Jemma di Mare, Jackson Kalb’s third resaturant, opens May 1 after a puzzlingly long buildout.
We are a seafood-focused Italian American restaurant. Our signature dishes include classics such as baked clams oregenata, linguine alle vongole, and spicy eggplant parmesan, and modern interpretations such as polenta cake with kaluga caviar and kanpachi crudo Siciliana.
It’s lively. I expected it to be a “seafood” restaurant. That it is not. It’s really just Ospi with some seafood dishes. I have enjoyed most of what I have ordered, with a few exceptions. The linguini and clams was way too skimpy on the clams for the price. I also had a clam that tasted bad one time, though I did not get sick. The garlic bread is tasty but a little too soggy. It’s not going to become a regular dinner spot for me mainly due to the price - I can get better food for less elsewhere. But it’s a fun spot; the bar has been packed every time i’ve been or walked by. Every drink I have had has been great.
Wow, this place was absolutely packed tonight. I can see why locals like it when compared to the other offerings on San Vicente. Not an amazing meal by any means, but perfectly serviceable as a neighborhood spot.
Hamachi Collar.(special) - one of the better bites of the night
Shrimp Cocktail - cooked properly but mediocre remoulade and cocktail sauce
Hamachi Crudo - perfectly fine
Trout Dip - not my favorite white fish dip but not bad
Brussel Sprouts - not bad
Meatballs - kids ate them all so ??
Kale Salad - favorite at the table, but didn’t do much for me
Caesar Salad - not a very good caesar
Chop Salad - had it without cheese (dietary restriction at the table) so hard to grade fairly
Beets and Burrata - exactly what you’d expect
Spicy Rigatoni - same thing you can get at 100 other places in LA
Lobster Fettucine - decent amount of lobster and pretty good dish
Chicken Parm - decent parm
Key Lime Pie - good not great
Cannaloni - freshly fried and quite tasty
Sundae - served tableside so it’s quite a show, but i’m not really a sundae guy
There are multiple better Italian offerings on San Vicente - Toscana, Palmeri, etc. But if you’re looking for the “vibe” then Jemma di Mare is unrivaled (Teleferic is the closest) and the food is solid.
I actually prefer Jemma di Mare for lunch. Very solid pricing and a different menu to boot. I had an unbelievable eggplant parm sandwich the other day for not that much more than I would spend at chipotle.
From 6:30 - 7:30 PM last night, I was the only person at the bar. The restaurant was barely half full too. Certainly Friday and Saturday will be more crowded, but that’s an anemic turnout for what I would presume is the 3rd busiest night of the week.
I honestly don’t know how they are still in business. Ospi is just not happening for me. I went twice early on and admittedly have not returned, but nothing moved me. We did Father’s Day at Jemma in Hollywood. The food was terrible. Signed, perplexed.
Ospi certainly doesn’t move me, but I find the food decent enough. It’s never going to be my first choice if i’m looking for say the best homemade pasta in LA. But it’s a fun, lively spot to have a casual meal with a couple friends.
I know people connected to the restaurant and it’s done very well financially.