Galliano

I tried out Galliano shortly after they opened and was underwhelmed. I had avoided going back until our friends insisted on going. Let's just say first impressions can sometimes be deceiving. We had a wonderful dining experience. The food was outstanding from traditional Italian dishes like lasagna and baked ziti to the seafood cioppino. A solid selection of appetizers and a desserts. Our wait staff was engaging and helpful. It was lively with a trio playing the night we were there. We will definitely be back.

Galliano provides a lovely ambiance for a weekend lunch with friends. But service was very slow. It did not seem like it was too busy as we didn't have reservations and were able to be seated right away and it was not overcrowded the entire time we were there.We were a party of five but I will review the dishes that I ordered. We were told that they have French onion soup as a special that day. It's been such a cold winter that any soup sounded wonderful. For the entrees, we got chicken parm and shrimp and scallops with spinach. Unfortunately, our meals took over 30 minutes to arrive. I thought the soup would at least come sooner but it appeared only a few minutes before all of our entrees. It was still satisfying in a thin broth with lots of onions. It's always fun dangling the stringy cheese.I very much enjoyed the shrimp and scallops with spinach. It had a nice presentation and creamy sauce. The dish was warm but not hot so it was sitting for a while before being brought to the table. The other dish was the chicken parm and it was cold. We did not return it because we did not want any food wasted. Another friend did inform the restaurant that her side item was cold and they immediately brought more.Before leaving, someone in our party ordered additional items to go but there was a mistake in the order and it had to be prepared again.Though I think the servers were friendly, the restaurant missed the mark on the timeliness of our meals and the accuracy of the to-go order. Since our meals were brought to us so late, I think a quick check in from the server would have been nice or more bread or something as a kind gesture for the wait. I would really like to give this place another try. The location, atmosphere, and offerings in the menu beckons a revisit. And everyone deserves a second chance.Parking: Spaces in front and I believe I saw more spaces in the back if you're not inclined to parallel park. Noise level: Comfortable conversation level.

First time at Galliano at the Fulton location and I think I would prefer the Waugh Chapel location over this one. The ambiance of the space is pretty small the bar area is very chic and friendly but when you approach the extra dining tables it's more family oriented. Service at first was a bit weird as our waiter seemed. Bit overwhelmed with our large party of 13 but once he got accustomed, he ended up doing a pretty good job and he was very friendly as well. My food was pretty good, I ordered the Mediterraneo which had fresh seafood of scallops shrimps and clams too. It was truly amazing and the rose sauce was blended very well It was creamy light and delicious.

Introduction to Galiano on the January 2024 visit:I'm starting a photo series each month of 2024. Galliano is representing January 2024. There's a 1-star I've been dreading to write for a while that can represent April. But to get back to the positive topic of Galiano, I first tried this on Sunday, January 21 with a large Meetup group for dinner. After a crappy weekend where my car battery died on that Saturday, the coldest day of the Winter, derailed my Saturday late afternoon/evening and dealt with getting the new battery at place open on Sunday, which was like $400. That Sunday afternoon I somewhat redeemed the weekend with a movie, then dinner still on this bitterly cold night, then leaving dinner a bit early from the Meetup for another movie on my AMC A-List.Food & Experience in January:There are a few parallel parking spots in front, but the parking in the back is still close. The organizer of the Meetup recommended the crab bisque, Italian medley soup, & the eggplant parmesan as did a couple of others from the group, who had been there. The eggplant parmesan is awesome here! The Italian medley soup is solid too, but not quite as high of enthusiasm but very good. It has beef balls and little pasta pieces.The ambiance is nice table cloth with large windows and comfortable cool lighting. The server was cordial, but I remember he got a couple of people's orders mixed like who had what exactly. No major issue though, and it was a large group so could get confusing.Subsequent visits:I loved the eggplant parmesan so much that I wanted to revisit possibly for other items. I visited again in March, May, & June with my girlfriend with the catalyst as the Meetup. In March my girlfriend was relatively new at that point (I was still single on that January 21 visit). I told her about this Meetup & how great the food particularly the eggplant was. Unfortunately, the organizer of the Meetup had Covid, so we got a different organizer. So, she didn't get to meet him in early March but late March elsewhere instead. In March, we both got the crab bisque, I got a wine, she got a beer, and she got the eggplant I highly recommended, and I wanted to try something different...So, I got the chicken marsala. The Crab bisque was excellent too. Honestly, I was pretty underwhelmed by chicken marsala though. We each tried each others' food and both agreed the eggplant was far superior. On the subsequent visits in May & June, we stuck with the eggplant parmesan since we know that's delicious. Other interesting note in June was the two people we were sitting directly across from, two people who hadn't met each other, both got salmon. Neither of them raved about the salmon saying it was ok. But I'm thinking salmon is weird choice for an Italian restaurant.Summary:Eggplant parmesan & crab bisque are the best two things to get. After having the chicken marsala, I'm a bit nervous to NOT get the eggplant parmesan as I feel like I'll be at least a little disappointed. Overall, Galiano has left a positive impression for service, ambiance, & food, but there's a couple areas where it fell a little short too.

