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The Gorbals
Rating Details »
Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Downtown501 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 488-3408
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
Sponsored Result
Special Offer Nearby
Daily Grill
- Category:
- American (New)
- Neighborhood:
- Downtown
We offer Happy Hour seven days a week, 4-7pm (where not prohibited by law). Happy Hour appetizer menu and drink specials are available.
20 reviews for The Gorbals
What is the gastronomical equivalent of post-coital bliss? I don't know what to call it, but I felt *that* upon leaving The Gorbals a couple of Sundays ago. Granted, it was the kind of PCB one might feel after a one-night-stand with a hedonistic glutton who liquored you up and fed you all manner of snacks cooked in lard, before he sexed you up and then proposed a three-way with your roommate (that you regrettably participated in), but yeah - still lots of fun with some delicious memories.
Here's what -
Those bacon-wrapped matzo balls are to die for, guys. The matzo perfectly springy and moist - the bacon is perfectly cured and crisp. (Cesar R, you need to get your ass down to The Gorbals for these suckers!) So good are they, that after we had consumed 3 plates of food, my boyfriend insisted we order one more plate of them. And what's more, I didn't really fight him too hard on the matter.
For me, the octopus w/gizzards and lemon really sealed the deal. The flavor composition is truly spectacular! It's bursting with lemon, which combines with the salty bacon grease and the crispy grilled texture of the octopus to produce a sensation I can only describe as f**ktastic! I would go back to The Gorbals just for this dish.
The pork belly was perfectly cooked too and just the right amount of stick-to-your-teeth chewy.
Ilan understands the whole fat-is-flavor concept, and everything I tasted was just exploding with flavors (mostly salt - but not too much!). While I didn't eat that much, I still felt REALLY full at the end of my tasting (had a whiskey and a beer as well). This food is heavy, y'all. The secret weapon is lard, I'm sure - and that makes for a very hearty dining experience. So while the plates look dainty, do not be deceived.
The bar is a lovely place to have a few plates and some drinks, and you'll enjoy the company of Chris the bartender, as we did. It's a great laid-back space, where I am now contemplating celebrating my birthday!
The Gorbals started doing lunch today. What's next happy hour? Actually, that'd be a good thing!
I came in about 1ish and was slightly disappointed to see a much abbreviated lunch menu than food bloggers were posting online. Today's offerings included the burger, chicken thigh sandwich, cucumber salad, gribenes (chicken skin) BLT, chips & dill and salad with chicken confit. Something had been scratched off the chalkboard menu and I asked the server about the bacon-wrapped matzo balls as I felt my coworker should try 'em. Luckily for us, chef Ilan Hall whipped us up some.
My coworker opted for the burger and I tried the chicken sandwich. Both came with odd thin white bread which was later said to be sourdough. I thought they were thin white bread pressed into a waffle-y mold. My coworker's was well toasted but mine was rather stark white. The thinness of the bread was not much of a barrier from the heat of the chicken but I made do. My chicken was quite juicy and delicious. I'd order this again, especially at $6.
http://static.px.yelp....
However, I'm not sure I'd order the burger (also $6) after surveying it. My coworker said it needed some salt and perhaps onions. Pepper? She wasn't sure but it was somewhat lacking. And even came with less fries than my sandwich.
http://static.px.yelp....
Fries though addicting were extremely salty. The sea salt was great but I didn't taste much dill.
Something was going because there was water everywhere near the water station. I hope they get that cleaned up because I don't want health inspectors to close this place down again. Oh, and initially the lighting was too dim but they upped the wattage a bit and it was easier to see the food I was eating this time. Unfortunately, they also turned up the music halfway through our meal and I had trouble hearing my coworker.
We were too full to order anything else but one day soon I'm going back to try dessert!
Or psssttt...happy hour!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/20/2009
After months, I finally made it over to the Gorbals. First, it was hard to get in, then it was… Read more »
Where the F8ck is the Gorbals?
Its hidden inside a crappy building and they don't have a restroom inside the restaurant, you have to go up a floor to reach the restroom.
We got in and the place is dark and chill we were greeted by this lady dressed with some crazy shit that stands out from the rest. She tried to seat us in a dark corner I'm like "is this a chinese restaurant?" there's so many vacant seats!!! you're gonna put me in a corner?
We only ordered 3 dishes here but surprisingly I'm didn't leave hungry. The portions are really small but we got some deep fried stuffs that's filling enough. I didn't really decide on what to get since my friend is the one who wanted to try this place i just leave it up to her on what to get. Since I haven't seen any good reviews about this place i didn't really expect anything great. Right now anything edible is the type of food that i'm expecting to have.
we ordered
Sweetbreads with cashews and corn
Octopus with gizzards and lemon
and Latkes
All of them are good especially the Octopus and Gizzard.
Sadly these type of food aren't the type where in you'll crave for it. Its good but not worth keep coming back.
Just my opinion.
