If there is one thing I love (or hate when they don't) about any restaurant or cafe it is when they take our drinks order quickly and then deliver them as soon as possible. Many times I will leave if I have to wait too long, not so at Ella cafe, Nice job, made me decide to order some food too.

Had a very average lunch here. Was most disappointed at the hesitant service, lack of knowledge of the wine list and standard of the food. Will not be going back.

Myself and a group of girlfriends had a fantastic dinner at Ella this week. If was busy for a Wednesday night, but the service was excellent and we didn't wait at all. The food was delicious. We all opted for the calamari entree, which, while it wasn't crumbed and fried, was tender and very well prepared. For mains, a couple of girls had the gurnard which was served on a bed of lentils, the pork belly which was lovely and the schnitzel which was served with a yummy potato salad. For dessert we all opted for the tart tar-tin which came with kohu icecream and was awesome. The wine list is extensive and when asked for recommendations, the waiter brought some for us to taste. Overall, very impressed and would definitely recommend.

Met a friend for drinks and antipasti at Ella Cafe. The platter we received was exquisite. The presentation could have been a little better, but the taste completely made up for it. Succulent and tender veal skewers, smoked eel, roasted tomatoes, garlic aioli with kumara bread, kumara/spinach/goat cheese tartlets, olives, and lightly fried samosas...perfectly portioned for two. I had the house pinot noir (recommended by the owner who spends a great amount of time among the diners) which was from Marlborough and absolutely divine. Ella Cafe & Lounge offers a cozy, quiet, and romantic atmosphere.

We went here for dinner and thought that Ella was ok but not good or great. The food was quite tasty, but the service was mediocre and the prices have certainly gone up compared to the review I read. It certainly wasn't a bad experience but not good enough to bring us back a second time.

Had a great dining experience at Ella Cafe last week. Food was top notch (certainly up there with the good ones along Ponsonby Road) and the service could not be faulted!
If you are looking for a dining experience in Ponsonby without the pretentiousness or the $$$, Ella Cafe is well worth checking out!

I visited Ella with three friends on a busy Thursday night. We were shown straight to a table and orur orders were taken fairly promptly. We ordered an appetiser platter to share and some calamari. 40 minutes later we were still waiting for our food so we asked how much longer it would be and were told another 5 minutes. After another 15 minutes of waiting we gave up and left. As we left we said to the maitre d' (who I think was the owner) that we felt it had been an unreasonably long wait and that we were going elsewhere. His response was not apologetic at all, he didn't say sorry in fact he quibbled with us over whether we had been waiting for 55 minutes or an hour (as if that makes a difference!). I can't comment on the food as we never got to eat it, but I can say that if you're going to make people wait for nearly an hour for appetisers then you need to stop accepting more groups of diners and deal with what's already there first.

I've been hanging out to try Ella Cafe & Lounge since seeing the hoardings on Ponsonby Road come down a while back.

Last week my partner and I met at Ella cafe for lunch - we started with the Tart of tomato appetiser and the bruschetta - both v. good but if I had to pick one it would most definately be the Tart of Tomato.

Next up - Mains. I liked the sound of the Schnitzel sandwich and was most impressed when it arrived - my partner opted for the Duck salad, and although she said it was good - she was still very envious of my choice.

Food was great and service was very attentive - although I'm not a wine drinker, from the conversations I could over hear, the staff seemed very knowledgable - great first up experience at Ella Cafe...and now for a dinner visit!