated as such. I love shopping at the Short Hills Mall but my friends and I will not support businesses like Legal Seafood who do not value each and...