El Galleon

Very beautiful place. Nice food. Would give all 5, but they put a little bit too much spices on my Halibut… and the service was a little slow too.

Dinner here stinks. Go someplace else. We all got burgers which seemed easy enough. Order came out wrong though. According to our waitress, it was the chef’s fault and that was that. Food was just OK but really expensive. The server was almost mute. I think she spoke English but seemed so unfriendly that I was wondering if she was going to spit in the food or something. She definitely looked like she hated her job. I felt sorry for her.
Paying for water when I’m already paying a $ 10+ (almost $ 15) for a single burger just seems like gouging my wallet. I guess it is only $ 0.50 but still.
We came back later to watch a soccer game, because they did have a lot of TVs. No volume, which is always a bummer for me, so this wasn’t the place to watch it. The bartender though was pretty friendly and served up drinks quick, that’s why this place gets another star. Met some cool people, but we all decided to catch the rest of the game at a bar right around the corner.

Mary Ellen is the BOMB! El Galleon is the best of Catalina. Best food, best drinks, and best service! Thank you Mary Ellen for making our 10 year Anniversary so special!

Everything our party ordered was seasoned very well and was very tasty… no complaints! Seafood cioppino, filet mignon & lobster, mahi mahi, crab cakes, little neck clams. Good service.

A bizarre, awful dining experience. It would be easier to list the things that went right at our dinner last night than the things that went wrong. The answer: Nothing went right.
My daughter ordered the chicken satay appetizer and the chicken stir-​fry dinner. Both were to be served with rice: both were served with mashed potatoes. When asked about it, the waitress said they were out of rice. Incredulous, I said, «You’re out of rice!» She answered that they had rice, just none that was cooked and the «chefs» didn’t want to cook another batch.
The grilled artichoke that was supposed to be served with a teriyaki mayonnaise, came with butter. Not bad, but not what the menu promised. The waitress said the «chef» changed his mind. Then change the menu!
The crab cakes were supposed to come with remoulade sauce. They arrived with nothing. The waitress was very confused as to what remoulade sauce is, and never returned with any. The crab cakes themselves were obviously from the grocery store’s frozen food aisle, in spite of the «homemade» label on the menu.
My wife asked for the balsamic vinegar dressing for her salad. It took 10 minutes and multiple requests for that to be delivered after the salad arrived. What eventually was sent to the table was a bottle of malt vinegar.
There’s more to tell, but what’s the point? The place is a disaster and has all the hallmarks of an incompetent manager. Getting a drink here on karaōke night might be fun, but avoid wasting your dining dollars here at all costs. It really is that bad.

First off, the karaōke here sucks. You can’t hear anything because the mics don’t work when the people are singing… I’m still trying to figure out if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but our server is what is worse than the karaōke here.
We came in and ordered drinks. Tables around us sat down, and they ALL got their drinks before us when we had gotten there first. I’m pissed and outraged at this, and we all left… When we left this is the conversation that was had between the server and someone in my group:
Server: «Oh you guys are leaving?!»
Friend: «Yeah, we’ve been waiting 35 minutes for our drinks. These people all got their drinks before we did. We’re leaving!»
Server: «Oh yeah, well it is a busy night… oh well»
NOT EVEN AN I’M SORRY OR ANYTHING! I can’t believe she would be so rude and lose out on what would have easily been a $ 200 tab and tip from all of us… Thank god we decided to save our money!!!

This one of our two most favorite bars on Catalina… The other being Maggie’s Blue Rose. When you walk in you are surrounded by New Orleans Mardi Gras décor. It feels very festive. I can’t speak for the food because we came here for the happy hour on 2 occasions… So the 4 stars are for that. Great values on the drinks… I had the Catalina Island signature drink– Buffalo Milk. No its not really Buffalo Milk but a super tasty Alcoholic mix that tastes like a yummy milk shake… I wouldn’t think there was alcohol in it if I didn’t see with my own eyes the bartender pouring the liquor in. Service was excellent too.

