User Reviews for Kona Galley Restaurant

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Jan 22, 2008 by steve from janesville calif
Overall Rating: 9
Food:[9] • Service:[8] • Atmosphere:[9]

• Food.
• Waitresses.

“I too worked at the Galley between my summers being a hotshot on the mainland. I lived on Alli drive with 2 other guys and a girl. I remember the aggressive waitresses and the owner screaming at me when I was too slow. I also remember the end of shift at about 1am and the mellow conversations we would have after work in the back.”

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Jan 23, 2007 by Glenn from Honolulu
Overall Rating: 8
Food:[8] • Service:[8] • Atmosphere:[9]

• Nice location overlooking pier and bay.
• I like the ghosts best. .

“Best thing about the galley are its location and history. It must have been built in 1960s when kona was mostly known as a sleepy hideaway. It sits on a key corner of Kailua town, overlooking the seawall and pier. On a good day when the surf is up, the waves rock against the seawall and spit warm salt into the air, which you can breathe from the tables overlooking the bay. That smell mixes with some of the more raw scents from the pier or the backrooms of the cafes along the drive. Creates some rich aromas that I associate only with that corner. A man Named bud Anderson owned the galley in 60s and 70s. He also owned a restaurant in morrow bay, California. Jackie mellow was manager for years. She was a great social character and an imperious boss who enjoyed the chance to preside over local conversations about making it big on the big island -- the favorite galley topic of that time and place. She didn't like me too much during my time as a bus boy. I was still learning and not too eager to be blamed by the few selfish waitresses for their failures to treat customers more kindly. Then again, maybe I talked to the customers too much. we had great characters passing through the place. There was a white-haired man, kind of a Hemingway look-alike, who came in most afternoons for two or three vodka gibbons. He sat away from the bay-view tables for more privacy and read hardcover books. Didn't want to talk. Was very neat, proper. Just left the empty glass for me to scoop up and have refilled at the bar. I liked him. Reminded me of the sense of personal discipline in "a clean well-lighted place." he had is life in order, somehow. And liked to drink. We had a wonderful Hawaiian fellow Named john who served as host and was a local institution. Always kind and never in a hurry. Despite that, some of the waitresses didn't quite trust him. They used to claim among themselves that he was lifting some of their tips. He liked to pick up the tip money off the tables and hand it to the servers, squeezing their hands around it in a gesture of affection. But some worried that he palmed a few bills. But when he brought folks in to eat, he left massive tips. John entertained all of the tour guides, bringing out free plates of sashimi and poke and chatting and laughing with them for hours while tourist groups were off on cruises. My favorite customer was tall, elegant cocktail waitress Named Susan who worked down alibi drive at Hugo¿s. She stopped in for lunch a couple times a week and left huge tips, as we all did at Hugo¿s. I always wanted to meet her and would show up at her bar in the evening with a pocketful of quarters -- my tip money and social budget -- to cover a couple of expensive gin-and-tonics. Always tried to sit at one of her tables. But I was too shy to get to know her, and, as a seasonal bus boy, way too low on the social ladder anyway. (I was a grad student on the mainland at the time, but that meant nothing in the local social scene, which also revolved around the idea of making it big.) a lot of local business occurred over the years at the galley. I've always stopped by on my return visits. A few of my favorite people from the restaurant are still around kina, but not at the galley. Irene, for instance, has her own restaurant. The decor changes every decade. Ceilings get renovated and all that. But the memories and the aromas stay the same. Stop by; take a whiff. It always helps to know some of the background -- some of the ghosts -- of a place. Hope you enjoyed these. We get enough of the usual reviews. .”

2 of 2 people found this review helpful.