Food was exactly what a catered meal should be: bland, well cooked, and presented well. That said, I'd like to never eat here again cause it was bland, dry (the chicken), and though pretty, my bread was stale. The server was very nice and appropriately attentive. The atmosphere is great, but as the only diner at noon on a Friday, I should've known better than to order anything. read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Smoked chicken sandwich, jalapeño beans, and Cole slaw - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

Positives: * The waitress was nice and helpful. * the toasted sinner rolls were tasty, crispy and hot. Negatives: * The BBQ food was poor quality and tasted like it was made a prior day. The brisket was dry, bland and heavily sauced as if to hide the negatives. The pulled pork is similarly dry and flavorless and has a sprinkled condiment added for you probably to hide its lack of freshness. There was no smokiness to the "smoked pork" suggesting it wasn't prepared in a smoker recently. * only one other party there towards the end of our dinner. read more

Good food, great service. The French toast was perfectly cooked and slightly sweet without the syrup.

We were excited to try Ella's. Sadly, it was very disappointing. Restaurant was empty when we arrived. We were the only table there for the first 40 minutes. By the time we left, there were two more tables of diners. Their menu had salads but somehow they are out of lettuce. No salad. We ended up ordering 2-'meat BBQ combo. The ribs aster like they were broiled not bbq and barely had any flavor. I noticed the kitchen door was open. When I looked inside, it looks like a prep kitchen and didn't look like anyone cooks in there. As we continue eating, the BBQ didn't have any Bbq or smoke flavor. The sides were decent but barely warm. Made us wonder if all the food were prepared elsewhere and they just warm up the food and serve them. Overall, the food does not taste fresh nor does it taste like bbq. The service was acceptable but not great. I won't be visit again I wonder how much longer this place will survive. I'm definitely not coming back and wouldn't anyone coming here. read more

If you've ever wondered what it's like to chew on the hopes and dreams of a dehydrated cowboy boot, look no further than the ribs at this fine establishment. Somewhere between "slow-cooked" and "forgotten in a desert," these ribs could be used to resole hiking boots or patch a tire. As for the brisket? Bold choice going for the "aged jerky" texture. I haven't had meat this dry since that time I left a Slim Jim on the dashboard in July. Flavor-wise, it reminded me of sadness and bark mulch. On the bright side, the napkins were soft and absorbent, unlike the meat. 2 stars: one for the napkins, and one for the emotional growth I experienced chewing through regret. The service was pleasant. Waiter was very nice. I wish he would have warned me tho. He knew the monstrosity that was about to take place. As for ambiance, it was just Jen in the restaurant. I suppose the empty dinning hall should have given me a clue. read more

Came in to try Ella's cafe for breakfast since seeing this restaurant driving up and down Ralston. There's parking on the street as well as the neighboring parking in front of the bank. The interior is clean with plenty of sunlight through the windows. It was nice to sit by the window to view the corner street as pictured. The service was quick and friendly. You'll get a warm greeting upon entering the restaurant. I tried the turkey bacon and spinach Benedict. I was a little disappointed with the cook of the turkey bacon because it's nice to have a bit of a char and crunch. Hashbrowns also didn't have the crunch I was looking to experience. The poached egg was just right but the English muffin toast didn't taste toasted because it had a chew and gummy texture when trying to cut through it with a knife and while chewing. So you may want to specify how you would like your food cooked if you choose to dine here. I enjoyed sipping some hot tea and appreciated the refills. read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Turkey bacon Benedict - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

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That was probably the worst restaurant experience we've had in a long time! We made a reservation in advance and planned to bring the entire family for my husband's birthday brunch (11 adults; 4 kids). The menu looked amazing and we were excited to try it. When we arrived, it smelled of gas. I was worried but the server just opened a window. I should have been more concerned when we were THE ONLY people in the restaurant. Literally, not a single other customer showed up in the entire time we were there from 10:30am - 1:00pm on a Sat! Aside from the fact that the service was awful and it took 1.5 hrs to get "most" of our food served (4 people were still waiting an additional 30 min before their food arrived). The food was NOTHING like what was described on the menu! For example, the turkey bacon benedict didn't have any bacon at all - it was just a slice of turkeyIt was inedible! I went to speak with the server and she said she was so sorry. There was only 1 person working in the kitchen (and he clearly had no idea how to cook!) and the only other server in the restaurant just left in the middle of his shift. I felt bad for her but the whole experience was SUCH a disappointment! Definitely won't be going back! (Oh, and to top it off, the ceiling was leaking some odd fluid!!) read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Ceiling leak - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

