Galerias

Food and atmosphere was so hot, the place caught fire last night!
: BURN BABY BURN, DISCO INFERNO! :
Seriously though, this is a great place and I was very sad to hear about this fire. I hope that they can get this place back open to business quickly… (Good luck guys!)

The food is the only reason why I am giving Galerias 4 stars. The food is amazing! I was talking about my dinner for days after, telling everyone I know they have to check it out.
The only down side, which was a big down side, was our waiter. I’m not sure who was more confused the entire time, us or him. He spoke very little English, was not familiar with the food on the menu, was unclear on what came with soup and what came with salad. In the end we did not end up getting the appetizers we ordered but the staff was very nice and gave us a free cactus salad to try.
I’ll give him a break though, maybe it was his first day, he seemed very nervous. I will definitely be going back, I just have my fingers crossed I don’t end up with the same waiter.

The food was good the décor is nice. That’s about it. I went to dinner there on a Saturday night it was not busy. I ordered the seafood dish, it had clams, shrimp, scallops, etc. It was very tasty. My partner had tamales.
The one bad part was the service. I could not hear the waiter at all. He was whispering every thing he said. At first I honestly thought it was a joke. Then another waiter came by to clear the salsa I asked him to leave it and he looked at me confused and took it anyway. Then brought it back.

After three visits to Galerias I have decided this is a solid four star restaurant mainly for the delicious foods that I have had. This is definitely a few steps up from standard Americanized Mexican food with unique twists on things like fajitas and enchiladas as well as several signature dishes like the Arturo Ramirez and the Francisco Toledo which I highly recommend.
The layout of the place has a very eclectic feel to it with an antique styling that is very welcoming and comfortable. I“m also a big fan of the large windows that can be pulled back on sunny days to really open up the place and makes the first few rows of tables feel like they are outside under the cover of an awning rather than inside the building itself.
You will find both good and not so good service here that can run a little slow at times when trying to place orders, but then again my water glass was never less than half full at any given time. You will also find differing levels of friendliness from the wait staff and bussers from very polite and happy to rushed and aloof so be prepared for a little bit of everything here.
All in all I have had a good experience each time I have been here and will definitely be back for more of their delicious food… and I almost forgot to mention that the margaritas are pretty strong yet also very tasty which is exactly how you want to them to be.

This is one of my favorite gourmet Mexican food places. The tables are topped with tablecloths and fresh cut flowers.
I never stray far from the chipotle chicken enchiladas, which come with a side of rice and beans. The rice and beans are AMAZING. Really. And I love the chips and salsa they give you when you are seated. Sometimes, they give you bread with some cheese spread, which is equally delicious.
I heard the owner goes to Mexico to get the spices for his dishes… and it shows. Everything here is good and fresh. He even came over to my table once to ask if I enjoyed the food.
Service is good, food is good. Will return for sure!

I was very disappointed. Went last night thinking it wouldn’t be crowded on a Tuesday night for a walk in. Stood around for 5 minutes before anyone came to seat us. The drinks were the best part and that’s a good thing because it took over an hour for our waiter to come back and tell us the kitchen had lost our order. Really? Yep, an hour! Then the food was lackluster, it tasted and felt like it had been thrown together. On top of that they didn’t offer dessert, just the bill. As is they were ready for us to be gone. There was no apology or discount offered for the long wait.
I don’t know if I would try this place again. Way to many other places to try.

Hmm, just wasn’t a fan. I have to say that the sangria was the best part of my dining experience, though a bit too sweet.
My friend and I tried the guacamole and chicken taquitos, beef and chicken enchiladas in a red chipotle sauce and the mixed seafood in garlic sauce dish.
The guacamole could’ve benefited from some salt and the chicken taquitos were dry and flavorless. The enchiladas were pretty good but the rice and beans accompanying it were not any good. How can you not have perfected rice and refried beans? The seafood dish was probably the best item but nothing I plan to return for.
The check was over $ 60 and thank goodness we had a $ 30 living social deal to offset the cost. The meal was definitely not worth the $ 60+. The dining room feels odds and outdated, though I think they may have been aiming for quaint and homey?

NOT BRUNCH! I had brunch with a group. The service was slow and food quality could have been better and quicker. (I’m not that picky, but basically, this place is STYLE trumps SUBSTANCE & QUALITY.)
Yes, the place is stylish (helloooo, it’s Capital Hill.)
The style of the environment is emphasized over the food quality.
Go elsewhere for a weekend brunch.

