Saw Gale the other day when my daughter and I went in to have a Chicken Cesar Salad. She has the beat house made Dressing for her Salad. Her Romaine Lettuce is always fresh and crispy. We love her house salad too! She also has her lunch special menu, with a Tuna Sandwich that I just love read more

Great service and the lasagna is excellent! My friend had one and when I tasted hers, I had to order one to go.

Been a fan for more than a decade. But the last two or three visits will be my last. Either the quality has declined or my expectations have risen. The service is still good, the old white folks still charming in their odd way, but the food is just not that good. I'm sorry to report this. read more

Really like this place. I have been coming here for years, mostly for lunch. Very good food, and the service is always great. I like the owners a lot. They are very involved and seem to be genuine in their effort. My favorite lunch special is the white fish entree. A little pricey, but worth it once and awhile. One clue that a cook knows what they are doing is how proficient they are at preparing such a delicate dish as this. The fish is very fresh, and it is not over cooked. Sounds simple, but it is oh so easy to mess up a dish like this one. And this from a place that does not specialize in seafood. Flat iron steak is another treat. The sandwiches are really good, and the pasta dishes are very good. Can't go wrong here. Check it out. read more

Had a wonderful dinner with my husband here. I loved the food and ambiance. My husband was kind of luke warm on the food (he is a major major fuss pot!)....but I give it thumbs up. We had made a reservation for dinner at 5:30 on a Saturday and were seated as soon as we arrived. The restaurant was busy. I noticed when we left that there were many people waiting to be seated...so reservations are a must here. I will definitely dine here again! read more

I really wanted to like this restaurant and frankly, based on my fellow yelpers, I anticipated liking it. But I would have withheld any star if wasn't for the our waitress, who was a pro. The food on the other hand was absolutely horrible. The steamed artichoke was flavorless and my Gnocchi was the worst I've ever had. Bland sauce, pour quality meat and the Gnocchi were mushy. For an $85 meal - without wine or dessert, I would hope and expect to get an average meal, especially with Italian, which isn't terribly complicated to create nice flavors, if your using quality ingredients. Which is where this restaurant goes wrong. The portions are enormous. They clearly are taking the Cheesecake Factory approach. I do not like Cheesecake factory but if I wanted big and bland, I actually think I would have preferred going there. read more

The food here is really spectacular and The service is good even when it is very busy. Parking is available on site so you don't have to deal with parking structures. read more

Everything was ok-tasting. Nothing amazing, especially for the price. We got 4 dishes and dessert and nothing wowed us. There are probably better places around. It seems as it would be ok for lunch rather than dinner. read more

A quaint and classy hole in the wall italian restaurant on Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena. Loved the exposed brick/open kitchen concept-very eclectic! The staff were friendly, service was fast. The complimentary sourdough bread was off the hook! Please try the bruschetta for starters---sooo good! My chicken picatta was a little lacking in flavor and dry. I usually like it more lemony and buttery. Their portion size is nice! I had leftovers but the downside was when I reheated it for lunch the next day, the chicken was super tough and oily. I like how they serve gluten free pizzas as well. Will probably go here for lunch instead of dinner, next time. read more

Great restaurant located off of Old Town Pasadena with lots of parking. The wait wasn't bad for a Saturday night and the service was exceptional. Rotini Bolognese - lots of flavor and very delicious. Pizza - medium size is more than enough for two adults. read more

I went here with my boyfriend last week (it was our first time there....we have vowed to try new places) and we loved it! I am Italian and I love the fact that the dishes are more refined from different regions of Italy, not your run of the mill stuff (not to sound like a snob, but I avoid places like Olive garden or the like if I want true Italian food) we tried the pork chop (again, trying new things) and loved it. I also got the beet salad which was yummy. Our server (I think her name was Christy?) was fantastic....I loved the fact that she clearly knew what she was talking about and also just had a fun vibe about her. Very great. We are already looking forward to coming back and seeing what kinds of specials will be cooked up. Loved it~! read more

I love Gales. I Always sit at the bar. The food is great and the team that works there is wonderful.

