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Gemmell's Restaurant

3.7 (433 reviews)

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GEMMELL'S RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Quiet
Classy
Happy hour specials
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Gemmell's Restaurant

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Filet mignon

Still the best food in Orange County and the martini pours are to the rim! Every meal is deliciously prepared with incredible sauces and care. Chef Byron never disappoints. This last week I dined there three times having the filet mignon, Chilean sea bass and angel hair pasta with shrimp. Exceptional service too.

Wifey about to get her Chicken Elizabeth
Marc L.

Not our usual neighborhood- but when a trip to the outlets turns out to be a bust, we make up for it with an early-in-the-week date night. We got to see Dana Harbor with the Christmas decorations and lights and boy what a treat. We chose Gemmell's because of the decor and French-based menu. The restaurant was rather empty for being prime dinner time. It took a couple of minutes to get seated and overall I would say service was leisurely. We didn't care we were enjoying the evening. The steak was good, but meaculpa ordered medium. I believe in no steak beyond medium rare, but for some reason, I messed up today. The sauce was really tasty and the softened peppercorns gave a good bite. Wine, creme brule, smoked salmon, and espresso are all good, but the runaway star was the Chicken Elizabeth that Wifey ordered. The chicken was super tender and what made French cuisine was the sauces. Enjoyed ourselves and gave into the moment.

Halibut Special, so good!
Roman B.

Had dinner here on 7/31/24 for the first time. We have been coming to Dana Point for years and never made it to this fabulous restaurant. Julian was our server and he is awesome. Very attentive and took care of us all night. Chef Byron came out to the table and greeted us, which was very nice of him. Dinner - Shrimp Scampi appetizer- cooked to perfection. So delish. I asked for more bread, just so I could dip in the sauce :-) Special of the night was Sauteed Halibut. Cooked to perfection. Served with rice and veggies. I believe the delicious sauce was Espagnole sauce. Chicken Piccata - on point, so good! Caesar Salad Thanks again to Julian and to Chef Byron Gemmell, we will be returning each and every time we are in Dana Point!

The vibe was amazing

We came in after watching the boat parade. A HIDDEN GEM! I think people walked by thinking it was closed, but it was warm, quiet and festive. My husband and I ordered a bottle of wine and soup, and let me tell you, the soup hit the spot. I ordered a potato leek soup that was on the specials and it was SO delicious. It's my first time here and our server Kevin was great. Brought us extra warm sourdough bread. Highly recommend! Okay so we also got the chocolate soufflé and it was sooo yummy. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

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10 months ago

The setting was warm and intimate. It was not at all loud so was easy to converse. The chicken was marvelous as was the service!

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10 months ago

Great ambience and very nice people to help you pick the best foods! We had a great time just like before!

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Years of Friendly, High Quality and DELICIOUS Memorial Nouveau French Inspired and Creative Meals!!!

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1 year ago

Food was amazing! Ambience was wonderful! Very cozy. Quaint place. I would recommend.

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2 years ago

Quiet place. Attention to everything. Yes yes! The decor pleaser for all. Food!Thank you Chef.

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1 year ago

Location at the marina, easy parking, atmosphere is wonderful, Good food, good service, and good drinks. Owner / Chef is one good cook.

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Ask the Community - Gemmell's Restaurant

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I've been here many times and I love everything on their menu. I would recommend making a…read morereservation especially on the busy weekends. Restaurant is nice with some booth seating in the back and even some outdoor seating. Parking itself-there's a small lot next to it but it's almost always full so you can do some street parking in the surrounding neighborhoods. When I last came here, we ordered the red pepper hummus to share and I ordered the French dip! It was excellent as per usual and the service was good. One critique I would have though is that one of the people in my party was a vegetarian and had ordered a veggie burger. The people bringing out the food accidentally swapped the plates of someone else in the party who had ordered a chicken blt when placing the dishes in front of each person. Unfortunately the vegetarian did take a bite of the chicken blt before realizing it was not the veggie burger and spit it out. It is what it is and was an honest mistake. But, maybe confirming the dishes before placing it in front of the person would be good. First time it's happened but we hope it doesn't happen again because we love this place!

To start off, parking is an absolute nightmare. Aim to get there earlier and don't be surprised if…read moreyou have to take use the side streets for parking in the neighborhoods. As for the food, it was pretty good. We got the Salmon, Rotisserie Chicken and Baby Back Ribs. The baby back ribs was definitely the best bang for your buck thing on the menu and they were delicious. The Salmon was ok and the chicken was a little dry. The fries and Cole slaw were very good and our dessert was also very rich. The service was solid and it felt like a place to dress a little nicer but no pressure to wear a suit or anything.

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Truly Pizza - Smoky Vodka

Truly Pizza

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Women-owned & operated
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Happy to find out you can order takeout. There is a separate takeout door on the right side of the…read morebuilding. Ordering was easy but it did take over an hour to be ready. I didn't mind the wait, it was actually just enough time to go to Dana Point Harbor and walk around. Tried the La Foresta and it was not only pretty, it was delicious! Must try if you like mushrooms. Can't go wrong with the classic square pepperoni. So good even the next day!

