If only I could yell it like Marlon Brando...

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I was lucky enough to be invited to the new restaurant Ella twice last week. And not have to pay either time. I never turn down a free meal (it could have been at Chili's and I probably would have gone) but a free meal and the new hot restaurant? I'm there!

Both times Ella proved that it deserved the hype it's received. My first meal there was on a rainy Thursday night. I went with some friends from work, and the two of us that went together were struck by how low-profile the restaurant is. If you don't know where to look, you can't even find the front door. Once inside, you are treated to fantastic service. A free coat check (always appreciated in our crazy winter weather) and lovely hosts greet you at the door. We sat in the bar and waited for our friends and the cocktails were delicious. They make their own tonic at Ella, which is interesting and has a totally different taste than the bottled kind.

I sat on opposite sides of the restaurant for both visits, although I had the same waiter. Noel was kind and attentive, and very helpful with the wine list. Sometimes at very nice restaurants the wait staff can seem pretentious and snobby, but she was very relaxed and rather funny. We ate family style for both visits. The first trip our table ordered the Ella cured salmon on flatbread, grilled calamari, wood oven meatballs, giant fried rock shrimp, gnocchi, and mushroom ravioli. All was delicious. I was especially impressed by the calamari--it wasn't fried, but had the texture of fried calamari, while being lighter and airer than you usually find it. The rock shrimp was also delicious, slightly spicy, and not at all heavy. The second trip we got a plate of oysters (heavenly), wood grilled prawns (a little spicy and smoky), the meatballs again (while I rave about everything else, I think these are my favorite. They manage to be both light and full of flavor), the beets (I'm passing judgement on them, since I'm not a fan, but they were apparently delish), and the crispy skin duck breast (sooo good, although the breast itself was a little salty, but with the risotto it was perfect).

While both times there was a slight mixup in our order (the first time our gnocchi came with the prosciutto, and we had ordered it without, and the second time our hot food showed up prior to our oysters) the wait staff was quick with pulling away the incorrect items and immediatly fixing the problem. They were also very kind about it, never making us feel bad for ordering what we wanted, when we wanted it.

The restaurant itself can be a little uncomfortable. The first time I was there we sat by the long row of windows and froze the entire meal. The second time we were much warmer, but we sat right next to a curtain partition. While it was nice to have the privacy the curtain offered, I think it caused a problem for those sitting on the other side. Somebody fell off their chair and managed to hit our table and chair. I was more worried about them hurting themselves, but it was a little disconcerting to have the entire partition moving about. But it's nothing that would prevent you from going back.

My second visit was with friends from the Bay Area, and Catherine told me I could quote her as saying that Ella is just as good as any four star restaurant in San Francisco. I highly recommend it for any special occasion. Or even just for meatballs and a cocktail.

Oh, and the title? That's what I'd yell if the restaurant ever closed. "Elllaaaa!!!" Get it?