LAReview
Jemma Hollywood is a big, upscale Italian-American restaurant on the ground floor of The Aster that we’d recommend for one specific reason: a convenient dinner before catching a Pantages show across the street. Any other pasta-related needs can be satisfied elsewhere in Hollywood. Jemma Hollywood is the red-sauce sibling concept of Ospi and Jame Enoteca, but the food isn’t as good as those two dependable Westside spots. An oily linguine alle vongole includes lots of empty clam shells and chewy shellfish. The radiotore in spicy pork sugo is on the soupy side and nearly devoid of heat (there is a nice fennel thing going on, though). The next time Chicago is in town and you want to treat your parents to a big night out, Jemma Hollywood can work, but just for a few cocktails, a fairly good chicken milanese, and the famous kale salad we’ve been raving about for years.