Gemmell's Restaurant

We ate at Gemelli's the first night we stayed in Dana point and went back every night for our 4 day trip! We never do that! But this traditional French restaurant had everything: amazing food cooked perfectly, a quiet & lovely covered patio with views of the cliffs (if not the noisy/busy harbor everyone else was packed into) thoughtful & attentive service from Kevin every night, and charming French music from days gone to provide just the right ambience. We've lived and travelled all over including the French countryside & this place had the feel of a family business that's been around in a place for a long time the way restaurants are in Europe: because they add the right touches to add to local foods & enjoy giving customers a special evening. We had escargot every night both ways, so good! The duck was amazing. And we couldn't get over the Sand Dabs, a perfect light juicy flaky crispy deliciousness! And EVERYTHING had the perfect sauce as good French cuisine should! Thank you Gemmel

We wanted to give French cuisine a try and went to this place per recommendation - and food here was good. Server was friendly. Insanely slow service, probably because there was a single waiter in the whole place, also working as a host. As a result, we spent about 2 hours on lunch, which usually takes less than 1 hour in other places. Their patio roof leaks, rain actually dripped onto the table as we ate. Interior is pretty stuffy. The whole place smells like a retirement home would.

Went for dinner and had a great time at Gemell's. Beautiful restaurant and ambient atmosphere. Pleasant French music. Prices are great for a restaurant like this. Or food was FANTASTIC. We had a 4 course dinner for 2. My husband preferred potato leek soup and said it was the best soup he had ever eaten in the restaurant. I also liked a lot my cream of mushroom soup. The presentation of the dishes is very interesting and cute. Steak was well cooked and so was the fish. I was blown away by the presentation of the duck patte appetizer (see the photos).Dessert was fantastic and I loved my cappuccino! We will be back for sure.