The Gorbals

I ate there March 2014 for la market week. I love the location (in the cut, didn’t look like a restaurant… Felt exclusive) downtownLA
From what k remember is was delicious and my friend who is also in the restaurant business love it. I haven’t gone back because I rarely make it downtown.

Overpriced ridiculous entrees. The flag outside looks gross. For the area in downtown this place actually brings down the neighborhood, okay!
Get a life people!

This is a place that tests your patience as service is very slow and communication between the staff seems off.
My gripes:
–My husband and I arrived on time for our reservation but it took us a while to get seated. The guy in charge of seating looked absolutely miserable and interacting with him was unpleasant.
–Our server was a lot nicer but he was MIA most of the night.
–We had to ask for utensils twice to two different servers AFTER our food was served.
–They gave us tiny versions of margarita glasses to use as water cups while other patrons were given actual water cups. Maybe they ran out, you say? If they did, I find it amusing that out of all the other cup options they could have given us, they chose probably the tiniest ones they have. The glasses of wine we got were triple the size! However, it was interesting as I had never used them for this purpose. I don’t recommend it.
–Servers were confused as to which table an order was supposed to go to. I saw a plate go to 3 different tables, including ours, incorrectly all 3 times. I still wonder if that plate found its way to its rightful eater…
–Getting our check was a hassle as it took forever. FOREVER. It foiled our plan to get out of there as quickly as possible, as we asked for the check towards the end of our main dishes but didn’t receive it until after our half eaten dessert was pathetically melting away.
–Another thing that was super annoying is that they served us a flat coke in a re-​used glass coke bottle. It misled us to to think that we were getting a freshly opened, fizzing coke. Nope :(
–Interior really sucks. Everything seems sloppily put together, it’s uncomfortably stuffy as there’s no ventilation, and it’s very, very loud. Imagine Bottega Louie loud, but in a space 10x smaller.
Now on to the food:
Presentation was nice. The taste was okay. We got the mussels, the burger with onions 7 ways, the banh-​mi poutine with fries, and grilled cheese plate. I can’t think of any words other than ‘okay’ to describe the food. It wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t impressive.
I really hope their service improves. They have a lot of creative items on their menu that aren’t served daily that I would want to try but I probably won’t ever come back as this first experience completely ruined it for me.
Conclusion:
If you absolutely have to check this place out before it closes or when they re-​open at their new location, try the burger and the poutine fries as they were the better tasting items out of the four that we ordered. And try to get a groupon.

I’ve finally got to eat here. This place gets a lot of love from the media and I had to come try it for myself. Communal seating. Open kitchen to see them cook. Friendly and attentive service. I would not expect anything less. We ordered lots of dishes here. The burger, banh mi poutine, nachos, etc… The bani mi poutine and brussel sprouts were my favorite. They did a great job here. The food came out quickly. I couldn’t take my food photos fast enough. I would like to eat here again.
Recommendation: Banh mi poutine, brussel sprouts, and burger

The Gorbals had been on my list for a couple years, but it kept getting pushed back. I was finally able to go there as a group of seven, which is perfect for these small plates restaurants. It allows you to try more dishes. We tried 11; I was stuffed! However, I have to say that not that many of them wow-​ed me.
–Califlower salad, radicchio, walnuts, dates, citrus vinaigrette: 4 yummy
–Broccoli, soy, brown sugar, malt, chilies: 2 half the pieces at the bottom were too salty from sitting in the sauce
–Mussels, green curry, sausage, cilantro, grilled country bread: 3
–Tomato, peach, burratta, mint, fried cornbread: 3
–Lamb meatballs, grilled artichoke, pesto, spinach risotto: 3
–Bone marrow soup, corn, potato, cabbage, Bulalo broth: 5 so good
–Grilled «cheese course,» pistachio butter, fig jam, red grill mustard salad: 2
–Kimchee pancakes, lamb tounge, sweetbreads, green onion, sesame sauce: 1 there wasn’t anything good about this dish, this was the only one that we didn’t clear the plate
–Armenien nachos, lavash, harvarti, humus, vegetables: 2
–Bahn mi poutine, thrice-​cooked fries, hoisin gravy: 4 really good, thrice-​cooked is the best kind of fries
–Duck confit latke, duckfat seared applesauce, sour cream: 3
Service was fair. I didn’t really like being at a picnic type table, because servers keep coming up right behind you. It can also be tricky to find the restaurant. You sort of go through another bar to get to the restaurant.

