We’ve Got Crab Legs! Sea Galley!
I’m so excited about this, I might not be able to sleep tonight:
1980s Sea Galley television commercial
When I was a tyke growing up in Seattle, Sea Galley was the height of fine dining, as far as I was concerned. On our birthdays, my brother Bob & I got to choose any restaurant in the entire city for our special birthday dinner. The answer was always Sea Galley, much to my parents’ chagrin.
In my eight-year-old eyes, Sea Galley was fancy. It had enclosed booths, and nets, and nautical bric-a-brac everywhere. It was dark, and mysterious, and it felt like you were being led through a maze when you were led to your table. And there was a salad bar. It was the first place in town to have a salad bar (as far as I knew), and it felt extravagant. The salad bar had baby corn. Baby corn! We’d never seen baby corn before, it was so dainty and adult. And they let you have all the baby corn you wanted! It didn’t even count as part of your meal! What a magical place!
The kids’ menu was shaped like something — I don’t remember what exactly, probably a diver’s helmet — and it included a list of non-alcoholic tropical beverages with crusty, sea-dog sounding names. As far as I’m concerned, Sea Galley is at least 70% responsible for my love of tiki bars, even though it was nautical, and completely tikiless. Since my love of tiki bars is a fairly massive part of my life, I still have a lot of reverence for Sea Galley.
There are two places I’ve been in my adulthood that look a bit like Sea Galley, and they’re both in Los Angeles (it’s no coincidence that I adore L.A.): Bahooka in Rosemead, and the Warehouse in Marina del Rey. But I see them with adult eyes, and while I love them, the mystique is not quite there. There is only one restaurant that still gives me the same sense of childlike awe: the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I’ve searched high & low to find my adult Sea Galley, and the Mai-Kai is it, no doubt.
Right about when I was in the fourth or fifth grade, Sea Galley started a new advertising campaign, advertising their crab legs.
We’ve got crab legs!
Sea Galley!
We’ve got crab legs!
Sea Galley!
We’ve got snow-snow-snow,
king-king-king,
Dungeness, too!Get your crab legs!
Sea Galley!
Get your crab legs!
Sea Galley!
We’ve got crab legs!
So come get… your… crab leeeeeeeegs… TONIGHT!
This compelling bit of lyrical artistry was sung by a trio of half-chef, half-crustacean people, who literally had crab legs. And they danced. And they REALLY wanted you to eat their crab legs. I remember it being a pretty big deal — they did a whole series of commercials, and I remember all of us kids lining up Rockette-style in the schoolyard and singing “we’ve got crab legs!” complete with high kicks. I think there is an entire generation of Seattle children who cannot see crab legs without singing the song, at least under their breath. I know I can’t.
By the end of the ’80s, Red Lobster rolled into town, and ruined everything. By that time, I had finally moved on from Sea Galley, so I don’t know what kind of shape the restaurants were in towards the end. It’s probably best that I never saw what became of my beloved Sea Galley.
Hanford has heard all about the glories of Sea Galley, and has heard me sing “We’ve got crab legs!” enough times that he now sings it unprovoked himself. Can you imagine my joy at actually finding the commercial on YouTube today? Probably not. Unfortunately, the quality isn’t very good, but you can still sort of make out some of the nets & other nautical decor. Bebeya, thanks for making my day.
I can imagine a Sea Galley ad meeting, where after a few lame ad concepts are pitched, the president of Sea Galley exclaims: “Damn it, if there’s one thing I want communicated in our ads, it’s that Sea Galley’s got Crab Legs”.
And that’s why they say it 14 times in the commerical.
posted on April 13th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
ah..i remember those commercials, but i don’t recall if i ever went there. in fact until this post i think i may have had them confused with red lobster(shame, i know). for us as kids, the be-all-in-all of restaurants was farrell’s. part excitment, and part fear of being embarrassed to death. and of course when you lined up to leave you wandered through that aisle of tempting candy(and man, those jaw breakers lasted forever!). this all makes me wonder, whatever happened to pizza pipes? is it still there?
posted on April 14th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Pizza & Pipes is long gone, I’m afraid — I think the spot is now a Blockbuster Video? I just loved Pizza & Pipes. Every time we went, I asked the organist to play Clementine. I liked the song okay, but really it was just the only song I could think of. I loved those bubbles that went everywhere; I saw enough of the Lawrence Welk show to think that it was just a standard part of any musical performance, but I still thought they were neat.