No! Service was sub par, food not good, price is ridiculous. One of our party ordered the chicken pasta without chicken and mushrooms - still charged the price for the chicken and came out with extra mushrooms ($26 - total rip off). Had soup and asked for bread and Parmesan - she said the don't have that?????? I did not believe her so I asked the other server - yep we have Parmesan. Pasta dish came with bread - hey excuse me here is some bread right here - "those are rolls, we will have to charge extra for those. Craaaaappy place! read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Soup - she said they don't have Parmesan, don't believe her - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

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Addendum: BBQ is in the name, so one would think they make it there. They do not. It is trucked over from another business. Not idea. Can make it dry. Note: it always seems somewhat empty. That can be a good thing if you want a place less noisy. Service is erratic. You may need to wave. I am sure there might a good reason for me to go back to Ella's. But I can't imagine what that reason might be. read more

Order: * Cali - Bacon Benedict * BBQ Brisket Sandwich * Side of Mac n' Cheese Pros: * Our server was friendly and I think was trying hard. * The ciabatta was soft on the outside and so perfectly toasted on the inside that I got a crunch with each bite of brisket. * The brisket was just about perfect, perfectly tender, moist and without huge chunks of fat (although I could have used a bit more sauce). * The egg in the benedict was nice and runny (I'm always worried about the eggs being overcooked). Cons: * In a barely half-full restaurant, food took 30 mins from order to table and pretty sure I wasn't the only one. * I like Kraft style boxed mac n' cheese because that's what I grew up on, but I don't really want to pay for that at a restaurant. I can't say for sure that's what this was, but it had a strong resemblance. * There was something watery in the benedict, maybe the poached eggs were not drained or maybe the tomato was unusually watery? I couldn't quite tell where it was coming from, but it was unusual compared to all the benedicts I've had. * The potatoes were undercooked. They needed to be boiled longer and then fried longer to get a crispy exterior. A taste test would easily resolve this. Comments: * If this was a fast-casual BBQ joint with easy ingress/egress, I would definitely be back more often for their BBQ sandwiches. As a sit-down brunch spot, it falls a bit behind. read more

I am a bit taken back by the negative reviews I have read about this small business and after my meal this evening I really have to wonder if the reviews are legit. I'm from Texas and they lean into Texas BBQ - and nailed it. The sauces were authentic and delicious and the sides reminded me of my southern family reunions. If you are looking for CA cuisine, this is not the place. If you are craving fried okra that is on point , you will love Ella's. We ordered take out and found the experience superlative. We can't wait to go for brunch! read more

Fun little restaurant we wandered by. Really nice looking on the outside and we were pleasantly greeted by Theadore, who helped us out and made some good drinks. The mac and cheese is to die for! read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

I went here with my family today and have decided to NEVER come back. We all had something wrong with our meals and three had to be sent back. Two meals came with spoiled sour cream, one came with BBQ sauce instead of enchilada sauce, two had the wrong eggs, one had a hair in it, one claimed to be "homemade corned beef hash" but very obviously came out of a can, and the pancakes were so over cooked as to be both crunchy on the outside and chewy on the outside. They comped us 3 out of 5 meals, but we still ended up paying $50 for our meals. Very disappointing. read more

Extremely slow service and sub-par food. The server was trying, but I get the impression she wasn't getting much help from the kitchen. Great location, but that's all I can offer. read more