Though I don't remember Ilan hall mentioning being Jewish on Top Chef, the food he cooks is decidedly so. Not to say that he doesn't mix it up with some wonderfully non-kosher ingredients. He also brings a lot of different elements in his preparations. That said, the general feel of the food reminded me of my Jewish mother and grandmother's cooking. Hearty, rustic and homey. All the proteins were cooked through, which I believe must be a characteristic of Jewish cooking, because I grew up in a house where all meat resembled some form of jerky prior to ending up on our plates. We started with Ketel One martinis, a fine start to any meal.
Bacon Wrapped Matzo Balls Great idea, Smallish matzo ball with well cooked bacon, wonderful texture and perfectly non-kosher. (Did I mention bacon? Yum!)
Butternut Squash Latkes with Sunchoke Cream Very nice latke. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. Sunchoke cream, though nice, just wasn't my thing. Can you really beat applesauce with a latke? I think not.
Oxtail, Creamy Oats, Crispy Tripe This was one of my favorite dishes. As strange as the flavor combinations sound, this was like a beautiful Shepherd's Pie. The oxtail melted in your mouth and the oats gave a delightful mushiness with the tripe an intestine flavored tortilla chip.
Crimini Soup with Haggis Meatballs This was my favorite. Jason, the chef de cuisine, informed us that this was just voted one of the ten best soups in LA. I can see why, it was straight up awesome. The haggis meatballs felt overcooked to L, but were the prefect crunchy contrast to a flavorful light broth. Bravo!
Octopus, Gizzards, Lemon Liz loved this one. Kinda looked like a scene from Alien to me. This was a gentle reminder that I am still at heart the pizza and sloppy joe eating boy from the SF Valley.
Pumpkin, Coffee Nitro Ice Cream
Jason was kind enough to barrage us with a rapid fire succession of the desserts offered on the menu. (hello, FTC!). I dug this one, Liz called it so good that it was fucking insane.
Israeli Cous Cous Risotto, Nitro Ice Cream, Bacon Candy A little too much like baby food to me. Go Gerbers.
Toffee Pudding, Vanilla Nitro Ice Cream We were told the above is a staff favorite, I can see why. If you are going to order dessert definitely give the toffee pudding a shot. The pudding was beautiful.
Bread Pudding This was my favorite, though I am not really a bread pudding guy. This seemed like a classic preparation and was perfect in every way.
With so many things to do and places to go downtown, The Gorbals is a go-to kind of place. The food is outstanding, the location is central to a great night out. And the prices are very doable. This will be to us like Church & State, Izayoi, and Rivera; a new place to frequent.
This was my third quick hit drinking stop of the day. First impressions were not good.
I loved walking into the Alexandria, I felt transported to another time. I loved the staircase and the highly carved banister. I loved the continuous Charlie Chaplin flick projected onto a wall in front of the entrance to the Gorbals. And then I stepped into the restaurant.
Ok, first of all, wooden crates used as barstools =lame. Not cool and hip, just cheap and lame. The restaurant looks like it's in the middle of a remodel, like it's incomplete. I just don't enjoy eating in a space that's all gray concrete, with some cheap wood tables and chairs thrown in.
My Cline zin tasted like merlot. **shudder** I had to order the bacon-wrapped matzo balls because that is just too incredibly funny. They're petite, smaller than golf balls. The matzo ball texture was good, soft but with structure. It tasted just as you might imagine--blandish matzo balls and crispy heavy flavorful bacon. Ok, next.
Unless someone whose taste buds I agree with, tells me their food is incredible, I doubt that I'll be back. That space is such a turn off.
I experienced The Gorbals to be good--but I hope it will get even better. We stopped by after a concert at the Orpheum (it was a short walk away) and loved that it was open until 2am! Yes!!!
The vibe is really cool--you come in off the street, go down a long hallway, and past 3 large old school stained glass windows--and there it is. The space is minimalist and defined by a HUGE chalkboard behind the bar to the left, and lots of wooden tables. We sat at a very cool super-long wooden bench-style table which would be awesome for a large party.
My favorite dish of the night was actually dessert. Sticky Toffee pudding... my god, it was amazing. The toffee was warm on the plate and then magically became hard in your mouth. Um... yeah... I just said that. But honestly, the texture was divine and combined with the ice cream it was just a fantastic experiential dessert. I can't wait to have this again!
Runner up was the pork belly. It was well executed, the skin wonderfully crispy, and it left you wanting more.
The bacon wrapped matzoh balls were kosher-bastardizingly good. I just snickered with unadulterated evil when I saw this on the menu, and knew I had to order it. I'm not a horseradish fan, so next time I'd skip generously sopping up the pink-tinted creamy horseradish sauce. (I obviously didn't realize what the sauce was until AFTER I took a bite.) I'm not even sure the balls need the sauce--they might taste just as good sans horseradish.
The Gribenens, lettuce and tomato (I think they described it as a chicken skin BLT) was pretty damn delish. It was on fresh Rye bread... and the chicken skin delivered in terms of crisy fried goodness.
The sweetbreads were ok. And as my dinner mate wisely noted--they are definitely neither sweet, nor bread. :) I found them to closely resembled fried tofu.
