Gemmell’s Restaurant

Love Gemmell’s. Great food and most the staff are very friendly and happy to serve you. Server Luigi is the best. If they happen to have the John Dory fish and you like fish do order it. It is fantastic. They will accommodate a change in preparation if you maybe don’t like the way it is being served. (At least that has been my experience.) The Pork Tenderloin is also very good. They have a Hearts of Palm with Shrimp salad that is awesome. The Escargot is also a must try if like them. Not served the usual way. I highly recommend Gemmell’s if you happen to be in Dana Point. Peace

Great service, food was wonderful nice environment intimate enough to have a conversation without straining to hear one another. Would definitely return.

Dinned at this Resturant for mother’s day, had 4 course champagne brunch. Cosy Atmosphere, service can improve, food was Average. They charged my two kids as adult price and once I mentioned they changed the bill. Two lemonade for $ 9!

Great hidden secret with amazing food. This place is amazing. I have tried most of the menu and you just cant go wrong with anything you order. amazing sauces and dressings!!!

Food and service were wonderful. Luigi, our server, gave great recommendations. The French Onion Soup was amazing. My husband had filet mignon that was cooked perfectly. The mushroom sauce was delicious! I had the Chilean sea bass with mustard reduction. It was to die for! And then we rounded out the night with their half chocolate/​half Grand Marnier soufflé. It was worth the wait! It was decadent but light. It was the perfect dinner!

My husband and I were looking for a new restaurant to try and came across Gemmels. We were pleasantly surprised by the delicious food. I tried a Shrimp Cocktail basically, it had a fancy name and they unfortunately we’re out of the Lobster Bisque so my husband had the French Onion Soup. I was extremely happy with my choice there were 5 extra large shrimp I with a wonderful sauce, and the soup was delish! For dinner we had a Top Sirloin Steak and Shrimp Provencale. My husband said his steak had perfect flavor with the sauce. The fresh warm rolls were very good as well. We will be back, though a bit pricey well worth it.

Food was excellent, perfect temperature. Great service. Would recommend it for a nice date night.

I recently dined there with my wife for a getaway. We used a Groupon and felt totally welcomed. We had our choice of where to sit and we opted to sit in the front room by a (fake) fireplace by ourselves. It was totally private but we did not feel alone as we could still hear the other diners in the other room. The ambience was very romantic with candles, fireplace, table cloth, etc. I would describe the décor as modern French Bistro.
Even though we were in the room by ourselves, the service was impeccable. We were a little concerned that we would be «forgotten» but we were absolutely taken care of by two or three servers. Yet they were careful not to unnecessarily intrude on our conversation. The pacing of the courses was spot on.
The bread was freshly baked (crispy on the outside, like a cloud on the inside). The pâté texture and flavor were very satisfying. I had the pork medallions and my wife had the sand dabs – both prepared with complex sauces. The meats were well cooked but the sauce flavors were probably a matter of personal preference. They really layer on the sauce so I had to scoop much of it away. The crème brûlée had a creamier consistency but completely enjoyable. The chocolate cake was rich and fluffy.

15 of our dining group enjoyed our evening here. Casual elegance. Their food and service were outstanding. The group raved about the Jon Dorey, the duck, wilted spinach salad, sand dabs, salmon. Unlike other French restaurants, the portions were perfect size, and my meal was served very hot the way I like it. And the soufflé was to die for.

Hubby and I came here for our Christmas dinner since we are military and away from family. From the moment we entered the place we were impressed. Having never experienced French cuisine we were a little hesitant but from the appetizer to the dessert it just kept getting better! I got the Chicken Elizabeth and the Blueberry tart for dessert, so good! Cozy and romantic and the service was outstanding! Can’t wait to bring my daughter next time!

Very discriminatory. If you don’t dress nice or look a certain way. They will not serve you like everyone else who looks rich and has a certain skin color. I’m not being dramatic, trust me. I came in wearing a hoodie jacket and the people next to me who looked the way the restaurant expected to serve, they had servers coming up to them every 5 – 10 minutes asking them if they needed anything. While my gf and I sat here in disbelief. I will never come here ever again.

We had reservations. When we arrived, there were only a few people seated. We asked for the booth seats and were refused as they were tables for four. They then proceeded to seat parties of two at those tables. Tables for two were available.
The pâté was wonderful. The sand dabs were good. The sirloin steak was not only not prime, it was inedible! Gristle and tendon running through it. The bordelaise had been over reduced as it was too salty and too thymey.
The lemon tart was good. The crème brûlée was extraordinary. The wine list is overpriced. I doubt that we will go again even if we have a coupon.
I might drop in just for dessert.

I have always loved this restaurant but I can’t have wheat, so I skip bread, but I asked the server Michelle I think her name is, I said In a sarcastic joke mode «I wish wheat less crepes,» was so surprised that she said that their crepes are wheat less, so I ordered the crepes I ate half of it and felt stomach cramps, so I asked her what was the crêpe made of I thought she would says something like eggs and almonds powder, instead she said just all propose flour .I almost fell of the seat, I can’t believe that some person in the food industry did not know that all purpose flour is made out of wheat .
I forced myself to turn my stomach, but I am pretty miserable, now
I trusted this place so much, but I won’t be able to eat there, ever again.

