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| LUIGI'S ITALIANO RESTAURANT |
Located at 2233 on the Strand, this typical italian restaurant serves only italian food
and even the menu is in italian, so brush off your italian before to come there or
expect the waiters to patiently explain to you what "vino rosso" and "chianti" mean.
I had a good prosciutto con melone ($7.95), an forgetable vitello marsala alla luigi
($23.95), I drank two glasses of good Chianti ($12), I chosed not to have a dessert
and opted instead for a perfect coffee espresso ($5).
All together I paid $50 plus service. Luigi's does not come out cheap but the
ambiance is classy without being pretentious, the waiters are extremely efficient
and nice and the tables not too close which leaves you some privacy and the
opportunity to talk quietly.
The restaurant used to be a bank and it still looks like it, some people may object
although it is very finely decorated with muted sienna walls, a fruitwood paneled bar
and mural-size replicas of Italian art. Luigi's is not a must in Galveston because
Galveston has other more typical places to offer but if you want some italian
ambiance and an acceptable italian cusine, you may enjoy it. Phone: (409)763-6500.
Hours : Lunch Daily 11am-2:30pm; Dinner Sun -Thu 5:30pm-9pm, Fri 5:30pm-10pm,
Sat 5:30pm-11pm
and even the menu is in italian, so brush off your italian before to come there or
expect the waiters to patiently explain to you what "vino rosso" and "chianti" mean.
I had a good prosciutto con melone ($7.95), an forgetable vitello marsala alla luigi
($23.95), I drank two glasses of good Chianti ($12), I chosed not to have a dessert
and opted instead for a perfect coffee espresso ($5).
All together I paid $50 plus service. Luigi's does not come out cheap but the
ambiance is classy without being pretentious, the waiters are extremely efficient
and nice and the tables not too close which leaves you some privacy and the
opportunity to talk quietly.
The restaurant used to be a bank and it still looks like it, some people may object
although it is very finely decorated with muted sienna walls, a fruitwood paneled bar
and mural-size replicas of Italian art. Luigi's is not a must in Galveston because
Galveston has other more typical places to offer but if you want some italian
ambiance and an acceptable italian cusine, you may enjoy it. Phone: (409)763-6500.
Hours : Lunch Daily 11am-2:30pm; Dinner Sun -Thu 5:30pm-9pm, Fri 5:30pm-10pm,
Sat 5:30pm-11pm
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| DI BELLA'S ITALIANO RESTAURANT |
Another italian restaurant but a bad one. Located at the corner of Avenue P and 31rd
St., di Bella's is owned by an influent old galvestonian family and enjoys a clientele of
habitues. Hopefully for them because I really wonder how you can get "used" to the
cuisine of this dark, dim, almost dirty, shabby restaurant with wooden floors and
bench tables as well as booths with the traditional vinyl tablecloths in red gingham.
Average main course price is $30 which is not cheap for a place like this with no view
and a clientele of habitues quite loud and noisy.
Located five blocks away from the seawall, di Bella's could be interesting if it had
exceptional food but it is not the case. My experience is one of the worst as far as
italian cuisine is concerned and I am a native from Marseille where italian restaurants
bloom at each street corner. I had an escalope and my wife some fettucine and both of
us found our dish simply awful. I drank some Chianti that gave me instant headache.
The bill was extremely expensive ($60)for what we get and we swore that we would
never come back. Note that the maid was gentle and sweet.
Closed on Monday, better reserve at 409.763.9036 or best don't go at all.
St., di Bella's is owned by an influent old galvestonian family and enjoys a clientele of
habitues. Hopefully for them because I really wonder how you can get "used" to the
cuisine of this dark, dim, almost dirty, shabby restaurant with wooden floors and
bench tables as well as booths with the traditional vinyl tablecloths in red gingham.
Average main course price is $30 which is not cheap for a place like this with no view
and a clientele of habitues quite loud and noisy.
Located five blocks away from the seawall, di Bella's could be interesting if it had
exceptional food but it is not the case. My experience is one of the worst as far as
italian cuisine is concerned and I am a native from Marseille where italian restaurants
bloom at each street corner. I had an escalope and my wife some fettucine and both of
us found our dish simply awful. I drank some Chianti that gave me instant headache.
The bill was extremely expensive ($60)for what we get and we swore that we would
never come back. Note that the maid was gentle and sweet.
Closed on Monday, better reserve at 409.763.9036 or best don't go at all.
