Gemmill Lane sure has been busy lately. Hot on the heels of their second restaurant, Maggie Joan’s, Moosehead father-and-son team Glen and Daniel Ballis have launched Gemmills, an all-day dining bistro right next door.
The back-alley space, which resembles a quaint and intimate French cafe, is a bottle shop, eatery and bar rolled into one. There are coffee, pastries, sandwiches ($13) with fresh ingredients like rocket and pesto, and tarts like chocolate hazelnut ($9) for the hungry breakfast/lunch crowd, and bar bites such as gourmet cheese ($10-13) and chartcuterie ($7-10). House pour wines go from $11 per glass (red) to $13 per glass (white). Names are on a rotational basis for take-home bottles, but they have New and Old World and boutique names, and some from more exotic locations like Hungary and Chile. They may be a little hazy on the details, but one thing’s for sure—the hidden bistro’s a great place to drink alone. For more solo bar hopping adventures, head here.
As for Angeleno‘s, which occupies the former premises of Luke’s Oyster Bar & Chop House, offers a no-frills casual dining experience and a restrained (but still hearty) menu of Italian plates with a Californian slant. From the looks of it, the food’s more robust and Italian than Californian, which favours a more breezy, lean and green ingredients. Order highlights like Angeleno’s meatballs ($22), served with wood-fired polenza and tomato sauce or the signature veal chop Parmigiana ($75), breaded, deep-fried and served with red sauce and melted mozzarella. Intrigued? The book a table here.