This place was exactly what I wanted. So here's the story...we were at Buca Di Beppo and the pictures on their menu were just poor quality. The food looked unseasoned and I just wanted to try a different place. I found Gale's, which was right down the street on Yelp and the photos looked fantastic. I saw a picture of the Bolognese pasta I wanted and decided to go. We arrived and I was immediately satisfied! Eric was our server and bartender and he did a wonderful job. He even changed the tv to the Laker game for me. The food was great and I will definitely be returning! read more

Ordered a take out. The food was good but cold and been cooked half an hour ago. To me is disappointing - I was waiting half an hour outside of the resturant for my called in take out. Love Gales , yet at times has room for improvement read more

Hands down they have the best spinach lasagna I have ever tasted. In fact, I now crave their lasagna over the traditional one. The only thing I do not like about the restaurant is the small tables. If it was not for the tables I would have given the overall experience a 5-star rating. read more

Gales is a neighborhood gem. The food is incredible and the ambiance is perfect. It's busy but not too loud. Be sure to make a reservation on the weekends! read more

There's nothing like a delicious Italian meal to soothe the soul! A little bread, a little salad, a healthy portion of pasta brings so much comfort. Spaghetti and meatballs, cappellini pomodoro followed by a delicious dessert sampler and nice service. My family and I really enjoyed Gale's for Sunday lunch and we'll definitely be back. read more

What a charming Italian restaurant in an out of the way location with an unassuming look! My Eggplant Pizza was good as was my friend's Chicken Ravioli. The Flourless Chocolate Cake was amazing; it was actually better than the Tiramisu - a statement that you'd never hear me say. Service could be more attentive though. We had to ask for more water a couple of times. read more

Oops, the kitchen is slipping, but I'm sure it only needs a little tweaking to get it back on top performance ... and the wait staff service is still good. --- I started with the Poached Pear, Prosciutto and Gorgonzola appetizer with a reduced balsamic ... the latter should have tied the food islands on the plate together but the balsamic on the plate could only be described as freckle-sized and you really couldn't taste it at all. Shame. --- My friend ordered a side of cheese garlic bread and that was outstanding!!! Really, forget the Italian-style bread to dip in the oil and vinegar, and instead order the former to gorge on :) --- Roasted beet salad is a personal favorite of mine but in this case there was no unique "roasted" flavor; so for all I know the beets could have been nicrowaved. --- One of my favorite entrees in the past was the four cheese rotini but on this occasion it was a disaster with hardly any cheese sauce to it and the bottom of the bowl just showed a layer of fat (typical of overlooking). I had the waiter pile on the shredded Parmesan but that still didn't help. I finally complained that something was seriously wrong, the waiter looked and opined it appeared under sauced. So they refired the order but even on the second plate they prepared, that luscious, creamy, cheese-ey experience just was wasn't there Although this was a less than stellar meal, I've had much better there and plan to go back again before too long. read more

I love this place. Consistent and delicious. The service is decent. Make a reservation to ensure that you have a table. Kick back and enjoy. The spinach Lasagna is my personal favorite. I love it !!! read more

The food is very good. The restaurant has a wonderful atmosphere but the main room is very noisy when its full. The back room is darker but quieter. read more

Five stars for the very nice and attentive waitress that served our large group. She gave great food and wine recommendations and was very personable. If it wasn't for her, I'd give Gale's four stars. The food was pretty good and reasonably priced. read more

My friend who also lives in Pasadena told me this is his favorite Italian restaurant. So naturally, I had to try it. The ambience is what I would expect a restaurant in Italy to look like. I've never been to Italy so may be way off, but that's what I would imagine it to be. All the staff there are very friendly. We were greeted by the chef (he was roaming the room talking to people), the manager, and of course our server. The portions of the dishes are very generous. It actually made me feel guilty after I ate it all. We ordered the Orecchiette with Italian broccoli and sundried tomatoes which is fantastic. I love how much veggies came with the dish. The pasta was cooked exactly how I like it, al dente. We also ordered the meatball appetizer which in itself could be an entree. We also ordered the halibut, which was not the star of our meal. It's just average. The fish didn't seem that fresh but the seasoning was good, so it compensated for the fish itself. Overall, I would definitely go back whenever I'm craving Italian food. Stick to the pasta stuff, and you won't be disappointed. read more

