Ella's Food & Drink — Restaurant in Westerly

I have been a patron of Ella’s for years. In the last few years, a bit less due to some family circumstances that have kept me out of the loop. My partner suggested Ella’s last night and I felt a little thrill. In the past I was a once-a-month regular there for four years. Always sat at the bar and the wonderful bartender (who has been gone for some time now) would remember our names, our drink preferences and serve us a bottle of Pellegrino (my usual request instead of water) without even having to ask. She made sure we understood the specials, the drink ingredients and would answer endless questions—for us and for anyone near us. Our meals were always perfect, and accommodations were made without gripe or exception. We ate well, drank well, tipped well.

When we came in tonight (without a baby, mind you, as others have written about—horrible to treat families as reported in other reviews here NOTE: there was a single patron at a high top table with an iPad and earphones—was actively watching something on it. This is allowed but not a baby), there were four seats at the bar, but they were “spoken for.” This is funny because back in the day, you could not reserve the bar. The bartender spoke to us as if she “remembered” us, but I’m not convinced she did.

The menu has changed a bit, for example instead of steak frites, there is duck frites. The cocktails were very much below my expectation for Ella’s. Bitter. Unbalanced. My partner ordered a margarita on recommendation by our waitstaff over the old fashioned (server was amazing—absolutely the highlight of the experience). Margs should have lime, orange liqueur and tequila or mezcal, sweetener, salt optional. Ella’s marg had tequila, no real discernible flavor notes, no sweetener, too much lime, no orange with the exception of a slice of dried orange for garnish. It was bleh.

Look, we are 49 and 54. We are OVER a mixer-margarita, and were promised it was “the best.” It was hardly drinkable. We are craft cocktail lovers and seek out the best bars specifically for the most artfully prepared, excellently crafted authentic cocktails. Our server asked about our enjoyment of the drink, noted our lukewarm response, also noted that they don’t use ‘mixers,’ and that this is ‘authentic’ but also said they don’t drink tequila themselves (no shade, server was wonderful). Took back the drink for a tweak at the bar. Drink still meh. Server noticed it wasn’t being enjoyed and was very eager to please with a different drink, wanting us to be happy and offered our original pick, an old fashioned. Also meh. Like very very meh. Seriously, the OF and the Margs we make at home with fresh juices and top shelf booze are head and shoulders above this—it ain’t that hard.

Other issues: the table on the patio was extremely uncomfortable to sit at. Chairs too deep, unsupportive, I need a chiro visit. If you’re gonna cheap out, don’t do it on the furniture. I’ll stay longer, drink and eat more, tip higher if I’m comfortable.

Also of interest was the top-shelf treatment of a group of seven seat directly next to us who arrived after us but were served much more rapidly and with great attention.

The veg side on my duck frites was stingy. Duck was good but not warm. Partner got a burger which he said was very good UNTIL HE GOT A HAIR IN HIS MOUTH. That will ruin your burger and your night. EW. It was...

I am extremely disappointed with my experience tonight at Ellas and the pretentious behavior shown toward my family and me. When I made the reservation for my family of 6 I mentioned we would be bringing a baby also. There was no mention from the staff on the phone that it would be an issue or that it wasnt allowed. The staff member actually stated that they could pull a high chair up to the table for us. I purposely made an early dinner reservation at 5 pm so that we would be in and out before the dinner rush. When we arrived tonight we were greeted by several waiters/waitresses stating how cute the baby was and how happy of a baby he is! He is a very well behaved 9 month old who did not shed a single tear or cry while sitting at the table in his high chair. We proceeded to order a round of cocktails, a table full of appetizers and all of our meal with nothing but smiles and laughter coming from our table, especially the 9 month baby.We were seated at the large table for 6 right at the entrance of the restaurant by the hostess stand. From our table we could hear a voice coming from the kitchen very loudly stating that the baby was screaming too loud and needed to quiet down immediately. An hour and 15 minutes into the meal while we waited for our meals after ordering a second round of cocktails our waitress approached our table. She told us that we needed to quiet down the baby because the chef stated he was being too loud. Up to this point the baby still had not shed one tear or cried once- he was only smiles and giggles. All six of us were speechless at what had just been said to us. We immediately packed up and left the establishment. All of the staff on our way out were very apologetic and polite but that does not make up for the pretentious, disappointing behavior from Chef Jeanie. We have been patrons for several years but unfortunately will never return again. There are several ways Chef could have handled the situation. To start- if you do not want children in your restaurant please inform us when making the reservation and don’t state you will provide us with a high chair. I don’t care how fancy or pretentious Chef wants her restaurant to be but food does not make up for being an egotistic human being. Chef Jeanie should be embarrassed at how she handled the situation and should have at least had the guts to come out of the kitchen and tell us herself she didn’t not want baby laughter in her restaurant. It is unfortunate and disappointing that we were not treated like valued customers but Chefs behavior tonight needs to be highlighted more than the quality of her food and the awards she has hanging on her wall. Being a decent person...

I’ve been fortunate to have experienced fine dining throughout my life, from New York to San Francisco to London to Paris. The only aspect of Ella’s that resembles “fine dining” is the pricing, which is absolutely absurd given the unremarkable fare that is served up here. The food is not bad at all, but it’s not great…and, in fact, it’s not even very good, but the prices of everything, from the drinks ($16 for a normal pour/decent glass of red wine, anyone?) to the pastas ($32 for mushroom risotto) to the entrees $58 for a 14 oz. NY Strip Steak, etc) are completely out of whack with what is being served up. The decor of the restaurant is dark, gloomy and in need of a serious update, including the gross-looking, brown ceiling foam squares. Another major, negative aspect of our overall experience was the energy and attitude projected by the maître d (bald, middle-aged man who may be the owner or GM). The man exuded arrogance from the moment we entered, and generally made us feel as though we should consider ourselves fortunate to have set foot in his restaurant (newsflash: It’s HE who should feel fortunate to have paying patrons choosing to dine in his restaurant among the many choices in the area). It really wasn’t any one thing that this man said which abraded us (although his paternalistic tone in directing me to remove my very nice hat because “hats are not permitted in the dining room” rubbed me the wrong way, not to mention that the policy is a joke in what is, once again, an ordinary restaurant). It was more just his lack of warmth and friendliness…no smiles, no pleasantries or expressions of hospitality, just an all-around vibe suggesting our presence there was a privilege that we should cherish. Everyone in our party felt the same energy, and it would singlehandedly (even putting the absurd prices and the decent-but-hardly-spectacular food) deter us from ever setting foot in Ella’s again. The 2 stars instead of 1 are because the waiter was friendly/competent and because the food across the...