ella dining room and bar

torn.... excellent, fantastic food, but a $12 gin and tonic?

ella's is a place of tensions. tonight i had the braised lamb shank, with spaetzle and fiddleheads. it was a savory, tender, delicious dish served in an overly sized bowl--making the portion size look small. at $28, i want to feel like i'm getting a deal! turns out the deal was all in the flavor, and that was a good value.

a gentleman next to me ordered a gin and tonic and i watched the barkeep make it with strange ingredients. 209 gin? what's that? was that powder of some kind you put in it? what is that crazy mix you just added? it was then i learned they made their tonic from scratch. and with the 209 gin, it was delightful. but, charging $12?! tensions!

lastly, time to update the menu on the web. i really had my heart set on ordering the marrow bones tonight, and it turns out they hadn't served that in months. too hip to update the website? perhaps!

bad service. tried to get a drink in the bar and couldn't make it happen. waiter came by folks on both sides of us and didn't ask us if we wanted anything. i had finally gone to the bar to get a drink for my wife, another women was also waiting to get a drink as she couldn't get one either, finally another waiter said he could help. as i turned to return to my seat i notice our waiter at the couple next to my wife. as he leaves he looks at her and keeps moving. i pick up my pace to catch him and touch him on the shoulder to get his attention. when he turns i ask if we can get a drink and he says yes, but don't grab me. i didn't grab him and now he has attitude. that's it!! on our way out we explain what happened to the manager and he apologizes. we pick up our car from their valet service and go over to the grange for a great dinner!

i love that i can continue to discover places that offer gluten free dining options. there is yet another upscale place in downtown sacramento that reviewed their menu for me and was told that their menu is about 85% gluten free: ella dining room and bar.

a must go for couples.we (my hunny and i), made reservations for dinner saturday night. we arrived on time and was seated immediately. i especially appreciated the wait staff ratio per table. the ambiance was remarkable. the food was extremely good. we have chosen this place for our upcoming engagement celebration, due to our first experience on date night october 1, 2016.

one of the most extraordinary meals i've ever had. absolutely everything was pitch-perfect. the watermelon gazpacho hit an exquisite balance between sweet and savory; the cocktail - a cucumber basil gin deal - was unbelievable, fresh and beautiful and precise down to the ice cubes. trout was smoky and rich, balanced out by local cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas, and dessert, candied almonds and panna cotta was sweet without overpowering. it was expensive, but worth it. i don't often say this, but i have zero complaints.

ella dining room & bar is the kind of place that i would’ve planned to go to, had i been aware of its existence. first of all, the restaurant is adorned with shutters on the walls, imported from somewhere like hungary. why? who knows, but it looked cool as heck...hen there was the fried chicken, which was guaranteed to be moist because it was sous vide before being fried.

...being one of the nicest restaurants in town, was at the top of our list. my sister is a good influence on me and joe because she tends to order more vegetables then we usually would such as this mixed tomato salad. roasted cheese cheese! this is what i’m talking about! this was a cedar plank roasted toma cheese, it was served with bread and a red onion marmalade. this was my favorite of all the appetizers. steak tartare we also had the steak tartare with garlic popovers. the popovers were amazing! we wish there was more steak tartare though to go with the popovers. we were practically eating the popovers alone because they were so delicious.  

service/food. we ordered and received prompt service.
the rack of lamb was extremely fatty and we brought this to the attention of our server who stated "that is how the chef prepares it". i would not order this meal again and i think the server needed to speak to the chef. we not return to your
restaurant. for the price you do not get the quality of food.

expensive but good. if you want to spend a bit of money for dinner or lunch, i'd recommend ella. food is good- made with high quality ingredients and pretty interesting meals. staff is professional but not too pretentious. on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for.

one of the best meals i've had in a long time. i took my girlfriend here hot her birthday and we both loved everything. bone marrow sounds odd but was delicious. we will be coming back again!

"awesome" ella's food is a great constantly changing experience of seasonal flavors. happy hour is not to be missed. mixology is the order of the day for the bar.

the twitterati lunch crew were out for lunch at ella one weekday because a few of us were wanting to have the weekday lunch special. the lunch specials are $15 and usually include an entree and a salad or an entree and a beverage. the month of april has been lamb month and so the special was a lamb sandwich and a virgin mint julep. i'm a big lamb fan, and so i had to get one sometime during the month.

a real treat. three months ago while dining in sacramento, the person next to me suggested i also try ella dining room and bar. i am glad i did.

i wish i could do justice to the restaurant by relaying a detailed review, but my memory has lost too many details. however, here's what i do remember.

first, the ambiance was very attractive, unique, and inviting. stepping into the dining room, you know there is something special about this place.

i sat at the bar counter versus a table since i didn't want to take up 4 seats for a waiting public. the bartender listened to my preferences and his recommendations for both entree and dessert were spot on. the food was fresh and delicious. the service was excellent. the place was not nearly as noisy as most restaurants and would make a great business lunch venue.

one note. before visiting, i read a review from a local that you needed to dress to impress with business attire. he must have been there during a local attorney's convention because the website indicates casual attire and that's what i experienced. you'll be as comfortable and appropriately dressed in jeans as you would in an daniel fashions suit.

do yourself a favor and visit ella dining room.

two words: fried olives!!

the food was wonderful, and they have affligem on tap... nuff said.