Cheese Fries are delish and they have some good beers on tap, but the rest of the food on the menu is blah. Been several times and tasted everyone's meal when out with friend and the only thing I am impressed with is the cheese fries. read more

Best cafe style restaurant in south Richmond, hands down. We've been waiting for a Fan-style, great restaurant and bar for decades and The Galley has scratched that itch perfectly. Great menu, awesome vibe, excellent bar, great people. Gets very busy...go early. read more

I must admit, I debated between 4 and 5 stars for this review but went with 5 and here's why. Service really goes a long way with me, and I could tell that my server really cared about my experienced. I ordered a salad that sounded good on paper, but when it arrived I really just didn't enjoy it. Kind of picked out the good parts but it was obvious that it wasn't what I was hoping for. After eating what I could, I ordered the meatballs appetizer as a supplement. When it came time for the check, the server could tell I wasn't satisfied by the salad and actually ended up compensating for it on the check, did not make me pay for it. He really seemed concerned with me enjoying my meal and didn't feel I should pay for something that I attempted but just didn't care for. This really went a long way with me. So I almost docked a star just for the salad, but the service made up for it. Everything else we had was delicious - meatballs (a touch spicy!) and a craft hamburger. I also loved the ambience. I will definitely be back! read more

We've had a few light meals here, including the Cuban sandwich, the bacon cheeseburger, the falafel pita, and the lentil burger, all of which were great. Good service, nice vibe. We are happy to have this delicious addition to the Southside! read more

I'm writing this in hopes that the owners will read this as constructive criticism that will be helpful to improve their restaurant because it sounds like (from Hills & Heights commentary) I'm not the only vegetarian/vegan that was hoping for better. I was so excited about this restaurant coming to our neighborhood and couldn't wait for it to open. I've been several times including on opening night when I got the lentil burger and thought it was excellent and flavorful. I've ordered the lentil burger two times since then and it hasn't been as good and is what I would describe as bland. I like the mint flavors but it really could use more spice. It also falls apart really easily. On one visit I ordered the falafel and was very disappointed, as it was extremely overcooked, bland and some of the pieces were too hard to even chew. I could only eat half of what was served. Furthermore, it tasted like frozen falafel that I could buy at the store. If this is the best they can offer falafel wise, I would suggest that they take it off the menu all together and put a more tasty veggie item in its place, maybe a homemade veggie burger similar to the yummy ones you can get at Burger Bach or Harrison Street Cafe, or maybe a veggie barbeque sandwich or jackfruit or tempah tacos. Another idea is a vegan "chiken" salad sandwich. I've ordered the pressed avocado and roasted red pepper sandwich a few times and it is pretty good, but again, it could also use more spice. I was thinking it would be good pairing it with a spicy vegan mayo, like maybe a chipotle mayo. The veggie paella is ok but I would describe it as bland too and I had to add some sriraca to give it more spice and flavor. Maybe they could add some garlic or something else to liven it up. It could have used more capers too. The salads are good although one time the house dressing tasted like it was just oil with no spices. I also got a hair in my salad one time and that really ruined the dining experience for me, so it would be nice if the kitchen staff would wear hair/beard nets. Most of the times I've come the specials are always meat but recently I've been able to get Eggplant Parm as a special and it was very tasty so I hope to see more vegetarian/vegan specials and menu items in the future here, as there are many other vegetarians and vegans like myself on this side of the river too. I know some have mentioned the wait staff and I haven't had an issue except recently when I ordered the Eggpant Parm special. When I ordered, the server didn't know about the special and didn't know what I was talking about. She said that she just started her shift. Then she thought what I ordered was an appetizer and I had to explain that it was a dinner. The chalk board didn't mention that it came with anything so I ordered a side salad to go along with it. I was surprised when the server brought my dinner to the table and sure enough, it came with a salad as well. I ordered a side salad for no reason because the server didn't care enough to find out before her shift (or even during her shift) what the specials were and if they came with anything so I ended up wasting money on something that it already came with as part of the meal. Even if she just started her shift, she should have taken the time to find out what her restaurant was serving for the night. The only other negative I've noticed about the staff is sometimes when we arrive, the staff will not even acknowledge that we are standing there. I know this place gets busy but it would be nice if as they walked by they could at least tell us that someone would help us as soon as they were able to. Last time we came, we must have stood at the entrance for about 10 minutes before anyone said anything to us. I still have yet to try the breakfast but I've heard good things and it is great that it is available all day. I'm glad this restaurant is here and I look forward to future improvements to the food so this can become my number one spot to go. I would love to stay in the neighborhood and enjoy great vegetarian/vegan food but for now I'm not too impressed and would prefer going to Harrison Street Cafe or Ipanema. I understand that Galley's specialty isn't vegetarian/vegan food but I know they have very talented chefs who can create more flavorful offerings. read more

Sorry to say we were disappointed in Galley. Not terrible but will be hard to return to with so many other choices. Two of us had the meatball sub. Roll burnt. Never should have been served. Mahi mahi tacos were in soft corn tortillas. If serving soft tortillas shouldn't they be flour instead of corn? Onions rings delicious and fries very good, too. Had the white cream cake and it was very dry and cold. Maybe better flavor if not so cold?! read more

The service might not be the BEST I've ever had, but the food makes up for it! And the value is awesome. I haven't had a bad experience at all in the 5 x I've visited! Everyone I take with me agrees! read more

This is the best food addition to Forest Hill in a long time! They have great steaks!