A friend of mine who grew up in Phoenix told me about a pizza & pipes place there that’s still operating called Organ Stop — it sounds like it’s a lot more elaborate than the Pizza & Pipes in Seattle. I’ve heard there’s a pizza & pipes place here in the Bay Area, too, but I don’t know the particulars.
posted on April 14th, 2007 at 10:10 am
pizza and pipes is still there! it is on the corner of a strip mall in santa clara. it is at the intersection of lawrence expressway and homestead road. i grew up in that place, we went EVERY week. the one caveat, though, is that around the time “we built this city” by starship came out, they remodeled the place to have a race car theme. we started not going so much after that. however, the place still retains the same name, and im really curious to see what its like.
you guys should go check it out! it is in the same complex as contantino’s grocery store, and across from where bullwinkle’s used to be (now it is some lame dance club called avion or something).
posted on April 14th, 2007 at 10:52 am
I’ve got bad news about Pizza & Pipes on Homestead Road: it’s now Pizza Party. “Same people, same pizza, no pipes” their website proclaims — more as warning than advertisement, I’d think. The website does have an interesting page about Pizza & Pipes restaurants, though, and it turns out the Seattle restaurant was the same chain as the Santa Clara spot, and Santa Clara was the original location. Neat!
posted on April 15th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Where the frothy brine and octopedal minions of the oceans dark and murky depths meet white linens and wall mounted harpoons, that is where you’ll find Sea Galley… Or maybe it was just somewhere on north Aurora.
I was always very intrigued by the bar section off to the right as you entered the restaurant. I also remember it how you do, Michelle, like you were being led into a labyrinth. I think that was probably the greatest part of it. The subdued lighting and all the crap mounted on the walIs.
I remember I had sore legs once while we were eating and dad said “Thoses are just growing pains” The implication probably being that it was my birthday, and I was growing up, which of course can only lead to pain, withering and death. “But until then, kid, you’ve got tonight; and tonight, you’ve got CRAB LEGS!” F#*k YEAH!!!
posted on April 15th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I grew up going to Sea Galley in Anchorage, AK. It is still up and running today.
Loved the food and the comercials. There is actually a Sea Galley in Yakima, Wa. Haven’t
been there but just an FYI
posted on April 25th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Thanks for the heads-up, Tamara! Do you know if the existing one in Anchorage is dark & nautical, with nets & pulleys & floats all over the place?
posted on April 25th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I also remember Sea Galley, fondly, but remember with more reverence,
Skippers! You remember Skippers. All you can eat fish and shrimp at a
very reasonable price! Tasty too!
mickeba
posted on September 18th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Another one to recall was Ivar’s!
mickeba
posted on September 18th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
I grew up in Seattle (born in 1970) and DEFINITELY remember this commercial. In fact, I had the privilege as a young child of actually KNOWING one of the crab legs guys (!!!!). I still do know him as a matter of fact. Just tonight I thought “if You Tube has the crab legs commercial on it, then You Tube is truly a monster phenomenon”. Well there it was. And then I found this post, and it’s comforting to know I’m not the only one who loved this ad.
posted on January 9th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Hey! I married snow crab. My friends that grew up in the Northwest had a good time mocking me for getting hitched to a crab legs guy. Pretty funny. Thanks for posting this, it gave us a good laugh. Cheers,
Mrs. Crablegs
posted on January 10th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Sea Galley had a great business, service and marketing model. Good food, great family environment and just plain enjoyable. Truly an all around treat. And, a good bargain. And, a fun place to go for everybody. Every lunch and dinner, every day the place was packed, even during Seattle’s slow economy.
Then . . . the management went crazy, or got greedy, or something and decided to go “yuppie” (an 80′s term) by totally changing their decor, making it more “elegant”; changing the menu to include haute cuisine and postage stamp portions; took away the salad bar; made it too stuffy to bring kids; hiked the prices way up.
The first time we went into one of the remodeled units (Totem Lake) was the last time we walked-in the door. Within weeks of making these changes you could go into a Sea Galley on a Friday evening and shoot a cannon through the place without hitting anyone.
