This Boston-Based Seafood Chain Serves Lobster Rolls In A Unique Way

Boston is so known for its seafood that even seafood chain restaurants like Legal Sea Foods offer quality, innovative dishes that will have your parents oohing and aahing when they visit you at college from out of town (we may be speaking from experience here). The parent-pleasers are plentiful on the restaurant's menu, but perhaps no item is as awe-worthy as its Legal Sea-Cones. You've had a classic lobster roll before — plump, luxurious meat nestled in a buttered, toasted bun. But Legal Sea-Cones take lobster rolls to unprecedented territory when it comes to the bready container. 

According to the menu, the starter dish is made of "flaky puff pastry cones ... packed with rich, savory shellfish favorites. All the fun of ice cream vibes, but flavor-packed and seafood-filled." There are three possible fillings: lobster, buffalo popcorn shrimp, or smoked salmon tartare. On Instagram, the cones look flaky and almost croissant-like, and the lobster looks to be like a buttery, Connecticut-style lobster roll, topped with thinly sliced green onions. Another post shows someone absolutely drenching the lobster cone in melted butter. If we're being honest, it hardly looks legal. But it's right there in the name of the restaurant, so we imagine this inventive appetizer is all above board — and delicious.

One TikToker confirmed that these Legal Sea-Cones are indeed perfect for moms when they're in town. "That warm butter-poached lobster really hit the spot!" another reviewer wrote. "The lobster cones are great. Other dishes we had were quite good," another customer wrote. So while the cones are definitely interesting and innovative, the whole Legal Sea Foods menu has fans across New England and beyond (there's a location in Chicago and one in New Jersey, too). It's so reliable, we deemed it one of the chain restaurants with the best fried fish. "Legal rules," one devotee wrote on Reddit. "Their food is awesome and I like how you can choose the type of fresh fish you want, decide how you want it cooked. ... People don't like chains anymore but it's probably the most solid New England based chain restaurant out there."

Additionally, Legal Sea Foods is particularly accommodating to the gluten-free community since there are plenty of menu items that can be prepared sans gluten. The "famous crispy fry mix" is gluten-free, so many of the fried seafood options are able to be enjoyed by those with gluten intolerances or celiac disease. Legal Sea Foods may not be the most upscale seafood restaurant in Boston, but according to many, it offers consistent, quality food. Best of all, it puts lobster in a flaky pastry cone, so it's definitely worth a visit.