Not sure how this place stays in business– food was bland, service was horribly slow and snotty, and prices are not good.
We waited a solid 10 – 15 minutes after sitting down to be greeted and have our drink orders taken. One coke and iced tea order later, we had to wait another 10 minutes.
Once we ordered, the food arrived about 20 minutes later. My partner had the soup, which had absolutely no substance to it. I had a cheese enchilada which was so bland it was insane. Definitely not a very vegetarian friendly restaurant if you want good food. Not to say they didn’t have vegetarian menu items– but they weren’t good.
Finally, at the end of service, after waiting 17 minutes (yes, I timed it… I was appalled at the service, or lack thereof at this point), I had to flag somebody down to be given our check.
We will not be returning. Over priced, not good food, horrible service.

I miss Galerias of the 90’s when they had great service, inspired and amazing food. Unfortunately I’ve had my last supper at Galerias.
The chicken in mole used to be a nice chicken breast smothered in a rich flavorful sauce. I was presented with tiny little slivers of chicken so overcooked they tasted more like jerky. Furthermore, the chicken was sautéed in the sauce making it a thick nightmare of over-​salty greasy globs, I couldn’t eat it. I asked the server why the dish wasn’t chicken breast (like normal) and was told «that’s the way the people in Mexico eat it,» hmmm, then they should probably adjust the menu to more accurately describe food. I was surprised he didn’t offer to remove the item from the bill or bring me something else when I said I couldn’t eat it; at least the rice and beans were ok.
We also ordered the steak fajitas. Word of caution, do not order them! I am used to a sizzling cast iron plate with onions, peppers, a nice steak on top; not at Galerias. What came out of the kitchen looked more like (and surprisingly tasted like) some sort of sautéed Chinese dish. It was so strange! Again, the meal was barely edible, the guac was brown, it was terrible.
The chicken with the coconut pineapple sauce that used to be a favorite was also ordered. Instead of the heavenly chicken breast stuffed with cheese then cut on a bias and smothered in sauce it was three chunks of overcooked chicken (thigh or breast, hard to tell) with a sauce that was barely edible.
If that was not bad enough we ordered dessert, it was a birthday dinner so we were obligated. We should have ran out of there instead. The icing on the cake was an $ 11.00 little slice of fruit tart that was so soggy and terrible that only the fruit on top were palatable. Again, the bulk of the food went back to the kitchen.
The whole evening was a disappointment, the service was terrible, the food disgusting. If you do decide to go there, stick with the chips and salsa (delicious), get an order of rice and beans, a margarita and call it a day, you won’t be disappointed!

I had one good meal here years ago.
After that I have returned 2 – 3 times and been very disappointed. Once the food was bland. Once cold. And one of the times I watched the cook smoke a cigarette while cooking my food. Gross.
And that was the end of that.

This is a great place to come for a quick brunch. Their $ 6.95 brunch specials seem to rotate each weekend, so you can try a little of everything!
Their Huevos Benedictinos were very tasty — my favorite brunch option pulled off well, paired with a side of refried beans in a corn tortilla to mix it up a little bit. I just mushed it all together for a fun food combination!
The Jose Luis Cuevos wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped (the menu describes it being paired with zucchini and other veggies) — but it ended up being a dry (as in sauce-​less) chicken tender with the refried beans and rice on the side. Still tasty, and worth it for $ 6.95. Even though I was still hungry afterwards, a quick trip to the dessert buffet set me right as rain.
We had a minor snag with the bill one time, where we were charged the full price for some items instead of the brunch special. I chalk it up to the fact that their specials rotate, so I grant a little leeway for this.

Maybe I’m lucky or maybe I just don’t pay enough attention, but I’ve been to Gallerias twice and had good experiences both times.
The first visit, my mom and I came in during the middle of a torrential downpour and dripped water all over their dining room floor, which they were kind enough not to comment on. She had a chicken mole that was to die for, and my enchiladas were good, although somewhat overpriced relative to the quality. Their coffee was excellent, and we also enjoyed the chips and salsas.
Several months later, we returned with the rest of the family in tow, and again enjoyed our experience. Mom ordered coffee and the waiter kept plying her with cookies to dip into the coffee, which amused the rest of us greatly. There was a ‘mole festival’ going on, and unfortunately they were out of the mole blanco that I wanted to try, but recommended I go with the mole negro (talk about 180 out). It was excellent, but a little heavy for my tastes, so next time I think I would stick with the regular mole poblano. Everyone was happy with their meals and while no one ordered drinks, we were seated next to a huge display case of alcohol.
The restaurant itself is sort of semi-​formal décor with big fancy chairs and the dinner menus could probably squish a small dog flat if you dropped one. This is definitely not your standard American-​Mexican family restaurant. Service can be slow and prices are higher than you’d find at other places, but they are going for a more upscale ‘gourmet’ style.

