Ella's Wood Fired Kitchen — Restaurant in Wareham

[Edit] - I wanted to create a new review instead of editing this existing review, but wasn't able to do that. Read below if you want, however, we visited Ella's last night about two weeks after our prior review. Any issues that occurred during our prior visit have been resolved and Ella's is Ella's again. Food was outstanding, the atmosphere remains the best anywhere, and service was as good as it has been in the past. That's to say, that they are the best in the business. There is no need to read below as any issue's are resolved. This was a disappointing evening after many outstanding evenings. Ella's is without a doubt, our favorite restaurant to visit. Even after this night, it remains that way as we are hoping this was an extremely unusual evening.

We made reservations online, requesting a table in front of the ovens. It was a cool night outside and its nice to sit in front of the wood burning ovens, plus the show is great. We were offered a different table otherwise we'd need to wait 15 minutes, so we took it. This was our second time at this table, which is just a coincidence, but its unusual as the table (for 2) isn't flat. If you aren't careful, your water glasses or other things will actually slide off the table. My wife lost a knife this way and we had to move our glasses so they didn't fall on the floor too. You can chalk it up to being quirky most of the time, but....

It took our server a while to arrive, which was mostly understandable as there wasn't an open table anywhere in the restaurant, and we had to park across the street. She took our drinks orders, but didn't get them right. NBD since it was just sparkling water, but she forgot the limes and we didn't get a chance to say anything because she spent only a few seconds at the table before disappearing. She eventually came back, read us the specials quickly, then immediately left. She came back a while later and took our orders.

This is where the evening went downhill as it took over 20 minutes for our orders to arrive. There was no sign of the server and no glass for my beer either. NBD drinking beer from a bottle, but things were starting to add up at this point. Dinner finally arrived and mine was cold around the edges, and lukewarm in the middle. It tasted good, but we had no recourse as our server had long since disappeared again. Our options at this point were to wait for her to return, or just eat dinner (which we did).

She eventually came back when we were done, we ordered dessert & decaf. Dessert came out after another extended wait, but no coffee. She checked back after we'd finished dessert and asked how everything was, and I mentioned that she forgot the coffee. She mumbled a half-hearted apology and did take it off the order.

In almost any other restaurant, these things would not have been that big of a deal, but....Ella's has always been "special". Its not a stuffy place, but every single person that has been working there always made you feel special and overwhelmingly welcomed. This time was either lack of training or what, I don't know.

We will be back again based on many previous outstanding visits, but this was a significant step in the...

Update: we are in this area every Fall for 6 weeks and we eat here about once a week. There is NOTHING less than STELLAR on this menu. The Short Rib Bolengese is to DIE for. Literally as good as anything we've had in Italy. The Wood Fired 1/2 Chicken was recommended to us twice. I don't order chicken at restaurants. Like. It's chicken. But I finally did it and it's THE best chicken I've ever eaten in my LIFE! Also. Desserts. We really don't dessert often. But the Salted Caramel Gelato?!?! Holy hell. Again, better than Italy. We also got the sticky toffee pudding and almost fell off our chairs. This place is the real deal.

Damn! Why haven;t we been here before today?!?!?! Here's the thing about Ella's, we are here every Fall, for 6 weeks, we stay RIGHT up the street, but have never been here. First time we tried to go for lunch. They don't lunch. Then we tried to go on Tuesday. They don't Tuesday. So, FINALLY, we made it here when they were open and YESSSSS it was WELL worth the wait!!

We arrived right at 530 on a Thursday night, no wait. Waitress was excellent.

We ordered their chowder, which has made lots of chowder lists I've seen, and it was KILLER!!! Brothy, but full of flavor, bacon, clams and the sweet potato component makes it next level, and I am no sweet potato fan.

Next we got the Grilled Octopus app. That was the most tender octopus I've ever had. Awesome. Next time I want to try the clams though. Almost got that.

Then we got a mushroom and sausage pizza. That pizza was RIGHT up our alley. Perfect crust, great toppings, cheese and sauce. They know pizza.

Final note is on their complimentary bread and oil. I don't usually care much about that kind of thing, leaves me bored. Here, though, the bread and oil with herbs and cheese combo was OUTSTANDING! We dipped our pizza crust in it and it was GOLD!

All in all, NEW FAVORITE PLACE (now that we know when they...

We have the luxury of being able to eat out several times a week during the summer. We have a place on the cape where we spend long weekends and are always trying new places. Well, last night it was Ella’s not by choice but by chance, as our backup restaurant on the mainland is temporarily closed down due to staff shortages.

To say we were surprised at how good the food was would be an understatement. Without reservations we had to sit in the rear outdoor dining area which was actually quite nice and comfortable as the sun was setting and the air cooled. The background music was also enjoyable and was apparently an Alabama Shake station or playlist which seems to be a combination of folk, light souther rock and country.

We started with the wood grilled chicken wings which were cooked perfectly and had a wonderful avocado and jalapeño sauce. We then moved into our dinner selections. We had pork Milanese and skirt steak cooked medium rare.The pork dish was outstanding. Nearly cork tender, substantial in portion and came with a spectacular salad on the plate. The skirt steak, while a smaller portion, was cooked perfectly and one of the best I have had. We finished with a warm chocolate lava cake served in a jar and topped with a dollop of ice cream (may have been gelato) and a side of warm caramel sauce. Simply delightful.

The service was prompt and friendly and the staff moved around seemingly on a mission with a fast pace in their step and attentive to their guests.

Don’t be fooled by what appears to be a higher end pizza place. This place is the real deal serving quality dinners that would give any place around a run for their money.

Highly recommend...