Final Menu: Ilan Hall's The Gorbals Opens at 5th and Spring
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Wednesday, 4pm: See note below about temporary closure.
With a bold menu some would describe as a head-scratcher, Top Chef winner Ilan Hall's new restaurant The Gorbals opens its doors to the public at 6:30pm tonight. Hall, a resident of the Arts District, has been working to bring the space to the neighborhood for just under a year.
The Gorbals is named after a working-class neighborhood in Glasgow, Scotland, and the menu reflects a Jewish-Scottish mix that Hall ascribes to his mother's way of cooking.
Thanks to the Downtown Center BID's location assistance, Hall connected with the Alexandria Hotel's manager and fell in love with the space at 5th and Spring. After a lease was signed in May of this year, construction took only two months from start to finish -- an expedited schedule by any means considering the Byzantine regulations the City of Los Angeles imposes upon restaurant operators.
An efficient 1,400-square-foot dining room greets patrons, the traces of a former diner which once occupied the space now erased by a few coats of clean white paint and scraped floors. "These floors were really bad," said Hall. Luckily, construction crews uncovered original marble flooring beneath layers of linoleum, which has been polished and cleaned.
Bigger parties are accommodated at the large communal table in the center of the room; singles can make use of the wooden stools at the bar and in front of the open kitchen.
Though The Gorbals is dinner-only for the time being (lunch hours are planned in the next month), there's enough on the final menu -- which you can find below -- to keep us occupied for a while: octopus with gizzards and lemon, bacon-wrapped matzoh balls, a haggis burger and Manischewitz-braised pork belly. Beers on tap include Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, Anchor Porter, and Gordon Biersch Pilsner.
As I tailed Hall around the building during frenetic opening-day preparations -- questions asked and answered in efficient assembly-line style -- I got a sense of the last-minute headaches any new restaurant owner feels: beer taps needing repair, last-minute recipe tweaks, an unexpectedly late wine delivery. All this four hours before a scheduled opening.
Still, one gets the sense that the chef-owner wouldn't trade it for anything.
Update (Wednesday, 4pm): Those last-minute headaches are back. The L.A. Times reports that The Gorbals is shutting the doors indefinitely to fix a boiler issue. The health department flagged the equipment -- managed by the building, not Hall -- for a violation, and apparently it had been responsible for delays in opening.
The Gorbals: 501 S. Spring (inside the lobby of the Alexandria Hotel), Los Angeles, California 90013 / Hours: 5:30pm-Midnight (opens Friday, August 28, 6:30pm) / (213)488-3408 / thegorbalsla.com
Julie on August 28, 2009, at 04:38PM – #1
This place could be interesting, however it already has two pits stacked against it. One being the fact that it's tucked away inside the Alexandria. Making it hard to find by individuals that haven't heard of it, but just stumbled into the neighborhood. Secondly, it only has a few vegetarian options. Perhaps the menu will be adjusted after a bit of time in the neighborhood.
Hopefully these two things won't keep Gorbals down.
Danyul on August 28, 2009, at 05:28PM – #2
There is huge white Gorbals flag right outside the entrance so it is hard to wonder what the heck it is for passers by. That being said, the menu is so "eclectic" that your average person walking down the street most likely not be interested. I think this will more likely become a restaurant that will only be visited by those specifically looking for it.
anthony costantino on August 28, 2009, at 10:22PM – #3
It was alright.
The Dude on August 29, 2009, at 01:23AM – #4
Not a single thing on that menu sounds interesting/exciting/palatable enough for me to try this place. Not a thing. Even the most "eclectic" restaurants usually have one or two things of interest to me, and as a huge foodie/Top Chef fan, that menu really seems like a bit of a letdown.
ChattyCathy on August 29, 2009, at 10:49AM – #5
Wow. Scottish/Jewish cuisine at the gorgeous Alexandria. LA's eclecticism never ceases to amaze me. I will leave my traditional palate at home, become adventurous, and give this place a try. Hope they have a good vegetarian option.
But because this restaurant site is more accessible by foot, I just wish our councilman would clean up the rat population downtown. I walked home two nights ago down Broadway b/w 4th and 5th, and had to hop over two rats as they darted from the overflowing curbside trashcan to under one of those dirty,dented,steel doors that most businesses use to seal their places after dark. Who wants to hop over rats en route at night to a restaurant? (I emailed the DTBID about rats, got no reply)
Hungers! on August 30, 2009, at 05:56PM – #6
I see lots of tempting things on the menu: Shepherd's (Sheppard's?) Pie, Cucumber Salad, Chilled Tomato Soup, Clam Omelet, and I've never tried Haggis before ... I want to try them all. But I need to replace my disabled camera first; gotta get pics of this.
A dinner date would be nice too, but not necessary.
Alex on August 30, 2009, at 06:51PM – #7
What gruesome comments for a restaurant that's just only opened. "...tucked inside the Alexandria...." -- do you expect a car service to drive to your house and take you to the hostess stand? Is it challenging to find a restaurant that doesn't have a massive KFC sign that spins slowly?
