Gallus Handcrafted Pasta — Restaurant in Waterbury

Ok they earned an extra star. 6 months later I decide to give them another try. I was a single this time so I sat at the “bar”. Not really a bar. No bartender- it’s basically a counter overlooking a pit where there are a few tables below. Rather a lonely place. Three stars. Thought I would be ignored service - wise. Surprisingly no.

More careful about ordering this time. Ordered a Manhattan. They had no Makers Mark. Actually a very meager selection of rye. The cocktail was just ok. Hen makes them much better. Got the Caesar salad WITHOUT the crumbs and egg. An improvement but still a really heavy salad when salads as an app should be light. For the main course I ordered the bucatini amatriciana. This was good, but not great. It lacked the punch an Amatriciana should have, despite being advertised with smoked chilis. The sauce was way too timid - and I’m a person who orders my Thai food mild-medium. More chilis please.

A couple of other beefs - for a pricy restaurant, they did not change my flatware between courses. Ok maybe they’re conserving energy- but at this supposed level of dining - no. Also, I ordered a glass of wine (they have minimal selections) which was TERRIBLE. Not drinkable - so harsh - and I can even drink Josh cab so it wasn’t me. I sent it back and got their other red which was fine. But they serve the wine in what looks like a jam jar. Not appealing. Bring your own glass.

Service - unlike my first visit. A major highlight of my evening- I was NOT ignored and my service was awesome. Jillian, my server was absolutely the best. Knowledgeable, just attentive enough and accommodating.

One more thing about sitting at their counter. It’s quite fun to watch the kitchen.

I was so excited to come here. Boy was I disappointed. We arrived ten minutes early and could not be seated. So we ordered drinks and trudged back upstairs to their non-existent sitting area. The drinks arrived ten minutes later (there is room for 4 people waiting upstairs) - our table was ready maybe 15 minutes later. I had come here many times to the Grist Mill. And a couple of times when Hen was here. It’s a lovely location. As soon as we sat, we were expected to order. But we had only just gotten the menu (perhaps bc we had our cocktails upstairs). We ordered wine first. I had the Matho - which was tasteless. We then ordered food. Caesar salads, clam tagliatelle, and pork Milanese. We shared everything.

I have never had a Caesar salad that I hated so much. It was 1) loaded with too much cheese and 2) loaded with crouton crumbles - I mean coated. See photo and 3) had hard boiled egg. If I had wanted a Cobb salad I would have said so. I could hardly find the lettuce. Ugh

The mains were better but just by a margin. The clam tagliatelle was ok but super rich bc it was doused in butter. The clams were chopped and really hard to find. The Milanese was 3/4 of an inch thick and while tasty, was tough and a bit dry. The Caesar-like radicchio salad on top did not fix that.

I did have a glass of a nice Chianti San giovese blend.

The almond cookies were nice.

Service was not really interested in our experience.

Hen in Waterbury is one of my favs. It’s too bad their other establishments are sub par

I won’t come back here...

We’re a tough room. In our group of six, a few regularly drop over a thousand dollars on dinners at top restaurants worldwide. We’re not rich, just serious foodies. And honestly, this level of restaurant—the lane Gallus is in—is what we love most. Ambiance: Nailed it. Informal but still warm and cozy. Felt relaxed without trying too hard. Food: We ordered nearly every pasta. Except the lasanga which was 86’d (tisk). Almost all were spot-on: pasta cooked perfectly firm, sauces inventive and not your standard Italian fare. The Lumache alla Zozzona was fantastic, and the pesto also fresh and distinctive. Dish after dish impressed. The letdown: the pork cutlet the main side for the table came out late, after most of the pasta was gone, leaving us to eat it solo and dry—meh. My feeling was the the kitchen was a bit uncoordinated..possibly needing some rethinking to some of the lines. Wine & Dessert: The wine list needs serious work. Both bottles we ordered underwhelmed us majorly At this level, Brunellos or something curated by a real sommelier would change the game. Desserts also missed: Amaretto cookies were excellent, but they felt like a sidekick, not a main event. Ice cream as the fallback? Too basic for a restaurant aspiring to be top shelf. Service: Our server was friendly and tried hard, but clearly overwhelmed by the 8pm seating in a modestly sized dining room. Felt like kitchen disorganization played a role. What really threw us: by 9:30 the staff were breaking down the dining room around us. At $450 for six people, guests should never feel pushed out early. That’s a big professional miss. Bottom line: Gallus has a lot going for it: excellent pastas, inviting atmosphere, and staff who clearly care. But timing, wine, desserts, and service polish need attention. They’re close to greatness, but not there yet—at least for diners who know the difference. We’ll definitely be back, but we’ll be...

A respectable 3 stars. We were the first seating at 5pm during the week. It was raining and there about 10 of us at 4:57pm standing in the rain outside waiting for them to unlock the door. Why they couldn’t let us in to wait upstairs and stay dry and warm for 5 minutes is just bad customer service. There was an elderly woman getting soaked waiting for the door to open. The girl who unlocked the door, did so, and then ran away. No, “hello everyone and welcome to Gallus!” Just opened it and ran back downstairs. Bad start for sure. The layout is the same as when it was Hen of the Wood, maybe slightly less romantic, but still a beautiful space. I ordered the Cappellacci pasta with mushrooms, parm and breadcrumbs. Very good. The mushroom reduction was excellent and the pasta was truly homemade and delicious. The serving size was very small. Like appetizer, small. I’m not expecting a big family style mountain of pasta by any means. But this was very small portions. I left hungry. And that was after also having the eggplant and focaccia apps and the Gelato dessert. I don’t understand why they would portion the pasta so small considering pasta is literally their identity as a restaurant. I hope they read this and make some adjustments, because it’s a big problem that is so easy to fix. The eggplant was what you would expect. Nothing more nothing less. The Caccio e Pepe butter for the Focaccia was excellent and the bread was homemade and still warm. My expectations of service quality in the millennial/GenZ world is a very very low bar. So with that in mind, service was good enough. Bigger portions was the big problem. The menu options were limited. I appreciate keeping it small and doing it well. Just need to change the menu more often to not be too static. Not too many good restaurants in Vermont, as most everyone knows, but this one is decent...