A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

It’s Christmas and we decided to have our dinner at Legal Harborside with my parents. The streets are empty and we are able to find a parking spot on the street.

Legal’s first floor is a casual atmosphere where the second floor is more of a formal dining room. We opt for the first floor as the 2nd is hosting a prix fixe menu tonight. The front area is empty so we are surprised when we head to the rear by the water that there are actually quite a few people here. There were tables with chairs (as seen above) but there were also picnic style benches (where we sat). I get that picnic style is all the range these days, but I’m not sure I’m on board. There is no place to hang your coat, so you have to squeeze onto the bench with the coats in between the two people, and we had to move our whole table because the table behind us had pushed their bench out so far. And really, sometimes you just want to lean back while you’re enjoying your meal…

There are a fair amount of people sitting at the bar just grabbing a few drinks, but no one is at the sushi bar or watching Legal shuck oysters.

How can you go to Legal and not get clam chowder? ($6.95)

The menu here is a little different than let’s say Chestnut Hill or Natick. Here they have little bites, pizza and pasta options that the other restaurants don’t have, but they also have go to favorites so don’t worry! I have the shrimp fra diavlo ($16.95)  that looks more like it would come from Bertucci’s than Legal. It is smothered (drenched) in red sauce, it just didn’t feel like there was any care in preparing this dish.

Other people at the table had things that were a bit more appetizing. The fish tacos ($11.95) with avocado, crudito and salsa verde looked bright and crisp. The fish was lightly battered and there was a really fresh and light taste to the dish.

The linguini with clams, pancetta, garlic, white wine, and grated cheese did not disappoint ($16.95) and there was enough left over for leftovers tomorrow!

The salmon ($18.95) came with two sides, we had the jasmine rice (which was cold) and the buckwheat soba noodles. The fish was quite tasty.

For dessert, we shared seasonal crisp that came warm with a scoop of ice cream. It took three times to get a hot cup of coffee, and by the time it came, the rest of the table was done with dessert. It was a little bit chaotic, whether it was from the layout of the restaurant or the fact that it was Christmas. We had a hard time flagging down our waitress when we needed things. I think that we will go back and try Legal Harborside when the weather is nicer, I think that we will have a better experience.

Legal Harborside

270 Northern Avenue
Liberty Wharf
Boston, MA 02210
617-477-2900

See their website here

Valet parking is available for $16 and they offer validated rates at the Park Lane garage.

Tags: casual dining, financial district, restaurant, seafood