The candied pumpkin dessert with coffee ice cream was something different, but I can't say it was entirely enjoyable. I LOVE pumpkin, but this dish just didn't do it for me. Maybe anything pales in comparison to the sticky toffee.
One gripe: The coke came in one of those cool looking, small aluminum bottles... which gives it points for creativity, but I just HATE getting bottled soda! No one likes to pay for bottles of coke.
When I think about what would have me coming back to The Gorbals, it would definitely be the sticky toffee and the fried Matzoh Balls. I love that Ilan got me to try some things that pretty much freaked me out before (ahem, sweetbreads!), and I hope the menu encorporates even more dishes that have me up in the middle of the night craving a return trip.
Ilan,
Baby, I had a pretty good time on our date last night. But I wanted to talk to you about a few things before we meet up again.
First of all, when you let me in your place, I really liked it. Your taste is so minimalistic sexy. Kinda like you, right? :) The only thing is that when I asked to go to the bathroom, you never explained that it was up two flights of stairs, that the place looked like a crack den and that the doors on the stalls didn't actually close.
But you know what, you're a bachelor and I can work with that. Just maybe clean it up before our next date? K thanks.
The mood music you played was cool. I mean, sure, it was like a greatest hits of 2004 in there, but hey, I like Justin Timberlake and Rihanna. But maybe the next time we hang out you can update your play list? I have this really great Lou Reed album, maybe some MGMT? I'll let you decide, I trust you.
To be honest, I don't get what was with the other people you had over. I mean, sure that one girl was cool for bringing me food and all, but the one at the door in the funky outfit was kinda spacey. And that lady taking pictures, what was up with that? I mean, I dig the kink as much as anyone, but setting up a tripod on our first date complete with a photog is kinda pushing it, you know?
Dinner was pretty good too. I totally dig your sense of humor. Jewish comfort food using pork products? You and your ironic wit. *swoon*
The oxtail was nice. I could have used another texture as the tripe wasn't that crispy. But I like to start things slow. I'm old fashioned like that.
The pork belly was really good. I mean, way to get me all hot and bothered with a sexy combination of textures. You are pretty talented, I must admit.
I was pleasantly surprised by the octopus. I mean, I had no idea I'd actually be the kind of girl to like something like that. But that's the great thing about dating, right? Getting to try new things you'd normally never know about . I especially liked when I got those little pieces of citrus in the bite. Totally upgraded the flavor profile. I think you just opened my eyes to some new ideas there stud.
The matzo balls were nice, but next time can you not have them heated to atomic blast level? Steaming hot balls in my mouth was not what I was planning for the night. At least not on the first date ;)
My favorite was the bone marrow. Way to end it with a pleaser. But honey, I have to tell you, the walnuts were completely too bitter and the crostinis were way too soggy. The vinaigrette was wonderful, but I totally had to adjust my eating style to get what I wanted. And I think we all hate to compromise such things so early in a relationship.
Not that I'm not happy with the finale or anything. I mean, I'm sure it happens to lots of guys and all, maybe you were nervous, but just relax next time and it will be the best, I'm sure.
Oh and not to be a stickler but a lady likes a spoon for scooping out the marrow of dead animals. Just sayin' :)
If I'm being honest Ilan, I really like you, but I kinda left our date a little disappointed. Maybe it's just because I was so excited to meet you for the first time so I built it up too much. But hey, I'm will to give it another shot. I see real potential for us. We have lots in common interests and seem to share similar values.
But until I really see that you're ready to make a commitment to giving me your best, I'm gonna keep seeing other guys. You understand right?
Text me, stud.
XOXO
Libby R.
Wonderful dinner last night.
LOVE the decor, minimalist, totall dtla vibe, low lighting, great music, love love.
LOVE the service, super friendly and warm, obviously this is a happy staff, and it puts out a wonderful "vibe".
LOVE the super affordable delicious wine list.
LOVE the bar stools looking into the kitchen, such a fun place to sit, and such friendly chefs back there!
LOVE the food. I'm not as adventurous eater as many, and had no problem finding many delicious items to scarf down. The presenation is gorgous, and I think it's such a wonderful touch for Ilan to walk around checking on each table personally, and sending over nice little plates on the house :)
Wonderful experiance, will def be back.
My two cents after a delightful evening at yesterday's reopening.
The Gorbals is just shy of being a fantastic, casual restaurant. It has potential as long as Hall continues to excite the senses of diners and bring complexity to its manly dishes.
The Gorbals is a modest restaurant where friends can nosh, drink and be merry. No snooty attitudes here. Minimalist approach from dishware to furniture and interior. But I could see how a bit of color and lighting improvements could help. The waitstaff were incredibly friendly and attentive. The music was also a nice touch. From ol' school hip hop to Beatles. Gotta love it!
Grilled octopus/gizzards were our favorite. Cooked tender and just enough acidity to keep it fresh. Veal sweetbreads: second favorite. Battered lightly, soft inside, and complimented nicely with the stew-y tomato based sauce. I could eat this any day and down it with a cold glass of porter.