What a great place ! Absolutely fantastic
The piped in music is a wonderful mix of old and new very eclectic !
As far as food goes we only tried the deep fried artichoke hearts, served with a lemon caper melted butter sauce … Yummy
The views of the water are fantastic and the views inside are fantastic too …
Only downside is they closed down at 8:30 pm
as others were starting to come in .and were turned away .not sure why

Had a Michelada and a pulled pork sandwich and both were great! Nice ambiance. They have a New Orleans fishermen décor which is a bit confusing but who cares, looks cool!
I was there with my co-​workers for 3 days, this was the beginning of day 1. Cinco de Mayo!

I came to Catalina for my birthday and had a great tomahawk steak at el galleon. Food was great and the karaōke was really fun. Good vibe for a chill weekend. I would definitely advise you to stop by!

The El Galleon appears to have potential. I am not sure who owns this bar/​restaurant but I doubt they are hands on.
The bar’s venue on Crescent Ave is fantastic but the bar does not seem to be well run. Perhaps, it was just an off Saturday night.
At midnight the El Galleon was packed, groups sang karaōke and dozens of people wanted to purchase drinks. We sat at a dirty table, we tried to self clean the table and waited… We still waited over twenty minutes before a waitress approached us. That is after we went up to the bar to kindly request service twice.
The only reason our group did not leave was because we were meeting a group of others.
Once our drinks arrived the waitress never bothered to wipe down our table or to pick up the signed receipt from the pervious customers.
The Cape Cod drink I ordered was bitter, watery and tasted as I would imagine battery acid to taste. I passed around the drink to make sure it was not me– after several people choked after tasting the drink, I knew it was the drink. A gentleman at our table who owns several bars in LA (over a decade) went to the bar to exchange my drink.
Sadly, my second Cape Cod was similar to the first. The waitress did stop by and she kindly traded out my Cape Cod for a Corona Beer. The waitress also gave us much needed cocktail napkins. I thought a beer would be safe.
My husband never finished his Whiskey because the pour was almost to the brim of the glass.
As the next half hour flew by more friends from our party joined us and we scouted for a waitress. The waitress did return and my husband was able to order some friends a couple of beers. We definitely decided beer was the safe choice.
Just as we were able to order another round the sight of the bright light announces, The Party Is Over.
Our bar owner friend looks at his watch and shakes his head. You can see he is disappointed by the management of the bar. Our friend announces it is 1:10 PM. We all agree that figures– Saturday night with a packed house.
We begin to chat the early closing my be required by the city or maybe it is just poor management. I do not think any owner would take care of their customers the way we were treated.
It seems like this venue should be a goldmine. Maybe it already is so the owner/​owners no longer dig.
Cheers!

We had dinner here last night and fell in love with our amazing waitress Maryellen. She made sure our food was hot, our drinks were cold and we never empty. She was fun and a sweetheart. She talked and laughed with us and check frequently to make sure we were ok. She had great menu suggestions and everything she suggested, we tried and it was great. Definitely go to El Galleon if your in Catalina… If for no other reason, you have to stop and say hi to Maryellen. We love you!!!

My review is for their drinks and for their Karaōke ! :)
Drinks are good — Ladies, ask for the mexican lollipop from Humberto the bartender. He is awesome .
The manager is cool people and will gladly make sure your voice is heard and your name is listed for Karaōke night.
Their Karaōke nights are epic and a guarantee to make new friends.

Service needs work, waited really long for our food. About an hour wait, and the food was not even warm. Took a while for our drinks as well. The server really tried hard but the kitchen was backed up. The chips and salsa were good though.

Wow. All these negative reviews, I’m surprised.
We stopped in for lunch during our short trip to Catalina. The restaurant was actually fairly empty, which surprised me for it being a Monday and there was a cruise ship in port.
Anyhow, everything we ordered was friggin amazing! We ordered the artichoke hearts (probably the most delicious thing I have ever had). I ordered the french dip — it was REALLY good. My husband and son ordered the fish and chips. They were amazing! My other kids ordered burgers and fries. We left with our plates cleaned. Although we did order soup but never received it, thats ok though we were totally stuffed! When in Avalon we will stop in again! we ordered 5 entrees — 4 sodas and 2 beers and an appetizer. It was $ 120.00. It was a bit pricey but what do you expect. it’s Catalina.

