Legal Sea Foods Short Hills - Colonia

I ordered the lobster roll, and it was delicious! It was big and half of it was perfect for me. My husband ordered the Mexican street cod, and that was ok....not as good as my lobster roll. We also tried the clam chowder, and that was really good! As I am writing this review, I am getting hungry! We would definitely go there again and I highly recommend it!

With the understanding that this place is a chain restaurant, I thought the food was just okay. Most of it tasted as though it was purchased from a national company like Cisco, but not as fresh as local caught. My server was fantastic. I thought he was well spoken and got the order completely correct. As a group we ordered clam chowder lobster mac and cheese, a lobster roll and the bang bang cauliflower, as well as a dozen oysters. The oysters were okay, but not with the sweet aftertaste that was advertised. I would say the most disappointing item was the lobster mac and cheese. They serve it inside a lobster shell but it was very dry and the lobster was tough and chewy. They were a little heavy on the breadcrumbs. The restaurant itself seems like it has missed its heyday for being in such an upscale location. I don't think I would be back to this particular location. I've eaten at these in Boston and have a much better experience.

Food was good. Ordered shrimp scampi, clam chowder, fish and chips, Buffalo shrimp flat bread, shrimp tacos, and Buffalo shrimp. Shrimps were a bit overcooked and fried cod bit dry. It was pretty busy so the kitchen could have been in a rush but overall experience and taste was good.

Have not visited here for a while and wondered if the food quality and experience would be the same...it was even better! We had the Grilled Tuna Burger and fries, as well as Calamari and ice cold teas. Food was perfectly seasoned, served hot and crispy, as well as plated exceptionally well (kudos to the chef and kitchen staff . Our wait staff was an experienced one who was training a new hire and they didn't miss a beat! We left overwhelmingly satisfied and will be returning this weekend for the Chilean Sea Bass, as well as desert we were too full to have on the last visit: .

The most tremendous disappointment I experienced at this restaurant was when I ordered the Lobster Bisque soup. Years ago, if you didn’t know what lobster bisque should taste like, you could reliably come here and have a taste. The soup used to be super creamy, a gorgeous lobster color, so tasty with chunks of lobster throughout. Since Covid19, the restaurant has suffered. It no longer doles out the same level of quality fare it did before. The lobster bisque today looks the color of Manhattan clam chowder, and it is bland and tasteless. I couldn’t believe how bad the soup was, and that the place keeps serving it to people. I then ordered the Skye salmon dish with Israeli couscous. I asked for a medium cook. I got back rare uncooked fish coated in fake news seasoning (that’s an appearance of seasonings in a crust but with absolutely no taste. Very disappointing again. Along with the complete interior redesign of the restaurant (which eliminated the atmosphere of elegance that came with the previous layout), this glorified sports bar owns these 2 major misses which earn Legal Seafoods a one star. But when you taste the mussels, you feel so much better about this although not in a rush to return, let alone bring someone I want to impress. So I stretch it out to 3 stars as the mussels and the service were excellent. Our waiter Roger made sure we understood the menu, and shared some useful information to help us make our choices. Yes, Legal is a classier option than Red Lobster. But let’s face it: Oceanaire is a much better and luxurious proposition.