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| CASEY'S ON THE SEAWALL |
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| One of my favorites until I realized that Casey's litterally stinks. Casey's is an unpretentious seafood restaurant at 3828 Seawall Blvd, (inside Gaido's Seaside Inn). My wife and I we used love Casey's for the quality of the food, the kindness of the maids and the remarkable value for money : then we started to be bothered by the assailing odor of stench that comes from a very dirty carpet. Secondly we noticed that some wiaters were lousy or dirty. The general impression about Casey's is thatr the whole thing is in need of a very serious cleaning, even cleansing. Eventually even the food does not look too fresh and clean : I had lately a bean soup that was cold and some crab paté absolutely tasteless and boring to eat. I swallowed them down with some good Sheiner bock that was the only thing worht the price in thois very lousy resto. Having said that Casey's offers fried scallops for $14 and after 2 beers and free iced tea, we never paid more than $50. The restaurant is divided in two big rooms, one for smokers and one for non smokers well apart from each other. Huge bay-windows on the side and tables aligned parallel to them allow every host to enjoy a view of the Seawall and the sea. |
| JOE'S CRAB SHACK |
Not one of my favorites, Joe's Crab Shack is on the Seawall at 3502. There is another
one on Harbour Side and one Joe's SeaFood on Broadway but the later is not part of the
chain and it is more Asian seafood oriented although very good and very cheap.
I enjoy Joe's for its raw oysters during the winter season and for its crabs. My wife
loves its cocktails and its salads but the service is always very low and rather messy
which seems to be a characteristic of the chain.
Once we discovered that in the bar room we could not have the happy hour discount
because we were not sitting at the bar but in a booth. Twenty minutes later, two young
couples came in and sat in a booth next to us and my wife heard that they were getting
the discount. So she asked our waiter who explained to us with a lot of embarrassment
and without really looking at us that this one table was an EX-CEP-TION and could have
the Happy Hour discount. You talk about a b...t justification.
Having said that the menu is rich and you can find some seafood course for every taste
on earth, plus wonderful salads. Prices are not cheap and you must count on average
$50 for two people if you take only one course and two drinks per person.
The decoration is amazingly sea-inspired with surf boards as tables in the bar area,
nets all over the place, and a shop that sells Joe's T-shirts and other Galveston
memorabilia. In the dining room, the decor is sad and the whole thing looks like the
cantine of the 3rd class prewar liner.
I would give a better review to Joe's if the service was faster and the prices a little bit
more moderate. So I give only that lousy review but it's a place you will enjoy especially
if you come with kids because it is noisy, the decor is kitsch and the music loud. Kids
will feel some excitement.
one on Harbour Side and one Joe's SeaFood on Broadway but the later is not part of the
chain and it is more Asian seafood oriented although very good and very cheap.
I enjoy Joe's for its raw oysters during the winter season and for its crabs. My wife
loves its cocktails and its salads but the service is always very low and rather messy
which seems to be a characteristic of the chain.
Once we discovered that in the bar room we could not have the happy hour discount
because we were not sitting at the bar but in a booth. Twenty minutes later, two young
couples came in and sat in a booth next to us and my wife heard that they were getting
the discount. So she asked our waiter who explained to us with a lot of embarrassment
and without really looking at us that this one table was an EX-CEP-TION and could have
the Happy Hour discount. You talk about a b...t justification.
Having said that the menu is rich and you can find some seafood course for every taste
on earth, plus wonderful salads. Prices are not cheap and you must count on average
$50 for two people if you take only one course and two drinks per person.
The decoration is amazingly sea-inspired with surf boards as tables in the bar area,
nets all over the place, and a shop that sells Joe's T-shirts and other Galveston
memorabilia. In the dining room, the decor is sad and the whole thing looks like the
cantine of the 3rd class prewar liner.
I would give a better review to Joe's if the service was faster and the prices a little bit
more moderate. So I give only that lousy review but it's a place you will enjoy especially
if you come with kids because it is noisy, the decor is kitsch and the music loud. Kids
will feel some excitement.
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| JOE'S CRAB SHACK #2 |
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Located at 20th & Harborside Dr. which means on the port, phone # 409.763.7087, this
second Joe's Crab Shack is less noisy than the firts one and the decor is less gawdy.
But if you have a lot of time to waste while you are in Galveston and appreciate slow,
messy service and lousy waiters, go to Joe's Crab Shack on the port. You will enjoy it.
The food and the menu are not better or worse than at its brother on the Seawall but
the service is so lousy that I am very sorry to tell you I will never go back to this
sort-of-emergency room for starving people.