Stopped in on St. Patty’s day for dinner and happy hour with my fiancé despite all the negative reviews we read on Unilocal.Glad that we went for ourselves! I ordered the Sunset Dinner that came with a shrimp and steak skewer and a baked potato. First, I was happy that the plate was actually one skewer of shrimp and veggies and another skewer of steak and veggies. The steak was tender and the sauce they use on the skewers is not overpowering of the meat. My baked potato was perfect and they serve it with sour cream, butter, and BACON on the side!!!
My guy ordered the fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and we both had two green Hefs (had to get in the Patty’s day spirit!). His food was hot and tasty I think it could have had more chicken and some more grated Parmesan cheese on top but that’s just me!
The kareoke was entertaining and we sat outside on the patio and had a nice fart free ocean view! It is pricey because they’re happy hour ends too early!

Where to even begin? Do I start with my zucchini-​less zucchini salad or the «8oz medium rare top sirloin» that magically appeared as a 12oz medium well chuck roast. Let’s pretend for a second that my baked potato didn’t come wrapped in gold foil (circa 1982) and focus on the service for a second … Wait… What service? I saw my waitress three times, once to take my order, once to serve what could in the loosest terms be considered my meal and once again for the check. I am sure, had the manager bothered to staff more than two servers on a Friday night during dinner rush, I would have been fortunate enough to have received silverware as well.
In the future I would avoid this place at all costs. There was no redeeming quality save for the fact that the food was palatable. I would sooner feast on jack in the box 50 cent tacos than ever eat here again.

With the amount of restaurants on Catalina Island, we decided to dine at El Galleon after a long-day’s journey on the Catalina Adventure Tours. Overall, the experience at this restaurant was 3-​stars.
Service was almost a-​okay from our server. Our server was friendly, but he was slow and inattentive for the most part. (²⁄₅)
When we arrived, there was a Happy Hour (HH) menu on our table indicating HH started at 3:00 p.m. We arrived around 2:00 p.m. Our friend, Tony R., wanted to order the guacamole dip that was on the HH menu, but our server would not allow him to order it because it was not HH even though our friend was willing to pay full price for it. Really? By the time HH arrived, our friend was too full to order what he wanted, and the server asked at that time if our friend still wanted the guacamole dip. (¹⁄₅)
The food I had was good though. I enjoyed the Fish and Chips. The Alaskan Cod was thick, flaky and crispy. No complaints about my meal. I could not finish my entire dish, so a doggy bag was needed for the leftovers. (⁴⁄₅)
My other half, on the other hand, had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with French Fries. The chicken was dry, but it was tasty because it was seasoned well and the accompaniments were fresh. (³⁄₅)
For dessert, our friend and my other half shared a slice of Key Lime Pie, and they both stated it was more like cheesecake with a hint of lime. If it were only the Key Lime Pie for dessert, it would have been a 2-​star rating, but my other half also had an ice cream birthday treat which made up for the pie. (³⁄₅)
Revisit? Probably if I return to Catalina Island one day because I did enjoy my fish and chips, but there are other restaurants to check out on the island. We’ll see. Hopefully, service will be better next time.

This place is definitely worth the visit!
Dancing, drinking & people watching = fun times.
We were recommended to stop in to check out the karaōke, which ended up being entertaining with a large song list.
Fun relaxing atmosphere with a mix of jazzy and unconventional decorations. Customer service was quick and friendly. Bf ordered me a drink called Mexican candy that I couldn’t get enough of with it’s delicious, sweet/​spicy flavor. It is a drink true to it’s name sake.

Very eclectic from both the inside and out. We were pretty hesitant to try this place out, but we were hangry and all the other places on Catalina Island were packed. So, what the heck, let’s try it out and fill our tummies before the momster in me makes an appearance.
I had the clams for an appetizer and the fish and chips as my lunch entrée. The clams were GOOD. I was satisfied with them, I dipped my bread in the ample broth. Yum. I was soooo looking forward to my lunch.
4 stars dropped to 3 with my fish and chips. Not very good. Over breaded, greasy, just blah. So sad after such high expectations from the clams.
If you’re going to venture onto Avalon, I recommend you order 2 orders of the clams and wash it down with an ice cold beer. That’s the way to go!