Gale's

I just went here for the first time. I've lived in the area for awhile, but just never made it in. I'm now prepared to be their next regular. Food was awesome. I've got a thing for Italian food in general, but was really impressed with all of the flavors (I pick off of friends plates). Service was great. Our waitress was very polite and actually seemed like she cared about what was going on. Thanks Liz! more

Sadly, Gale's is no longer a reliable place for a good meal and attentive service. On a recent visit, our waitress was brusk and dismissive and the manager was more interested in turning tables than caring for patrons. Neither the waitress nor the manager adequately explained the calamari on the menu, and when the dish arrived, my friend discovered a LONG hair in her food. The entire table was disgusted. The manager took the food away, but did not apologize or offer anything as a replacement.. The waitress breezed by with a chirpy, ""Can I get you something else?"" but no apology. The manager didn't even bother to say goodbye or apologize for what happened. The former personal feeling of the restaurant is gone; it's now more of a mill. With all the wonderful choices for good (hairless) food in Pasadena, don't waste your time and money at Gale's. Pros: Pasta dishes Cons: Poor service; disinterested management more

I will only say..... the service was awful...possibly the worst I have experienced in many years. There was a hair in my food...need I say anything more??!!!! Stay away!!! Pros: Bread Cons: Service more

I had lived in Pasadena for quite some time before I knew this place existed; it can be easy to miss when you're driving down the street. My wife and I always enjoy going. I have had both the pizza and the pasta and both were excellent. I always enjoy the atmosphere and its fun to eavesdrop on the interesting mix of people that come to dinner. The owner seems ever-present, floating around talking to the guests she knows. She seems like a very warm hospitable person and I think that comes through in the restaurant as a whole. Recommended for a romantic date on the town. Call for reservations. Pros: Easy parking, interesting crowd, great food Cons: Can get crowded more

Darling Husband thought we should finally try Gayle's as we have not been there to eat since it was ""Greco's."" (Ahhh....Greco's...Yum!) Wow, what a completely different dining experience. The lasagna was as if they microwaved a Stouffer's frozen dinner. The pizza (We know good pizza in Pasadena) was dry and over-baked. It was like fast-food pizza. The service is uneven, with attitude. Gayle's is not real ""Italian"" food. It's like Olive Garden Italian food. Sorry, but it's true.\r Ambience is O.K. nothing more. Parking is ample. I am mystified by the crowd, considering this is not tasty Italian food. Locals know where to find fabulous Italian in Pasadena, and I will help you, so you don't waste an evening out eating pedestrian ""Italian."" \r Celestino's is first rate, from appetizers to desserts. Mi Piace is wonderful... Best lasagna I have ever eaten. And of course, the critically acclaimed Tre Venezie- expensive but so worth every dime. It is one of Pasadena's top restaurant's bar none. \r Dining out these days, I really look forward to a special meal, and I will spend the money for a lovely night out. Gayle's does not fit the bill. It is generic food, with minimal to none in the atmosphere department. Not a romantic date-night kind of place. Loud and small. Greco's was not loud like this, even when packed, so I can not explain the ear splitting noise. We won't return to Gayle's, but we will ""vet"" new dining experiences more carefully. Life's too short for unsatisfying dinners! Pros: Easy Parking Cons: Food is Subpar. Service is below average. Loud. Not a date spot. more

My husband and I read some of the good reviews and went to try it one night. Good location, cute little place. They need to turn the lights down! It was so bright in there and we were hoping for a bit of atmosphere. It was so bright I had to leave, I am one for ambience! more

Great service!! and amazing food here...probably the best Italian I've had. The grilled salmon is very juicy and flavorful! more

This could be an outstanding restaurant and there's no doubt that it does very well. However, we have been rushed in and out so many times, we don't think about it anymore. One night, we had wine, salad and dinner in less than 20 minutes - ridiculous. There are plenty of good restaurants in Pasadena and many with better food. It's a shame. This rating could easily be 'highly recommended' if it wasn't such a madhouse. So if you're in a big hurry - good choice. If you'd like to taste your food - find something else. Pros: Decent food at a good price Cons: You have to hold on to your plate or someone will grab it more

