The Galley Seafood Restaurant has been a staple for the neighborhood crowd in Old Metairie for a long time. It’s a bit of a joint and smells like fried seafood even outside. And the place is always packed. That’s because the seafood is always perfect. Big piles of spiced-just-right boiled seafood can be found on plenty of tables, the others are sporting big piles of fried seafood. The seafood and everything else here is fried crispy and golden brown with no hint of grease.
Harder to find is a grilled or sauteed item from the sea, but these too are well done. I have walked through the doors of The Galley Seafood twice, and picked up twice. The first two times I stuck with boiled seafood and a seafood platter, respectively. The third time was barely memorable except that Tom’s grilled fish was entirely satisfactory to him.
The last visit was also pickup. When I called to place an order I was driving. I first asked about the specials, and drove two more blocks as they were rattled off. I stuck with the first one I heard, a grilled drum, then waited until I parked in front of the restaurant to place the order. A quick look at the menu online (no website) that I found revealed a stuffed crab po-boy. That implied to me that there must be a stuffed crab, which is one of those things I’m in a perennial search for. I asked about a stuffed crab plate, picturing that the Galley would surely have one of those “authentic” versions like Blue Crab that would remind me of stuffed crab from the West End.
I got a side with the stuffed crab and replaced the fries with cornbread. I wish I hadn’t done this because I would like to have seen the fries, and the cornbread was at about the level of my mom’s Jiffy package mix cornbread. I actually like that but I just would expect more from a restaurant, especially one as popular as this.
But it wasn’t the cornbread that I found objectionable. The “stuffed crab” was two too large patties of crab stuffing smashed into a disk and battered and fried. There was nothing to recommend this. It wasn’t even as good as Deanie’s giant softball shoved into a crab shell. This was so far from what I had in mind I wasn’t even interested in eating it.
Tom fared a little better. His grilled drum was flanked all over by capers and was sauteed in a butter sauce, of which there was little left in the to-go container. This came with a twice-baked potato which was covered in a blanket of orange cheese, but underneath had that overbaked taste. The broccoli was beautiful and cooked properly. The garlic bread that accompanied this had that old-fashioned New Orleans look to it, with a sprinkling of paprika.
The best thing about the entire meal were the two side salads that came with these entrees. The greens were fresh and though there was mostly chopped iceberg here, it was okay. If the dressings were homemade you could have fooled me. They looked like Wishbone Italian.
This would be just a mild annoyance if the bill hadn’t been $54!! I did ask to jack up the side salad and got some feta and olives (the cheap canned black kind), which they were very nice and accommodating to do. But still.
Pricey is the most commonly-used adjective about the place from some regulars that I know. The other most-used word about the Galley is “best”. Best boiled seafood anywhere around. Nice-sized, well-seasoned. But also the fried seafood. And another fried item, the onion rings. I agree that they are great with fried seafood, whether it is on a platter, in a basket, or on a po-boy. And I agree with all the neighborhood regulars that the daily specials are the way to go. That’s why the list of them seems endless. And like I mentioned earlier in this pieces, the rare grilled seafood item is also very good. Tuna was mentioned as a good choice for a healthier option. I’ll stick with the trout or drum.
I can’t argue with anything the regulars (and they are legion) say. This is an insanely popular neighborhood restaurant. I will leave it to the neighborhood.
