Instagram has been life-changing, as far as ease of taking photographs goes. Before restaurant and shop owners recognized the influencing and advertising power of the social media platform, I was regularly blocked from snapping pictures of places I stalked. Now image capturing is encouraged and it has been nothing short of fabulous for my blog! One locale that never gave me grief over photos is The Galley, Santa Monica’s oldest restaurant. With some of the friendliest servers around and the best food in town, the eatery is one of my favorites in all of L.A. The Galley was actually one of the first places the Grim Cheaper took me for dinner very early on in our relationship and when he lived in Santa Monica, we would drop by almost every Friday night for its stellar happy hour. While I officially stalked it back in March 2013 (hence my dated haircut above) and listed it in My Guide to L.A. – Restaurants in 2015, I failed to dedicate a post to the site because, as far as I knew, nothing had been filmed on the premises. So I was ecstatic when I spotted it while scanning through the 2019 Netflix film The Laundromat earlier this year!
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Established by Ralph Stephan way back in 1934, The Galley was originally located on the Santa Monica Pier. It moved to its current home at 2442 Main Street in 1946.
Dimly lit, warm, and inviting, the watering hole was a hit with the Hollywood set from the get-go. Just a few of the famous names who regularly stopped by include Errol Flynn, Carole Lombard, Edward G. Robinson, Tyrone Power, Ann Sheridan, Joe DiMaggio, and my girl Marilyn Monroe. The latter two supposedly got into quite the argument at the bar one evening which had Joltin’ Joe storming out of the restaurant in anger.
The Galley’s interior is nautical in theme and definitely does not subscribe to the “less is more” mentality. Nearly every square inch of the place is decked out in netting, shells, portholes, and other sea-faring accoutrements, most of which are actual set pieces from the 1935 film Mutiny on the Bounty. Legend has it, the props were given to Stephan by the flick’s stars Clark Gable and Charles Laughton, both of whom were Galley regulars.
Most notable is the Bounty’s large wooden wheel, which hangs from the restaurant’s ceiling.
When Stephan retired in 1989, he sold the beloved eatery to Ron Schur, a longtime patron. As the story goes, Schur was a huge fan of The Galley’s signature salad dressing, a take on Thousand Island. One evening, he asked his regular waitress Millie for the recipe. She refused to tell him, which only served to make him more determined to obtain it. He returned night after night with the same inquiry until Millie finally bellowed, “If you wanna know so badly, why don’t you buy the f*cking place?” Well, Ron eventually did just that, taking over operations in January 1989. The restaurant – and the salad dressing – has been going strong ever since.
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The eatery had fallen into a bit of disrepair prior to Schur taking over, so he immediately began restoring it, set-piece by set-piece. Thankfully, he made few changes, telling The News-Pilot in 1990, “Remodeling is the dirtiest word in the English language.” A man after my own heart! Along with expanding the space, doubling its capacity from 60 to 120, Ron also began serving lunch and added a back patio, now a favorite spot of patrons. Otherwise, though, The Galley remained pretty much as it was when it originally opened decades prior.
Schur, who goes by the name “Captain Ron,” also strung a plethora of multi-colored twinkle lights from the ceiling, creating what the Santa Monica Mirror described as an “ambiance of permanent Christmas.” As Ron informed the paper, he made the addition because Christmas creates “a feeling of good will toward all.” Though the lights definitely foster a feeling of warmth, they also wreaked havoc on many of my photos, as evidenced below.
Famous for its four-pound buckets of steamed clams, all of The Galley’s fare is stellar, though I have to say that I am partial to the chicken tacos, available in the bar. The restaurant’s happy hour, offered daily, is easily the best in Santa Monica with one of the most extensive menus I’ve ever come across. From the crab cakes to the fried calamari to the hot dog, you honestly can’t go wrong no matter what you order!
The eatery pops up several times in The Laundromat as the supposed Lake George, New York restaurant owned by Matthew Quirk (David Schwimmer) and Captain Paris (Robert Patrick). One look at the myriad of multi-colored Christmas lights and bamboo booths and I knew immediately filming had taken place at The Galley.
Considering its longevity and whimsical décor, I’m shocked that the restaurant has not appeared in more productions, but I have not been able to dig up any additional cameos.
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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: The Galley, from The Laundromat, is located at 2442 Main Street in Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.
That place is so cute! I LOVED the Laundromat!