My wife and I had an excellent meal here. We were greeted by very friendly owner (""Gale""). Food was excellent, and the atmosphere is charming. Also, prices are very reasonable. We will be returning. Pros: Delicious food, friendly service, charming atmosphere more

My friend and I decided to go to Gale's after the RAVE reviews, and how its always so packed whenever we drive by on the weekends. We were excited to taste the Italian food, as we are both from a part of New York known for it's spectacular Italian. We sat down and I was surprised to find one of my favorite combos- salmon with risotto and artichoke- on the menu. Of course I had to order that, and my friend ordered the chicken parm. We waited a while for our food and when it came out... I almost left right then. There was a bed of bright yellow risotto... which looked like mac and cheese, not appealing to the eye. I took a bite and was just completely disappointed. Usually, you omit any cheese when serving risotto with seafood, but this stuff was like eating rice with cheese sauce thats been sitting for a while- so that its kind of coagulated. Needless to say- that stuff was far from risotto. Salmon was alright. Artichoke was HORRENDOUS. Oh, and I forgot that there was shrimp involved... probably because it had no taste. The friend was unimpressed with the Italian classic, chicken parmesan, complaining about the toughness of the chicken and the unimpressive sauce. Is this proof that Californians don't know good Italian? I'm not sure, but this place is bad- don't be fooled by the crowd. Go down the street to Louise's. Pros: ambience, parking Cons: food more

I went here last Friday after a recommendation from a friend in Chicago! I found the location and parking to be perfect, not to far out of the way but this meant easy parking and no long walks. I took my 2 daughters and a friend of theirs. 13 and 16 years olds plus me and I'm a foodeeee! Mussels AWESOME, Steak AWESOME, Clams Linguine AWESOME, Pizza AWESOME, Ravioli AWESOME. Service AWESOME and the we only waited 15 minutes for our table on a Friday night. Priced very fair and felt comfortable in busy surroundings. Anyone who gives this place a bad review needs to try again as they probably just got unlucky. I've eaten in just about every Italian restaurant of note around the country and this is a MUST for anyone wanting great food at a fair price. Pros: Everything Cons: Nothing more

I'll come right out and say it, I went to Gale's for pizza and nothing else. I live in Pasadena and had been hearing rave reviews about Gale's for years, especially the pizza, so I grabbed my girlfriend and off we went. Service was attentive, decor was average, location on Fair Oaks is average, not the best spot, not the worst. We ordered quickly and I sat there fidgeting, waiting for our ""awesome"" pizza to arrive. When it did, one glance at it and I was worried. I believe we got a Roma cheese, which traditionally has very little sauce and chunks of tomato - I've had this style of pizza many times. This one just plain sucked. No taste at all. We choked it down and got out of there in a hurry. I like to give restaurants a fair shake though, so I'll probably go back and try a different style of pizza to see if my first experience was just a fluke. I'm not holding my breath though. My pizza-sense (like Spidey-sense, but for pizza) is telling me ""stay away!"" Despite this I'll probably go back and give this place another whirl. I just can't believe people would rave about this place if the pizza was THIS bad, so I guess I'll chalk it up to an off night and give it another go. Pros: Walking distance from my apartment, decent service, fair prices Cons: The pizza was simply terrible more

Our first trip to Gale's. My partner is very fond of Brighton, so she suggested we go. She loved the steamed artichoke and risotto, as well as drinking our wine out of the Brighton goblet. I didn't enjoy my chicken piccata (lemon and caper sauce too strong) or the roasted olives (complete with seeds) very much. Corkage has gone up to $10. I had the spaghetti side with my chicken and ordered it ""al dente"" (firm) and it came horribly undercooked. I sent it back and it was returned better but still undercooked. Any Italian restaurant that doesn't take more pride in how their spaghetti is cooked is a big question mark to me. The tables are too close together, so much so that a customer walking by brushed the bread off our bread plate onto the table with her sweater and we were afraid the waiter would knock over our bottle of wine when he was waiting on the next table. Our waiter was very nice and attentive until the food was brought, but didn't come over again (to pour wine, etc) unless I called him. Finally, what tipped me over to the dark side was the group of very loud, laughing, cackling women sitting directly behind us that totally destroyed the atmosphere. This is not the place for a romantic date. With the kitchen and eating area in the same, rather small room, the noise level is quite high. We will probably be back, since my partner thought more of the place than I did, but I will definitely order a pizza or the spinich lasagna next time. A card came with the bill offering to keep us informed of any specials if we give them our e-mail address and birthdays. They also asked for feedback of our experience which I will be more than happy to give them. Hopefully we can see some improvement in the future. Pros: easy self parking Cons: noisy, crowded. mediocre food more