I own a business in the south side and enjoy patronizing our local restaurants. At a first glance they seem like local eatery, but behind the small local facade lies one of the best restaurants located in RVA! The bar pours tasty and innovative drink specials nightly! If you want a surprisingly great meal at a fraction of the normal RVA costs..... Then take a chance on The Galley. You will be far from disappointed! read more

I've been a few times and have never been disappointed. Whether it's brunch, lunch or dinner, the food and beer selection are fantastic!

I am here to revise my former review. I had left a 2 star review for Galley after a bad service experience a while back. But Galley stepped up their game and the service has been much better the last couple months. And the food has always been good. Atmosphere is excellent, good vibe to the place. And I live two blocks away, so it is convenient. I would give it 4.5 stars if there was an option. read more

We like the Galley. Our to-go place for Sunday Brunch. It is affordable, food is consistant and service, even though slow sometimes, really friendly. read more

I was hoping that the third time would be the charm. The visit that would keep me coming back. I love the atmosphere and the location. It is very close to my house and the customers are around my age range. I neglected to write about my first two visits, but the third time, ..... Well here it goes: My first visit, i was excited especially when I ran in to some old friends, i have not seen in a while, (this was the best part of my night). I ordered the calamari, not good, but I really was looking forward to the Caesar with the smoked jalapenos. The salad arrived with no jalapenos and no explanation as to why, when asked about it, we were told oh, we don't have those tonight, and walked away, When the roasted jalapenos are the star of the salad, you might want to mention it. During the second visit, the food was cold and had to remind the not so attentive server three times to bring our drinks (we never received). The final visit: The wait at the bar, again, which is fine, I am a bar person, but the bartender like the past three times had no personality and I am still not sure if she talks, but I do know she violates at least one health code : No chewing gum. If wearing your hair up is not health code violation it should be, especially when she is playing with it and making drinks. When I got to the table, I had made sure that I read the specials a few times, because the servers do not know them have been told they are on the board or they hand you the piece of paper with them hand written. I ordered the crab cakes and mashed potatoes. As I was about to take a bite of the potatoes, my strong sense of smell detected bacon/ham in them. I do not eat pork or beef and I am pretty certain I am not the only one. Usually I do ask if a special or a menu item as these things, but I have never heard of of putting these items in mashed potatoes.. Just a couple of notes, if you are serving mashed potatoes or anything else, be sure to indicate there is meat of some sort in there. Also, check on the guests, She came back finally when my husband had finished his dinner , as mine clearly looked untouched, " do you want me to box it" At that point, I determined that she really didn't care about me or my experience, so I didn't bother to mention it. I just thought I would write about it instead.. Being in the business, I know that servers work very hard for their money, but I also agree you have to earn that money, not just expect it. This upsets me because I really love Kuba Kuba. I do wish you all the best, but you may want to look at a few things or fix a few things. read more

Growing pains with staff aside. Food is solid and well balanced and interesting( I'm looking at you Duck Sandwich )as well as classic. I've only been 5 times so I'll keep trying till I have something to complain about. A truly welcome addition to the community and Richmond in general. read more

I have been to Galley three times, once for dinner and twice for brunch. Brunch was delicious every time I have gone, and the drink specials are pretty reasonable in relation to other places in Richmond that I go. However, I was a little disappointed with dinner. I ordered the garlic/olive oil/herb pasta with shrimp. I felt as if the pasta was very oily. However, the shrimp was cooked well, and the serving size was very large. I could have easily got three meals out of it (if it wasn't so oily). On the plus side, there is a great beer selection! The atmosphere of the bar reminds me of the Fan; casual, fun and easy going. It's really nice to come to a casual, fun place like this after just moving to southside a few months ago! read more

Last night got there ca. 6:15. Probably the last couple to be seated at entry. In the front, nobody there would have survived had there been a fire. Seating is unpleasantly crowed. Ordered the croquette special appetizer. Came looking a bit like schnauzer turds with an undefinable white sauce. Felt the same way about the flavor, tasty but really undefinably bland had I not read the chalk board I couldn't have told you what was in them. I have no idea what the white sauce was. Ordered the chicken fried steak. The portion was large with a mountain of mashed potatoes and a garnish of asparagus. I have eaten this in some of the best roadside joints in TX where this isn't food, it's an article of faith. Galley has a long way to go toward salvation. Like the croquettes, the steak was overfried, being a dark brown rather than the golden brown one expects. What was with the gravy? A virtually FLAVORLESS mushroom gravy instead of the cream/black pepper gravy that is the signature flavor for this dish. There is lots of room for tweeking this joint. As a Kuba Kuba fan, I will go back in a few months with expectations that the early effort was a matter of getting sea legs. The service was what one would expect as the waitress had to negotiate among the wall to wall bodies- it must be hugely unpleasant for them to work there. Bottom line- Overcrowded, underseasoned, and overcooked. read more

