If those concepts were artistic explorations, consider the team’s latest debut, Legal Crossing (LX), its self-selected “Greatest Hits.” Opened in March in Millennium Place, a gleaming high-rise across from the Opera House, LX offers spice, nods to Asian cuisine and fashion-forward cocktailing—a mashup of any sibling restaurants’ strengths that seemed to suit the urban Ladder District location.It’s been a busy decade for Legal Sea Foods. Launching new dining concepts faster than Bravo cranks out Real Housewives spinoffs, the restaurant group long known for chowder, steamed lobsters and baked scrod has expanded with a vengeance. These days, the well-heeled sip rooftop cocktails and dine, white-tablecloth style, on the upper floors of Legal Harborside in the Seaport, then shop a fish market on the street level below.
Suburbanites sip herbal infusions at cocktail-centric Legal C Bars, while conventiongoers sample quirky fare like habanero chicken wings and kimchi-smothered dogs at LTK in Southie. There’s even an Italian-leaning Legal Oysteria on tap for Charlestown this spring.

Most of the time, the combo is harmonious. The core of the menu, seafood, is impeccably fresh. Whether you order the well-spiced fish tacos with pickled cabbage ($14) at lunch, or shareable dinner offerings like crab cakes with tangy mustard hollandaise ($16) and tempura-fried mussels ($9), the star ingredient is always as tender, sweet and/or flaky as it should be. Fried oysters ($13) are briny and fantastic, presented on heaps of rock salt with pickle relish and BBQ aioli.

The small plates are where the kitchen tends to experiment most, with mixed results. Paprika shrimp with Chinese sausage ($13) taste muddy and bland. Bang Bang cauliflower ($6), however, is wildly delicious, the florets battered and tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce—a Chinese-takeout fix for the carb-averse.

There are times, though, when LX seems afraid to challenge diners, as though one too many dishes have been proclaimed “weird” and sent back. On the lunch menu, a take on Korean bibimbap with kimchi is renamed a Korean rice bowl with pickled vegetables ($16), and our server offers to let us skip the raw egg (we don’t). We’re also warned about the spicy sauces, and about the screaming-hot stone pot that lends a great crust to everything it touches. Our server also advises us to order the dish’s tuna on the side to keep it from overcooking. That part is sound advice: The raw fish, with a simple soy and sesame glaze, is mild and clean-flavored, and perfectly seared.

Whatever you order, service makes all the difference. At the bar, help is attentive and efficient, with bartenders backing each other up when things get slammed on a Saturday. At another meal, the LX team jumps into high gear when one of our dining companions reveals a food allergy. As each plate is delivered, the runners confirm that it’s problem-ingredient-free.

A weak server, however, can lead an otherwise decent experience far off-key. Is the “cauliflower risotto” with the Everything Tuna (market price) actually a risotto, or is it cauliflower? It’s risotto, one server swears. (It’s not.) What wine might pair well with the roasted cod with Finnan haddie brandade ($28)? She pulls out a printed cheat sheet and points, and we end up with a glass that’s far too light for the plate’s smoky potato mash. Her cocktail recommendations get boiled down to “sweet” and “not sweet.”

As for those cocktails, LX tries hard to be edgy. Offerings like Cold Tea (a beer-based cocktail) and Glitter & Shame (“nice melons… so fresh, so clean,” the menu reads) nod to the neighborhood’s debaucherous late-night past, and vague descriptions seem intended to spark a dialogue between diner and server. This approach works when the staff is well-versed in cocktail ingredients and techniques. But it breaks down when a server awkwardly fumbles through the drink menu, or when the barkeeps are too busy to explain.

LX can feel like many restaurants in one: the fast-and-fun bar, the low-key bar tables, the dining room, quiet in evenings but packed for weekday lunch. It’s a jumble—but then, so is the crowd, a blend of theatergoers, tourists, post-work drinkers and Ritz-dwelling empty nesters. If early hiccups can be remedied, a mashed-up concept may be just the right thing for this mashed-up neighborhood—and just the right thing for a fast-changing brand.

Donna’s Picks:          

-Fried oysters

-Bang Bang cauliflower

-Tempura skewered mussels

-Crab cake

-Korean rice bowl

-Fish tacos

Hours: Mon.-Sun., 11 am-2 am

Reservations: Yes

Credit Cards: Yes

Parking: Discounted parking with validation at Lafayette Garage

Liquor: Full bar

Legal Crossing | 558 Washington St., Boston | 617-692-8888 | legalseafoods.com