***The Gorbals’s MOP (Meal in One Pic)****
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As the Gorbals is closing soon here is a nostalgic review. Small plates of inventive and creative modern american fusion.
We tried:
Wrapped in Bacon matzah balls
Burger with 7 ways onions:
Who does not love onions? 7 ways of onions might be too much… They are fried, caramelized, raw, in the meat of the burger, encrusted in the burger bun .
Paella with cuddlefish and mussels
A good but really small dish.
Cucumber and chick pea salad
Banh Mi Poutine: An interesting fusion of Canadian and Asian Cuisine. It was pretty good.
Eggs, fingerling potatoes mushrooms
A good dish.
Good bye Gorbals.

I have been threatening to go eat here and it just never worked out. Finally today my wife and I decided to go get brunch.
We found out that today is the last day (Nov 2 2014) they offer brunch and, that they would be closing in December of 2014. this is unfortunate. Also hear they will be changing to a more vegetarian friendly menu. This annoys me, LA has no shortage of those.
We opened with some mimosas, they were very good. I had read prior reviews and wanted a rounded sampling. We ordered Hummus ma lahma, that was delicious and loved the ground beef that it is topped with. The dry aged burger was simple, ridiculously delicious and cooked to perfection. The Kimchi fried rice is hangover food extraordinaire. Amazing with the bacon in it. Finished off with a French Redneck. Perfect.
I will most likely be back when they reopen, out of curiosity. Glad I was able to eat here before the change.

If your feeling fun and adventurous, Gorbals is the spot. Their menu changes whenever they please & their changing drink menu is on the blackboard behind the bar for the night’s mixed drink specials.
The menu usually consists of amazing fusion foods with ingrediants like kale, broccoli leaf, sashimi and pigs head. YES! You can order pigs head! hahah
Reservations are recommended as it gets pretty packed real fast, especially on weekends. Also, it gets loud … so you have to kinda scream to keep a conversation with your date. But who cares about talking when theres good food to share!

Pretty mixed on this place since I really did like most of the food. However, the service was pretty terrible. It really did affect the overall experience.
Server was inattentive and not very knowledgeable about the food, menu, or groupon. She may have been new. Dessert took forever to come out and we had to get up and track her down to get the check, and give her the check back.
Normally when you see an item that says «Buy beers for the kitchen» its assumed that you’ll get something in return (an extra dish, something, anything). We decided to and got nothing in return. Staff didn’t even drink the full beers that we bought. Bush league way to score an extra $ 13.
Liked the burger, grilled cheese, broccoli, banh mi poutine, and hummus. The only off-​putting item was the risotto that came with the lamb meatballs. Couldn’t even tell it was a risotto. Super thick green pesto sauce basically. Bad.
Although I enjoyed the food I don’t think I’ll be back because of the poor service and the smugness of the Buy Beers for the Kitchen menu item.

The two stars are for creativity, risk-​taking, and food presentation, which I’ll always applaud. Oh, and the poutine. The poutine was pretty good. Everything else about this place, for me, was kind of brutal. First – the ambiance. The front room of the restaurant is dark, dingy, depressing, and vaguely third world. Thankfully the back room is better, but still had an «I’m in a dressed up basement» feel to it. I was there with a very large group, and we sat at the communal table in the middle, which was probably the most attractive part of the restaurant, but after a while, the bench seating became uncomfortable and tiresome, though it was handy for slipping out of my place to go scoot in next to people at a different part of the table for chatting. Sadly, I had to do a lot of moving around, because it was LOUD, and almost impossible to hear someone who wasn’t right next to me or directly across from me.
On to the food. I ordered the burger, which seemed to be the top recommendation, and I found it to be over-​salted and completely ordinary. A friend who also ordered it said «Can you believe we’re paying $ 16 for this burger?» A bunch of other things were ordered to share at the table. The lavash nachos looked great, but after a first taste, no one touched them. Same with the bacon-​wrapped matzo balls. There were a LOT of those still sitting on the table when we were done. People seemed to think the cauliflower was okay, and the grilled cheese, but I didn’t try either.
The best part of the evening was my awesome group of friends, who could make even wandering – exiled and starving – through a barren desert fun… but we all agreed that one experience with The Gorbals was enough…

