Ella's Vietnamese Kitchen — Restaurant in Colchester

We had a lovely experience at Ella’s Ca Phe House, truly a hidden gem of Colchester. The venue is fairly small though this gave a nice cosy feel, we sat in a small nook beside the door.

The staff were friendly and attentive throughout our visit, looking at the menu I was impressed by the number of different varieties of Vietnamese coffees available (17). I chose a Cold Special Pistachio Latte Coffee which was creamy and delicious. The pricing was expensive at £7.50, however this seemed worth it for an authentic treat.

Next I tried the Honey Chicken with Lemongrass and Rice, this was tasty and made a very pleasant dish for lunch that afternoon. The chicken was fragrant with the lemongrass and cooked to perfection, this was served with steamed rice, carrot and white radish pickle, cucumber, coriander and homemade soy sauce. The pricing was reasonable at £13.50 for this dish.

I also ordered a Fresh Peach Iced Tea, this was lovely and the nicest iced tea I’ve tried to date. There was a strong tea flavour to the drink and juicy peach bits mixed in. It was very refreshing and priced okay at £5.50.

I really enjoyed my visit here and wouldn’t hesitate to return to try more...

My favorite and best coffee shop + restaurant in Colchester! I have been to many places, trying different types of coffee in various countries and places. (And I recorded my reviews on Google as well) Very glad to have the authentic Vietnamese coffee and food here. Have been here twice, first time I had the avocado coffee, and this time tried the Vietnamese traditional iced coffee. They were both great, and if you like medium to heavy roasted coffee, traditional Vietnamese coffee might be your best choice! If you’d like something creative and also special, try the Avocado coffee! Might try another white iced latte and Dalgona coffee next time! I could feel the staffs working very hard to maintain the atmosphere, cleanliness, and food quality here, and that really made this place a gem comparing to many other cafes. I was hesitated to give my reviews at the first time because I’m afraid there would be too many people here😆 They also have cards that you can exchange one coffee after 10 drinks! The decorations are so beautiful and elegant, I wish I would have discovered...

Been here a couple of times now and fully recommend it. The atmosphere is relaxed and the decor is full of little details that make the place a really nice little venue to have lunch at. The food is really, really good and the amount of staff from either Vietnam or nearby in the world is always a good sign when looking for authenticity though in fairness I've never been to VN (yet) so I'm not the best judge of that. Haven't had to book yet though as the venue is pretty compact I'd give advance warning before arriving with a large party. Service has been friendly, efficient and attentive without being overbearing. The food is not universally spicy which I initially expected (there are hot dishes, just not many) but it is full of flavour, well portioned for a lunch and good enough that I keep coming back. Do try the coffee too - what I've had has been very good.

Big thumbs up 👍👍

Edit: I keep coming back....