Ellie's Bistro — Restaurant in Newark

I was in town for business for the day and needed to grab dinner before heading out to my hotel. I saw the good reviews for this place and came here for dinner at 7 PM. I walked in, was seated with some difficulty as it took a moment to get the attention of the waitress/bartender (foreshadowing what was to come), and placed my order for French onion soup and a pizza. I was one of two patrons at the restaurant; another couple of people were at the bar. The place was not remotely close to busy. The soup came out quickly; it was mediocre and overly salty, but serviceable. Then I waited for nearly an hour. I found this odd, as at this point I was literally the only restaurant patron and a pizza can't possibly take that long, so a little past 8 PM I asked where my pizza was.

Turns out, my order was straight up forgotten, and by that point the kitchen had closed. The waitress/bartender comped my soup, which was the least she could have done, but, instead of apologising, she spent time trying to convince me that this wasn't her fault, that it was the kitchen's fault, that I must have seen how she was so busy at the bar (she wasn't), and that she personally knew I had ordered a pizza -- as if the main concern here for her was not that a restaurant patron had been entirely abandoned, but that she, specifically, not be blamed. Then, to add insult to injury, as I left, she told me on my way out that "you're young, you'll be okay" -- as if my frustration over her/her restaurant's mistake of literally forgetting my order was some unfortunate event over which she had no control, deserving of pity but not an apology.

I've eaten at a lot of restaurants, some good, some bad, but I must say that it's a first for me to be completely forgotten when I am the sole patron at a restaurant.

Since I went to this restaurant to eat pizza for dinner and did not end up eating any pizza for dinner despite my best efforts, I can't recommend this place or its rude, patronising,...

Ellie's bistro is a great option for lunch. They have lunch specials for $10-$11-$12 (pizza/panini/sandwich) and a good amount of appetizers and entrees.

I came here because I was craving some French Onion Soup, and found them through a Google Maps search. The soup came in a cute bowl, wrapped in cheese; I think they bake it in the brick oven that they use for the pizza.

Lunch deal for $10 was pizza (plain, margherita, pepperoni) with a bowl of salad. Well dressed, enjoyable salad, and thin crust well-made pizza.

We also got some pizza dough/bread as service, very enjoyable while warm.

We finished with a tiramisu that was super delicious. The dessert is off the menu, so they might change every day. Tiramisu was $7 and took a while to serve, but it might be because the kitchen was busy and they add some chocolate drizzle to the plate before serving.

Ambiance was nice, the brick oven keeps the place warm in the colder months, and it was quite busy but not too packed for lunch. It looks like a very popular lunch spot among office workers.

Overall, it's great value, at least for lunch. They are open until late for dinner and have a similar menu and prices, except for the lunch specials.

Accessibility note: there didn't seem to be a wheelchair accesible entrance; I brought my scooter and had to carry it in. Not a lot of stairs, but I think it would be difficult for someone in...

I recently dined at Ellie’s Bistro in Newark, NJ, and had a mixed experience. The food was genuinely delicious. I ordered the Caesar salad and onion soup, both of which were flavorful and well-prepared. My friend had the eggplant Parmesan, which they also enjoyed thoroughly. The quality of the food is definitely a highlight and deserves praise. However, the billing process was an absolute nightmare. Our waitress overcharged us, and when we pointed out the issue, she casually mentioned that she had added her tip to the bill. This was unacceptable and felt deceptive. If a tip is automatically included, it should be clearly communicated, especially since the receipt had a blank tip line, which misled us into thinking we needed to add one. To make matters worse, we were handed eight receipts for a single visit, which was confusing and unnecessary. While the food was great, the billing fiasco left a sour taste. I’d recommend Ellie’s for the cuisine but urge management to address their billing practices and ensure transparency with customers. For now, I’d rate it 3/5 stars—great food, but the service and payment process need serious...