Every plate we had was fantastic.
We were lucky enough to eat at the kitchen bar, so we saw all the dishes prepared. We were practically drooling all over the plated entrees. What we didn’t eat this time we plan to get next time.
I went with two other friends, which was perfect because we shared a bunch of plates: In order of my preference: Banh mi poutine, broccoli, kim chi pancake, grilled cheese, duck confit latke. Everything was delicious: balanced flavors, innovative combos (kim chi and pancake? well, okay!). Poutine is normally a great meal after a lot of drinking (because when does it ever seem like a good idea?)…but this was a 5 star entrée. The fries were thickly cut, crispy on outside and warm and most on the inside. The beef brisket on top coupled with drizzle of a few different sauces sealed the deal.
I can’t wait to get the braised lamb neck next time. It looked mouthwatering coming out of the kitchen and I was half tempted to bribe the kitchen into serving it to us instead!
The cocktails we had were delicious — I’m not sure what the other reviewers are complaining about.
Room for improvement: the wait staff who served us was very friendly, but like many places in LA, the door staff was uppity and nearly rude. Hosts don’t *have* to be rude. You can still get your point across that you are booked and can’t seat me, by being nice.

This was honestly a huge disappointment. I went in with relatively decent expectations and the whole experience was a let down (drinks + food).
First of all, they have HORRIBLE drink choices. In terms of alcohol, all of their hand crafted offerings have bitters and I didn’t want to go that direction. I ordered a vodka drink and the vodka was truly disgusting and ended up being «organic and gluten free.» If you’re going to have a bar, have some decent options available.
Moving on to the food, which was not very good. We ordered (ranked from best to worst):
Grilled cheese course
Armenian nachos
Bacon wrapped matzoh balls
Banh mi poutine
Duck confit latke
Jicama, cucumber, mango, herb salad w/​mango chipotle vinaigrette
Nothing was mind blowing and everything was pretty much average. The salad was just terrible. One plus is that the service was very good, but still– I won’t be going back.

Sad to say, this place does not live up to the hype. To begin with, I don’t really know how to place the weird vibe. It’s not hipster, not casual, not divey, certainly not fancy– it’s too dirty and rundown for that. From the strange taste in art on the walls, to the mismatched tables and chairs in the dining area, to the paper-​mache-​like animal heads on a section of the wall, to the endless number of mirrors, and the very dim-​lighting during the nighttime hours, I just don’t know where this falls on my weirdo-​radar.
As for the food, that was the biggest letdown of all. I tried the famed Bacon-​Wrapped Matzoh Balls served on a dill-​horseradish aioli. I’m not sure what all the noise was about, but it was basically a steamed ball of corn flour wrapped in bacon. The sauce was mostly tasteless, and the food was so hot I have a blister on the roof of my mouth the size of a dime. That last part was my fault, of course. Don’t eat like I do, kids. It’s dangerous.
What made it ever MORE of a letdown was the fact that I had to wait more than 15 minutes for my 4 little balls, (don’t laugh), of Matzoh. And at $ 9 a plate, that just doesn’t sit well with me.
I will say that the rest of their menu is really out there, and a few of the items sound pretty darn good. I’m talking about the Duck confit latke with duck-​seared applesauce & sour cream. Or the grilled cheese sandwich with pistachio butter, fig jam, and red frill mustard salad. That one sounds pretty bomb. The Seared pig’s head and pig’s ears are really a bit of a turn-​off, though.
If you love your drinks, though, they have 3 or so bars scattered throughout this restaurant, so take your pick. However, there are nicer places to have a drink in this vicinity, if you ask me.

This is awesome place with awesome food and great atmosphere.
We came there to listen to «California Feetwarmers» band, and got various foods from their menu.
I loved everything I tried, especially burger.
So that was right evening, I wish to have more evenings like this in my life.