We waited with excitement 30min early for this restaurant to open its doors, Our anticipated visit to Ella's unfolded into a regrettable experience that left much to be desired. The restaurant's aesthetic charm and beauty was overshadowed by a series of unfortunate incidents. Upon being seated at a table still bearing remnants from the prior night, we felt a wave of discomfort. Despite my attempt to clean the table with a Lysol wipe, the initial impression was far from ideal. While in the beginning the waiter's friendliness was a positive note, we thought we stay and give this place a chance I thought however the culinary journey took a downturn with the arrival of our breakfast. A simple order for scrambled eggs with cheese turned into a culinary misadventure when a hard, inedible thick hard slice of cheese on top of the eggs, I requested scrambled eggs with cheese, meaning cheese inside the eggs not a thick of sliced hard not edible cheese on the side ridiculous. The potatoes, were disappointingly raw, making them impossible to enjoy. Our attempts to communicate these issues to the server were met with a lack of acknowledgment, we were the only customers in the restaurant so why lack of service? I requested sour toasted toasts no butter, to eat with my eggs, I thought this would rectify the situation, but it took a long time for the bread, server brought one slice of white bread drench in so much butter I had to squeeze the butter off, also not toasted, I was only able to eat half of the one slice. Meanwhile, my husband, having ordered corned beef hash, found himself faced with an entirely different and unpalatable meat, he said it did not taste ok and there was a funny texture, the appearance was different from what corn beef looks like and taste like so he stopped eating it because it started to make feel stomach aches. The climax of our dissatisfaction came with the presentation of the bill - a staggering $750 for a breakfast that fell far short of expectations. A subsequent check of the receipt revealed the error, leading to a corrective request from my husband. The server was so preoccupied that if it was not for my husband stopping him before he charged us $750 for a $50 breakfast. The server's preoccupied by a young lady that also works there, I did not see her working just consuming the server and his time, evident during our visit, further added to the overall disappointment. As we were left waiting for the corrected bill, Compounding our woes, my husband experienced stomach pain during the meal, after the meal into the night, leading us to believe that the food quality had been compromised, leading my husband to have a long difficult day and night. In an attempt to convey our discontent, my husband left a note on the receipt detailing the litany of issues we had encountered. This experience not only left us out $50 but also marred what should have been an enjoyable outing. We sincerely hope that Ella's takes this feedback constructively and makes the necessary improvements to prevent others from enduring a similarly disheartening experience. It really hard to write a negative review but the owner needs to step up and address these issues, this is a new restaurant, if you can not make a basic scrambled eggs/cheese you have a big problem. read more

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Great service, great food. Came here for lunch and was not disappointed. Great place for breakfast lunch and/or dinner read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

Sadly, it just wasn't a good dinner. The food was just sad and off. The ribeye steak (most expensive item on the menu) didn't look like a ribeye, was maybe a quarter of an inch thick, and grey in color without any sear. The crispy & spicy chicken sandwich was crispy. Unfortunately, the breading was extremely salty. The 'spicy' was straight black pepper that just didn't do anything for me. Everything felt way overpriced for subpar dishes read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Ribeye w/side of baked beans & hot potato salad - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

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I can only give this place three stars as the prices were ridiculous for what you got. We ordered the barbecue combo and one would think that it would come with more than just ribs, but it did not. It was $27.99 for three small little slabs of ribs and two small sides. There was no cornbread in sight. We did get one small roll. Hardly worth the price. Don't think I will be returning. The taste wasn't terrible, but I definitely have had better. read more

Good food portions and great service by friendly staff. Karaoke on Friday nights for a little extra fun

Great food, ambiance and service. Enjoyed our omelettes and appreciated the huge variety on the menu - everyone in our group was happy.

Got take-out for 7 people for dinner. The restaurant was decorated nicely and the host was very helpful. Side note: The breakfast food is served all day. read more

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This place doesn't even deserve a zero rating. The food was disgusting and clearly not fresh. Even after we told the owner about the poor quality, we were still given the full bill to pay. The entire experience was a total waste of time and money read more

Came here at 4:30p on a Friday. I started with a house Bloody Mary, which is my first measure of a brunch place. To my delight, it was smoky, complex and somewhat light, which I love. No bloated feeling after just one drink. Super yum! Hubs got the bbq sampler and I got the chicken fried steak benedict. All yum! Full brunch for 2, plus 2 rounds of Bloody Marys, for less than $100. Staff were great. The place is cute. We'll be back! read more

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I've been flipping mental coins about this place. Yelp reviews are meh and locals who I asked suggested other places. But on this rainy Saturday I decided to give it a try. The first warning sign: I asked to substitute beans for fries or slaw on the brisket sandwich. I was told that wasn't usually allowed but the waitress said she'd ask the kitchen. "The kitchen" thankfully agreed. 50 cents of beans in a bland sauce came in a small ramekin. The sandwich was delivered. I looked under one half of the thick ciabatta and the bottom bread was only half covered by a little dollop of brisket. The other half of the sandwich was only slight more hearty. I'm not a big one to send things back but for the price this wasn't acceptable. The waitress, twice challenged gave me a worried look. She agreed to challenge "the kitchen" once again. After a relatively long wait, she returned with the sandwich. I guess the negotiations took some time. The sandwich now had a normal amount of meat. It tastes okay. There was a light amount of smoke and a crunchy bark. I've had good BBQ in Texas, Kansas City, and North Carolina. This was a B-/C+ compared to others I've had. All the while I was the only customer in the place. Folks aren't lining up to eat here, at least today. Kudos to the waitress for pleading my case. I guess I have to thank "the kitchen" for bending the rules. I'm not optimistic that this place will last if there are no customers and so-so reviews. At least they've mastered portion control. read more

