Galla Winehouse and Bistro

This place is a hidden treasure! The wine list is extensive & the food is amazing!
Make sure you get the cheese board!

Pretty disappointed as I was not given a chance to try it. I was a paying customer, sitting at a table for 20 minutes and they did not even give me a chance. They have been on groupon for many months now… I wonder why. I went through all the trouble of making a reservation. I even showed them my confirmation email. I was still turned away. So I guess all I can contribute is, I was told food is alright. Not worth the price. But alright.

When it’s March and it’s 22C outside, you’re already having a banner day so it’s hard to be too disappointed when you get to sit outside and drink wine with your peeps.
Now, those who know me know that my allegiances lie with the Ship but the patio was packed and I was thirsty so my BFF and I headed across the street to a sad little patio that needed some company.
Soon, others followed our lead as it was gorgeous out and patio options were in short supply.
This place is a winebar so I had wine. It was $ 5 a glass because it was happy hour. It was sunny and I was happy.
Then they turned on some weird romantic music and the vibe was temporarily ruined but they did turn it off after my fellow patio patrons and myself complained.
Service was ok, a bit slow when there’s only one server on, and they should have planned ahead with the forecast.
But there was wine, and it was on special, and it was 22C in March so overall I was in a pretty good mood.
Bottom line — go during happy hour but don’t expect speedy service or crazy atmosphere.

Short version: probably ok for a few glasses of wine, but not really worth the price for a meal, IMO.
Full version: Been wanting to try this place despite the lukewarm reviews, so finally made plans last week. I arrived quite early, before my dining partner, & grabbed a New Zealand sauvignon blanc I had enjoyed before while I waited. Found the décor a bit odd, but that might just be my personal feelings about textured wallpaper & mirrored chandeliers. Ambience was not helped by staff using scotch tape to secure a ceiling vent cover nearby — hope they aren’t expecting that tape to hold forever!
I was seated in the very large front window snug — nice view of the street & plenty of table space, but I cannot imagine trying to have a conversation with someone sitting across from me, as the table is a bit too wide. My partner chose to sit next to me when he arrived, to avoid shouting. There was a large electrical cord lying across the floor at the booth entrance, which none of the multiple staff members who walked by noticed, apparently. Maybe I should have borrowed the scotch tape dispenser to secure it before someone trips.
Wine list is ok & well-​priced for the neighbourhood; we enjoyed a good bottle of tempranillo, which was probably the highlight of the meal for me. Live piano music was a nice touch. Perhaps because we were a bit away from other diners, we found it a good place to have a chat while sipping wine.
Apparently they have recently changed their menu again; the new one is not yet posted on their website. I was disappointed to find no vegetarian mains, but they said they could make the mushroom risotto without chicken broth, so I ordered it. Big mistake — apparently all the flavour in the risotto comes from the broth, & the rice was a bit undercooked to boot. Definitely would not recommend this dish.
My partner ordered the sirloin which he said was quite good, but overpriced compared to similar meals he’s had in Calgary. I let him pick the sides for me to share with him, so ended up with truffle fries & wild mushrooms (I know, I had a meal of mushrooms & starch — so shoot me!) There was no truffle oil evident on the fries, in look or taste. They were basic thick beefeater style, & not very crispy. Very disappointing. The wild mushroom side was highly flavorful but probably a bit salty for most people’s taste buds. I like salt, so I enjoyed them a lot.
So, I don’t think I will eat a meal here again, but may choose to stop in for a glass of wine on the patio some day, & maybe give the cheese plate a try to share. Generally I expect more for this price range, however.
I will give them credit for treating us very well, despite the fact we were apparently underdressed for the venue. When I return, I will pull a blazer out of my closet first.
Completely not accessible — stairs everywhere.

I had a great experience here! Everything I ordered was great… The place is very beautiful and the service is very friendly… I went on a Thursday night and they had an special offer for oysters, $ 1 per each. I had 18! … All were very good! I also had the risotto with prawns and it was awesome… One of my friends had the seafood pasta and she loved it… Her kid had the Mac & cheese, and I tried it, and it was one of the best I have tried in town… The wine was not bad either… There is a room for improvement on the parking, I understand that is not easy to have parking in that location, but this kind of restaurant should have valet parking, if they do not have their own parking area… But the food was very good… I definitely would go back!..