Kinda hard to find if you’ve never been here before. The have a new entrance across from The Last Bookstore on 5^th.
This is my 3^rd time here since they’ve opened this place. I like the new entrance, which opened in March. Hard to find at first because I didn’t know there was a new entrance, but it’s nice because you are walking through their establishment instead of the hotel lobby. Plus they now have bathrooms inside instead of having to go through the hotel (which was kind of shaddy).
We ordered the pigs head again because we loved it the first time we had it. Okay so the pigs head is large enough to feed ample people. We were 2 but we knew what we were getting ourselves into and looked forward to the leftovers. This time around it was a little over salted for our taste. It came with a side of fried rice instead of veggies that we had before. The rice was good, but unevenly seasoned, some parts were saltier then others and i’m not sure i can explain why that would happen if you stir things together.
We made good use of the leftovers the next day to make carnitas tacos and tostadas and with the crema, avocado and other accompaniments the meat didn’t taste as salty, or at least it was more bearable.
It’s a unique restaurant and I have tried other items off their menu, which does change a few things here and there. Some things are better then others, or maybe it just depends on the day. But it is one that I would go back to… come on now i haven’t seen Pigs Head on a menu i think ever besides at The Gorbals.

Went back to Gorbals recently and discovered the most delicious lengua (cow tongue) I’ve had in LA!
At $ 15 a plate, the portion was kinda small but they make it up with the flavor. It was so good that we had to order another plate.
The other notable dish that night was the Shortribs.
Service is always friendly and fast enough despite how busy the place is.
Reservation is STRONGLY recommended.

Great for groups that don’t mind sharing. Extremely hip atmosphere with a cool location. You have to walk through an abandoned hotel lobby which adds to the coolness if this restaurant.
For the meal, myself and two other guys shared the pig head (which needs to be ordered 24 hours in advance), flash fried broccoli and poutine. All dishes were absolutely amazing. I would recommend getting the pig head because it was the best pork I’ve ever eaten.
Great booze selection as well.

4 of us ordered few dishes and ate it tappas style. I guess my expectations were a lil too high for Gorbals. It’s been building up since I heard about it more than half a year ago.
I’ve been in the restaurant once for a pop up brunch that rented the kitchen… that I loved.
— The popular dish within our group was the bacon brussel sprouts.
— Banh Min Poutine was yummy but it wasn’t anything special.
— Dry-​aged burger was good. The description, 7 ways onions, sounded better than it looked/​tasted.
— Bone Marrow was very disappointing. The bread had a stronger flavor than the marrow.
— Ox Tail was pretty good but not memorable.
The cocktail drinks had unique names which made me smile.

HAPPY HOUR REVIEW ONLY!
Wow, this place is in the Alexandria Hotel and admittedly, it’s a bit creepy going to the restroom upstairs but the hostess told us that they are building restrooms inside the establishment (THANK YOU!).
Our waitress was super friendly and explained everything, though she felt bad that she neglected to notice that we had a lot of fries (we were under the impression that the tomato fries were fried green tomatoes but they were fries with dehydrated tomato).
Their Banh Mi Poutine is really good, even if it is really not like a traditional poutine with hefty cheese curds and the only bits of banh mi that was identified were jalapenos, cilantro and maybe sriracha if you put that on your banh mi. Fries were piping hot and thick-​cut.
The Tomato Fries came with a nice pesto aioli that I really wish they gave us more of since it was quite addicting.
Drinks during happy hour are for the most part half-​off list price. I was able to sample a scotch for about $ 7 and now I know that Lagavulin is definitely an acquired taste. Think I’ll stick to bourbon. They also have some pretty good beers on tap which are quite cheap during happy hour.
It’s definitely on the pricey side but if you eat a bit here and don’t go too crazy trying everything (which is tempting), you should be fine.

Enter the dazed and confused guy, he is astonished that a little place exist in such an eccentric area. We came here after exploration of the Art Walk on Spring St. It was overly crowded more than usual due to all the tourists. You would never expect such a place even resides in the Alexandria Hotel.
As you pull open the heavy wooden door, the interior is low lit. There is a live band jamming in the far end of the joint. Patrons sit watching swing dancers dance between the aisles. My friend grabs me as I was about to sit down, ugh starving need food. Who cares, I could see she just wanted to dance, song is too fast I thought.
Three minutes later finally got to order some grub. We got the bone marrow and calamari. Calamari can’t say was the best, a bit salty but simply okay for what it is. The bone marrow was flavorful and rich, the meat was very soft that you literally ate with a spoon. Highly recommend the marrow even for those that are not as adventurous. Ordered some Riesling which was a little sour more than normal.
The experience itself was awesome, by far the most unique and fantastic spot to visit in downtown on a Thursday night. Plenty of parking and tons of security for those worried about the hood.