Legals Sea Foods is where our chowder quest must begin. Legal’s is synonymous with chowder, and theirs has been served at every presidential inauguration since Reagan. This clam chowder sets the bar that all other chowders are judged against.
Cup – $8.50 or Bowl – $10.50
Clams
Legal Sea Foods chowder is loaded with clams. Every single bite from the first to the last has a clam in it. Clam is the dominant flavor in their chowder and is a lot of the reason it is so good.
Cream and Consistency
Legal’s chowder is perfectly creamy. It’s rich and filling. Although it isn’t overly thick, it has body and sticks to your spoon and the bottom of your bowl. Make sure you have a dinner roll to get it all.
Potatoes
The potatoes are small, but retain their texture. They pick up the flavor from the clams and cream. Like the clams, there is a generous amount of them.
Garnish
The chowder is served with a small pack of oyster crackers with the Legal Sea Foods logo on it.
Everything Else
There isn’t much more to Legal’s chowder. It is dominated by clams, cream, and potatoes, and that’s a good thing.
Not Chowder
There is a lot to choose from at Legal’s from fresh or fried seafood to lobster to hearty mains. In recent years, they added sushi to their menu. But chowder is still the best thing to order.
The Verdict
There is no doubt that this is an amazing chowder, perfect in its simplicity, known for its consistency. If you were traveling to Boston and only going to have one chowder, this is the one you should have. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best chowder in New England, but it is the gold standard. From here the quest begins to find a better chowder. Is that is possible? Let’s find out.
Click here for more chowders and to follow the chowder quest!
Legal Sea Foods
multiple locations including:
75 Middlesex Turnpike
Burlington, MA
Concord Culinary Lyceum 
Haven’t been there since before Covid, methinks it is time for a bowl of chowdah!