Ellie Bird — Restaurant in Falls Church

Uh oh, now that New York Times has named Ellie Bird as one of America's 50 Best Restaurants 2023, be prepared for the masses to descend!

I'm fortunate enough that Ellie Bird is just 5 minutes from my house, and I've now experienced both brunch and dinner at this fabulous casual restaurant owned by the same team behind Rooster & Owl.

For dinner, my husband and I sat at the bar and ordered drinks and food. I had the Dragon's Kiss, which is a spirit-free drink concocted with dragonfruit, orange, and lemon. Very tasty, and a great alternative to an alcoholic cocktail. My husband ordered a couple of different cocktails that night, including White Lotus S2 and Owl'Fashioned.

Food-wise, I knew I had to order the fennel rigatoni ($26) and a side of fancy tater tots ($8). The fennel rigatoni comes with duck sausage, roasted tomatoes, and ricotta on top. Oh, it's such a great dish. I actually gobbled the whole thing in a few bites - it was that delicious. The tater tots are nicely cooked too, just the way I prefer tots. For dessert, I couldn't help but order the hummingbird cake ($13), which has pineapple and coconut sorbet. It's a must (and tough to find around the area)!

Now for brunch, I ordered their signature Ellie Bird latte ($8), which is a latte with ube syrup. Yum! My husband ordered (and recommends) the kimchi bloody mary ($13). Since we were in a group, we decided to opt for the pastry basket ($16), which has one coconut almond croissant, one pecan praline sticky bun, and two Portuguese egg tarts to share. The basket was a little smaller than I thought it'd be; thankfully, for our group of four, it was just enough. And for an entree, I ordered the pineapple bun sliders ($19). The sliders have spam, scrambled eggs, and guacamole, and they come with a side of fries. The sliders were a big hit with our group, and I would 100% recommend ordering them if you're deciding between any of the savory brunch entrees.

All in all, Ellie Bird is a must try new restaurant in the area. The open, airiness of the restaurant, paired with the bright pops of color, makes the atmosphere inviting and whimsical. Service is top-notch, food...

So good, our friend ate the salad!!! I mean, I have known this guy for 8 years now and I don't think I have ever seen him eat, let alone order something that even resembles a salad! Soo... whatever you are doing Ellie Bird to sell those salads, keep on doing it (I think it might be the candied bacon)

I had been looking forward to trying this place since there were just whispers of it coming Falls Church and let me tell you, it was worth EVERY.PENNY and I can't wait to go back!

Everything from the beautifully appointed dining room, on theme with bird cage booths...and NO! it was not kitschy at all -- to the attentive and knowledgeable servers (SHOUT OUT to their staff who took our party's allergy seriously and stopped us from ordering a dessert. It was the hummingbird cake - it has bananas - it would have been bad) -- to the gorgeously presented food, was utterly delightful!

I already mentioned the salads, seriously don't skip them - sometimes a salad is worth it! Especially that Kale Salad with those crispy chickpeas and yuzu pickles - it just hit all the right notes: fresh, tangy, salty, crunchy.... hmmmm, so good! Oh and the Fried Oyster Larb Gai, truly wonderful melding of flavors and textures. I love Larb Gai and order it whenever we get Thai food, but Ellie Bird... Alas... you have RUINED THIS DISH FOR ME! NO WHERE ELSE WILL EVER COMPARE. So -- is that a recommendation to not pass up this dish? Yes, yes it is :)

Honestly our whole meal was wonderful, but I would be remiss to not just mention that cheesecake ice cream dessert because I have never... ever... had ice cream that tasted so much like cheese cake! If you like cheese cake, do not pass on this dessert. Even if you are full and can't possible eat anymore, shift all that aside and carve out a tiny space in your stomach for this...

I never ever leave a bad review for a restaurant. But we had the worst experience at this restaurant and we didn’t eat here. I reserved a table at 7:15 putting in a note that is to celebrate 2 of my friends’ birthday. We didn’t get seated until 30 mins later, standing there the whole time, and there were no apologies. Finally after we sat down at 8 pm, all of us were very hungry, me and another friend were having low blood pressure after waiting so long. It took 5 mins for the waitress to come get our order. We ordered our food and asked if we could eat our birthday cake there, they asked for a $25 dine in cake fee(unbelievable). We asked the manager about the fee, the manager said “you are not allowed to eat outside food here”. So we asked why then the waitress asked for $25 cake fee, the manager didn’t have a good answer for it. Still no apologies and had this attitude. I stood up and was ready to leave, and finally the manager said “could I get you a round of drinks?” But that was 55 mins later after our original reservation time. And I thought if you truly want to fix the situation, a round of drinks wasn’t enough by that time. At this point we were really disappointed by the service and attitude. We left, and as soon as we stood up and started walking, the manager disappeared, no words no apologies as always. We went to a restaurant next door with same price level, delicious food and outstanding service. They not only allowed us to have our birthday cake, but also prepared the cake with candles, and gave us a free dessert, also gave both of my friends a gift and a $50 coupon for future dining. I guess thanks to the terrible experience we found a very...