I returned to Gale's for a birthday party and was quite pleased with the overall experience hence my re-write of my review. The service was attentive and quick. I was very pleased with the fact that the host came over to make sure our party was happy. I guess it pays to give a place a second chance Pros: service was quick and pleasant Cons: None this time! more

Well at the spur of the moment two friends and I decided to try Gales out. apon entering we were a bit lost as to where to meet the hostess who we then spotted behind the counter eating which just looked bad. We were then seated by our waitress who was a bit rude but we tried to over look that. Well the food was very tasteless, my Raviolis were cold and a bit tuff, friends recommended pasta was very bland and my other friends Chicken cutlet in her words ""tasted like a frozen dinner"". A nice location and setting but Gales was not very good with the food (That horrid Beppo de Bucco place is even better) Pros: Great Location Cons: Bad food and service more

Great southern Italian food and great service. Small cozy location off the strip.\r galesrestaurant dot com more

A friend of mine had recommended this place for a while, but I never got around to trying it. Boy, was I missing out! The service was wonderful and the food was perfectly tasty. There were only two of us for dinner that night, but we sure had a great time with the Warm Olives to start (which were full bodied and delicious), a Garlic Mushroom Pizza as our meal and a Hot Berry Crumble Dessert with Vanilla Gelato to top it off. We had initially intended on making it a small meal night, but we couldn't help ourselves with all the great offerings on the menu. YUM, YUM. That's all I have to say. It was all perfectly prepared and the service made the food taste even better. This warm, cozy, almost ""hole in the wall"" restaurant makes you feel at home. The owner even came out to greet everyone at thier tables and make sure they were happy. You can't miss this. It is one of the best Northern Italian restaurants I've been to. Pros: Service, Ambience, Food more

We have been coming to Gale's since it opened several years ago. It was great then and every year it just seems to get a little better. Friendly service, good bar and good food. The owners are always around, and it shows both in the atmosphere of the restaurant and the consistent quality of the food. Pizzas are great, thin crusted numbers. They also serve buratta, a wonderfully creamy mozarella. They have a specials menu that rotates daily - anything off there is reliably good. This place is so comfortable and easy - they have their own parking lot, they are a little ways from old town so you don't have to deal with the crowds and traffic. Can't say enough nice things about it. Pros: Good food, easy location, good service Cons: Can be a little noisy when crowded more

Heard lots of good things about Gale's. We started with shrimp cocktail, caeser's salad and Margarita pizza. Shrimp & salad good. Pizza so-so. Entrees included spaghetti, rack of lamb and Italian burrito. Entrees so-so. I liked the close tables and rustic trattoria look more than I cared for the food. This really is an Americanized version of Italian food. Lots of non-Italians eating in restaurant that features Italian food is not a good sign. Would not eat there again and cannot recommend restaurant to anyone else. Service was ok. Pros: service ok, appetizers ok, ambiance ok Cons: entrees-food more

I had to tell someone. We just had the most wonderful meal at Gale's. The blackberry Crem Brulee was better than Wolfgang Puck's. I promise you. I am a chef and restaurant owner for the last 30 years. I have eaten everywhere. You can eat at Gale's twice a week and want to come back for more. The Garlic Bread actually melted in your mouth like warm crispy cotton candy. I requested something not on the menu and I didn't have to get Congress to Ok it. We were delighted with every moment of warmth and goodness. AAAA++++Highly Recommended. PS Drinking wine out of the $40.00 Brighton Goblet is fit for a King. Pros: Unique Stemware, Best Lasagna in L.A., Amazing Garlic Bread more