By Sam Beckler

The music was playing loudly, people were laughing at the bar, and servers were hurrying by. I recently visited Galley Kitchen in Stratford Hills with two friends. Galley began as one room with a bar and some wooden booths for seating but recently expanded into a second storefront. There they created a retail area for drinks, snacks, and candy. They also nearly doubled their seating by adding more booths and a second bar area. 

When we arrived, the radio was playing a 2000s music station, and the mood was very light as people enjoyed their food and conversations. The decor is very vibrant to the point where nearly everything catches your eye. You have the choice of sitting in the booths, at one of the two bars, or outside on metal chairs.

Galley serves freshly prepared to-go meals and terrific dine-in food. They serve traditional bar food, such as wings, burgers, and fries, and also pizzas, pastas, and more. Their specialty must be their pizzas. Their pizzas are very different from anywhere else, and they are delicious. Two of their distinctive pizzas are the grape and gorgonzola pizza, with grapes and gorgonzola cheese, and the sweet hot pizza, with hot peppers and honey.

Pesto pasta.

I have been to Galley twice recently with Brennan Heims (‘25) and Kate DeRoco (‘24). The first time, Heims ordered the Galley burger with fries, I ordered the sweet hot pizza, and DeRoco ordered the pesto pasta. On the second visit, I tried the pesto pasta, and DeRoco ordered the fig, brie, and Calabrian ham pizza. 

Heims described his burger as having a “perfect balance between all the toppings.” Besides the meat, the burger had Swiss cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, and ketchup. It was served with a side of fries and ranch dressing for the fries. The combination of fries and ranch dressing was not one that Heims enjoyed. I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor.

DeRoco loved her fig, brie, and Calabrian ham pizza. She said the pizza is a “combination of two different things that should not work together but do.” The pizza has a sweet sauce drizzled over the top that complements the flavors of the fig and ham nicely. 

Sweet hot pizza.

The sweet hot pizza is a mozzarella and pepperoni pizza with Calabrian peppers and honey on top. The combination of the sweet and hot creates clashing flavors that add nicely to the dish. The pesto pasta is terrific. Your plate comes piled very high with penne pasta, tossed in a parmesan pesto sauce with some sliced toasted bread on the side. Even if you are very hungry, you can get two meals out of one order of pesto pasta for $13.95.

The service has been outstanding each time I have gone to Galley Kitchen. The servers are constantly helping you with whatever you need, and the food is brought out very quickly. During my most recent visit, the co-owner of Galley Kitchen, well-known Richmond restauranteur Manny Mendez, stopped by, and we had a very friendly conversation. The servers always attend to your every need but are never intrusive.

Galley KItchen is a terrific place to go for a mountain of food at a reasonable price, great service, and a very relaxed environment. 

All photos by Sam Beckler.