Why Ella Beverly Hills Reigns Supreme

Having never attended a restaurant opening like Ella‘s before, I was a little apprehensive on not knowing the menu ahead of time. I’m one of those rare and unfortunate souls with a pretty strong dairy allergy. I break out into hives within 24-48 hours of eating even a pinch of “the good stuff”, as I tell my servers, hoping to avoid any reactions from eating out.

Once at Ella though, my dairy apprehensions quickly dissipated. While my table ordered just about everything on the menu, Ella’s servers made everything stress and worry-free.

The menu clearly marked all vegan, vegetarian and gluten free friendly options. Vegan dishes are always a safe bet for me. And if I wanted to try something with fish or meat? The servers stepped in to help. Everyone was well versed on the ingredients and more than happy to assist regarding any substitutions so I could try as many dishes at the restaurant as possible.

I found all the food on Executive Chef Brian Min’s Mediterranean, Asian and Italian inspired menu to be 10 out of 10.

My favorite dish was the Crispy Glazed Duck Wings – absolutely mouthwatering! And the runners up? The Dry Aged Kampachi, Garden of Farm Broccolini and Bucatini Pomodoro.

The one dish that I couldn’t eat, but that my table was absolutely raving about was the Sourdough Focaccia. If you’re not allergy-prone as me, please definitely order it! I’ll even let you DM me on Instagram to brag about how amazing the food I can’t eat was.

Owners Zachary Patterson and Austin Melrose have put their hard-earned industry expertise into Ella’s carefully crafted cocktail list.

Not only are their drinks well thought out, but there’s something for everyone – everyone 21+, that is. My favorite? Tequila-based Pompeii, which, like the name suggests, packs the heat!

And if wine’s more your fancy, head on over to the restaurant’s gorgeous Wine Shop! Ella has the most amazing selection of biodynamic wines hand selected by UCLA Professor of Viticulture and Sommelier, Ryan Hess. Definitely order a bottle at dinner or buy one (or two) to take home later!

One of the things that Umbrella always does right in all their locations is nailing the ambiance.

Even still, Ella was able to both surprise and wow me, while still feeling like home. With great food, fun music and souvenir polaroids to take home at the end of the night – it’s not hard to see what makes this restaurant so great.

My favorite area of the restaurant was the DJ / piano set-up. As a hobby guitarist, it reminded me of a spot you might jam out at with close friends!