New Yorkers have been waiting for the Los Angeles restaurant Gjelina to open on Bond Street for seven years. So waiting in line for a breakfast or lunch table—dinner is not served, at least not yet—isn’t so much to ask. Especially since the waiting area is enclosed in a cedar-lined holding shed that smells like a Japanese spa, and the people-watching is very, very good.
Once inside, a first-time diner might feel like a five-year-old who has waited patiently for a Disney ride for an hour and a half: Will it be as good as the Frozen in my mind?
