Gold Dig #48

Gjelina is one of the west side spots on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. It is one of those super trendy places on Abbot Kinney where pretty and famous people go to see and be seen. At dinner time it gets so loud you can barely carry on a conversation, and so crowded that you find yourself constantly dodging the door and strollers in the entryway as you wait for a table (why would people bring babies to this place?). But if you can manage to steal away for a mid-week lunch here, you can actually appreciate the bar with the cool light fixture or relax in the pretty patio area.

The Dish

Gjelina’s modern American cuisine centers around its use of seasonal vegetables and thin-crust wood oven pizzas. There are some larger meat-focused plates, but their use of high quality fresh local vegetables and seafood is where it’s at.

Daily Crudo Selection – Hamachi

They offer a daily crudo (raw fish) selection, which on the day we were there was hamachi. Topped with jalapeño paste and cilantro, the fish was fresh and this was a clean and refreshing start to the meal.

Grilled Stone Fruit, Burrata, Treviso, Arugula, Prosciutto

The grilled stone fruit, burrata, treviso, arugula, and prosciutto was the best dish we had. The stone fruit was sweet, the prosciutto savory, the greens added texture and some bitterness, and it was all brought together beautifully by a nice light dressing. I almost ordered another plate.

Lamb Sausage Pizza

We had to try one of the pizzas. We went with the one topped with lamb sausage, confit tomato, rapini, pecorino, and asiago. I liked the thin crust with bits of char. The topping combination was solid, though did not blow my mind as I had hoped.

Grilled Pork Collar

The grilled pork collar comes with a rosemary salsa verde. I had high expectations for this dish, but was somewhat disappointed. It was a bit greasy and didn’t really have any standout flavors.

Santa Barbara Ridgeback Prawns

The Santa Barbara ridgeback prawns come on a bed of Oaxacan grits, topped with water spinach. The prawns themselves were small and on the dry side. The best part was the grits and all the yummy sauce they absorbed.

Cameo Apple Tart

We finished with a cameo apple tart topped with pecan streusel and Creme Fraiche. It was a tasty tart, though not a particularly memorable one.