The Galley Restaurant: Passion for Food, Family & Fun

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Jennifer and Matt Smith are avid sailors, spending most of their lives on the water. For the first 10 years of their marriage, the California natives sailed about three months a year to places like Hawaii, Mexico, and Fiji.

When the Smiths were sailing, they managed to satisfy their appetite for great food by cooking in the confinements of their boat’s galley. They traveled, at various times, on a 62-foot catamaran, a 38-foot sailboat, and a 62-foot powerboat.

“We were always very creative in coming up with meals and food to eat on a boat,” Jennifer says. “We were working in a small kitchen.”

The Smith’s passion for food eventually inspired them to open a restaurant. In 2017, after relocating to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, they started a venture that they named, of course, The Galley, in historic St. Michaels.

It began as a small, café-style eatery and after expanding its space dramatically, The Galley has become a full-service restaurant and locals’ hotspot. A 40-table, wrap-around deck along with a delectable breakfast menu, and their coveted dinner and lunch item, chicken pot pie, makes the restaurant stand out.

“We have also won multiple awards for our breakfast,” Jennifer says. “People try to copy us.”

We talked to Jennifer about her customers’ favorites, how the restaurant began mostly as a breakfast place, where The Galley sources its food, and special events The Galley hosts.

Why start a restaurant?

I always wanted to open a breakfast place. When I was in college, I waited on tables and did the books for a small place. It was on my bucket list. If there was ever an opportunity to open a breakfast place, I wanted to do that. So, this opportunity became available. We started with a small portion of the building, a very small breakfast menu, and a lunch menu with a couple of salads and sandwiches. My husband and I have been here every day for the last five years. It has grown so much, and we eventually expanded to dinner. We have live music on Saturday nights. We have a lounge upstairs and there is a rooftop patio, too.

How would you describe your restaurant?

I think we have taken things from everywhere we have traveled. We spent a lot of time in Hawaii and Mexico, and the Caribbean. We take a flavor from everywhere we have visited and incorporate it into the menu. But I would say it is American food with Mexican here and there, and Hawaiian.

What keeps customers coming back?

With our customers and employees, we have a really high retention. We live in St. Michaels, and we are part of the community. For the past five years, we have been here every day. We get to know all the customers and locals, and all the part-time second-homeowners. And the quality of the food—that’s a really big factor. It’s fresh. We get deliveries every day. Everything we get, we go through. All our produce and seafood are local—that has a lot to do with it.

Where do you source your food from?

All our produce and dairy we get from a local supplier, Teddy Bear Fresh Produce, in Easton. Our seafood comes from right down the road at Wittman Wharf Seafood. We get all fresh seafood from there. Those are the two local places that we get stuff from every day. We get our smoked salmon from Chesapeake Smokehouse in Annapolis.

Were you known as a breakfast restaurant starting out?

Yes. Breakfast and lunch. We are like the main breakfast place in town. We really made a name for ourselves. All our baked goods are made inhouse. Everything is from scratch. We have Belgian waffles, crabcakes, eggs benedict. A lot of the breakfast items are dishes we had in Mexico or California. We have breakfast burritos and tacos. We have incredible biscuits and gravy. People tell us, “These are the best we ever had.”

What is your bestselling item?

Our biscuits and gravy. It’s two jumbo biscuits. They are cut in half with a sausage on each biscuit. It’s like two sausage biscuit breakfast sandwiches. It’s smothered in sausage gravy. It comes with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, and tater tots. It’s amazing. Nobody else makes it like that.

Beside breakfast, what else is popular?

Our chicken pot pie for dinner. It is homemade. We make the pies in advance because we’ll run out otherwise. It’s a thick-cut pot pie. It’s huge and has a crust on the bottom and top. It’s amazing. It’s a flaky crust. Inside, we have grilled chicken, potatoes, corn, and carrots, and the sauce is just outstanding.

What else separates your place from others?

I think the ambiance, the food, and our strong staff. They all started here when they were seniors in high school, and they have gone off to college and come back to work in the summer. It’s the same group of girls. And then their younger brothers and sisters who work here. It’s just like a family. We respect and take care of each other. That carries over to our customers. Everybody feels they are part of this family. 

Do you feel your restaurant’s location is a big attraction for customers?

It’s in the heart of the town. It’s pretty busy on the weekends. The building is historic. It’s part of the historic district and one of the original homes. I think it was built in 1806.

Is the wrap-around deck important to your business? Does it set your restaurant apart?

For sure. There are only a few restaurants on the main street that have a patio like that. We have the biggest. It makes our restaurant. You get a front-row view of the entire town passing by. It’s a place to go to see and be seen by others. Outside is always packed.

Do you have any events to highlight?

Every year (in March), there’s a chocolate festival and we have made our pie-eating contest a tradition. It’s open to anybody who wants to participate. We have two age groups: kids up 12 years old, and a 12-and-over. We have it in our parking lot. We give everyone a chocolate cream pie. We see who eats it the fastest. It’s really fun to watch. Someone ate one in 90 seconds. The winner gets bragging rights and gift cards to the restaurant. In the fall, around Halloween, we also have a pumpkin pie eating contest, a pumpkin carving contest, and a scarecrow contest. It’s a real fun time to be in St. Michaels.

Breakfast Burrito

Makes 1

  • 1 14” flour tortilla
  • 1 oz black beans
  • 1 oz salsa
  • 1 oz sour cream
  • 6 tater tots
  • 2 piece bacon
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 oz shredded
  • cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 avocado

Scramble eggs over low heat. Warm tortilla in a pan or microwave for 30 seconds. Place tortilla on a plate, add cheese to the center of the tortilla. Place scrambled eggs on top of cheese. Place bacon on top of eggs. Layer remaining ingredients on top of bacon. Carefully fold the right and left sides of the tortilla in towards the middle and then roll the tortilla away from you until you reach the end.

The Galley Restaurant: 305 S. Talbot Street, St. Michaels | 410-200-8572  |  thegalleysaintmichaels.com