Ella's of Calabash — Restaurant in Calabash

After reading some of the reviews on this site, we were tempted not to try Ella's. I'm glad we did!

My husband and I both took pictures of our plates, because some people said their plates did not have enough food on it. Hower, this site does not allow pictures to be uploaded. So...let me tell you about my dinner.

When we sat down, we were given a basket of delicious, hot hushpuppies. I ordered a small combo of shrimp and oysters, along with a cup of clam chowder. Based on comments we read here, my husband ordered a large shrimp and oyster combo (he usually orders a small). Both came with fries and slaw.

The clam chowder came out first, and it was creamy and very tasty. I ate 3 of the hush puppies along with the chowder.

The seafood was delicious...hot, crispy, and plentiful. My small plate was large enough that I kept tab of how many shrimp and oysters were on it....47 medium shrimp and 9 medium oysters. It was more than I could eat, and I promise you I have a hearty appetite. My husband left quite a few shrimp on his plate too, and we were disappointed not to have room for dessert.

Our waitress, Kenzie, was very solicitous, coming back to check on us and refill glasses several times. There were a sufficient number of wait staff available. Service was fast and friendly.

The Ladies Room was very freshly painted (the paint was still a little damp, and "wet paint" signs alerted us to it), and it was well-stocked and clean. (The state of the restroom often determines whether I will come back.) They also had a bowl of coconut-scented sugar scrub available to use for my hands.

By the time we left, the parking lot was packed full.

I would certainly eat at this...

We had high hopes and we were so disappointed. Everywhere we went in Myrtle Beach it was "Calabash seafood!" Wondering what a gourd had to do with seafood, we googled and discovered we were just 40 minutes south of the home of Calabash seafood, so off we went. We choose Ella's because it has 4.5 stars on Yelp. I have to say, this is the first time Yelp has steered me wrong. Things started off so well, too. The hush puppies were amazing! Probably the best I've had, and the main reason this is a three star review instead of two. I ordered scallops with a side of flounder. The flounder was completely flavorless. White fish don't have a lot of flavor, but that's what the breading is for. What a letdown. The scallops were plentiful, and the first one I had was delicious. It turns out that this was because it was on top of the pile. All the others, the breading was soggy, with a pool of liquid in the bottom of the plate. Which tells me they're using wet scallops, not fresh ones. I thought the whole point of going to Calabash for Calabash seafood was that everything was super-fresh, but here we are. Personally, I'd rather get fewer fresh scallops for the same price, rather than a lot of scallops that I don't enjoy. We visited during the off-season; it's possible that things are fresher, more flavorful, and worthy of the 4-5 star Yelp reviews that brought us here. But I can't review a place on what they serve...

Ella's came out of the gates running. With their mind blowing hush puppies ( first hush puppies I have ever had), our delightful waitress and the house made onion rings. Unfortunately, that's where it ends. Scene Set We traveled from PA to Myrtle Beach. We saw Calabash advertised everywhere. Being foodies, we Googled and found the 4 and a half star, 4th generation, Ella's of Calabash. Located IN Calabash. So we hopped back in the car and drove. Back to the meal The rest of our meal was a complete disappointment. We ordered: flounder, scallops, clam strips and mozzarella sticks. The flounder and the scallops were two different batter's and my clam strips were frozen. We didn't expect the mozzarella sticks to be made fresh so that wasn't a surprise. The flounder, though Very Fresh, was tasteless. Not even salt helped. The scallops also were Very Fresh but the breading was wet and soggy. There was actually a pool of liquid on the bottom of the plate. I Did expect the clam strips to be fresh as well but they were ordinary frozen bar food clam strips. We had high hopes given the rating, the generations of experience and the local. We try Not to eat at the tourist stops when traveling. We want local food and culture. But perhaps this is the exception. Next time, Calabash on the Grand...