The cashew based white gazpacho was interesting but missed the mark with seasoning and richness. Mr. Hall seems to love salt... and paprika. With the popcorn topping, the soup almost tasted like a chilli corn chip. The juxtaposed bacon wrapped matzo balls makes for great drinking food; crispy outside, fluffy inside though a bit lackluster as an amuse. Loved the idea of bringing refinement to good ol' Manschewitz with the braised Pork belly. The taste, texture were underwhelming and the meat was not as tender as I hoped. A thinner cut would've been good. Butternut squash latkes was a nice, homey snack; savory, slightly sweet.. It reminded me of my own mama's Chinese summer squash cakes.
Overall, appreciated the thinking and concepts behind the food and the presentation was lovely.. With a couple tweaks here and there, this place can score big. Being a downtown frequenter, I will definitely come back to The Gorbals. it's a fun place for hungry friends, offal lovers and thirsty folks who want a solid drink. And for the ladies, seeing Ilan Hall hustle in the kitchen is added value.
Hype. That about sums it up. It sounds interesting, but it's just unappetizing. You're much better off going to the other Top Chef guy's restaurant in the opposite direction.
first, a little background.
i'm jewish, and i only point this out because i need to confront a previous post that wrote this was late night jewish comfort food. THAT sir, is the most ridiculous thing i have ever read. no it certainly is not!
ok, now back to my review. i live across the street, and i watched the first half of the season of top chef with ilan. my bf LOVES top chef, and his mom cries every time a season ends because she has to wait so long for another season to start. needless to say, we were super excited to hear this restaurant was opening so close and the bf was having a conniption. i was really looking forward to coming here a lot!
i will begin with the good news. the only two dishes i really liked were the bacon wrapped matzoh balls and the butternut squash latkes.
now for the meh news. we went with two other friends in town for a few days and we all kind of had the same reaction...
overall, none of us felt satisfied; each plate seemed to have one thing wrong with it, and there was just too much fat on everything in general. i get it, pork-belly has a lot of fat. but then, maybe put a little more meat on the plate so it isn't like 60% fat.
the gazpacho was ok-- and it's not completely fair for me to pass judgment on that because i have never had gazpacho and i don't fancy cold soup. it was just reeeally rich. the idea with the popcorn was awesome, though. so if you like gazpacho, this may be great for you.
the gribenes, or chicken skin, lettuce and tomato sandwich, blech. the sauce was super sour, so what might have been a good sandwich if you like fried chicken skin, grossed me out. i was actually nauseas looking at it on the plate, and it pains me to write something so mean.
the rarebit with fried egg was ok, but it's not something i would want to order again. also, kinda grossed me out. to me it was like burned toast with some chicken liver and a fried egg... to some that may be awesome. i could feel my arteries clogging.
we thought we would end it with two desserts and at first were so happy to see such potentially tasty things were on the menu. we ordered the hazelnut kugel and couscous rice pudding with pumpkin ice cream.
the first bite of each was SO GOOD. i literally thought "YAY! we can at least come back for some wine and matzoh balls and dessert some night!" but then i kept eating-- and after two bites the ice cream was gone, and there was just this warm rice pudding- that to me was kind of sad-- had it been chilled it would have been great. but it just fell short as hot mush.
the hazelnut kugel was great until i bit into something super spicy. again, i get it-- he was the top chef winner, he is a badass, he pairs interesting things that maybe padma and tom would kvetch over, but for me-- a girl who lives across the street, eats out in the neighborhood, and was super stoked about this restaurant opening-- i just don't really want to go back. and that is sad to me.
OH MY GOD. i almost forgot. the bathroom. unacceptable!
upstairs in a building that is old and a bit run down, you walk through a bunch of doors where it smells like pee (which i am actually ok with, i live downtown, it's not the end of the world), a person could totally wait behind a door and grab you with nobody able to hear (sooo creepy), and NOT A SHRED OF TOILET PAPER IN ALL OF THE STALLS? i am no princess, but i'm sorry; that is not cool, man. not cool.
service was fine, the waitress was nice, but while we are on the subject, hey cool guy behind the bar who acted too cool when we walked in and then super cool when i asked about the bathroom, the cockiness needs to be brought down just a smidge. you told me where the bathroom was but did not explain that it was actually located in the movie the shining.
the moral of this story is that i am bummed.
ilan-- i want you to succeed, and i will try you again sometime if you change up the menu which i will check from time to time. until then, best of luck and welcome to the neighborhood.
Are you serious? This guy won Top Chef? .
I went with a group of girls and we ordered everything off the menu. Unfortunately, none of us liked any of the dishes. Hard to believe, i know! When the bone marrow came out, they didn't have small spoons for us to scoop out the marrow! The waitress instructed us to use the handle of our forks!!! Are you kidding me?
Basically this place SUCKS. The decor sucks, the food sucks, and the service sucks. I hate to be so harsh but this place is AWFUL.
