Gjelina

Reviews 4

WA

Walter Macalma

First off I don’t know how to pronounce their name right. Corrected by friends and 2 different servers each a different way. What’s not to be corrected is how good the food is. When I first bm’d Gjelina it was closer to 5 than 4 starts and just under 1000 reviews. Since then it’s been one of my go to spots to “treat” me and my dates to a very new age Italian-esque country garden type culinary twist food. I was drawn in my a picture. Very few cultures use squash blossoms and the pizza with that, burrata and thyme reminded me of a dish my father used to make. Not in flavor at all, but simply the flower blossoms are pretty unique a few cuisines and not used often enough in the vegetarian/vegan food game. I’m the only one of my friends that knows or even uses it in any of my cooking. First off the vibe is hipster, like much of the non ethnic LA. It’s loud in the main dining room and I prefer the outskirts for intimacy. Service is good, but a little too eager and not as engaging as I’d like. Price can be high because the dishes are smallish. What I do like is the décor, good for brunch or dinner, but inviting, warm, despite the tall ceilings and windows. Oysters are Coromandel and Beau Soleil which in my experience are usually sourced by Santa Monica which is the only place in LA I know that carries Coromandel, heck even SoCal. A favorite of mine, but expensive at $18 a half dozen. I prefer a better, more classic representation. Pork Shoulder & Duck liver pate, well that’s some rich flavors, calmed with the pickles it was refreshing interpretation of something that tastes very French. I love how they have a dozen vegetable items all priced the same. Very farmers market style. Braised sweet corn tastes local street fair Mexican corn. Grilled oyster mushroom is meaty, fresh with the lemon and basic. Roast cauliflower imo could do without the vinegar. Reed Avo is a nice change from Haas, but my preferred is the Fuerte and the only reason I tried the radish, chive, nori salad could have gone anywhere and I wasn’t that impressed with the composition. The dishes that wow’d me was the grilled squid. Melon for a neutral sweetness, but the salsa verde really made the squid pop, though I almost wished it was octopus instead. Miatake musroom toast with crème fraiche and truffle oil. I was skeptical of the truffle in the oil, but may be able to validate based on price. The other items and the assembly were a little simple. The crème and toast work well and the mushroom and truffle don’t intermeld. Both clean and distinct. Ok so back to that squash blossom. This is probably the prettiest, most interesting pizza on their menu or most menu’s I’ve seen in a while. They use a lot of goat cheese, arugala, and other garden veggies that most won’t think off. The burrata and thyme are unique to this pizza and the squash blossom you probably won’t find in 5 miles in LA. Order that pizza, take a picture and show to your foodie friends and see how jealous they get because they’ve never seen something like that.

JR

JR C

You are now leaving the confines of the Mid-City luxury eating bubble. Good bye Hollywood, WeHo, Beverly Hills...yes thats right, my kitty, keep heading west. GQ named Abbot Kinney "The Coolest Block in America" so that pretty much means that the hipsters are migrating West. Next stop: Pacific Ocean! You must call to reserve a spot. I had to make it 2 days in advanced for a group of 5. Its just that crowded. The atmosphere is trendy dark. Dates might be ok, but keep in mind that its pretty loud in here. Most duo seating is across the table so there will be no thigh rubbing with your hunnys...footsies maybe if youre lucky. -=-Tuscan Kale and Beets-=- Kale was light. Almost forgettable. I felt the same exact way about the beets. I wasnt a fan of these but some of the guys with me liked it. Maybe I was looking for something stronger in taste. -=-Brussel Sprouts-=- OMG, these were so good. They might be IN, and only a fad, but truth be damned I am a brussel sprouts groupie. They burnt these in a certain way to make the char tasty, similar to how I enjoy crispy burnt marshmellows. Every bite of this was TDF. -=-Mushroom Goat Cheese Truffle Oil Pizza-=- If you do Gjelina, you gotta get the pizza. The mushroom goat cheese truffle oil sounds pretty packed with flavor, but turns out it didnt compare to our other one below. It really did sound like a good idea though, but sometimes goat cheese can drown out other distinctive flavors in a dish. You might have noticed that all my dishes were meatless. Yep, my friends were nice enough to order all dishes without meat so I can honor my lent. That just means I have to come back, really. -=-Garlic Chili Parmesan Pizza-=- This was it. Simple and tasty. Maybe garlic just hits the spot, so this one went down nicely. Its the kind of flavor that you expect from a high-end pizza place. At first glance, these pizzas were pretty ordinary looking. Maybe even a bit on the small side like a personal pan pizza. Theres a fine line between fancy pizza and Dominos, but also keep in mind that Dominos will typically not score 4.5 stars in over 1500 reviews. Point delivered!

YE

Yenny Du

Yay! Ive had this place bookmarked for a year or so now and finally made it here for an early dinner on a Friday night - made same day Open Table reservations. Our table was outside on the patio, stuck in the corner (kinda like the reject table) but it was nice and cozy :) FOOD: - chicken and duck liver pate - my top choice from the menu and it was DELISH! The regular order only comes with two, but our server suggested we add a 3rd piece so we could each have a taste. Sooo much pate and it was oh so good! - roasted prawns - great flavors, dont try to eat this with a knife and fork, our friend who attempted this ended up spraying his shirt with prawn juices (whoops) I ate it, shell on and it was yummy - smoked mozzarella pizza - this was recommended by our server and it was good, I liked the fresh arugula on top, but didnt taste any of the jalapenos. - lamb neck - if youve ever had the delicious lamb neck at Bestia, you know how tender and not-gamey it can be. This lamb neck was tender, but on the gamier side. - warm date cake - really good and the ginger totally cuts through the sweetness of the date cake - banana cream pie - very good, but too much cream, Id rather have more banana :) SERVICE: Fast and friendly! Our server, Steven (Stephen?) was great! (and really cute too!) Loved how they had El Segundo on tap and the food came out quickly and our plates were cleared quickly has well. VENUE/PARKING: Its VERY dim inside and much of the floor is brick, making it hard to balance the chair/tables/yourself. Bathrooms are cool and pretty clean. Street parking was easy enough to find, but may be harder on a busier time/night.

KI

Kimsa Truong

For starters, the fennel salami pizza and the ricotta mushroom agnolotti were great. Service and ambiance stunk! I felt like they were trying to rush us out from the start of service. We had reservations, we confirmed, and we got there on time. We ordered over $125 worth of food (for 2 people) and the food didnt even come out in any kind of sensible order. Oysters took forever to get, but once that finally came out, all of our food was brought out to us as quickly and in no particular order. We felt rushed and felt like they were trying to push us out--which they were! So, when we finished our food, our waiter assumes we were ready to leave and didnt offer us dessert! Just "do you want a coffee before you go?" When we asked about dessert, he had to ask the hostess if we could stay! We had only been there for an hour! Though the waiter gave us a thumbs up and a 30 min max for our table, we felt like we should have just left because of the poor service, but we stayed so we could experience what makes Gjelina a staple in this neighborhood. While we were waiting for dessert, we noticed that the same thing was happening to the couple at the table next to us. They were bringing their food out so quickly, they had to ask the waiter to hold on their food. He said sure but it would be under a heat lamp waiting for them in the kitchen. We were so disappointed by the lack of professionalism we talked to the manager just so he knew about our experience. Eat here with caution; the food is good, but its loud, really dark, and you just dont know if theyll even allow you to enjoy your food before making you leave.