Nestled between Pasadena Antique Center & Annex. Great place for a meal. Don't understand some of the low stars ratings. Had House chopped salad (chiffonade of mixed greens & Arugula), asparagus, artichoke, grape tomatoes and generous shavings of Parmesan cheese- really light & yummy. Sicilian eggplant appetizer tasted like a single layer eggplant Parmesan with the tastiest marinara. Warm roasted (?) mixed olives with Rosemary were good and different having been warmed. Lunch crowd was quite busy with great wait staff. Found a new place to spend a nice afternoon. read more

Great. Love that this place has a generously sized parking lot - and the decor is nice and rustic-Italian. The two Zinfandel glasses of wine we ordered were pretty good and easy to drink. Bread is served warm with a generous helping of olive oil and balsamic - very nice precursor to the sliced rare steak that I ordered. Seasoning was just right and everything extremely tasty. Wonderful dinner that ended with a large mixed berry crumble (almost too large!) a la mode. Lovely. read more

Great restaurant! It has more seats to the right, past the bar. The staff are so quick and friendly! The bread was nice, the dishes we ordered were delicious too! Really enjoyed my meal, will return if I'm celebrating. Price was a little steep for me, but totally worth it. Sadly, I don't remember what I ordered or take a photo, I was really tired and hungry. read more

I can't believe that I missed to discover this place sooner. I work around the area and didn't even notice this place. Food was great, although at that time our food got behind a bit... but we enjoyed everything. Will come back here for sure and explore more. read more

Great pasta and service! We will definitely be back and try other dishes. Comfortable outdoor patio w/heaters.

I'm officially giving Gale's 3.5 stars...with further investigation needed! We went there for my birthday and the food was pretty good, but not knock-your-socks-off good as others had indicated. I ordered the Gnocchi special and the gnocchi dumplings were honestly awsome, but I didn't feel the soup-like tecture of the rosemary lamb really meshed well. My wife ordered the salman, which she liked. We also ordered the crab fritto, which was o.k., but not something I would recommend at the price ($15). I should also note that it comes as a single piece, so as an appetizer, its not the easiest to share. The service was nice and friendly, but just nice enough. I will give him credit - my wife told him it was my bday and he brought out a free tiramisu, which by the way was really good. Go figuere, I like the free thing on the menu most of all! As for parking, the lot that night was pretty full and we were lucky we were driving my wifes civic to squeez into a tiny spot. Overall, the experience was good, but I'm absolutely certain this needs further investigation and on another trip, I'll be testing some of their more traditional entries. To be continued... read more

This is one of my favorite italian restaurants. Very delicious pastas (penne w/ veggies, capalini, ... pick one you can't go wrong) Proscuitto and melon was very generous. Each entree comes with a nice salad. The chilean bass is a must try. Seared nicely and perfectly seasoned. Located just out of old town so you don't have to deal with all the parking and mess. Good wine, nice atmosphere, friendly service, fair pricing. No advisory needed cause this place does it RIGHT. read more

Fabulous food. Decor is original and tasteful. Service is exquisite. We recently had an experience there on a busy Saturday evening where the wait staff completely anticipated our needs and corrected our seating without my even having to ask! These people are consummate pros who take great pride in ensuring that your dining experience is the best that it can be. Reservations are a MUST. Everybody loves to eat here. read more

Wasn't super impressed with this place, but the food was tasty and the atmosphere is very cozy, tastefully decorated, and romantic. This would be a great place to take someone on a dinner date (or be taken on a date). read more

Bruschetta was delicious :) I had the Fettuccine Carbonara which was ok, nothing spectacular & the portion was huge! My brother had the lasagna, which was above average. My mother had the eggplant sandwhich, which also was above average. I'll definitely go again :) read more

I've only been here for lunch and I was pleasantly surprised. Loved the decor and ambience. Lots to choose from. Hard to decide. I definitely will come back again for dinner. We got there at 1130am, right when it opened, and every table in the house was filled by 1pm. The bar is very small. Good size portions. Parking behind the restaurant at lunch time can be a struggle. Get there early. read more