Come to think of it, he wasn't very good on the show either ...... I think he just got lucky someone messed up worse than he did that week..... sorry to say.....
** Warning ... if you need to go to the restroom take a buddy..... or a shot gun.....
Tonight on Top Chef. Restaurant Wars. The challenge? Open a restaurant in a halfway house.
Walking past the down and out residents in the lobby of the Alexandria Hotel towards The Gorbals, it sure seemed that way. I'm all for Downtown grit and historic buildings, but I'd call this decor "underfunded institutional".
Okay, I'm exaggerating. Suffice to say that if this restaurant was on Top Design, Jonathan Adler would be saying, "See you later, decorator". I liked the open kitchen and the long, wooden communal table. I liked that you can sit at the kitchen counter, sushi bar style, and watch the chef work. But the space just feels... unfinished. But come expecting a culinary adventure and not ambiance, and you'll be fine.
On to the main reason we came. The food.
Chef Ilan Hall famously described it as "old Jewish food date-raped by bacon". What that means is Jewish and Scottish influenced small plates, fused with comfort food and offal. Think bacon-wrapped matzoh balls, haggis burger, gefilte fish and chips and Manischewitz-braised pork belly.
We started with the Manischewitz-braised pork belly on a bed of clapshot and mustard. Pork belly has become somewhat of a dish du jour and, consequently, a de facto yardstick for me when trying a new restaurant. This pork belly was tougher than I would have liked with the skin verging on chewy. It was also under seasoned and I can't say I tasted any mustard. However, the clapshot (mashed potatoes and turnips) was creamy with the turnips adding depth to the mash.
Next was the bacon-wrapped matzoh balls with a horseradish mayo. Presumably this was the dish that inspired the "old Jewish food date-raped by bacon" quote. Yes, it seems deliberately provocative and sacrilegious but, for me, this dish really worked. The salty bacon exterior encasing a very moist and hot matzoh interior. It tasted to me very much like a moist polenta. Dare I say it, almost like Ludo's oxtail polenta. Dipped in the horseradish mayo, this was a great bite. This, more than anything else, summed up The Gorbals philosophy for me.
We moved on to the king oyster mushrooms, warm bone marrow with walnut vinaigrette. This was a good looking dish. It's hard not to be drawn to the plates of bone marrow being served around the room. The mushrooms were substantial and firm, although a couple of pieces were too firm. Think of it as meat for vegetarians. The bone marrow was deliciously fatty but unfortunately too little for the dish. Overall as a dish, I think this one missed the mark but I found it conceptually interesting.
The sweetbreads and corn followed. The sweetbreads were crusted in flour and deep fried until crispy and served over fresh sweet corn. This was a dish I really enjoyed. Think of it as an elevated and reconceived chicken nuggets and corn. But better. The sweet corn was a delicious complement.
Our final dish was the octopus with gizzards and lemon. This came out as a warm salad of grilled octopus and gizzards with a vinaigrette dressing. The octopus tentacles were crispy and well braised and, given that gizzards are one of the few offal I'm not particularly fond of, they were surprisingly tender and mild, taking on the flavors around them.
We inquired but they don't serve dessert. It's a small kitchen and I can understand not having a pastry chef in a small operation, but perhaps they can order some in in the future? Bacon maple sufganiyot anyone?
Moving on to some general notes. The Gorbals serves a small selection of wines and beers by the glass. Actually, I should say they serve beers by the glass and wines by the very small glass. I'd recommend sticking to the beers unless you want a small pour.
The space is also very loud. I didn't see a single soft surface in the restaurant -- it's all wood, concrete, marble and metal -- so don't go expecting a romantic dinner.
And, being opening night, there were service issues. The restaurant was at about 30-35% capacity (on a 70 person max) and the dishes sometimes came out slow or to the wrong table. Getting a waiter's attention was also challenging at times. But, given time, I'm sure the kitchen and front of house will find their groove.
On balance, I'd give The Gorbals a solid 3.5 out of 5. Decor can always be improved, the Alexandria Hotel is slowly attracting a new demographic of tenants -- the rooms are now marketed as "micro-lofts" which, I guess, makes them the apartment equivalent of Twitter -- and service issues can always be ironed out. Dishes can be refined and reworked and even replaced. What's hard to change is the chef's vision. The way his dishes are conceptualized. Tonight, some of the execution didn't quite reach the bar set by the concept. But The Gorbals will never be a restaurant for all tastes so better to overreach than to play it safe.
Ilan, you're safe from elimination. For now. Please unpack your knives and stay a while.
I am a Top Chef fan and have been stalking the progress of The Gorbals for some time. You can't even imagine how ecstatic I was to find out Ilan would be opening his first restaurant only blocks away from my apartment! The moment I found out they were accepting reservations, I jumped on the opportunity. The opening of a new restaurant comes with several inherent front of house/back of house issues during the initial start up period, so this review is based solely on the quality of the food.
We ordered three dishes: bacon wrapped matzo balls, king oyster mushrooms with the walnut marrow vinaigrette and the lamb with mint.