Weeknight dinner. Complimentary bread and olive oil. This place is reminiscent of Mama Lucia's or somewhere along these lines for an American-Italian restaurant.Our waitress was great.My pappardelle was overcooked and excessively saucey. My jalapeño margarita was very much lacking in alcohol and the only thing spicy about it was a sliver end of a jalapeño they put on a skewer.I didn't step foot inside because we ate outside, but it looked spacious and there was a steady stream of people here during dinner.It's not authentic Italian and so long as you set your expectations right, you'll be ok.

I've recently been exploring spots out in the Maple Lawn area. Galliano was my second spot trying. Didn't go in with high expectations based on some of the reviews. The restaurant itself is beautiful. Nice and spacious, outdoor seating options, and overall good vibe. I grabbed a seat at the bar and was quickly greeted by Rose. She made me their traditional cosmo, which was perfect! All was great until the food came out. I ordered the shrimp arugula off their starters menu. All that could go wrong with this dish did. It was salty and the shrimp had some sort of coating on them that turned soggy in all the sauce. Then you have beans, arugula, and tomatoes all swinging in this sauce. It just didn't work for me. I love all those ingredients, but they did not come together well for this dish. They have some cool drink specials throughout the week, so I may try grabbing drinks and a pizza next time. Don't think I'll try anything beyond that.

The food was good. I ordered Eggplant Parmigiana for my entree. We also had the Brussels Sprouts appetizer. The Brussels Sprouts were just okay for me. I would have preferred a little more caramelization and balsamic vinegar and less goat cheese. Without that kick from the vinegar against the creamy cheese, the cheese overwhelmed the dish flavorwise. It's a preference thing. Prior to the meal, the waiter brought some bread and herbed dipping oil to the table. The bread was not warm, but the bread with the dipping oil made up for the lack of warmth. The EP was delicious. The eggplant was cooked perfectly and the overall dish topped with tomato sauce and cheese made for a delightful main course. The EP featured a side of spaghetti that was also quite tasty. The portions were amazing. I did not each much because it was so late, but I was able to eat leftovers for two more days. The flavor actually got better with time. The ambiance was nice. I would have preferred not to sit in the middle of the restaurant, but it was okay. The table had already been reserved and the restaurant appeared to be filled to capacity. The lighting was nicely dimmed, but bright enough to see your food. Surprisingly, the noise level was pretty loud, but I guess that was to be expected with a full house. The service was fine. We were seated right away. The waiter was attentive refilling our glasses as needed and our food was served within a good amount of time considering the crowd. The manager came over to greet us, which was a nice touch. It was an overall good dinner and service experience.

A friend of mine from New York said he came here and had the best pizza that reminded him of pizza back home. I was told to try the Grandma pizza which consists of mozzarella, provolone, basil, fresh garlic, and their housemade pizza sauce. I added pepperoni because I likes the meats. I went home and enjoyed it so much that I went back the next day this time ordering both their Grandma and their Meat Lover. The meat lover consisted of mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, and their housemade pizza sauce. I preferred the Meat lover but both were definitely delicious. I also got some of their cookies brought in from a bakery in New York along with a Canoli. I must agree with the assessment that the pizza here is delicious.

I've been back several times now, and they've definitely gotten better. The drinks have been consistent, service is mostly pretty good unless it's extremely busy, and the food is exactly what you'd expect but has been good. They have also been really good about noticing and fixing errors with the orders. Recently, they overcooked our caulflower crust pizza to a burnt crisp, but the server immediately noticed as they were bringing the food to us, and took it back to the kitchen to be remade. Also, the patio is really wonderful when the weather is nice!

**3.5 starsCame with my friend for her bday and was lucky that it fell between restaurant week so we were able to get a reservation for friday night. I think overall our favorite part was the appetizers. We got the brussels sprouts and the rice balls and we were pleasantly surprised by both. They were delicious but also very filling. For entrees I got the gnocchi and my friend got the pollo valdostana. The gnocchi was super chewy and flavor was great. The pollo dish had a sauce that was super salty and was what drenched the prosciutto topped chicken breast. I personally felt like the proscuitto was salty on its own without the addition of the salty sauce. Overall, I would say some items were a hit some were a miss but im glad i got to try it during restaurant week! vibe was great for a girls night out and the drinks were strong!