Galley & Garden — Restaurant in Birmingham

November 14, 2014 A friend and I had brunch at Galley and Garden this past Sunday and we both were very disappointed in virtually every aspect of this restaurant - from the moment we walked in until the moment we walked out. The only two positives in the experience were Stan Reynolds, the manager, and the Dixieland Band. The inside is light GREY. All of it. Very sterile, very cold, very boring, very industrial, and loud, even when the band was not playing. Not a warm and welcoming environment. And BOOTHS – in a high end restaurant! What were they thinking? The window into the kitchen was OK, but over half the customers seated cannot see it anyway. The service was mediocre, at best. We ordered flatbread. It was not much more than pizza bread with toppings piled in the middle. It’s better at Seasons 52. I would not order it again. My entrée was Short Ribs on a biscuit. It comes with a poached egg on the top, but the menu doesn't state that. My short ribs were tough and stringy and the egg whites were too runny. I did not eat it all and I would not order it again. My friend ordered the 5 points special. Her eggs were cold when they got to the table, and she had to ASK for butter for the biscuit (which, by the way, wasn't hot enough to melt the butter). We also had to ask for salt and pepper because the food wasn't seasoned very well. Nothing was offered. For dessert we shared the Amish Bread Pudding. Very dense and dry. That may be the way the Amish make it but was not what I was expecting. I would have liked at least SOME pudding, somewhere. I would like to address the issue of the band, Sweet Licks, at the Sunday Brunch. Another friend of mine called to make a reservation for an upcoming Sunday Brunch with the band and was told that the band would no longer be playing there on Sundays. WHAT? This band has been a staple at The Veranda for 8 or 9 years, every Sunday, sometimes playing extended hours for special occasions, and has made the experience of Sunday Brunch one that no other restaurant in Birmingham could equal. Much to a Chef's dismay, many people only came to The Veranda Sunday Brunch because of the band. I, myself have promoted the Sunday Brunch and have entertained friends for special occasions there, ONLY because of the band. This past Sunday, the music was too loud, but not the fault of the band that has been playing there for all those years. There is nothing in this restaurant to soften the sounds - no wall art of any kind on the – only hard surfaces, which makes the interior an acoustical nightmare. As a customer of Sunday Brunch at the (former) Veranda, I am saddened by the new atmosphere. Couple the disappointing food with the absence of the Dixieland band, there is really no reason to return. There is nothing special about this venue any longer. Garden and Galley is just another restaurant. The charm is gone...

My fiancée and I had a 10:45am reservation on a relatively slow Sunday morning at Galley & Garden. Upon our arrival we were greeted by two hosts at the hostess stand. After letting the host know that we had a reservation for 2, the gentleman asked would we rather sit inside or outside. I responded that we would prefer inside. The gentleman looked at his seating chart and said “yes, I have the perfect seats for you two”. The “perfect seats” ended up being the seats nearest to the kitchen, where the most hustle and bustle occurs. Every 25 seconds there was someone urgently breezing past us, directly behind my chair. I had an issue with this simply because the inside of this restaurant is quite large, and they’d been open for only about 15 minutes so I didn’t see any reason for us to have these “perfect seats” nearest the kitchen. We essentially had 2 servers, one that seemed to be well versed and quite familiar with how things worked. Our second server had only been a trainee up until today. We were actually the first table she’d served without direct supervision of a trainer, however, she did awesome as a new waitress. We had the option of ordering the 2 or 3 course meal. My fiancée and I both decided to order the 3 courses. Apparently the hot water heater was malfunctioning so the coffee was lukewarm. Our waiter brought more coffee out but it was the same warm coffee as the first cup. The French Toast was well plated and had a great taste and texture. The portion size was perfect. For the second course, I decided on the salmon cakes. They were cooked to perfection and served with a side of fries and a tasty remoulade. My fiancé ordered the oysters and a side of fries. The oysters were cornmeal battered and they were wonderful. Very fresh tasting and were perfectly fried. They were also served with the remoulade. For the third course we both ordered the bread pudding, which essentially was the French toast with no syrup, but instead was served with pecans, a small amount of their bourbon sauce, and vanilla bean ice cream. Just about the time we got our desert our waitress said she talked to the manager and they adjusted the hot water heater. The third time ended up being the charm and the coffee was very good. She explained that they served an organic espresso, and it was brewed individually for each cup to guarantee freshness. Overall the food was quite delicious, however, if we would have know that the bread pudding was the French toast just with ice cream added, we would have ordered something different for...

My wife and I were trying to find a good location for our 25th Wedding Anniversary dinner and my wife happened to see the Galley & Garden as we drove by it a few nights prior to our anniversary. After going to this restaurant, we both were so pleased to have chosen it. The complimentary valet service is extremely helpful since where the restaurant is located there is not enough parking at that location and the vehicles are parked at another location. Once we walked into the restaurant the fine dining ambience is clearly visible. The Maitre'd was very nice and wished us a happy anniversary. The location of our table was quaint and perfect for the occasion right next to the clear window view of the kitchen. Megan was our waitress and she was extremely helpful with providing the specials for the evening and suggested the special sweet potato soup along with our choice of the portabello mushroom and walnut pate for our appetizers. The pate was delicious and something we would not ordinarily eat due to normal pate being of animal products. The sweet potato soup was delicious as well and was a bit spicy like it had an Indian spice in it. Megan also provided us non-alcoholic champagne for our anniversary celebration. For our entree my wife and I selected the lentil loaf which is a vegan dish with carrots and a rice pilaf containing edamame and carrots. The pilaf had a bit of the same spice as the soup and the whole dish was delicious. For dessert my wife and I had the herbal tea with a white wine poached pear with a scoop of acai sorbet and a tuxedo cake which has multiple layers of different chocolates. During our meal the Maitre'd and owner checked with us to see how our experience was along with our food. The bus girl was very attentive and continously refilling our water glasses and taking away our empty plates. After we finished our meal and had paid, the chef came out and spoke with us and we advised we had thoroughly enjoyed our meal and thanked her for providing vegetarian/vegan options to the menu. The chef stated she always wants to have something available for everyone on the menu. The chef has done a great job in doing exactly that. When we come back to Birmingham we definitely will make time to visit the Galley &...