My boyfriend and I stopped here impromptu Friday night after several attempts at finding a restaurant to eat at that was not already privately booked for a christmas party or just fully booked in general. We should’ve known better as when we arrived, there were plenty of tables open which could mean this place was not very good. Yup we were right.
Our food took over a half an hour to come. Nothing on the menu appealed to me at all. I ended up ordering the papardelle pasta with «seafood» for $ 25. What a rip-​off! The pasta was stuck together in a big clump. The seafood component consisted of three regular sized shrimp, two scallops, and a hunk of overcooked salmon. I had two bites of the pasta, was so turned off that I didn’t even have any of my seafood. My boyfriend ordered the steak, which although cooked to his liking, nothing else on the plate was good nor looked good. So all he ate was the piece of steak. To be fair, our server was pleasant and offered to take my dish off the bill, but my boyfriend (being so kind as always), insisted that we pay for the whole meal as the poor quality of food wasn’t her fault.
The drink menu is pretty awful too. I didn’t order anything because the variety was limited.

My experience at this restaurant has been terrible, the price that you pay for food here is not worth it at all! Had to send back my pasta to the kitchen as it was uncooked and they forgot about bringing it back to the table, but at the end the brought it in a take-​out container cause anyways they were charging me for that and they didn’t even apologize. They take a lot of time to bring the food to the table and there’s really nothing special about it, it’s just ok. I don’t really mind paying extra money for good food and service, but this one is way too far from having any of those and I found it excessive having to pay $ 180 for what three of us got. Don’t waste your time and money there, CIBO or Brava bistro on 17^th are much better.

After receiving an email from the owner, I realized that these guys have totally changed the menu from the time I visited them. So as we live very close to this restaurant, I decided to give them a try.
We went there on a Tuesday night and were promptly greeted by the staff. For appetizer we ordered the beef carpaccio and chicken croquettes. And as on Tuesdays it was half price pasta, we went for the sea food pasta (12 $) to share. Also they had an amazing special on steam whistle (4 $ a pint).
Appetizer arrived in 20 minutes (a little bit long for a not busy night), after having the first couple of bites, I was so glad that I decided to try this restaurant for a second time. Both appetizers were excellent. Generous portions (Big contrast, compared to my previous visit) and delicious taste. Chicken croquettes were crispy and hot, served with a cranberry jelly which remind me of a very good thanks giving dinner: D (Highly recommended).
Our main dish arrived in another 30 minutes, which was the only disappointment in our dining experience. However, totally worth the wait. The creamy pasta was with generous amount of fresh scallops, shrimp and salmon. Good enough for both of us.
We took a glimpse at the desert menu. To be honest, we did not find anything that pops out but they have all the familiar classics that you always look for (e.g. crème brûlée) However, we did not have room for anything more.
Overall, a very good dining experience. It is a very good sign when restaurants listen to feed backs and improve themselves. These guys are on correct track. I really like to try other items on their menu specially the saffron risotto. Also, make sure to check out their specials, for example, half price pasta Tuesdays is a great deal.

Went to Galla last night with the hubby and it was really good. I didn’t know what to expect because of all these negative reviews but I live close by and thought what the heck… Might as well support local and check it out. I had poached salmon and it was amazing I’ve never had salmon cooked in green tea and the lentils were to die for! The service was over all really good. I will continue to come back, our server James let us know that they have live piano on Friday and Saturday nights so we will be back for sure.

The service here is pretty bad. I waited 20 minutes just to order an 11 dollar drink. We ordered four entrees and two apps, all were equally bad and overpriced.

Very disappointing service, I found the food extremely overpriced and the menu boring. Beside the price, the taste was also below average. The mussels dish only had 10 mussels in it and it did not taste fresh at all.
I do not think they can survive in that neighborhood. They are so many other options within the walking distance.