Ellen's — Restaurant in Dallas

Great location, and when you walk into the restaurant the ambiance is gorgeous. We sat outside and they turned on the fans. Very nice. The food just wasn’t that great. I had a very staple meal, the big breakfast, eggs, bacon, hash-browns and pancakes. Pretty simple. $16. I ordered toast as an extra, a cup of coffee and a large glass of orange juice $6, plus the syrup isn’t free, and one ramekin of syrup is absorbed by 1/2 a pancake. The total jumped to $33.

That’s a lot for bacon that was supposed to be crispy, but was soggy instead (too late to return it since everything would get cold, and super thin and small, compared to any other staple place, like Waffle House), pancakes that are so thick the syrup doesn’t go far and you have to pay extra for more syrup, hash browns that were barely cooked and toast that was also very thick, about as thick as the pancake.

I keep thinking of a family of four, or even a couple, they are gonna walk out with a tab of $80-$100. That’s a lot for a very simple meal. Too much for me.

The service was not as expected. I thought it was gonna be awesome, but my coffee cup was empty most of the time. Plus it was luke warm, never hot.

Still, it’s bougie and if you like paying for bougie, eat here. It’s a...

Immediate service, guided seating for tables and self-seating at the bar. The staff were attentive and knowledgeable about their ingredients/dishes, especially the bar maid.

Upbeat music played the whole time, very good vibes.

(The bar is partially stocked but still serves common cocktails and drinks from what I could see on display)

Joe's Gritty Balls (12$): Fried balls of cheesy grits with bacon, jalapeños, and 3 dipping sauces. (Honey Mustard, Sweet and Spicy, and Buffalo Ranch). Served on a nice display of crisp salad greens. Tasted just as described, a bit spicy and very savory.

Big Ol' Breakfast (16$): Came as two plates, the first was healthy portions of scrambled eggs (perfectly scrambled non-runny), 4 strips of tasty bacon, and nicely seasoned hashbrowns. The second platewas two soft and fluffy pancakes that soak up the maple syrup after a good 20 seconds. (The maple syrup is imported Canadian Grade A Dark)

I absolutely recommend Ellen's for a well paced and portion heavy breakfast.

The pricing is higher because of large portions, quality ingredients, and the state of the economy.

The 1 star reviews sound whiney and apathetic, I would take them with a heafty pinch of salt or ignore...

Wife and I were on our way to the Arboretum this morning, and were going to go get tacos for an early lunch. We saw that Ellen's was now open, checked out the menu online, and decided to give it a try. What a great decision! We split the breakfast enchiladas, and got a side of biscuits and gravy, and almost couldn't finish them! Usually when you order any kind of enchiladas, you get 2, maybe 3. We got 4 delicious enchiladas stuffed with eggs, bacon, chorizo, topped with sauce and queso fresco. OMG, they were excellent! The side order of biscuits and gravy were a meal all on their own. The biscuits were the perfect blend of fluffy on the inside and just a bit of crunch on the outside. The sausage gravy was super tasty, didn't taste like it was from a mix like a lot of breakfast places. Wife said next time, she might just order the biscuits, gravy on the side with some jelly or something. They were so good! If we had one complaint, it was that it was a bit cold in the restaurant. But given that the weather was cooling off outside, I suspect the air was still set for the heat we have been experiencing. We will definitely be back! Can't wait to try some of the other...