ella dining room and bar

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

ella's is aplaceof 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!

i love that i can continue to discover places that offer gluten free dining options. there is yet another upscaleplacein 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 thisplacefor our upcoming engagement celebration, due to our first experience on date night october 1, 2016.

ella dining room & bar is the kind ofplacethat 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.

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. theplacewas 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.

delicious but a little pretentious. i had wonderful food at ella. it is definitely aplaceto see and be seen if you are into the local hipster scene, but unfortunately i felt that it detracted from the food itself and made the whole experience seem somewhat superficial. that being said, everything about the food is superb...the quality and the presentation are top notch. i should add that the entree price listed here is misleading. dinners start at 15 and most are in the 25-35 range. the portions are not huge, as is common with finely prepared and presented food, and you'll want to try a couple of appetizers because you won't be able to make up your mind--the ceviche was wonderful. our party averaged $75 each and we didn't drink a lot.