Does this fashionable Italian eatery in Bryanston lives up to its buzz? Shanthini Naidoo finds outA new eating spot can taunt the curious. It will show up in a trendoid news feed, a review will be posted on a popular restaurant review page, and the worst - photos of awesome food posted by happy diners will make you salivate until you get there.Gemelli was taunting and teasing all through the festive season. Now just three months old, the Bryanston restaurant is packed to the gills with laughing, eating, drinking people. Booked for weekends ahead, you can beg a table and they may let you wait at the long, marble bar. You hope someone will leave early. But nobody wants to leave.story_article_left1A stocky man with a bellowing laugh dances at a table of tipsy ladies celebrating a birthday, encouraging the debauchery. He is the owner, Alessandro Mosupi Khojane, son of a diplomat from Lesotho, who was born in Italy and lived there until his teens. He trained at Durban's Mama Luciana's, now a franchise but originally a tiny gem under a bookshop in Glenwood; then at Joburg's Cafe del Sol in Olivedale.Khojane's careful selection of wines starts off with bubbles. Miss Molly by the glass is so pleasant, but there is also prosecco and all the popular champagnes drunk by those who want to be seen.We were low on blood sugar, high on bubbles by dinner time. I glazed over starters, a twist on popular salads (think: Caprese with tomato done three ways, including a jelly); a beetroot, walnut and goat's cheese tart; venison carpaccio; and, ill-fitted to the menu, Asian prawn tails and calamari from the Falklands.Soup with truffle oil nearly had me heading for the Falklands. Can chefs stop adding truffle oil to everything from French fries to mashed potatoes? We shared a mushroom risotto, pricey at R145 despite four varieties of mushroom, loads of pecorino, more truffle oil (bleh) and a mushroom dust. The risotto was as it should be. Deeply earthy, rich, warming and delicious.A honeymoon linguine, seafood in vodka cream and light tomato sauce, was flavourful with fresh clams and mussels in their shells, so attractive (R170). But it was a West Coast sole that made me sing (R170). Buried under baby spinach leaves, it was buttery, lemon oily, cooked just right. Topped with artichoke and mushroom sauce, a candied nut added unnecessary texture and a lux side of baby potatoes roasted in duck fat added unnecessary calories.There are all the classic pastas and fillet, fish and chicken with interesting trimmings, like lovely polenta fritti. But as much as we stuffy Joburgers like cheffy nuances that are soils, dusts, jus and froths, they must taste of something.In the Chocolate³ dessert the soil was possibly crushed wafer or cereal that looked pretty on the slate plate, but the creamy vanilla gelato, frozen mousse and caramel truffle with citrus jelly would have been fine without it. Next time, the frangipane almond tart with spiced prosecco cream, or tiramisu trifle with espresso custard. Because there will be a next time, even if the pasta is not homemade. Like. Share.story_article_left2THE LOWDOWNPrice: Around R800 for two people, sharing a starter and two mains.Vibe: Raucous. Billed as familia prima (family first) fine dining. There were a few kids, one in Spider-Man pyjamas. But it is a social spot, trendy for after-work dinner and drinks, and birthdays. Don't bring your baby.What to wear: Tight and sparkly seems to be the trend for ladies.If it had a soundtrack: Club beats.People who will like it: Trendoids, black diamonds, Italians.People who will not like it: Little old ladies looking for a quiet night out.Hot tips1. Book early, unless you don't mind waiting at the bar.2. Share dishes, and the bill. Mains are steep, upward of R150.SCORECARD (out of 5)Food: 4Ambience: 4Service: 4Value for Money: 3Total: 15/20VISIT13 Posthouse Link Centre, Bryanston. Call 010-591-4333 or email bookings@gemellirestaurant.co.za..