I'm happy to try and support a new place that adds to a local restaurant scene that is mediocre at best, especially within 2 blocks of 5th and Spring. (For example: Mariscos Ensenada... you're cute and all but your food could be way better. Ultimate ridde: How can Mexican food be average -- to downright lame -- in Los Angeles?)
Since The Gorbals is in a residence hotel, they'd be smart to be open straight through from breakfast to dinner. It's still irritating that downtown restaurant owners don't get the fact that downtown dwellers often have untraditional schedules, for various reasons. Bravo to LA Cafe for staying open until 4 am on the weekends. I don't love their food but its a decent option.
The octopus sounds amazing and I can't wait to try it. Much luck to them.
Dave Bullock (@eecue) on August 31, 2009, at 03:43PM – #8
As a Russian Jew who enjoys food of all type, I can personally say that I'm looking forward to this culinary adventure. Everything on the menu sounds good if not great, as long as you're willing to try new things.
The Dude on September 01, 2009, at 01:59AM – #9
Well, that's just it--I've tried many of those things before, as separates. Many of those items, as individual pieces, sound great...but the combinations leave a lot to be desired for me. I love gefilte fish, but I wouldn't want to eat it with fries--too heavy for me. While I am pretty adventurous with food, I also prefer a certain "balance" to my meals. I was a fan of Ilan on Top Chef, so I'll wait and see what else he comes up with, but I don't personally find the current menu particularly appealing. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Jamie DeFrisco on September 01, 2009, at 04:59PM – #10
The menu isn't very appealing to me either, but I am a terribly picky eater. It's common for me to only find a dish or two that I would eat at places with a small and fancy menu.
Anyways, that's not why I was responding. It's great to see a new restaurant with a different type of food. It's not just another burger joint or cafe. I'm glad to see a nice restaurant move into the area. The Alexandria doesn't have the best history, but it's been cleaned up and this type of establishment will help improve the area even more.
Louie Cuevas on September 08, 2009, at 12:33AM – #11
Its not hard to find, its right on the corner and has huge floor to ceiling windows that look like they slide open....great for people watching> The bar is huge so if anything it will be a great place to have a cocktail and then you can venture into trying out the Scottish/Jewish cuisine
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on September 08, 2009, at 11:57AM – #12
Louie: Actually, you've exactly illustrated the problem. The bar on the corner is not The Gorbals, it's a bar called (I believe?) "Down and Out." Separate ownership.
Alex on September 08, 2009, at 01:31PM – #13
"Problem"?
No one here has ever eaten at a restaurant inside a hotel?
critic on September 16, 2009, at 02:58PM – #14
Such an awful location. not only it's hard to find, but if you miss a turn, goodluck on the one way streets of down town LA. Me and my wife were meeting up with friends to eat at gorbals, we could not find parking close by. after 40 minutes of trying to look for a parking spot, and nearly getting mugged by bums. we go in and it was closed. mind you, at "8:00 pm"!!!!!! are you kidding me? I would not recommend this restaurant if you're not a LA. I might as well eat 500 feet across in the skidrow. it really is in the skidrow.
Rich Alossi on September 16, 2009, at 03:06PM – #15
FYI, Critic, the restaurant has closed for a while as the building fixes issues related to equipment.
ChattyCathy on September 17, 2009, at 12:58PM – #16
Closed for equipment problems? that worries me. MaPetit kept making the same postings before closing forever. BEWARE: Attention future chefs....before opening up another restaurant at this site,make the food exceptional because... 1. Poor parking 2. Location more accessible by foot 3. More homeless than financial district 4. More bohemian 5. Lots of the "cool factor" 6. Good site only for customers with sense of adventure, love of gorgeous architecture, and love for downtown history (yeahhh Alexandria)
Jasmijn on September 17, 2009, at 01:24PM – #17
The link to this article from today's blogdowntown Daily Digest email actually led me to this when I clicked on it: http://www.2009.com/08/4525-final-menu-ilan-halls-the-gorbals-opens-at
It looks like the link was actually pointing to a local file not on the server: http://2009/08/4525-final-menu-ilan-halls-the-gorbals-opens-at
Don't know who to email to point this out so I'm posting it here, in the hope that it gets corrected. It looks like all the other links do the same thing, so it's an HTML formatting issue.
Ankur on September 17, 2009, at 02:50PM – #18
Down and out on the corner has some strange hours as well.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on September 17, 2009, at 02:52PM – #19
Jasmijn: Thanks. That issue is now fixed.
Don Noyes More on September 18, 2009, at 01:58AM – #20
"critic", where are you from, Appalachia? What a rube! One way streets are too much for you? It's people like you that give the rest of LA a bad name. Big, scary city!
Alex on September 19, 2009, at 07:57AM – #21
Cathy
It's that hard to walk inside a building to eat?