Ella's Italian Pub — Restaurant in Lyons Township

I would say 4.2 is the more accurate rating for this place. We came on a Wednesday night and it was super busy for a weeknight. Hopefully, that’s not how it usually is because the food is really good. We didn’t have any reservations but we got seated right away at this high top table. I did take off half a point because the chairs are so close to the next table. The staff had to squeeze through just to put food down, refill drinks, and clean up. Other than that, they have seating inside and outside. Free parking in that lot across the street, if you’re going for dinner. You can also park in the neighborhood. Prices were reasonable except for the arancini.

We ordered arancini alla vodka, Ella’s smash burger, and prosciutto+arugula+burrata pizza.

-arancini alla vodka 4 - Definitely some of the best arancini I’ve ever tasted. They are very flavorful and savory. The umami is prominent. The reason why I gave it a 4 is because for $12 you only get 5 small bites. I was hoping for the price, the sizes could have been bigger or they could have added in 5 more bites. -Ella’s smash burger 5 - I devoured this burger in seconds. Very tasty. You have two stacks of American Wagyu beef patties that were cooked just right. The patties combined with the caramelized onions, American cheese, pickles, and Dijon mayo made this burger super succulent and delectable. Highly recommended. -prosciutto, arugula, and burrata pizza 5 - this was a really great tasting pizza. The pizza is a lot bigger than in the picture. I like that they added big chunks of prosciutto and burrata. The crust is very crispy. It’s not over-salted. The herbs helped amplify the flavor...

Overall the food was delicious - but they need to provide more honeycomb for the honeycomb and ricotta appetizer dish. Our server was excellent. Our one complaint, which really irked us, was the manager --- it was "Wine Wednesday" so any wine strictly sold by the bottle was half price. In looking at their list, we chose the Brunella based on what Italian wine we enjoy. (Our other choice would have been the bottle of Ridge!) As we were thoroughly enjoying our meals, the manager came over to ask how everything was. We told her it was great. She proceeded to tell us that if we come back for Wine Wednesday, the wine we were drinking would not be included in the special because it's only bottles under $100 and we shouldn't have been given that one but she would make an exception for us. Ummm, ok - not our mistake! Yes, the bottle (which you can buy at Binny's for $65) is on the menu for $125. And there was only one bottle on their wine list for over $100. The waitress came over a bit later and apologized profusely and explained she has never been told that about the special so even she was surprised by the manager. It irked us that the manager felt the need to tell us we can't get that wine special on that bottle rather than realize she no longer wants to offer that one bottle and adjust the special and educate the staff going forward. Just don't think the manager handled it appropriately. It may be petty, but I won't go back because of the manager, considering the amount we were...

This place knocked my socks off with the whole experience. I came here with my parents, and we got three pizzas (Mediterranean, Ella's Special, and the mushroom/truffle) that were all excellent. We couldn't really choose between them when it came to which was the best! The pizzas had excellent flavor, the pizza crust was light and bubbly, and the portions were incredible - we were only able to eat about 30% of each pizza, so there were tons of leftovers (a MAJOR bonus in my book).

The service was excellent, with it being unobtrusive in nature (such as not walking over and interrupting discussions or anything of the sort). Our server was very polite and responsive, even offering additional chips (house made) for the appetizer we ordered (onion dip, which was also dynamite). The environment was warm and subdued (great coloring and artwork on the walls, slightly dimmed lights). We definitely plan to return again in the future, as the dining experience was...