Galleria — Restaurant in Cambridge

I debated for a while whether or not to write this review, but after reading other reviews - and especially the responses to them it confirmed that my feelings were right.

I made a reservation for 15 people the night before our dinner, at 9pm. The owner told me that for such a large group, they couldn’t accommodate us without pre-orders, which I understood. I explained that it was already late, and I wouldn’t be able to organize pre-orders by the next day, especially since I had invited 15 people and wasn’t sure exactly who would attend. I told him that I think I’ll choose a different place this time. But the owner agreed to make an exception and said we could select a set menu and pre-order starters. I accepted, thinking I could choose the starters myself.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I was shocked to see two separate tables with a walkway in between, placed right by the entrance. This left me completely stunned, and I asked if there was any way to fix the seating arrangement. The owner refused, saying it wasn’t possible due to fire safety regulations and that the waitstaff needed access to the service station. While that explanation made sense, his attitude was rude, and he refused to consider any of the ideas we suggested. He simply kept saying “no.” At first, I thought perhaps he just didn’t like me for some reason, so I asked a colleague to speak with him, but once again, we got a firm “no.”

Unfortunately, with such a large group, we couldn’t just change restaurants last-minute, so I had to make the best of the situation and explain it to my colleagues. Thanks to their understanding, I managed to calm down a bit, but my evening was already ruined. I felt so upset, and instead of enjoying myself, I was incredibly stressed - with no empathy or support from the owner.

To make matters worse, three people from our group were an hour late, meaning we sat for an entire hour with nothing but drinks. I asked if we could at least get the starters, but the owner refused again. I was completely taken aback. We came to the restaurant to eat and relax after a long day, but every request was met with a “no.” I finally asked him why he kept refusing, and he explained that with such a large group, his kitchen was small and we’d have to wait for the main courses. But we had already been waiting for an hour.

We had to rush the rest of our group to finish up and join us, because we couldn’t get any food until they arrived. Honestly, we’ve been to many restaurants in Cambridge, but I’ve never experienced anything like this.

On the positive side, the waitress who served us was lovely. She seemed to understand what I was going through and did everything she could to help, for which I’m extremely grateful. She provided much-needed support. The food was also delicious, and everyone enjoyed it.

However, because of the overall atmosphere and the complete lack of understanding or willingness to compromise, I will never return to this restaurant, and I certainly won’t recommend it. I frequently work with many restaurants in Cambridge, as I often organize meetings for executives, and I understand that things aren’t always perfect from my side. But I’ve always received great support and flexibility from other venues. In fact, I’ve even become friends with some of them. I’m deeply disappointed by the way this situation...

We were having a glass of wine and a soft drink celebrating my husbands 69th Birthday on the balcony of the restaurant, a lovely setting, therefore we asked the young friendly waitress that served us if they had any availability on the balcony for dinner, she booked us a table for 7.30pm that evening. When we finished our drink we went inside to pay and I asked her if it was possible if we could have the exact same balcony table, she replied not necessarily the same table, at this point an older man from behind the bar commented "we cannot guarantee a balcony table at all" we looked at the waitress and said "Oh, we thought you confirmed a balcony table" she looked at the man who then commented "no, I have allocated them downstairs" we responded to the waitress that we particularly wanted a balcony table therefore any availability for the following evening, she looked and confirmed availability when the man (barman/manager?) said 'No, I told you we cannot guarantee balcony tables, I allocate on the day, therefore will decide tomorrow, do you want a booking or not" I asked why he was being so rude, my husband then said we just want to pay and leave, at this point he became verbally aggressive and told us to get out, my husband said to the embarrassed waitress please just take the payment we want to leave, the man just repeated "get out I do not want your money, get out and do not come back". We have absolutely no idea what triggered his shocking behaviour towards us as we were just trying to make a reservation. Fortunately we do not encounter this type of aggression usually and went on to have a very lovely Birthday dinner in Brown's, excellent food, good ambience and...

My partner and I got married in Cambridge and decided to have a late lunch / early dinner with our family and friends and the Galleria Restaurant in Cambridge. The restaurant had sentimental value to us as when we were studying at Cambridge, we used to visit the restaurant for their steak sandwiches (sadly no longer on the menu, but we hope they will be back one day!). It was our dream to host a wedding dinner at Galleria and Aamir and his team were incredibly cooperative. We worked together to choose a menu and drinks and agreed an exclusivity deal on the restaurant so that we could have the space to ourselves, which made it extra special! Luckily the weather was beautiful so we started off with some drinks outside as people mingled and then we made our way inside for a wonderful three course dinner.

Everything was delicious and Aamir and his team took extra care of the elderly, children and those with any special dietary requirements. In addition to the incredible food, all of it was served beautifully! His team even made a special portion of bread without nuts for our young cousin and a halal version of the lamb for our families. We were quite specific with our timings as we had to get back to London the same evening (it was a Sunday!) and the team were very punctual and made sure we had a quick service, but also allowed time for speeches too!

We would recommend Galleria to anyone wanting to have a gourmet, but reasonably priced lunch/dinner in Cambridge and especially to those looking for somewhere to host an event - you will not be disappointed! We hope to be back soon, even if just for a quick drink on the terrace; the views of the River Cam and ambience...