Boston-based Legal Sea Foods has long been known for its chef-curated menu featuring both New England seafood specialties and global flavors.
“We’d put together a dish that we felt everything went perfectly well together, but everybody wanted to modify it,” said Matt King, president and COO of the casual-dining chain. “They wanted this on the side, and asked ‘can I sub the green beans for broccoli? ‘Can I change this to this?’ So we just decided, instead of fighting it, let's lean into it.”
The new “From the Sea” menu section now offers guests a chance to choose a protein, flavor style and two sides. In the protein category, there are 10 current seafood selections, including Grilled Striped Bass, Seared Cod Loin, Grilled Shrimp, Grilled Salmon and Seared Yellowfin Tuna. Each can be prepared in a “Fresh & Savory” style, flavored with garlic herb chimichurri, lemon butter and crispy capers, or roasted corn salsa and avocado crema, for example. Or those who prefer “Earthy & Spicy” can opt for Cajun blackened and hot butter, seasoned red wine sauce, or nori chili crust and sticky soy sauce.
Landlubbers can choose steak or chicken instead, customizing with the same flavor styles. There also are 10 side options to choose from, including crispy potato wedges, rice pilaf, Szechuan green beans, roasted mushrooms, cole slaw and Brussels sprouts with bacon.
That doesn’t mean that Legal Sea Foods’ signatures and composed dishes are no longer on the menu. In fact, King was formerly head chef at the restaurant chain and no doubt was the creative force behind many of them.
“We still have our baked haddock. That’s a classic dish that's always going to be there, and we've got our best-selling lobster mac and cheese,” King related on a recent episode of the Menu Talk podcast. Plus, the Legal Lobster Roll, Crab Cake and New England Clam Chowder are on the menu at all 27 locations and will never be taken off.
“We also have specific curated dishes, but we've tried to focus, as Legal Sea Foods always has, on sourcing the best possible ingredients that we can,” he said. “That means the freshest, most sustainable fish that we can possibly buy, and then coming up with different preparations.” The new mix-and-match format puts the attention smack on sourcing and seasonality.
Limited-time offers are part of the menu strategy, too. “They’ve been really helpful for us in better understanding our guests,” said King. The restaurants usually try an LTO for a month and if it motivates frequency, it might rotate onto the permanent menu. That was the case with a recent Chilean sea bass dish. Although that wild fish species is not always available, King and his team identified a farmed version out West and were able to add it back to the winter menu.
Legal Sea Foods boasts one of the most varied selections of fish on its menu. But when asked what the best seller is King replied, “salmon. We sell more salmon than anything else.”
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