LTK

10/24/09

Won't rush back

by goforut at Citysearch

I went to LTK with two main expectations; an adventurous seafood menu to choose from, and then a delicious seafood dinner.

The menu was a pretty typical seafood menu. In fact, given that you can see Boston Harbor from the dining room, the menu was lacking any information regarding which fish was local and which was shipped in.

Our server also explained that the "test" in LTK is more about the atmosphere and using hand-held computers to place the orders, than it is about the menu itself. Ok, whatever.

When none of the seafood options jumped out at me, I ordered a steak tip salad. The tips themselves were excellent. They were tender, well flavored, and cooked to order. The rest of the salad was mostly noodles, with a few leafs of greens and some other things. It was ok, but not great.

The server wasn't there when I needed her, even though the restaurant was not busy. I asked a waiter who happened to pass our table for a few things I needed, and he helped, but grudgingly so.

Overall, an ok meal but not a great experience.

• Pros: Steak cooked perfectly
• Cons: Server

10/26/08

Fair food, poor value, weak drinks, terrible service. Quite a surprise from Legal.

by MF02155 at Citysearch

I was most disappointed, and embarrassed as I brought some out of town guests to try LTK for the first time.

I made a reservation, and they were quite specific on the time, down to the quarter hour, but we still waited 20 min only to be seated at a long, bar height table with barstools which we shared with one or two other parties.

The waitress took another 20 min to acknowledge us, than we waited further for her to return to take drink orders. Finally she took food orders, but was more salesperson than server ? consistently recommending the most expensive dishes. She offered several ?specials? (as the late George Carlin said ? if it's do damn special, why isn?t it on the menu? ;) and failed to mention the prices (a common but annoying practice as you know) ? they were generally more than the menu items. Then one guest (a teenager) ordered the Paella and the waitress cheerfully offered ?would you like a lobstertail on that??. While the boy was deciding, I casually asked if there was an extra charge. She sheepishly stated that, yes it was $17.95 additional. $17.95 for a lobstertail! Can you imagine paying $38 total for a dish of Paella?!

The waitress was otherwise slow and unhelpful. She was entirely untrained on presenting or serving wine, we had to seek her out for replacement of utensils taking from the first course.

Food was fair but overpriced, atmosphere was VERY crowded, and too noisy to conduct casual conversation except to one?s immediate neighbor.

I ordered a drink, a Dark and stormy and received a glass of Ice with ginger beer and a ?splash? of dark rum ? couldn?t have been a tablespoon, probably a teaspoon. Once mixed the rum was entirely undetectable by sight or taste. When the drink arrived I observed that ?it wasn?t especially ?dark? ? she glanced, mumbled something and walked off ? no offer of repair or replacement.

All in all a very disappointing experience for me, a 30 year patron and fan of LS. Needless to say I won?t be back to LTK

• Pros: different menu items
• Cons: poor value, poor service, poor drinks, noisy, crowded

02/14/08

Consistent experience with other reviewers

by max26 at Citysearch

A date and I went there over summer '07 and while I am just remembering to review Legal Test now, I am surprised how similar the previous reviews match our experience.

The menu selections were impressive along with the wine pairings. We found the cuisine better than standard legal seafood fare, but the service has prevented me from returning.

While the greeter was disorganized when we arrived, she was helpful. However, our waiter seemed pretty inexperienced, not very attentive and then upsold us on our drinks. The wine pairings come in different sizes and he consistently brought sizes larger than requested, which we were charged for. His upsell backfired because I deducted the difference from his tip.

• Pros: Great location, great food
• Cons: Poor service staff

12/07/07

Really nice staff but food is plagued by inconsistency

by thebarefootconsumer at Citysearch

Working in the WTC East, I am fairly limited when it comes to lunch options although the area is on the up and up and Seaport's dining scene is definitely improving.

LTK is a complete cr*p shoot. The staff are all really nice but unprofessional. Actually, the bartenders are great and make some mean drinks but the waiters/waitresses are horrific despite being nice kids. The food is different every time I go. You can't even order a caesar salad without a mistake as of recent. And take-out is almost always screwed up.

They have a great menu and when doing it right, the food is solid. I hope they get their act together!!!

• Pros: cool location, nice staff, good drinks, good apps
• Cons: service takes forever, inconsistent food, constantly messing up orders

09/19/07

The Legal Sea Foods empire branches out with an exceptionally modern approach to the conventional restaurant experience.

by Eric Grossman at Citysearch

The Scene
Located in the ever-changing Seaport District, LTK (Legal Test Kitchen) attracts pre-concert crowds--the Bank of America Pavillion is across the street--and curious types from the suburbs. The restaurant is a frenetic blur on most nights, due to its unique usage of modern technology. Diners are encouraged to bring their iPods, as speaker docks are provided, and wireless LCD screens with internet and TV capabilities float from table to table. Overwhelmed servers do their best to navigate the sights and sounds that engulf the equally busy bar area.