= The bacon wrapped matzo balls were uneventful. "Blasphemy!" you would say because anything with bacon can't be bad! While the bacon was crisp and flavorful, that was pretty much all I could taste. Everything else fell flat on flavor. The matzo balls had a good texture, but that was about it. The accompanying horseradish mayo had no intensity and did nothing to enhance the bland flavor of the matzo ball. Overall, this dish wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. It lived up to being a kitschy play on a traditional jewish cuisine.
- King oyster mushrooms with a walnut marrow vinaigrette. A vinaigrette usually implies some acidity since vinegar is a primary ingredient. Duh. Well, maybe they forgot to add it because this dish completely lacked any acidity or flavor for that matter. I found myself searching the small table for a salt or pepper shaker! In addition, the mushrooms were a little overcooked as a few pieces were charred black and tasted burnt. This sounded like an interesting dish that was a complete disappointment.
+ The lamb with mint, originally to be served over the rarebit, was the best dish we had. As the most expensive item on the menu, I would hope so! It was very crispy on the outside, which was a nice texture to the juicy meat on the inside. The mint garnish goes very well with lamb. The only issue or complaint I would say about the lamb is that the accompanying sauteed onions underneath the lamb were lukewarm to cold. I'm not sure if it is meant to be served at that temperature, but I would have preferred the onions to have been served warmer. Other than that, the flavors were wonderful and I really enjoyed this dish.
Overall service wasn't terrible being the second night they were open. Everyone we encountered was friendly and you could tell they were trying their best to be attentive.
We also ordered two glasses of wine, which were served to us in these mini sized glasses versus normal wine glasses. I felt a little like an overgrown child playing "restaurant" instead of "house" or "tea time".
The simple decor of the restaurant also added to this sense of childlike ambiance. The simple wooden tables and square box bar stools remind me of play pieces that a child would have in a play set. Or maybe it's more of a sunday school feeling and you're being punished for using the lord's name in vain...so you're only getting the king oyster mushrooms for lunch!
It pains me to only review this place with three stars, which could almost be too generous. I had high hopes for this restaurant with the moderately-priced menu along with the curated whiskey list, but the food fell very short of my expectations. I can only hope that as the restaurant matures, that the menu does as well.
The latest food trend is going back to the poor old days, back to the traditional way-back-when immigrants came to shore and starved to make ends meet. People these days are chasing down food trucks and glamming up the animal discards meant for pet food and calling it the new way to eat. It's funny. (but hey, chinese ppl have been eating everything off the animal for centuries! curry tripe at dim sum? now who's hip?)
The Gorbals tries hard to tell you that they do not fit any category. Their menu is for the adventurous but their so-called oddball food fits into this category: Glamourous and ironic creations one would get if given the oddest ingredients in a cooking contest. Ever watch the Food Network show, Chopped? It's just like that, except thoughtfully thrown together by the Top Chef Season 2 winner. (Sorry, I never watched Top Chef and Ilan is just any other wannabe hipster, 24 year-old, four-eyes to me).
This is what we ate:
-Bacon-wrapped matzoh balls: this is a cheeky one, eh? And ironic with the very non-kosher animal hugging jewish balls. My mouth's reaction to the taste was "meh." With an involuntary shrug.
-Haggis burger: the crumbly patty had a gamey taste - hooray for successfully being innovative. Haggis is internal organs boiled in an animal's stomach. I guess our burger is what fell out of the bag. As a burger, it was also meh (with a shrug).
-Gribene, lettuce+ tomato on rye. Basically a chicken skin BLT without the bacon. They could have at least heated up the fried chicken skin and made it crispy. Instead, it was served cold like revenge and made me wish the sandwich was a regular BLT. Just ripping off the skin off a KFC extra crispy skin and substituting it in the sandwich would have made it better. This was Disappointing with a capital D.
-Rarebit with chicken egg. What a jip. You could have spread some gravy on a piece of toast and throw on a fried egg and i wouldn't have minded. You know what would have been better? A loco moco.
-Octopus with gizzards and lemon: Our octopus came out really black like it was a mistake. The gizzard was surprisingly tasty for what it is. Probably one of the group's only favorites. Not redeeming enough for a second visit though.
Other things on the menu included sweetbreads and turkey wing...nice creative use of something that no one else would, and selling it for like $14.
The bottle of wine was probably the best thing we had...
I had upped my reservations over email and got confirmation from the general manager but upon arrival, the hostess was surprised to see "2" under my name and 5 persons in front of her face. Good thing the restaurant was empty at 5:30pm on soft-opening night to seat us.
The waitress was OK...she could have learned to recommend dishes or wine or at least learn to BS about the wait time on two of our dishes that fell off the ticket...she was ready to kick us out but she realized that we hadn't gotten everything. We eventually got one of the two missing dishes but the wait was getting too long, so we decided to cut loose.
Overall, our impression was meh (with a shrug). The lamb breast might have been great but we didn't have time to wait for it. Why didn't we order more normal-sounding things? Because that's not what the restaurant concept is about, and if we ordered the normal stuff, we've missed the point and could have eaten somewhere else.
