Galo's Italian Grill

I find myself wanting to give Galos a higher rating because I have had good meals here, but mostly it's been mediocre at best. trust me! i'm extremely glad Richmond has an Italian place that is not a chain. I just wish the service and food was more consistent. I've found I've had better luck with sticking to the specials that night than ordering off the regular menu, and that if it's super busy that night it's going to take entirely too long to get your food. I've decided only to come when it's not peak busy times. They need more experienced waiters as well, most seem very unprofessional for the price of the meal. But, the food can be very good I can't deny that!

I really wanted to like this place.  I went there with my mum on my birthday, weeks after my dad died.  I wanted everything to go right and I didn't want to complain or fight about anything.  I could have gone anywhere in the tri-state area and chose Galo's.  Little did we know that we would be calling it "The Gallows" after our experience.

The hostess was cheerful, but we got into the large room with the high ceiling and it looked incredibly tacky--manufactured Italian glory with plastic columns surrounding the actual construction.  The noise level from the few people in the dining room was annoying.  I expect that the shape of the room kept the sound moving to everyone.

We sat, and took a look at the menu.  They seemed to have reasonable choices and I was interested in the gnocchi, though many places get it wrong by not making it fresh.  I decided on that with Alfredo Sauce, which could be considered an unusual combination but they didn't seem to have white clam sauce.  My mum ordered some linguini with marinara sauce.

The salad was good and fresh.  The main course left a lot of be desired.  I cringed when I saw the bowl with "Galo's" emblazoned on the rim.  I hadn't seen anything like that since Carraba's Italian Grill.  Still, it was the food, not the surroundings that contribute to the taste.  There isn't much to Alfredo sauce: cream, cheese, oil, butter, pepper.  They forgot the cream, cheese, and pepper.  I thought it looked completely odd, but I tried it, thinking that they had some different recipe.  Imagine eating oil and butter.

We paid and left.  Once again, I didn't want a confrontation, but that deserved someone's head on a platter; hopefully, with proper seasoning.  I don't like Olive Garden but it would have been an improvement--for that matter, a jar of Classico or maybe even Ragu would have been.

I felt so cheated.

I thought this was a nice spot for dinner. I came here by myself (away of business dinner, not a total loser, ahem) and sat at the bar. Service was pleasant, pizza, salad and wine hit the spot. Good standard Italian fare in the area.