Gjelina Review

For how casual and indulgent the rustic restaurant seems, it boasts cult-favourite dishes and precision with every fragrant mouthful.

I began my foodie journey, with the charcuterie of Anchovy & Burrata Toasts, Pepperonata, Capers & Sherry ($15).

Firstly, I m still not 100% sure I know what an anchovy is but every time I taste one, I don t like it.

It turns out that all it takes, is a dexterity of flavor and texture, to get me raving about the briny goodness of anchovies.

The charcuterie choice, seems overwhelming flavor-wise, but there is a fascinating mouth-feel to the fresh dish a play between the particularly creamy (light Burrata cheese) & crispy (crostini), as well as sweet (Pepperonata) and salty (Anchovy).

Apparently brunch is the best meal at Gjelina, but I came to the restaurant for a perfectly timed dinner at sunset.

The main event I cant help but commend myself for choosing, was the Crispy Muscovy Duck Confit, matched with Braised Cabbage, as well as Chicory, Panache Striped Fig, and a Sherry Vinaigrette ($28).

I ve had duck confit before, but never has it been made with such care as to be perfectly moist & tender within, and maintain a crispy skin on the outside. This succulent duck confit, falling off the bone, is a testament to Chef Travis Lett s tasty skill.

Really unique atmosphere, but totally cool public mixed seating. I loved thay it encouraged conversation with others outside your own group. The food and service wad amazing

No service at all, but I guess it not a problem when you charge a 20% mandatory service

Reasonably expensive for s cafe however the food is good, the portion sizes are great and the staff are lovely. The house coffee is actually delicious and I can't get enough of it. Personal recommendation would be their french toast with whatever options they do it with. A breakfast here will set you up for the entire day

This is what pizza tastes like when you have amazing ingredients pulled together. The flavors compliment each other and everything is beyond delicious. Tomato sauces are sweet, not overly sour and ketchup tasting. The meats are flavorful and intense in flavor. We ve tried the mushroom, chorizo, burrata, and guanciale no complaints on anything. We hope to try as many dishes as possible during our time here.

Visited for the first time during my LA visit. Great food and amazing vibe! Love the place and planning to visit again soon.

Gjelina is a place I feel a little conflicted about. While the food is excellent, the thing that are supposed to be best at (pizzas) have always been good, and that's just it. I guess it comes from an expectation vs. reality scenario.

My wife had been before I had and she raved about the pizza. Some of the best ever. My wife and I agree that Napolitano style pizza rules all the kinds of pizzas, so I just assumed it would be that. The pizzas here are California wood fire oven style pizza. They are thin crust and on the crispy side. For that style, they are indeed delicious, and the toppings don't disappoint. You can't go wrong with anything off the rest of the menu either.

Service is spectacular. Waiters are prompt, kind and great with recommendations. They do not hesitate to give you tastes of wines or beers. A heads up: they automatically add a 20% gratuity to every check. I feel like it's well deserved, bit if that sort of thing turns you off...

Parking can be difficult. Plan ahead.

All in all Gjelina is an excellent restaurant, even if I wish they had Napolitano style pizzas.

My family and I were here in June of 2019 when we were on vacation in los angeles it is a very good restaurant with good food.

Pizza had a very unique but flavorful taste. Ordered the 4 Onion goat cheese pizza and it was amazing.

Delicious food !! We d planned on coming here and didn t see the sign but smelt the goodness coming out onto the pavement then realised this was the place we were looking for ! It didn t disappoint ! Delicious coffee , I got the banh mi sandwich - so much flavour !!! My friends got the soup and the meatball sandwich - all was delicious ! 100% would come back and recommend ! Really want to come back for breakfast too as the menu looks so tasty ! 10/10

CONS - If you have allergies, aversions or dietary restrictions Gjelina is not the place for you - there are NO MODIFICATIONS allowed to menu items. If I wanted to be told what I had to eat, I d go to my mom s. I figure if I m paying for a nice meal I should be able to ask for salad dressing on the side, but not here. Btw, there is no liquor served here just beer and wine so if you like cocktails this isn t the place either.

PROS - the menu is pretty robust with lots of high quality options. I really enjoyed each plate we ordered. The ambiance is sexy and the back patio is a great place to be during a typical LA evening. Great people watching abounds as well as you re in the heart of Abbot Kinney.

