Venice is a unique place. No, not that one; the other one. Venice, California is a living study in contrasts. It’s casual, yet sophisticated; youthful, yet seasoned; easygoing, yet industrious. Walk Abbot Kinney Boulevard on any given day and you’ll encounter skaters, musicians, millionaires—and it’s not always readily evident who’s what.
Venice is the only place that could nurture a restaurant like Gjelina, whose chill LA vibes are ably backed by the serious, farm-to-table flavors on their plates. And now that Gjelina has come to the Venetian—not that Venice; the other other one—you, too, can vibe with it.
Founded in 2008 by Fran Camaj, a former middle-school science teacher who’s become something of a real estate giant—his Gjelina Hospitality Group, named for his mother, also operates a restaurant in New York and a number of Venice businesses including a hotel, grocer and bakery—the hospitality at Gjelina Las Vegas feels completely dialed-in even before you’re seated. The front-of-house staff is warm, accommodating, and if you’re feeling it, even chatty. They waste little time in guiding you through Gjelina’s menu, which is drawn from seasonal ingredients and adheres to locally sourced, organic and sustainable practices “wherever possible.”
Start in the raw bar and charcuterie section of the menu with the kampachi, with guajillo pepper aguachile, lemon, cilantro and cucumber, or the hamachi, with black garlic, sesame and lemon, both $29 and almost impossibly tender. You could also go with a charcuterie plate ($29), kitchen’s choice and worth the surprise, or the anchovy and burrata toast with peporanata, parsley and olive oil ($22).
Up next is the “vegetable” section of the menu, its biggest. It includes everything from an escarole salad with sunchoke, smoked almonds, parmesan and lemon preserved dressing ($26), to roasted oyster mushroom with tarragon butter and lemon ($16), to a plate of herby frites with aioli and harissa ketchup on the side ($15), to a grilled bok choy with a black garlic vinaigrette and a sprinkling of gomashio ($18). Food website The Infatuation once wrote that “the Burning Man people” are notorious for putting together meals just from Gjelina’s veggie plates, adding, “We can’t blame them.”
Then you’ll come to the mains, and some heavy choices to make. Gjelina’s woodfired pizzas are celebrated from Venice to the Bowery, and you can enjoy them in a variety of mouthwatering variants including a Gruyere and caramelized onion pie with fromage blanc and arugula ($26), or a lamb sausage pie with confit tomatoes, rapini, pecorino and asiago ($25). Or you could go with one of their hearty plates: a buttery-smooth, dry aged ribeye ($89), a mildly tangy rapini pesto chitarra with lamb sausage and breadcrumb gremolata ($29), a crispy duck confit with cabbage, apple and Dijon ($46) and more.
The wine, beer and cocktail list is smartly curated, again with a focus on sustainability. The kitchen doesn’t do substitutions, and a 20% service gratuity is automatically appended to the check. It all makes perfect sense when you visit Venice, a laidback place that works extraordinarily hard to help people to relax and be their authentic selves, whether they’re ordering the food or serving it. Gjelina gives that unique contrast a flavor—a winning one.
GJELINA Venetian, 702-414-6333, gjelina.com/las-vegas. Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