I've been here several times never to be disappointed, their wait staff is always friendly, I've tried pork chops, generous and delicious, there pastas, tasty, their steaks, melts in your mouth, and the flourless chocolate cake, it was my birthday, and would have been rude not to have indulged.. and yes.. quite delectable. There is a small bar on site, the bartender, friendly, the drinks, perfect antidote while waiting fr our table. On a whole.. this place is a great neighbor hood find.. read more

First time I've eatten here. I'm only giving it a 3 stars for my 1st visit because the rotini bolognese wasn't impressive at all. I thought the bolognese sauce was a tad too watered down and sauce should have been thicker. But I definitely will be coming back to give Gale's another shot only because of the AWESOME WINE LIST. If you like Napa and Santa Barbara wines, they sure have the best of them here from my favorite wineries. And the prices for the wines are much lower than other restaurant mark ups. Seems like they mark up the wines around 50% instead of 100-150% at other restaurants. read more

Rather disappointing for New Year's Eve dinner. I've been here a few times this year, because the first couple times the ambiance was cozy and the service was friendly & cheerful. And ... the food? Well, I swear it must have been good too, but ... now I'm wondering if I was impressed by the cheery personalities. But after this last visit, I'm realizing the reasons to return have been fading... New Year's Eve in an Italian restaurant, sounds like it should be at least a bit romantic, right? But not so much. First of all, it was c o l d. Very chilly. Uncomfortable, air-conditioned chilly. This makes no sense when the kitchen is exposed to the room. Men & women were dining with their coats on. Sure not everybody, but some who weren't were definitely enjoying "wine-sweaters". Food started off with a major disappointment: they were out of lobster - by 9pm. But it was still listed it on the menu, and the waitress didn't mention it when handing us the menu. We were all set to order two of those babies and do NYE right! But no. Okay, okay, it's NYE and we're going to make it work. Salmon and lamb are great, so there we go. Unfortunately in contrast with another NYE review here, the salmon was bland and watery. The lamb gnocci looked like a massive bowl that would come out of a British pub - square cubes of potato with a few lamb pieces, and some sauce which wasn't very flavorful. Let me backup and say that the general service & hostesses have been really top-notch on previous visits, and they were great again for NYE. However, the main waitress should not have been working that night. Instead of providing better service because it's a special holiday dinner, she was forgetful and unimpressive. She forgot to bring the ordered wine (needed reminding) and she was content to stand at the kitchen counter talking to a friend for several minutes, her back to the room and definitely not scanning the room to make sure her tables were covered. And look, I get it, it's an Italian place, family is important, especially on NYE. But at least keep an eye on your tables! Lastly, you should know that this isn't a romantic place to take a date. It's comfortable, and 50%-casual. But go, if you don't mind dining with patrons wearing grey sweat-pants or blue-jeans with slim-jim jerky sticks sticking out of the back pocket ... but maybe that's only on New Year's Eve. read more

5 start fettuccine alfredo! If that were enough for a meal, i would give the restuarant 5 stars, but I've found that to be the only exceptional item. Further, its pretty expensive. The management is great though! Oh, and try the chocolate flourless cake! (I wish I could make it that good). read more

Had a mother's day dinner here. Each of us ordered entrees from different areas of the menu. Wife decides to add a salad to her entree. Waiter comes back and says the price of the salad is incorrectly printed on the menu as $6. When he keyed in the salad, the price came up as $9, "Are you okay with it?". Next, out comes 2 salads. When the meal is done, we are charged $18 for salads, because the entrees did not include a salad. Other dislikes were that the bread basket was half-filled, and it took forever to get a bag for our boxed items. I had to get it from the maitre d on my way out. read more

My parents and I went here for Father's day dinner, and were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked it! The food was excellent all around (and it's rare for my dad to like new restaurants), the service superb, and the ambiance warm. We said that this would be our new Italian restaurant (since Dad pretty much only goes to The Cheesecake Factory). Shout out to our waitress, Germany, who we loved! read more