Unfortunately, given the cons, we won t go back.

This place is worth trying. They have big portions for convenient prices. Consistently well kept and with fantastic vibes. Will visit here again.

This is my favorite cafe restaurant around here.
Perfect with oyster plate and wine.
The roast chicken that you definitely eat is the best!

Got there on a Sunday when there was somehow no wait. Ordered way too much food and had 0 regrets. Get there early so you don't have to wait for hours, although it is worth it.

Great food. Everything on the menu. Morrocan eggs are amazing

Disappointing and overpriced. I was excited about trying this place after reading the reviews, but I think we just took off on the wrong foot.
Snobby staff that don't seem to worry about the way they treat you because the menu makes it clear that there is a mandatory 20% gratuity.
The environment is nice, with a modern industrial feel to it and the menu is ok.
The food was average at best, and the cheese platter was just below that.
I guess it is overpriced because of the location and the reputation, but the quality did not correspond to what we expected.
Considering the quality of the service and the food, and the prices of the items in the menu, the mandatory gratuity is completely unnecessary.

constantly evolving menu using fresh local SoCal vegetables = super creative dishes. meat/fish dishes equally feature highest quality or wild caught. everything is delicious. with impeccable consistency. i'm told it all started as a pizza place (which imho has no competition: the crust is baked to perfection in a wood fired oven). incredible. no sign on the door. worth the wait

Wow - is the best word to describe our visit to Gjelina. We were visiting LA with a friend who took us to Gjelina. He warned us that this might be the best pizza he has ever had, and to be prepared. And was it ever! It was defiantly in my top 5 pizzas I've ever had, and I've eaten A TON of pizzas all over the world. While the pizza was great, the side dishes we ordered were also phenomenal. We ordered the bitter salad, the crispy/smashed potatoes, and the cauliflower. Every single dish arrived warm, well seasoned, and presented beautifully. Our server was professional, friendly and quick. I think we were in and out in a matter of an hour. I understand that there are long wait times to be seated, however keep in mind the location/area you are in, and also how "popular" this restaurant is. Put your name on a wait list and walk the area, there is tons to do. We will be back!

Great pizza and Italian food! One of the better restaurants in Venice. Cool vibe with a good crowd of people. Definitely worth checking out.

Overall great. Good atmosphere very welcoming staff, even nice to our kid who was there clearly out of place It s a very upscale place and food is super fancy. Currently menu is not as eloquent as it was pre-pandemic though. We were 4 ppl plus 1 kid, seated at around 8:30pm. Had some small plates, bottle of wine and pizza, bill was $400 total with tip. So keep that in mind.

Suggestion to restaurant is to add bottle of sanitizer on the table.

We were given a much more limited menu than the 'dinner menu' which we didn't learn until our dinner was complete. The staff did not provide an explanation why. Our servers were also generally curt throughout the meal - likely as a 20% tip is automatically included in the bill. The pizza was good, though.

The food ...that's the singular reason I will give it 4 stars and ignore all the other -ves like a snooty hostess who needs to be taught this alien concept called a 'smile' and an extremely delayed service. The person who waited on us at least was a cheerful person, even if the food did get delayed considerably. Almost a 30 minute wait.

The food though was spectacular, it was the best brunch we had in Venice in the last couple of days we have been here. The Eggs with chorizo was great and my wife cleaned up her fried egg and sofritto and my friends loved their eggs with abalone mushrooms and pancakes. The coffee was ok. The pizzas, the spicy chorizo was simply mouth watering and the cheese pizza was also reasonably good, maybe a tad bit salty.

Great food. Good for big or small groups. Great vibe. Inside and outside tables.

Great flavor profiles as well as a fantastic salad.

Vegetable dishes and duck were superb, wines okay. Wear a jacket, it is cold!

An ever changing menu of fresh amazing goodness. Never have had a bad meal here, though booking ahead is certainly recommended.

This place is pretty hyped, and I definitely get it. However, most of the dishes we ordered were pretty standard. Really great and consistent, but standard. It was a very busy night as well, so the service was a little bit slow. I will have to go back and give this place another chance!

We love to go out. Last night we found this superb place which we didn t know before. We enjoyed a delightful time there with exceptional meal and an experienced stuff and an impressive cuisine. We put this restaurant in our phone list and we will definitely come back very soon. We deeply recommend.