The preparation is top notch and the taste is good for what it is, but when you pair Top Chef expertise with animal parts usually found in the dumpster or dog food...that makes me say, eh, no thanks.
(and for the yelp review where someone said the food was better than sex...i don't know whether to point and laugh or pity the poor soul.)
(and sorry, J, i thought a restaurant opening would be cool to start off your birthday week of dinners but this one was a little less spectacular than expected. #1 of Nacho Week - Fail)
update: is Ilan trying to boost his yelp ratings by throwing an elite-only event? ha!
Awesome. Just awesome.
I came three days ago when I was misinformed by a lesser foodie website that Gorbals was opening! Paid valet, everything.... I did take a picture of the menu posted outside the restaurant, which I've been looking at longingly all week. Geek! I had read two reviews and was taken by their description of the bacon wrapped matzo balls... Also learned from the reviews that the owner/chief was the winner from that show on the cooking channel, "Top Chef." I don't know how you characterize the restaurant....I don't think you can characterize this as a jewish restaurant; bacon/ pork is sprinkled thorughout the menu.... But honestly I came for the matzo balls. I almost burned the house down in high school, trying to make matzo balls.
Came back tonight, dragging tolerant unsuspecting best friend. (Who paid by the way, so is tolerant as well as generous) We had to come back twice because they weren't ready. And finally we got in and were seated, but still had to wait. We ordered wine and admired the color, movement and fury that is the opening day of a new restaurant. My friend shared with the waitress, "lulu wants to be first person to have a meal here"! The waitress came running back 20 minutes later telling us excitedly that she had put our order in. YAY!
The key I believe to enjoying a first date, a movie, and a meal is to have incredibly low expectations.
Mine were totally, unrealistically high.
But they were met. Completely.
I tried to order everything on the menu, practically. I LOVE, LOVE the bacon-wrapped matzoh balls. That and the Sheppard's pie was my favorite - it was better than sex. OK yeah, that's clearly an exaggeration...but you get the point. The Manschewitz pork belly was divine. I've had pork belly at what I believe was rated the #1 rated restaurant in LA, on Melrose, who's name escapes me....but I liked the pork belly at Gorbals better.
My friend ordered lamb breast and I ordered a taste test... my friend preferred the lamb breast more than my pork belly. My friend also ordered the cucumber-avocado salad, which I liked but I personally prefer rich, hot, salty foods, which everything I ordered was. The pork belly and Sheppard's pie was heavy on the mash potatoes. Loved that, totally not complaining. I am going to order exactly the same thing when I go back, which I teasingly told the host would be tomorrow.
The waitress said the rarebit was the big hit at their private party that week, and she also recommended the octopus with the gizzards and lemon. I passed, but when I saw a photographer from the LA Times taking a picture of the rarebit, I hunted down our waitress and had it added to our order. I liked it alot, but still I am very personally partial to the matzo balls and Sheppard's pie. I believe one should order the rarebit if you have a very refined, delicate palate....which I don't. I'm very glad I tried it, and will recommend it to those with exquisite taste.
Usually atmosphere breaks or makes a restaurant for me. This review is totally about the food. The space is very minimalist. The Alexandria Hotel, which was said to be "grandly restored" was not, at least in the parts of the hotel I ventured to go to the restroom. In fact as I bounced back from the second floor to the restaurant and saw a man carrying a large plastic trash bag walking UP the stairs I thought of "The Shining"
That the most colorful things in the restaurant are dishes I think is fitting.
Wonderful service. I could have been, and usually am grumpy if someone tells me I have to wait to eat. I was told to wait four times. The manager/host and hostess were sweet about it. When I left, I got a hug from the host who was incredibly good natured about our trying to sneak in the restaurant early. Or maybe he was relieved that I was finally leaving....
Thanks for not calling us to say you were unexpectedly closed for the night, so our reservation would not be honored. We really enjoyed driving all the way downtown to your sketchy location for no reason. Thanks also for not posting a sign as to why you were closed, which according to the "security guard" in said sketchy building was due to boiler problems. Finally thanks again for not calling, so we could have made alternate plans for my friends birthday sometime before, say, 5 minutes before she got there.
Egads. I wait an hour to write my review and get beaten to the punch. Yelpers are serious business.
The Gorbals is Jewish comfort food for the late-night crowd.
Just walked down the street from my place.
The space: very functional. Looks like they didn't do much except give it a new coat of paint. All white, stainless-steel bars, one by the kitchen, one bar standing alone, full selection of wine/beer/alcohol, etc. Barstools are rectangular wooden cubes. I'm a big fan of functionality over flowery design. Several tables and chairs, a long table with benches, plus you can eat at the bar.
