Gjelina

I have been wanting to go Gjelina for quite some time. This quaint restaurant is located in Abbot Kinney among the bustling shops and cafés. Gjelina has a rustic exterior that distinguishes itself from the rest of the streets. We ventured to lunch early in order to get a table because they only take reservations for parties of six or more.

Originally we were seated outside but promptly moved inside because there were a lot of flies surrounding the area. Besides that strange situation, our meal was close to perfect. To begin, I had an iced coffee with almond milk that happened to be cold brew with their house made nut milk, absolutely delicious. We also ordered a couple starters including the Shishito Peppers and Frites. Both were bursting with flavor, the crispy fries with housemade ketchup and the peppers drowned in a delicious togarashi oil. I had a hard time deciding what to eat because the menu is so vast and everything sounded amazing. I settled with the perfectly crispy sunny side up egg and vegetables. What made this dish was the Chermoula on top, that, paired with the runny egg created a creamy and salty sauce. A similar dish, the kale and eggs, was paired with two perfectly poached eggs and the tasty togarashi. The last dish that we tried was the tuna sandwich, which was so amazing and high quality, that we thought it was chicken. We even asked our server how this dish was prepared and he explained that the tuna is poached in olive oil, eliminating the typical fish taste and leaving room for the additional ingredients, pickles, peppers, and peppery arugula to shine. I definitely would recommend this restaurant and highly suggest arriving early to beat the crowd.

Location:

1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
(310) 450-1429