Met some friends here on a Friday evening. We got there at about 5:45 and the place was already very busy. I had been wanting to try it for a while and was very excited because Kuba Kuba and Bacchus are both within walking distance from my house and are two of my favorite restaurants in Richmond. The place definitely has a Fan vibe, casual with an authentic neighborhood feel. The service started out well. We ordered a baked brie appetizer to share, two of us ordered the fish tacos that people on this site were raving about. The brie was baked with a slight crispness that was scrumptious with a lightly dressed green salad. My fish tacos arrived with a large mound of fresh cilantro on top which I promptly removed because I can't stand the stuff, but when I bit in, I was horrified to find that the entire dish was drowned in a cilantro flavored sauce with bits of cilantro in whatever rub was on the fish. Now I know that Mexican dishes often have at least some cilantro floating around, but there was absolutely no mention of the dreaded weed in the menu description. After one bite I knew I couldn't eat it, so I called the server over to discuss it. Her reply, "What do you expect, it's Mexican" was inadequate and rather rude. She neither offered to bring me something else nor to take it off the bill. Incidentally, the ample sides of rice and beans were also Mexican, but there was not a hint of cilantro in them. They ended up being my entire dinner because the tacos were inedible. read more

When this restaurant first open I thought the food was awesome. Since then it has been hit or miss. What really makes me give it low marks though is the horrible staff that works there. We have been to the Galley several times. It is a few blocks from home so we were excited when it opened. Like many reviewers I have found it less appealing with each visit. The waitresses come off quite often as being simply too cool to be bothered to take your order. On this particular visit we waited 10 minutes for our table to be cleared off. When my wife tried to sit down a waitress quickly appeared and told her that she couldn't do that because the table need to be cleaned. Our wait ensued. Several staff members walked by the table during our wait, none made an attempt to clean the table off. When a waitress finally appeared to clean the table 1 of my friends gave her a heartfelt thank you to which she turned and gave him a death glare. With that we had enough and we left. Let me be clear. We are not pushy people. We waited quietly for service that took a long time to arrive. when it did, it was accompanied by a huge attitude.This is the first time I've taken my friends to this place. Needless to say they will not be going back. I know this is the new hip bar but the attitude needs to go or you won't be in business very long. read more

I will start by saying I have been a staunch supporter of Manny and Johnny's restaurants over the decades but the brunch experience I just had at Galley may have been the worst I have ever had. Understaffed is the first word that comes to mind. Quality, not quantity, is what I always adhere to. If these guys continue to open restaurants in Richmond like they seem to, they either need to keep them sufficiently staffed so that the service doesn't SUCK, or be on site themselves as the owners helping out and making sure that things are running smoothly, especially during a busy Sunday brunch. There was no bartender and lots of drinks being ordered. Service was very slow just to get 2 pints of beer to our table. The undersized waitstaff was walking around with no sense of urgency and not communicating with each other. Food was literally piling up in the window to the chef's disgust and frustration for 5+ minutes at a time. It was pretty bad. At one point, after calling out the server's name several times to no avail, the chef actually had to come out into the dining area and serve some of the plates to the waiting tables. I would say that the only saving grace was that the guys in the kitchen were pumping out some decent food at a decent pace. But if you don't have the waitstaff to back that up, you are basically running a bush league operation and all the patrons suffer. Our food was halfway decent although not piping hot like it should be. I ordered whole wheat toast with my meal and that was forgotten about. Something like that is so basic that I usually don't even remind the waitperson that they forgot it but rather just throw my hands up and say, "oh well." I will say I have had a decent dinner in there before, the fish tacos are quite good, and when John is bartending, it is a nice friendly neighborhood place to have a drink. That is the only reason it got 3 stars. Brunch needs to be tightened up on big time though. read more

There are almost no complaints other than crowdedness. Mushroom gravy fries are a MUST try. (If you like mushrooms). Literally. Not sure if you've ever had poutine. It's a Canada / now new England thing, but it's basically fries, gravy, and cheese curds and sometimes other sauces depending on the venue. Basically this is a new take on vegetarian poutine (which I've only come across a few times such as the skinny pancake in Vermont and once st a small dive joint in Montreal).anyways. it's a must if mushrooms are your thing. The portions for entrees...let's just discuss that for a minute...HUGE! I mean...gigantic portions. I have food for days to be honest and eah I'm a small girl, but with a huge appetite. I was shocked how big it is. I got the veggie paella and I must say. It was darn good. This place is a must. But be warned it gets crowded especially the later you go. We had 6 and went around 7pm on a friday...we lucked out because not more than 10 minutes later every table was filled. read more