The Ellis Restaurant Kits — Restaurant in Vancouver

Looking for a spot we haven’t yet visited in the neighbourhood, we decided to try Ellis a couple nights ago. That was a VERY good call.

It had been a long day, and I was pretty drained on every level. My partner Kirsten was feeling the same. So it was a nice coincidence that we happened to score Ramen as our server – a super sweet gal who wasn’t just a great server, but who brought exactly the kind of positive and friendly vibe to the table you wish every server would.

Kirsten and I are both suckers for a good burger, and we’re not shy about which is our local favourite. Most others are a poor substitute. So when I took the first bite of the Ellis Burger, I was initially a bit disappointed. It wasn’t the sloppy, flavourful mess we love at our go-to spot.

But then I had a second bite…and a third. By the time I finished, I’d changed my mind. No, it wasn’t a delicious mess, but it was exactly the kind of burger I’d make myself if I wanted a healthy, feel-good burger at home. Everything was super fresh, and unlike most burgers that make you feel like you’ve just done your body a disservice, both my mouth and belly were convinced I’d actually done them a huge favour with the Ellis burger.

I’ve realized that sometimes you want sauce dripping down your chin, and other times you’re craving a burger that’s crafted with quality, healthy ingredients, and errs on the side of gastrointestinal benevolence. So now we have 2 favourite burgers in Kits, and it’s nice having a choice.

Also, we upgraded to truffle fries, and oh my…that was another good VERY good call. The aroma and flavour made for an uncommonly delicious serving of fries, and we’ll absolutely order those again. My only complaint about the fries is the plastic condiment cups – please, please switch to the little metal cups we enjoy at so many other spots. The world is drowning in a flood of single-use plastic.

So yeah, between our servers Ramen and Matty, and even the bartender who was super friendly despite not making us a drink, the vibe at Ellis is pretty awesome – you’ll feel like Cliff sitting down at Cheers. Add some great food on top of that, and you’ve got a 5-star spot in Kits that absolutely deserves a regular place on your casual date...

(PEOPLE WITH ALLERGIES BEWARE) Personally I came here because I saw good reviews but unfortunately was very disappointed. I ordered fries as an appetizer and they were so over fried they were fully crunchy almost literally like a bag of chips. My boyfriend ordered the brisket sandwich and according to him it was not good at all The texture on the brisket was similar to dried meats?? There wasn't any moisture and since we have been to texas it didn't even taste like brisket according to him.He didn't want to eat another bite of it so we ordered him the grilled octopus which he said ended up being okay but unfortunately we found a hair in it. As for myself I have a severe ALLERGY to dairy so I asked what dishes could be made dairy free and they said they could do that with the steak. I asked for medium rare and it came out wayyyy over done (gray-no pink) and was so thin. On top of that they eliminated both sauces and didn't try to put a dairy free one on the plate. They did re confirm my dish was dairy free on serving it to me but unfortunately about 20 min after eating it I started to feel a reaction and I ended up getting very sick over it. I didn't eat anything for HOURS prior so it had to have been something at this restaurant. They messed up my first steak during the cooking process so they were nice to comp the brisket my boyfriend didn't like out of our bill, but once I felt ill I just wanted to leave and didn't try to have anything taken off as i was SO nauseous and couldn't deal (I should have asked for compensation over this). Food was very overpriced for what we received. The servers were fantastic I will say, ours was very nice and he kept checking with the kitchen for anything we needed. Unfortunately I will not be returning. Dined in a...

I was really excited to check this place out! Food looked good, fit out was on point, and of course the location (I live 2 blocks away)... unfortunately the service tanked it...HARD!!!

7:30 on a Sunday night. Mostly empty except for a 6 top in the middle of their mains and another 4 top, with a few having drinks on the patio.

Waited a bit to order drinks but no big deal, out of two of the beers listed, settled on something different ( we were ready to order at this point...) waited another 10 minutes before our server returned... (here is where it fell off the rails...) asked about the gnocchi which she thought they were out of... rather than check for alternatives/ the rest of our order she went to “check with the kitchen”...cue to 15 minutes later (after bussing empty tables, chatting with colleagues and EATING FRIES ON THE FLOOR!!!) didn’t bother to stop by?!?!?! What??? Even made solid eye contact... TWICE!!! and didn’t bother to come by to take our food order (...been sitting for 35minutes...)

Asked another server for the bill, waited 7 minutes before I just went up and paid at the bar... WHAT HAPPENED?!?! I was stoked to check this place out, was already planning to come for brunch, but not happening now... honestly really dropped the ball, a bunch of small things that really got overlooked... pretty...