Restaurant Review: Gjelina

On Saturday, a few friends and I decided to try out the very popular restaurant Gjelina on Abbott Kinney Blvd in Venice. I had heard rave reviews about the amazing food and great atmosphere so I was dying to try it, and decided to drag along the other two. Unfortunately, Gjelina only takes reservations for parties of six of more, and since we were only three, we got there and ended up waiting around 35 minutes to be seated. 

We decided to walk around Abbott Kinney instead of waiting outside the restaurant and stopped at Lemonade to grab some yummy drinks. We all ordered different lemonades, I went with the Blackberry Thyme, and the other two got the Arnold Palmer and the Watermelon Rosemary. My blackberry thyme was absolutely delicious, but the watermelon rosemary had an overwhelming rosemary flavor to it. We sat inside the crowded restaurant, chit-chatting and enjoying our lemonade, and twenty minutes later, began heading back to Gjelina. 

After another 5 minute waiting period once we got there, we were finally seated inside and handed menus (Gjelina has a rotating seasonal menu that changes frequently, so they print menus fresh every day). The restaurant has a wonderful, modern-looking interior with lots of wood pieces and low-lighting. As one could imagine based on the wait, every table was full, and people were laughing and drinking and talking everywhere as harried-looking waiters and waitresses maneuvered around the constant influx of people pouring in. 

After a thorough perusal of the menu and much indecision, A and I decided to split two dishes so we could try two different things and the other A decided to go with a vegetarian sandwich (Gjelina has a very vegetarian friendly menu, with a variety of interesting choices to choose from). A and I chose two different pizzas: The Gruyere and The Blanco. 

Veggie Sandwich: Avocado, Sprouts, Red Onion, Peppers, Aioli, and Fennel

The Blanco: mozzarella, parmesan, fromage blanc & castelvatrano olive

The Gruyere: caramelized onion, fromage blanc & arugula

Two very happy diners

All three of us thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Gjelina, and only wish we had enough space to try the infamous Butterscotch Pot De Creme with salted caramel and creme fraiche. We were very happy with the service, everything was delivered in a timely fashion and multiple waiters kept walking by, making sure we had everything we needed. All in all, it was a lovely experience, and I definitely hope to come back and try more of their scrumptious menu.