Wow. I had a bad feeling walking in, and I should have turned right around. We went tonight at about 6 or so. There was only one other table in there. we have been meaning to try it for a while, but I wish we hadn’t. As soon as we sat down, our very flamboyant server came over and mumbled something about coupons and margaritas. we just sorta smiled and nodded. The one star by the way is for the chips and salsa. Other than that…
I ordered the cheese enchiladas and my fiancé ordered pork tamales. Food came out about 20 minutes later, and it looked awful. Our server set our food down and walked away. he did not mention to me that my plate was scolding hot and I burned my hand. My enchiladas tasted like a quesadilla with marinara sauce, with some tv dinner beans and white rice. The tamales were nasty, hard, and the meat was just weird. We were so hungry so we were just trying to hurry and eat so we could get the heck out of there.
This was the worst part… and why I am so disgusted with this place.
When we were finally done picking through our food and waiting for our check, I saw our server pick up one of the linen napkins from a table, swat a fly on the glass, and shake the dead fly out right next to our table.
I will never go back here… and I hope they get shut down by the health department. Our server freaked us out beyond belief.
Can this place just disappear???

Don’t bother … it is a terribly dirty and filthy restaurant.
With so many great places on capitol hill, why would anyone want to eat in such an unhealthy environment. They need to clean up their act BIG TIME before we will set foot in that place again.
The health department has been notified

Came here for a friend’s brithday, and ordered the beef fajitas.
Now, I don’t know how they do it in Mexico, but I’ve never been served fajitas lukewarm before. I’d say half the fun of ordering them is that you get a nice steaming, sizzling plate show when your food comes out. On top of that, they didn’t even bring out my tortillas at the same time, and I had to wait for my non-​sizzling filling to get even colder.
And this was after a 45-​minute wait.
I realize that I came here with a big group and that might’ve had an effect on the service, but my goodness, when I order fajitas, I expect FAJITASSSS *sizzle sizzle*!

$ 6.95 BRUNCH!?? And they’re actually good??? WHAAAT?! And $ 6.95 includes a DESSERT BUFFET? WHAAAAAAT?!
From the $ 6.95 menu, I ordered the Torta — the Mexican sandwich with chicken, bacon, and caramelized onion and a side of potatoes. Afterwards, I made a trip to the FREE dessert table and was greeted with pineapple upside down cake, bowl of fruit, yogurt, granola, honey, and cottage cheese.
To be fair, not very many of the items on the $ 6.95 menu are really «brunch-​y» besides the huevos rancheros and omelet because they were all enchiladas, burritos, or stuffed chile peppers. But at $ 6.95, I can’t really argue… and did I mention the complimentary dessert buffet?
I recommend coming in after 10 on Sundays because we were there at 9:30AM and it was DEAD. However, the nice thing was that they were still preparing the dessert table that housed the dessert buffet — which meant we got fresh out of the oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake.
P. S. If you couldn’t tell, I love their dessert buffet. =)

As another Unilocaler wrote, Seattle is rife with school-​cafeteria Mexican restaurants, so Galerias is a pleasant diversion from the norm.
Some Unilocalers seem to dislike the décor but I enjoy experiencing something different. I like it when someone takes a chance. And as far as it being «inauthentic», Mexico is a huge country with many different kinds of restaurants. So there. Plus, they’re from Mexico, so whatever they do is therefore «Mexican». So double-​there.
The food is great. Their sauces are delicious. Every dish has something special.
Others have mentioned bad service, so I’d be prepared for that. But I’ve had attentive and super warm service from the owner.

Went to Galerias for dinner and drinks with some friends and it was really quite good. I personally fell in love with the Sangria and the Pork Taquitos with Guacamole!
The food has great flavor and uses fresh ingredients which make a world of difference for mexican food. The guac looked made to order and was seasoned well.
The service was good and point on. The bartender made the drinks well and great taste over all!

After living in Mexico on/​off for upwards of 12 years of my life — I’m NOT a fan of «Mexican» food in Washington. I’m originally from California too so even down there we have much much better quality Mexican food.
That being said — I’ve really enjoyed eating at Galerias! The décor, the service, and most importantly the food are all great. Although I can’t promise that all of the dishes are 100% authentic, the flavors are and you’ll be pleased when you dine there.
In fact, the best experience I’ve had there was when I went in a big group to celebrate a birthday. They have a back room with a large dining table that is fantastic for big groups.
All in all I’ve found this place to be a really pleasant place to eat. Writing about it (after not having been there for months) makes me want to re-​visit and go there again.
If you’re looking for more than just Chili’s or Baja Fresh type food (or good tequilas) check out Galerias get an actual taste of what the Mexican pallet is all about.