Food: Look, I'm just not impressed by Jewish food. My theory is that Israel is such a small country that there doesn't seem to be much diversity in the flavors. It's very heavy on meat, bread and salt and the menu reflects that. Granted, the bacon-wrapped matzoh balls are moist and pop in your mouth but they come with a heavy, creamy aioli when it really needs a sauce that lightens them up, the way Cobras and Matadors does it with a sweet wine reduction. The cucumber salad is as good as any cucumber salad out there, but the fried pieces of sesame leaf seem useless and flash-fried garbanzo beans just skitter around your plate as you try to spear them with your fork.
There aren't a whole lot of fresh vegetables worked into these dishes and with it being 100 degrees out lately, their heaviness didn't hit the spot. They lack a certain freshness. The chilled tomato soup sounded perfect tonight but they were sold out of it.
I support all these new businesses, especially ones across the street from me but the one-dimensional menu leaves something to be desired. It will be a good late-night, post-drinking hangout, regardless.
so i may change my rating the next time i come here and actually sample more food, but for now, all is pretty good. i had the cucumber salad with chickpeas and fried shiso leaf, which was really good. it was refreshing, light, and pretty much the only non-meat dish i could vouch for except for maybe the chilled tomato soup.
b had the haggis burger, bacon-wrapped matzo balls, and octopus with chicken gizzards. he really liked the matzo balls, and said that even without the bacon wrapped around it, they were really light and fluffy for being as small as they were (golf-ball-sized) and could stand well on their own as a good matzo ball. the haggis burger was pretty large and simple - roll, haggis, some butter lettuce, pickled turnips, and aioli. he liked it but felt it might be better if the burger wasn't so large since the haggis meat attempted to fall apart from the burger a few times. the octupus was very meaty and had a very strong vinaigrette. it was probably the least favorite only because it was a pretty new flavor. that said, the food was all very fresh tasting.
we also sat at the bar in front of the open kitchen. it was fun! we were greeted by chef and owner ilan in the middle of his running around and trying to get things out on time and well-presented. it was kind of fun watching how a kitchen worked. that said, i will never be a cook. if i had to have all my foibles pointed out to me in a constant stream, i would probably curl up in the corner of the kitchen, cry, ball up, then die. and that's why i trust the friendly cooks to take that for me!
everyone was really nice, our hostess sat us pretty promptly even though we didn't have a reservation, and had a pretty attentive waiter who always had our water glasses filled. the space was pretty sparse (our stools were literally unfinished wood.. and high. i'm 5'8" and had to hop to get seated on the stool) and since it's so sparse, the acoustics are terrible. it was loud enough that we couldn't hear any of the music playing from the little dj table and the place wasn't even filled to capacity. anywho, we'll probably go back in a few weeks, once things are a little smoother and less "first-week-hectic" all up in there. the dining room could use work - i understand the raw aesthetic, but what works for urban outfitters doesn't quite work for a mid-upscale restaurant.
and lastly, don't valet unless you're really lazy. there's plenty of *free* street parking on spring and surrounding streets, especially after 6 or 7pm (check the signs!). the area is downtown, you know what you're getting yourself into otherwise you wouldn't be there. it's not unsafe, you just have to be smart about where you're going and what you do.
An interesting place, something worth checking out if you're in downtown L.A. You definitely pick up on the urban hipster vibe with the minimalist decor, house music, small plates menu, and small but selective bar menu. There were highs and lows, which was to be expected from a brand new restaurant bound to have some kinks to work out.
Starting off with the lows, to get them out of the way, food service was very slow. For the first hour we were there, my husband and I were only served our drinks and one of our shared dishes. But to be fair, this was only the second night they were open, and a Saturday night on top of that. I'm fairly confident that timing will greatly improve after a few weeks when the kitchen staff finds their groove. Come in October if you run low on patience and understanding.
As for the highs, the food overall was good. Mostly hits, and only a few misses. My husband and I shared five dishes:
- BACON WRAPPED MATZOH BALLS. Very satisfactory. I suppose I'm going to be the lone sort-of-dissenter and say they were good, but not great. The textures were nice, I just didn't get a lot of flavor. However, I concede that it was a great way to open a meal that was a mix of different cuisines and traditions.
- RAREBIT WITH CHICKEN EGG. If gravy's your thing, then this is for you. The toast was positively soaked with a very savory sauce. I was not a fan because gravy is indeed not my thing and I found the sauce overwhelming, but I can see how this would be nice for someone with a totally different palate.
- LAMB BREAST AND MINT. My favorite dish of the night! The lamb was succulent, nicely seasoned, and well-cooked. It was so good that I was tempted to pick up the bones and suck on the remaining shreds of meat.
- PORK BELLY RIBS. I'm not normally a pork person, but this dish was wonderful. Easily my second-favorite dish of the night! This was also well-prepared and well-cooked, and it wasn't too salty like many other pork entrees I've had.
- SHEPPARD'S PIE. English dish meets the American baked potato. Potatoes were nice and fluffy. A good choice for someone who loves comfort food.
My one wish is that they add some simple dessert item like a parfait or custard to round out the dining experience, something sweet to balance out the savory that dominates the menu. While good and pleasing, the meal felt incomplete somehow and my husband and I actually went out for dessert immediately after leaving the restaurant.
