Gjelina

While founding chef Travis Lett has long since departed the kitchen—you can find him cooking at RVR, a “California izakaya” located down the street—Gjelina is still the quintessential pit-stop for visitors, and one of L.A.’s most reliable restaurants. It’s also, no matter how you cut it, the one place on Abbot Kinney that kicked off the street’s full-tilt shift into gentrification. These days, even without Lett involved, the restaurant faithfully churns out the same unchanging line-up of seasonal Cal-Italian fare that has earned it fans from far and wide and even spurred offshoots in New York City and Las Vegas. On my recent visits, current management has maintained the quality, consistency and seasonality of cooking that Gjelina is well-known for. The Weiser potatoes and orange-glazed rainbow carrots with yogurt and chermoula were as delicious as ever; the ever-present anchovy pizza and orecchiette with beef cheek bolognese were equally great. Whether you're stopping by in the morning for its famed remon ricotta pancakes or after dark for a pizza topped with produce fresh from the farmers’ market, the restaurant delivers a great meal.