El Galleon Restaurant

June 26, 2012

Avalon, Santa Catalina, California – El Galleon landed on my radar in 2003. We were on the island for the Catalina Jazz Festival then. Last year I decided to dine here next time I visited Avalon. Fortunately, that was only one year later.

After a lot of hiking around the island on an unbelievably clear day in Avalon, our group of three stopped in for lunch. I’ve seen this place packed on weekends and late on weekdays. We got lucky; when we arrived, there was only one other group inside. That changed pretty quickly. By the time we left, there was a line outside waiting to get in.

Many restaurants in Avalon have come and gone since the 1950’s. The old John’s Island Café was remodeled and became El Galleon Restaurant. The current owners are dedicated to preserving the 1950’s style of restaurants in Avalon. In business on the island since 1967, El Galleon is part of a group of five other restaurants, including Antonio’s Pizzeria and Catalina Cabaret.

El Galleon sits right on Crescent Drive. Some tables butt right up against the low brick wall that demarcates the patio – or as close a ‘patio’ as they can get. Enter on the right side of the restaurant. It will lead directly to the hostess station. There, small chalkboards promote the day’s specials. Inside you’ll find lots of booths. The ones along the wall are covered in green leatherette, while the ones down the center are covered in red leatherette. Upstairs in the mezzanine, a more private dining area awaits with a very nice view over the main dining area and on out to the street.

The décor? Think early, funky pirate ship without the pirate. (Don’t ask, just go with it.) On the walls hang paintings of scenes from around Catalina. Adding to the ambiance are portholes, Mardi Gras beads hanging from a chandelier, mounted sailfish and swordfish, metal fish, ocean-themed art…and a pig. Canon barrels are aimed outward from the railing on the mezzanine. The ship, er, restaurant has large screen televisions, of course, for your viewing pleasure. And true to the period, lots of wood.

The interior looks ready for action and so are we. Our server brought out menus. On it were a bewildering number of items to choose from. While Dennis and John made up their minds, I was still taking in the décor. Dennis ordered the BBQ burger with bacon and a pineapple ring. John had the fish and chips.

When our server came back, I still had not decided. She took others’ orders. Eventually I had to ask what El Galleon is best known for. Among those items are steaks, fresh fish, live lobsters and ribs. She mentioned the ribs twice. I had seen the ribs listed on the board outside so I went with the ribs, which came with onion rings.

Apparently, Tuesday is happy hour all day. They were offering reduced prices on several drinks including their selection of Paulaner German beers brewed in Munich. We all ordered drinks.

To go with my Luau BBQ Pork Ribs ($12.95), I ordered a ½ liter glass of the Paulaner Oktoberfest Amber ($7.50, $6.50 happy hour). It is described as a “German ‘marzen’ March-style, rich amber in color, slightly creamy, mild carbonation, lightly hopped.” I’d say that described the taste very well. I like this one a lot; it had some substance to it. And the Paulaner-logo glass it comes in is a nice touch.

We sipped our drinks and chatted while our meal was being prepared. Soon our server returned, loaded down with our booty, er, lunch.

We already talked about the beer, which paired very well with the ribs and the onion rings. The onion rings were very thinly sliced. I couldn’t really taste the onion because it got lost in the flavor of the batter. The batter itself was crunchy, a bit salty, and had a slight kick to it. My guess is it was due to the pepper. Ranch dressing came with for dipping. Though the batter was good, using thicker slices of onion would give the onion a fighting chance to be tasted.

Now, for the main event. The Applewood-smoked ribs were slathered in sauce. No chance of picking one up without getting sauce all

over your fingers. Just jump in and go for it. They looked like short ribs but were very meaty. The meat pulled off the bone with very little effort. What steals the show is the sauce. It really went well with the meat. Molasses-based, sweet, and it had a hint of smoky flavor. I think the board outside said something about the sauce having plum in it. It was delicious! Yes, there was a whole lotta finger lickin’ goin’ on. After all was said and done, there was a bit more than half a rack of ribs; I counted eight bones.

El Galleon has a hit on their hands with this one. Even though they have a very extensive lunch and dinner menu, I’d be more than happy ordering the Luau BBQ ribs every time.

Dining solo or with a group, you will have an enjoyable visit. With a menu as varied as El Galleon’s, everyone should be able to find something that floats their boat. But remember, as with most restaurants in Avalon, El Galleon can get very busy on weekends and during the summer months.

El Galleon Restaurant – 4.5 forks. Highly recommended.