Finally I do not remember if I waited 15 minutes or an hour for the bill insofar as I was
so upset than minutes counted like hours. The view upon the port is great with
pelicans and other birds sitting on the railing in the vain hope to get some food from
the patrons. But if you have plenty of time and more patience than I have, especially
when I am hungry, go there you might enjoy it.
Phone number : 409.763.7087
second Joe's Crab Shack is less noisy than the firts one and the decor is less gawdy.
But if you have a lot of time to waste while you are in Galveston and appreciate slow,
messy service and lousy waiters, go to Joe's Crab Shack on the port. You will enjoy it.
The food and the menu are not better or worse than at its brother on the Seawall but
the service is so lousy that I am very sorry to tell you I will never go back to this
sort-of-emergency room for starving people.
Finally I do not remember if I waited 15 minutes or an hour for the bill insofar as I was
so upset than minutes counted like hours. The view upon the port is great with
pelicans and other birds sitting on the railing in the vain hope to get some food from
the patrons. But if you have plenty of time and more patience than I have, especially
when I am hungry, go there you might enjoy it.
Phone number : 409.763.7087
| FISH TALES SEAFOOD GRILL |
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Fish Tales Seafood Grill at 25th & Seawall (phone : 409.762.8545) specializes in
seafood straight from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as pastas, steaks, and salads
prepared in a variety of appetizing entree selections.
The decor is plain banal and rather boring although the view on the seawall and the
sea is great. Service is nice and swift but there were hardly any customers the day we
went there on a weekday of January. I enjoyed excellent oysters on the shell and a
seafood platter that was ok and my wife had a large tuna salad that was "very good".
I had 2 Shiner bock beers and my wife an iced tea and we paid the hefty sum of 60
dollars excluding tip. It was not a bad moment but it could have been better, especially
the decor could be much more attractive. In the end, Fish Tales is a little bit expensive
for what it offers. There is a second floor with a terrace and veranda with a prime view
over the sea.
seafood straight from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as pastas, steaks, and salads
prepared in a variety of appetizing entree selections.
The decor is plain banal and rather boring although the view on the seawall and the
sea is great. Service is nice and swift but there were hardly any customers the day we
went there on a weekday of January. I enjoyed excellent oysters on the shell and a
seafood platter that was ok and my wife had a large tuna salad that was "very good".
I had 2 Shiner bock beers and my wife an iced tea and we paid the hefty sum of 60
dollars excluding tip. It was not a bad moment but it could have been better, especially
the decor could be much more attractive. In the end, Fish Tales is a little bit expensive
for what it offers. There is a second floor with a terrace and veranda with a prime view
over the sea.
| YAMATO JAPANESE SEAFOOD SUSHI & STEAK HOUSE |
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| This sushis bar -located on 61st St. next to the Firestone store- is proud to boast about his Chef coming at your table to cook your order amidst big prowesses of juggling and shouting. It might be the only limited interest of this unfortunate japanese restaurant. However if you have not a lot of time to waste while you are in Galveston and appreciate to be rushed to eat your orders, go there. The food and the menu are not better or worse than at any other sushis bar to the exception that the management does its best to impress you with Japanese cuisine and tradition. So my wife and I who wanted to celebrate with some exotism our marriage anniversary we decided to try the Yamato. What a disappointment ! First the waitress did not understand that we wanted first some sushis, then some grilled meat and some scallops . So after a while we saw the meat coming. I inquired about the sushis and hop the meat went back to the kitchens. When the sushis eventually showed up, they were accompanied by the Chef with his impressive toque who began cooking the meat and the scallops that had finally made their way back from the kitchens. I repeated that we needed some time to appreciate our sushis (which were scarce for 16 bucks) but nobody paid attention to our prayer and after 5 minutes the Chef began his little numero of sleight of hand. Obviously he has skills and he does it with bonne humeur and fun however we did not plan to go to the circus but to a restaurant. So we hardly had time to moderately enjoyed our sushis which were moderately good when the guy tossed in our plates some skinny pieces of meat that look like they had escaped from a kitty cat dinner small plate. It was accompanied with the scallops ordered by Ann and some veggies which had escaped the volcano-fire onion rings set on by the Chef to amuse us. Excuse me Mister Yamato but we have seen the world and stop please to take us for little kids who've seen nada. Anyway the whole thing was tasteless and so scarce that it was swallowed down in no time. We had barely finished to clean our plates that the waitress came up with the bill that amounted to some 53 dollars including 2 Asahis and one ice tea. I gave 7 dollars of tip very reluctantly because my wife insisted that it was correct and because it was our marriage anniversary and I did not want to sound stingy or mean. But I can swear that this Mr. Yamato will never ever see the shadow of us again. Sayonara !!! Phone number : (409)744-2742, address : - 2104 61st St, Galveston- but you rather do seppuku than going there. |
