Gemelli

Gemelli in Narberth has closed — to be replaced by a new establishment. The chef at the new place was formerly at a restaurant in Bryn Mawr. Gemelli moved to the «Yunk.» I am sure it will be good. I had to give the closed place a star to post a note about it closing. No reflection on what was very good food.

Wonderful BYOB, and one of the best in Philly. Wonderful appetizers. Be sure to try the arancini and the signature appetizer, the veal tonado — a unique blend of veal and tuna tartare.
Sometimes loud. Sometimes spotty service. Always a great meal at a very fair price.

Very solid BYO italian on a quiet residential block. Gemelli is a great addition to Narberth, which has very limited options for good food. We’ve been twice so far — first time was very good; second time was just OK. No one dish really stands out on the menu — but it’s all good to very good (minus the opera cake we had for dessert — none of us liked that one). This is another case where a half-​star would be perfect — I think it’s a perfect 3 ½ star restaurant. It all comes down to what you’re comparing it to… I think the food is a big step down from Philly landmarks like Melograno and Modo Mio — but the prices are actually more expensive at Gemeilli, which makes it a tough spot to recommend more enthusiastically. And I’ll agree with Stacy K — it is incredibly loud here — not something that I generally notice… but since it is always crowded, it is always loud.

My husband and I had dinner for the first time on Saturday evening. I had somewhat high expectations for this place, but was actually disappointed. We had mussels which were okay, not great and I had the gemelli, again, which was somewhat of a letdown and I think overpriced. My husband just wanted soup for his entrée and I ordered the gemelli. We waited at least 45 min. for these two dishes. The gemelli was overcooked. I don’t think we will be returning.

Fantastic BYOB. Be sure to try their signature pasta dish «the Gemelli» — only if you’re into veal. I hope they bring the duck back to the menu soon.

I went on Friday night with a friend. The food was fantastic! I started with the mushroom soup, which was the soup of the day. It was creamy and thick… just about perfect. My friend had the Caesar salad, which was enjoyable. We both ended up having the same thing for our entrée. I can’t remember the name but it was pasta with chicken and asparagus with a vodka sauce. It was fantastic!
The reason I’m giving them 3 stars instead of 4 is only because the acoustics are horrible. We had to talk loudly throughout dinner and repeat ourselves several times. Every surface in the restaurant is hard and sound just bounces like crazy. If you are a naturally loud talker or really don’t want to hear your dinner companion, than this place is PERFECT. For all others, know you’ll enjoy the food but maybe not the conversation.

We went on a Friday night and sat at the 4 seat kitchen/​chefs bar. Pretty neat to see the Chef (and I assume owner) doing his thing. He is extremely well prepared for battle and very calm even when the place filled up.
Our server (woman in her early 40’s) was exceptional and always on top of things… except that the entrée we received was not what we ordered — we ordered the PAPPARDELLE (Braised Lamb Shank, Cerignola Olives, Spinach), but we received the GEMELLI (Venison Bolognese, Dried Cherries, Venison Sausage). No matter, we didn’t even realize it at first and when we did, we decided not to say anything because it was so damn good.
We also had the Mushroom soup and Fried Calamari, which were both excellent! Looking forward to going back. This Chef clearly knows his stuff!

GEMELLI HAS MOVED TO MAIN ST., MANAYUNK
This outstanding new addition to the Main Line’s BYOB dining scene is not to be missed. Main Line foodies willl know the talented Chef/​proprietor Clark Gilbert from Restaurant Taquet (formerly in the Wayne Hotel). Be warned, don’t even think about going there on a Friday or Saturday without having booked a week or so in advance. After 3 tries, we finally got a reservation at prime time for last night (Friday) and the place was abuzz when we arrived. We were greeted warmly by Bill and seated quickly. I can only think of 2 other restaurants where there wasn’t anything on the menu I wouldn’t have ordered. Gemelli’s menu makes for number 3. I have not been able to find a good steak tartar since moving to the US so once I saw it as an appetizer, I had to have it and it was heavenly. (I know it’s not for everyone so anyone needing to hurl, please do so now and come back and finish reading my review which references fully cooked food from here on). My entrée was a healthy serving of scallops on a bed of butternut squash risotto: skillfully cooked and beautifully presented. Deirdre was a friendly and attentive server. The price point is exactly where it should be and the ambience is extremely inviting. I think I’ll be making a New Year’s resolution to eat my way through Gemelli’s menu.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

This moderately priced Italian/​French BYO in Narberth was buzzing last night. Overall a nice experience, we started with the tasty 5 cheese plate at $ 16 which went nicely with the bottle of Spanish red wine we brought. We had pasta entrees of Gemelli ($ 17) and Papardelle ($ 18). The Gemelli was prepared with a lamb bolognese with merguez sausage and topped with broccoli rabe. I wasn’t a great fan of this dish… the bolognese was very greasy, the merguez has a very assertive taste, combined with the strong flavor of broccoli rabe, this was a very intensely flavored dish but not in a way I liked. My husband’s pappardelle with rabbit and spinach had a much more delicate flavor and wasn’t greasy at all. The pasta appears to be homemade which was a nice touch. Topped off the meal with a house made banana/​chocolate bread pudding that was very tasty but a bit on the heavy side.
On the negative side, the restaurant has a NO CREDIT CARD policy. Also, the atmosphere was very noisy and the service was slow. They didn’t seem to be quite prepared to handle the very full restaurant. Our waitress seemed like she would have been more at home in a diner than a fine dining restaurant.
Overall I’m giving this 3 stars though if I had the ability I would give it 3 ½.

We went to Gemelli for our anniversary. It was really special. We live right around the corner, and apparently so does the chef!
I almost didn’t want to write a review, thinking, if we all write reviews like this we’ll never be able to get a table. But we don’t go out enough to keep them in business by ourselves, so we’ll just have to plan in advance and make reservations.
We went late-​ish on a Tuesday and expected it to be empty, but it was full, and we had to wait a few minutes even though we had a reservation. It wasn’t a big deal, but they were so nice about it that by the time we sat down we were in a great mood.
We ordered the tasting menu, and that was a huge pleasure. They just kept coming by with these fabulous plates of food, and we didn’t know what we were going to get. Sort of like combining a personal chef with a guardian angel. Everything was fantastic and there were some real surprises.
If you asked me how the service was at about course 2, I would have said just fine. Very nice. The staff was working really hard. But as the other tables finished their dinners and the restaurant emptied out, the staff got more and more relaxed, and the service took on a very warm, personal quality that was unusual. They were clearly having a good time, and it was contagious. The kitchen is open and visible, so even the cooking seemed personal.
I am being intentionally vague. I don’t want to tell you what we ate, because the chef changes the tasting menu from night to night, and for all we know it could be from moment to moment. I don’t even want to tell you specifics about the service, because we left with the feeling that we had gotten extra-​special treatment. If we did, then I don’t want you to be disappointed if you don’t get it, because just the wonderful food and nice service is enough to be happy about. If they really treat everybody this well, then I’ll let you be surprised like we were.
To sum up: this is a great place for people who love good food, and who prefer neighborhood service and prices to the more snobby alternatives downtown.

New BYOB restaurant opened this week at the old site of Margo’s. Italian in nature with some hints of France. We were a table of 4 and universally all were extremely impressed by the our appetizers and entrees. Head chef Clark Gilbert (Tacquet, Fountain) clearly able to master complex and original flavors. Staff very pleasant for the most part, not yet organized; nonetheless, the magic of the dishes forgives all. Ambiance was also quite nice. A new star!