The Food
With all the distractions on offer, LTK's food does well not to get overshadowed. Categorized by offbeat titles ("nosh," "exhilarate," "zazzle"), the menu houses dozens of modern seafood preparations, including balsamic-glazed calamari grilled under a brick, lobster tempura with black bean chow-foon noodles, and cedar-planked wild salmon with cooling tatziki. Warm chocolate chili cake and strawberry wontons provide a sweet finish.

Hits
In light of the Seaport's conservative dining scene, LTK deserves kudos for its fresh approach. When patrons utilize the restaurant's technology responsibly, it's a sight to behold.

Misses
When there's a concert, especially a sold-out one, the normally calm bar is often a frantic mess, with boisterous music fans squeezing in one more drink before showtime.

12/10/06

Good seafood but service needs work

by thaiboo at Citysearch

I went there for lunch on a Saturday with 2 friends. We had called ahead to make reservations so we were seated promptly. Once we placed our orders, it took 20+ mins to get the food, even though the appetizers (clam chowder & oysters) - should have taken 5 minutes max to prepare. The next snag was that my friend got more oysters than she had ordered. Before touching it, we pointed this out to our waiter. He good-naturedly admitted to his mistake, but said not to worry about it; we would not be charged, and that we could even throw out the extra ones if they weren't good, heheh. We weren't disappointed; the oysters were good, and each of us was happy with the rest of our meal. I liked with my order - salad nicoise with seared tuna, even though it was strange that the romaine lettuce was tossed with caesar salad dressing. Maybe that's why it's "fusion" and a "test" kitchen? Anyways, the final snag came when we got the bill and we WERE charged for the extra oysters. When we called this to our waiter's attention, he mumbled an apologetic "oops....I'm sorry" but stood there helplessly looking at us. So of course we said it was fine and paid for it. We did indeed enjoy the extra oysters, but it was weird that he didn't keep his word (he was so confident and smooth in the beginning). So, LTK is worth the trip if you are willing to be patient - hopefully they'll train their staff better and iron out these glitches with time.

• Pros: Seafood, for fusion-enthusiasts
• Cons: Service, out of the way location

11/07/06

Gadgets better than the food. But great desserts and drinks!

by southiegirl247 at Citysearch

The explanation of some of the dishes was a bit confusing but overall the expereince was pleasant and different. We were given the option of watching tv at the table or using an iPod station. The food was good and the dessert excellent.

10/25/06

Delicious drinks

by regularbostondiner at Citysearch

We didn't eat the night we were there but the bar was busy and the drinks were great! The bartender was friendly and made a good blueberry martini. The pomegranate margaritas were great too.

• Pros: Drinks
• Cons: Location

10/04/06

For GREAT food you would be hard pressed to find a better value!

by bochse at Citysearch

My wife is in the wine business and as a result eats at all of the high end restaurants in MA. As her husband I am often treated to many of these eateries on her expense account. Recently we discovered LTK in South Boston and I have to say this is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Boston. To date we have dined there three times and we have never been disappointed. They have a fresh and exciting menu with items you wont find in many restaurants and they always have fun and exciting daily specials. If you are looking for a fun place to take and impress a date or just looking for something different you have to try this place. This is one of the few places where you can get a three course meal with wine and still come in for less than a Fin-spot and that includes a 20% tip!

• Pros: The Menu, The Food, The Ambience....
• Cons: They don't take reservations

08/27/06

Three strikes and you're out!

by cyd68 at Citysearch

It would have been three stikes and you're out, but not this time, it only took two. Service was unorganized as well as the seating. The first dish we tried was the angry lobster, which made us angry due to that it was explained to us as something it was not. (We were told it was a lobster out of the shell tempura style over noodles). Well, when it came to us it was the whole lobster tempura battered over noodles, so messy! Exactly what we were NOT looking for.

That was our first visit.

We decided to give the LTK one more try, it was rather busy this evening and we decided to wait for a seat rather than cozy up to the bar. Our wait was around 20min. When we were called for our table we saw a nice table for two off to the back that was unavailable despite our request to sit there due to that it was reserved?! So after our 20min. wait for a table for two, we were seated at a communial style table, not what we were waiting for, when we expressed our dissapointment we were told we would have to wait for a table for JUST two. (isn't that what we just did?) After this second try, we have decided to not play ball anymore, LTK - 2 STRIKES and YOU'RE OUT!!

• Pros: nice area.......