** THIS REVIEW IS STRICTLY DUE TO MY RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH TRULY'S PIZZA's ONLINE ORDER / TAKEOUT…read moreOPTION ** I was in Escondido this afternoon and decided to order online/takeout from Truly Pizza in Dana Point. I ordered a Traditional Italian sandwich at approximately 2:53 pm.. The earliest that I could pick up my order was 4:38 pm, approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes from the time I made my order. Since I was driving home from SD County, I submitted / paid for my order, with the "hope" that when I arrived, I could pick it up. Traffic was average and I arrived at Truly Pizza in Dana Point at approximately 4:10 pm. The young lady that that met me at the Takeout window asked me for my name and order and told me that it would take 30 - 40 minutes to prepare. I shared with her that I made the order over 80 minutes ago and asked if it could be available earlier. Candidly, she made no real commitment to get my order earlier, as I truly believed that she was going to deliver my order at the scheduled 4:38 pm time frame. I sat outside to wait for my sandwich to be prepared and as I expected, I received a text at 4:39 pm that my order was ready. When I went inside and met the same individual, she looked at me like she had never seen me before and asked me my name and what I ordered. This is a serious training opportunity for restaurant management. When I got my order, there was a Supervisor reasonably close to the window and I inquired on how pickup times are established, items that could be ordered, and why a sandwich ordered online could seriously take close to 2 hours to prepare. The Supervisor gave a host of issues that could impact takeout orders - sharing main kitchen oven, food prep at the Laguna Beach store, busy restaurant times, and items that may be running short due to demand. So I asked her again, why would it take close to 2 hours to prepare an Italian sandwich on a Wednesday evening at 4:38 pm? I sat in front of the restaurant and there were many empty tables and only two people picked up takeout orders during my 30 minute wait. When she asked me when I placed my order - I showed her my Order Acknowledgement (copy attached). She told me that amount of time was unusual and was sorry that I had to wait. Here is some perspective and thoughts and hopefully Management will see an opportunity to address and improve: * Properly train service people when meeting customers and make sure they remember them throughout the process; * Eliminate the Online / Takeout order option if you can't properly serve it in an efficient manner; * If your Dana Point store doesn't have the space to accommodate in-restaurant dining and Online ordering, seriously consider offsite prep facilities that could easily facilitate both options; * As mentioned above - ditch the online/Takeout order option until you have the resources to accommodate it. Another idea, just close it down during your busiest hours - 11:30 - 2:00 pm and 5:00 - 9:30 pm. Just some perspective.....

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Came for brunch after paddle boarding with my husband and MIL. Made a reservation through Open…read moreTable just in case they were packed. Got a table outdoor, the weather was beautiful. The only downside was it was a bit loud when cars passed by. Restaurant is beautiful, love the vibe. Our server Sean C. was very pleasant and attentive. I had the avocado tartine with tots on the side, everything was fresh and tasty. Hubbs had the smash burger which he devoured quickly. For drinks i only got a decaf, wish they had matcha - it would've been a perfect meal for me.

I want to start this review off by saying THANK YOU to Blake, Kelly and all the Craft House staff…read morethat had a hand in our wedding reception!! It was truly such a beautiful night that went off without a hitch. Because of YOU GUYS. Beginning of Planning: My husband and I were on the hunt for the perfect "alternative" space to a traditional wedding venue due to time constraints of planning a wedding in 4 months and also budgetary constraints (not willing to sell our souls for a 40k wedding in South OC). I came across Craft House on Yelp (another beautiful couple held their wedding there) and knew the space would be perfect. I emailed for a week or two with Kelly before deciding to see the space in person. Late November/early December we met with Blake to show us the space. We knew it was the place for us when we were explaining to Blake our overall goal we were trying to accomplish: We wanted to throw a nice dinner and dance party for the people we love the most to celebrate the love we share. And we wanted to do it our way. Blake's response: We can do it all. No constraints. Basically no "rules", do it your way. We immediately put a hold on the space for our wedding date. December-March: Kelly was the perfect person to connect with and kindly answered all the questions that come along with planning a wedding. She was efficient with answering emails and following up with us (I'm type B, I love a follow up). We went to eat at Craft House a few times during these months and we able to figure out what we loved the best on the menu and each experience was fantastic. 10/10 drinks, food, and service. March: We started finalizing all the little details, food and drink menu, decorations, table arrangements, day of timeline. It was easy, efficient and there was a confidence from both Blake and Kelly that made us feel extremely confident and grateful to have our reception at Craft House. Wedding Week/Day of: Blake kindly allowed us to bring a load of decorations the day before the wedding to help the set up efforts on wedding day. We dropped off boxes of candles with a bartender (possibly a manager) the night before and he was extremely sweet and helpful by carrying boxes inside for us. The day of the wedding, our DJ and friend who was helping with set up were able to go in a few hours before. When we walked into the reception for the first time, we were blown away! I was in true awe at the space. It was exactly how we envisioned. The beautiful wood interior and 3/4 walls of windows with plants inside and outside made it feel like we were in a green house. I was met with a drink in my hand immediately from the bartenders and I was never without a drink (they would find me every time my drink was empty and give me a new one... THAT'S TOP TIER SERVICE). We ate, we drank and we partied with the people we love the most, exactly how we wanted. Things you should know: Particulars- We had about 90 guests, 4 vendor meals and had the private space from 12 PM (set up time) to 10:30PM. Price- THE BEST DEAL YOU CAN GET. Rental for the space, food and open bar(!!!) all bundled into a great price. Best bang for your buck. Price included gratuity and a small percentage for service fee. UNBEATABLE. Service- As someone who worked in the restaurant industry for many years (and close friends who are bartenders and servers)... we all agreed that the service was top tier. One of the biggest stand outs for me was the smiles on all of their faces during our reception. There is nothing better than seeing employees genuinely smile while they are working. It really makes the whole atmosphere a million times better. Some videos that we got at the end of the night, you can see the bartenders dancing while serving guests, it made my heart happy to know that there was some enjoyment while working their butts off for us. Thank you all so much!! We enjoyed ourselves and so did all of our guests. The next day people were stunned that we had been at a restaurant and not a wedding venue. This review is well deserved. *Pictures to come!

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Gemmell's Restaurant - french - Updated May 2026

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