To my experience, no one has come close to duplicating Sea Galley. Unfortunate indeed!
posted on January 14th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I watched a few minutes of “Deadliest Catch” on Discovery Channel and, upon hoisting up a trap filled to the brim with crab, the Captain said “We got crab legs! Sea Galley”. Milk came out my nose. Which was strange because I wasn’t drinking anything at the time. Hmm. Now I wondering if that really was milk.
posted on January 14th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Hello,
There is a SeaGalley in Yakima Wa. The only one left other than Anchorage. It is all original with the nets and booths.
It still has the salad bar and runs the Crab Legs commercial on the local radio and sometims of the T.V. If you are ever
in Eastern Washington its right off the freeway. They have the BEST appetizers especially the Cheese Sticks. The original
crab legs are sometimes worn to the Basketball games in Yakima to hand out coupons. Look up their webpage at seagally.com !!!!
posted on July 1st, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I spent 3 years managing the Sea Galley in Walla Walla, it was indeed a great place to be at the time. I started with them in Yakima so I know the store pretty well. Your right on the changes, that ruined the whole deal, it all started with the stripped uniforms and went downhill from there! I was just at the Yakima one a year ago and it is still as good as ever.
posted on August 27th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I am SOOOO glad I’m not the only one who not only remembers this commercial, but LOVES it.
posted on December 17th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Take a step back in time, visit the Sea Galley in Anchorage Alaska. Hosting over 10,000 guests a week, seating over 600, with two “all you can eat” salad bars (with baby corns). We are proud to support most of Sea Galleys original decore and menu items. The restaurant is run by a Manager that has worked for Sea Galley over thirty years. Sea Galley Alaska Now owns the Sea Galley Restaurant Names and Trademarks as well as the “Weve Got Crab Legs” trade marks. Come on in and see the old commercial story boards on the walls, nautical decore, complete with fresh oyster bar, fresh dessert bar, the old docks and village overhead.
Professional friendly staff, many over twenty years with Sea galley. We are still as fun a restaurant as Sea Galley ever was. Want to talk Alaskan fishing you have come to the right place.
Yes… We do have Crab Lags…
posted on December 31st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Is there anyone in the Pacific Northwest who doesn’t remember the Sea Galley “crab legs”
jingle? There was a Sea Galley in Spokane, right across the street from the TV station
where I worked, and while I don’t remember the food being all that spectacular, it was a
great place for happy hour. I’ve lived in PA for the past 19 years, and it sure made me
feel nostalgic to watch the old Sea Galley ads on YouTube, along with the KST-Washington
news bumpers. (Speaking of seafood, whatever happened to Skipper’s?? They were great! Is
Ivar’s still around?)
posted on February 24th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
All the Skipper’s are pretty much gone (the last one I remember going to was in 2007 in Auburn and I told myself that would be the last time, it was). The quality really went downhill pretty drastically. Ivar’s is still around (The Captains Table on Elliott has been gone for awhile), still good, a little pricey. Many of the Keg restaurants in the area (they replaced Sea Galley) are gone or are closing now. Excluding the Crab Legs, the closest thing left around here to Sea Galley (even though it has a different theme) is Barnaby’s at Southcenter.
posted on February 28th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Hey all. Pizza & Pipes in Santa Clara is still here but we’ve changed our name to Pizza Party….and sadly we’ve gotten rid of the pipes
Check out our website for our full menu and links to our Twitter, Facebook and PizzaCams (you can watch live on your iPhone as we make your pies!)
http://www.pizzapartyonline.com
posted on March 19th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Hey, I actually work at one of the two Sea Galleys left in the world…in Yakima WA. Its still full of nets and fish hanging everywhere, the same decor decorates the wall as it did 30 years ago. Its off I-80, across from the Super 8! Haha! Business is doing great there…so I dont see it closing anytime soon.
posted on March 21st, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Hey! Actually my aunt and uncle own the only Sea Galley Left in Yakima WA. I dont know how old this blog is but she was showing me these old commercials and I just got into reading all the fan mail on the web for these commercials. she and my uncle are trying to put these back on the air with a little updating but they are afraid of being sued for it. sigh… anyway haha just thought i should write you and tell you what a kick it was reading your blog and thanks Sea Galley still has the BEST seafood ever… i love it every time i come visit them i get dinner for free YUMM!!! Ne way again thanks!
posted on May 16th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
All the Sea Galleys in the Denver area became Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus House. None of the quality for most of the price. They bring the suck.
posted on May 6th, 2010 at 12:16 pm