THE BEST AND THE WORST OF GALVESTON RESTAURANTS
| EL GUSTO del PUEBLO RISTAURANTE ON BROADWAY |
| El Gusto is not the most fashionable resto in downtown Galveston. Located on Braodway at 3714 Phone: (409)763-0410, it is a small place where you will find mostly Hispanic patrons eating homemade Mexican cuisine serving breakfast, lunch, & dinner. It is good, cheap, clean and friendly. No extravaganza except myriads of religious artifacts on the walls to remember the customers we are in a Mexican place. Breakfast is wildly popular at El Gusto, and features delicious burritos and favorites such as huevos rancheros, migas con huevos, and succulent pork chops. Fresh tamales, barbacoa, and menudo are available in family-size takeout. We were four of us and we had excellent camajones (shrimps), tajitas, enchiladas and a sampler platter with tea, Tecate beer and water for 45 dollars plus service. The ambiance is cool and quiet, lots of Meixcan patrons with their well educated kids (not like American brats) and smiling and fast service. The place is clean, a little bit kitsch, with two large rooms and a decoration that can inspire religious feelings or put off anti-religious persons. Anyway a little bit of tolerance will allow anybody to enjoy good MExican food for a cheap price. Open from 7am - 10pm, you can pay cash or by credit card. |
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| CHILI'S SEAWALL |
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This new element of the Dallas chain spread all over the world and the USA located at
500 Seawall, Suite 100, phone 409-766-1690 is one among the galaxy of restaurants
founded by Norman E. Brinker and owned by Brinker Internationa which also owns On
the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Maggiano's Little Italy, Romano's Macaroni Grill,
and Rockfish Seafood Grill. This Galveston's Chili's is one of the most recent restaurant
of the group and probably not the best.
First let me tell you that service is so slow that you better eat a sandwich before to get
there in case you have a bad case of hypoglycemia. It is obvious that the chain is
saving on staff's overheads and employs a minimum of nice students to do the service
job. Of course, as always in America, they do what they can with the means put to their
disposal and must not be blamed.
My wife and I we have been there twice since the opening in 2006 and twice we have
peen put off by the slow service. Last time we had spare ribs which were one of the
most mediocre pair of ribs I ever had in my plate and Leslie had once more a sampler
platter which was -according to her expression- "OK'. We had a beer and teas and our
daughter in law was happy with some casadilla that was to her taste. She is not very
demanding and happy with anything. It is not our case, my wife and myself, We paid a
undeserved 65 dollars with the service.
The menu is very abundant with the classis Chili's stuff ranging from the southern
eggrolls to the Frosty chocolate shake through a variety of meats, sandwiches and
mexican dishes. The choice is wide but our choice was to say the least disappointing.
Useless to say that, after two bad experiences, it is not tomorrow the eve that we go
back to this Chili's. Hasta la vista, senor Brinker !!!
500 Seawall, Suite 100, phone 409-766-1690 is one among the galaxy of restaurants
founded by Norman E. Brinker and owned by Brinker Internationa which also owns On
the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Maggiano's Little Italy, Romano's Macaroni Grill,
and Rockfish Seafood Grill. This Galveston's Chili's is one of the most recent restaurant
of the group and probably not the best.
First let me tell you that service is so slow that you better eat a sandwich before to get
there in case you have a bad case of hypoglycemia. It is obvious that the chain is
saving on staff's overheads and employs a minimum of nice students to do the service
job. Of course, as always in America, they do what they can with the means put to their
disposal and must not be blamed.
My wife and I we have been there twice since the opening in 2006 and twice we have
peen put off by the slow service. Last time we had spare ribs which were one of the
most mediocre pair of ribs I ever had in my plate and Leslie had once more a sampler
platter which was -according to her expression- "OK'. We had a beer and teas and our
daughter in law was happy with some casadilla that was to her taste. She is not very
demanding and happy with anything. It is not our case, my wife and myself, We paid a
undeserved 65 dollars with the service.
The menu is very abundant with the classis Chili's stuff ranging from the southern
eggrolls to the Frosty chocolate shake through a variety of meats, sandwiches and
mexican dishes. The choice is wide but our choice was to say the least disappointing.
Useless to say that, after two bad experiences, it is not tomorrow the eve that we go
back to this Chili's. Hasta la vista, senor Brinker !!!
Reviews to come :
1- Gino's
2- Paco y Rudi
3- IHOP
1- Gino's
2- Paco y Rudi
3- IHOP