Every year we take my mother in law to Gemmell’s for her birthday and it is always a lovely and special experience. She adores the sand dabs. The food, wine and ambience are excellent.
We can’t thank our server enough for the wonderful birthday dessert they presented her.

This review is mostly based on service. Firstly the ambiance is a bit odd. Random knick knacks here and there, especially in the restrooms. Old perfume boxes and empty perfume bottles and such. The restaurant also had a particular smell, not of food but something along the likes of «old.» Let’s move onto the review. Went in on a Tuesday night and there were about 3 tables. Hostess was about a mid aged female who was also our server. She went out of her way to accommodate us! She was just fantastic! Ordered drinks, appetizers, entrees and dessert. Fresh bread came out first and in between courses the food took way too long for a Tuesday night and for it being not busy at all. Presentation and food were mediocre, nothing special I would come back for. All in all it was a pleasant experience because of the service BUT I recommend they do some remodeling and get rid of the odd odor!

My wife and I had had a great anniversary lunch here. Great food and service. My wife said the French Onion soup was the best she’s had!

Most french restaurants seem to be a bit boring, outdated in décor, with overpriced, mediocre food. But, about a year ago, my wife and I, along with 2 friends, ate here, using a Groupon. We weren’t expecting fine dining, but were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and the good service. Fast forward a year and our friends called and said they had bought another Groupon and it was about to expire. We all remembered that our last experience here was better than expected, so we gave it another try.
Seated in the front atrium area, we brought our own bottle of wine, but paid $ 20 for a corkage fee. Pretty steep, but justified it with the Groupon savings. Also, with a Groupon, you have to choose your food from a ‘special’ menu. Don’t worry… there are good options. Service was spot on and the food was excellent. One of the best meals we’ve had in quite a while. Pâté, mushroom soup, warm crusty bread, sirloin steak, chicken and mushroom crepes, poached salmon, crème brûlée, meyer lemon tart, and profiteroles… Wow! And, in true French tradition, the sauces were outstanding! Once again we were pleasantly surprised. Don’t let the dated décor and quiet atmosphere fool you. Prices are a bit high, so dine here with a Groupon or other discount, if possible. So worth it. Highly recommended.

This place isn’t hip. It isn’t new. It’s a vintage style french restaurant.
The majority of the crowd is seniors. If you want a quiet dinner, then you will like it. I like quiet.
The food tastes homestyle. It’s not fancy but I enjoy it. However, the prices are too high. Use a lunch club card (which I have) or a groupon coupon to prevent overpaying. If you use the buy one get $ 20 off the second meal, your dinner for two at $ 60 will only be about $ 40. That price more accurately reflects the food quality. Lunch costs less. $ 15 per business lunch.
The service is ok. When the restaurant is crowded, service is a bit slow. Dine here on a quiet day and service is better. You will receive your meal on time.
My review is based on one dinner service and one lunch service.

Decent meal but nothing amazing or out of ordinary and majorly lacking in any creativity or wow factor.
Came here for the prix fix 4 course dinner for the living social deal. Was able to make a reservation very easily on opentable. Arrived and we stood at the door way for a while before the hostess acknowledged us. The restaurant was pretty empty on a weekend night which is usually not a good sign.
We seated ourselves and got water and bread right away but did not get any menus. Waited for about 10min, was ignored and had to ask for menus. We made our dinner selections and our waitress just disappeared, never came back to check on us, just brought the food and came back to clear the plates. The whole service was very impersonal and lacking.
The food was decent, mixed green salad wasn’t very good, mushroom soup was very tasty. Both of our entrees were very tasty, sirloin steak was a good quality cut and cooked perfected, the fish had too much batter which took away from the fish even though the quality was superb. Both desserts were very good.
Really expensive for what you get so probably would not come back.

A place that is truly worthy of a one star review, if not for the amazing Lamb Chops. Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it was the absolutely rude and pretentious service, but my entire experience here was bad. It started with our waiter who wouldn’t stop rolling his eyes with every part of our order. Once half of our table ordered appetizers, he disappeared before myself or my girlfriend could order ours. Nice. When he decided to grace us with his presence again, we were barely able to order the mushrooms, before he tried to rush us into a main course food order. We finished off the pâté, salmon and mushrooms and ordered our meals. The food came out fairly quickly, which is a benefit of having a server who is bouncing off the walls I suppose. The lamb was absolutely perfect. As was the sea bass and scallops. We then ordered two soufflés, since they take 15 minutes to bake. I then thought about a nice after dinner beverage, but thought otherwise when I saw the bright orange Gatorade cooler they use to store their ice. The deserts came out and, back to blah again. Really a bad experience all around and I sure as hell won’t be going back because of the service. You could’ve had me based on the lamb alone, but I refuse to be treated like that as a guest in your restaurant. Shame.