Ella Ray's Cafe — Restaurant in Maryland

In honor of Juneteenth, I decided to try Ella Ray’s Cafe. I went there on June 20th, 2025. The food was good. I ordered the beef short ribs, mac & cheese, greens, & candied yams. I requested that my food be packaged individually so that the juices would not all run together. This costed $.75 for each small container. The server thought it was $.60 per container; but Ella Ray’s husband barked that it was $.75 per container.

This is only my second time patronizing this place; once at the old location across the street in the mall & now the new location in the strip mall. Ella Ray’s husband’s presence in the establishment is very disturbing! During both visits, he was in the public area of the restaurant & was very unpleasant. He does not have a warm friendly greeting. He looks as though he’s scowling at the guests & in the new location, acts like he’s the overseer of the employees.

The new atmosphere appears clean, which is a huge plus. All of the food was delicious; albeit, I did not like the yams. The yams looked & tasted like can yams. The mac & cheese did not look appetizing, but was actually very good. The collard greens were delicious! The beef short ribs were very tender & tasty & served on a bed of rice. The lemonade ice tea was yuck! I definitely won’t do that again!

Lastly, I felt that the price point was a bit much & there’s an additional charge of 4% if you use a credit card. While other businesses are also adding this charge, I just think this is crazy! Customers using credit cards are an advantage to the merchant. It reduces the risk of theft & robbery & makes it easier for customers to spend more. Why should that cost be transferred to the customer when they already have to pay interest on the card? This is a turn off! I had added a side of potato salad that I was gonna try; but it caused my bill to soar to almost $50. Without the potato salad, my bill was just shy of $40. I did not order dessert.

I would probably try it again because I rarely cook soul food anymore; but only in the rare event that I have cash. If I walk in & see Ella Ray’s husband, who gives the impression that he only cares about the money & not the overall experience, I would likely just leave. I live to support black businesses, but I want to be treated like a valued customer. I don’t get that feel here. For a meal for two, you could easily spend $100. + if you...

I wandered in on a Thursday evening and was immediately greeted by a welcoming staff member, who asked me if I wanted to dine in or takeout -I opted for takeout, and he directed me to the takeout area. This was my first time ordering from Ella Ray’s, and there were several main options to choose from-smothered baked chicken, braised turkey legs, ox tail, whiting, catfish, and of course a variety of different sides -collard greens, macaroni and cheese, southern yams, green beans -I ordered the catfish (which was made to order, and was a short four-minute wait). For my sides, I ordered the cheesy macaroni and cheese and the cabbage and collard green-combo (this was permissible and they stated that people do this often-this is a better value :)). The yams looked too delicious to pass on, so I ordered a small side. Further, I noticed an array of homemade slices of cake; they looked yummy as well, but I passed on dessert. Everyone was friendly and helpful; while checking out, the cashier asked if I’d like any condiments, and of course, I wanted some, so she added a few packets of Texas Pete and tartar sauces to my bag.

Don’t let appearances fool you—the decor may be dated, but the flavor and nostalgia of a relative’s cooking is definitely there! I will return to try the ox tail and a slice of cake :)

Food reviews: Catfish 10/10 crispy, lightly seasoned batter and hot fish (the BEST)

Yams 10/10 sweet, caramelized glaze and tender

Collard greens 10/10 seasoned , vegetarian

Macaroni and cheese 9/10 rich and creamy

Cabbage 5/10 required simple salt and pepper and a splash of vinegar

Cornbread muffin 6/10 semi-sweet on...

On today in honor of Juneteenth ✊ I decided to order breakfast for the family, from a black owned restaurant. After calling at 11:05 am to confirm breakfast will be served until 12:00 pm, and arriving at 11:18 am, I was turned away and told by two staff members, even after asking for upper management, they were no longer serving breakfast. The woman in line behind me saw how dissatisfied I was, asked if I were okay. Needless to say, I left disappointed and thought the restaurant should know how I had been turned away. Well, I got no better after speaking with Ms. Ella herself. She represented every negative action I received from her staff. She was loud, rude and over talked me several times. To which I over heard her tell someone "here take this phone I don't have time for this." After being stunned to hear the owner talk and behave in such a manner, it left me heartbroken 💔 because AA ppl in today's society should understand the need for love/peace/unity toward one another. I was left with the impression that Ella ray's restaurant only interest is in the green, not the black on the other end extending the green 🤔... when we know better, we should do better 🙏

I'm only writing this review in hopes of inspiring better customer service. And FYI; I had been here for dinner with my family prior to this experience, at which time my only issue was...