Gale's in Pasadena- I don't get it

[trolley]

every time I've gone to Gale's I've had mediocre to almost bad food. The bread is pretty good but other than that we've had less than decent food. We went this past Friday for a quick early supper. Despite the rain the place was 3/4 full at 5:30pm and people just kept pouring in.

I ordered the mussels and my husband got the artichoke app and shrimp scampi linguine. My mussels were cooked well but they tasted old and need something (maybe some citrus) to bring it to life. other wise it was bland and needed salt. A lot of salt and i'm not a big salt person. The scampi was a mess. the pasta, the broccoli rabe, and the shrimp were overcooked and sat drenched in this broth which tasted like salted chicken broth. it was a giant heap of mush. The salad that's served with it was generic romaine.

are we missing something here? maybe the meats are good? we've never tried the osso bucco or any of the meat dishes so maybe they just aren't good at pasta? It's not a very great value either. 2 drinks, two appetizers and one main pasta dish came out to $65. This place packs it in like the Cheesecake Factory too. By the time we left at 6 there were people waiting for tables. any suggestions for better food there?

[ipsedixit]

I think the place is fine for Pasadena/So. Pas.

Think of some of its competitors? Briganti? Louies's? Celestino? Il Fornaio? Mi Piace? None of those places really do anything better, or cheaper.

[khh1138]

I'm fond of the burrata there. But I honestly can't even remember any other dish I've had at Gale's - I guess that means they have all been forgettable.

[Will Owen]

We've gone just once, for Mrs. O's birthday with her mom. We'd met Gale several times and liked her company and her attitude, so were predisposed to liking her restaurant as well. Unfortunately, although we'd been tipped to ask for the back room as a relatively quiet zone, there was a large group at a long adjacent table, none of whom spoke below a bellow, so we and the waiter had to scream at each other just to order. The food was quite good, as I recall - MIL got mussels, as she usually does, and liked them very much, and Mrs. O had one of the better beet salads of her experience - but it took a while to get there, and nobody wanted to linger for another glass of wine or dessert. If the food had been as good as it's been cracked up to be we might give the place another chance, but it did not quite make that grade.