General Information
NFT Map: 30
Address: 1815 Hawthorne Blvd
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
Phone: 310-371-7546
Website: www.southbaygalleria.com
Shopping
All the malls bearing the name “Galleria” base their design (in theory at least) on the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele in Milan, a four-story shopping center with a glass arcade roof that floods the space with natural light. Well, it’s not Milan or even close, but you can see the glass structure effect at the South Bay Galleria. You are much better off heading a few miles north to Century City for much more enjoyable shopping, dining, and movie-going experience. Department stores include Macy’s and Nordstrom, and have poorer selections when compared to their other Southern California locations. The mall has three stories of standard mall fare including Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bebe. In the past few years they’ve been trying to update not the mall, but it’s surroundings. The two story Target is one of the better Targets in the area and comes with lots of parking. Between the mall and the Ralph’s grocery store they bulldozed the run down theatre and put in a new shopping center. It has a Nordstrom Rack, an Ulta, a Sprouts Farmer’s Market (which has the best produce prices in town) as well as best liquor store ever Total Wine. Imagine a liquor store as big as a grocery store with rock bottom prices.
Food
The Galleria’s food court, however, is excellent compared to much of the competition. Take the express escalator from the main floor and grab a table overlooking the fountain in center court. There’s a nice range of food options from Great Khan’s Mongolian BBQ to Stone Oven Grill. The area is clean and well tended. If you want to eat your meal in a quieter, less ricochet-prone setting, try California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) or Red Robin downstairs. For all you Internet surfers, bring your laptops—the food court has free WiFi.
Drawbacks
As with practically everywhere, weekend parking is a big hassle and not worth it. It’s five dollars to valet. (Valets are near CPK on the east side and adjacent to Nordstrom on the west.) Hot tip: check with the guest services booth just inside the Galleria, as they often have free valet passes stashed behind the counter.
How to Get There
From the 405 S, exit Hawthorne Boulevard and head south one mile. The mall entrance will be on your right.
From the 405 N, exit Redondo Boulevard and head west on Artesia approximately three-quarters of a mile to Hawthorne and make a left. The mall will be on your right. The bus lines to the Galleria are Beach Cities Transit 102, Gardena 3, Lawndale Beat Express Route, Lawndale Beat Residential Route, Metro Bus 40, 130, 210, 211, 344, Metro Rapid 710, 740, Municipal Area Express 2, and finally Torrance 2 and 8.