For starters, we were the only customers at 10:30am. This place has not yet been discovered. We will add this to our list of nearby breakfast place. Staff was very attentive. Presentation of food and portion was perfect. Very spacious for large groups. Our family thoroughly enjoyed our meal. read more

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Went for lunch on a weekday. They had both the breakfast menu and the barbecue available. The restaurant is a corner lot so there are plenty of window tables. We each had a barbecue sandwich and soda. The barbecue brisket is solid. The service was fast and helpful. We got our food very quickly once we ordered. The downside is the sodas we ordered were a bit flat. And the sides (fries or coleslaw) were so so. We also got charged separately for the sides even though it was supposed to be included in our meal. So overall it ended up being a very expensive lunch for what we got. read more

Nice ambience here, clean and spacious but don't come here for the eggs Benedict. Anywhere I go for breakfast I try the eggs Benedict because it's something I don't know how to do at home and I'm always searching for a place that makes it great. Here was disappointing - when I broke into the egg my Benedict suddenly was very wet/soggy - it's like the white portion of the egg was very underdone - I even had to pull out the slimy white umbilical cord part of the undercooked egg out of the Benedict. :/ read more

This is a new place in Belmont, just opened a few weeks ago. The service in this place is on point. The place is pretty big and offer out side seating for two at several tables. The menu looks good so I def would like to come back and try more things. However the meal today for breakfast was okay. I got chicken and waffles and it was a little bland. The chicken just tasted like battered chicken usually there is a little flavor heck even salt and pepper in the mix would be good. The chicken was cooked perfectly I'll say that. Just nothing special about the meal. Just needed a little more flavor. I'm willing to try it again, it is new so some places need a little bit to pick up and make a name for themselves. read more

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This was the greatest experience for a quick bite to eat. Great customer service and the food was so amazing I had to eat the entire dish. I excited to come back and try new things on the menu. read more

Pros: nice space, hard working, friendly server handling the front of the house on his own. Cons: they couldn't get our order right! Hubby ordered veggie scramble, no cheese. I ordered the Protein Scramble. Without going into the details, the kitchen basically gave each of us parts of each other's items. Even after sending one of them back (if you can't have cheese and the dish comes covered with cheese...) they still got the dish wrong. Mine was supposed to come with fruit - nope. An inexperienced kitchen crew is all I can attribute this experience to. Maybe I'd try one more time? But it's not cheap as others have noted. I hope the mgmt is paying attention and works with their staff or the place won't succeed. read more

Came here with my brothers. The inside was nice and quiet walking in. They got the brisket Mac and thought it was completely absurd. There was canned beans under the Mac and the Mac tasted like Krafts to them. I felt bad because for the price they had to pay the food was not worth it to them. The Waffle I got was overpriced at $18 and it tasted very plain with a dash of cinnamon on top. The service was really good though. The waitress was really nice and attentive. read more

I ordered a "brisket" from eggs Benedict and it was a single sliver of tri-tip. Wasn't fresh and didn't seem seasoned. The mechelada are no good. Service sucks. Just get your orde, bring your food, bring the check, and that's it. read more

Omg whoever came up with the idea to create brisket mole Chilaquiles you are an amazing creative chef!!! Not only was the meat tender (fall apart with a fork), but it was so juicy. The mole was the right amount of smokiness and sweetness that I used to experience when enjoying my Mom's homemade mole. I will definitely be back! read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Mole chilaquiles - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

Tried out Ella's with the family this morning. We were pleasantly surprised. They have a lot of breakfast options. We ordered a kids breakfast for our son and he ate like a champ. His meal came with pancakes. We are picky about pancakes and theirs were fluffy moist and tasty. My husband and I ordered the eggs, bacon and hash browns while his came with French toast. The French toast was very good. It had a nice cinnamon flavor. Coffee was good. The only disappointment is they don't offer real cream for the coffee. They have coffee creamer (aka milk derivative). That is just a huge no for me. We'll definitely go again but I will bring my own cream. read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - Pancakes, eggs and bacon - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

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I have rarely been this disappointed in a restaurant. I have never been treated so rudely by a waitress in any restaurant. When we arrived at Ella's we were the only 2 guests there, and no one else arrived in the hour we were there. The waitress took our one drink order and I asked for water. After about 10 minutes I was so thirsty I went up to the bar and got one water from her. She did bring the drink we ordered and took our order. My friend ordered a Caesar salad and I ordered the ribs and 2 sides for $23.95. We waited quite a while for the food and she never brought a second water. When the food arrived my rib dinner looked fine but the salad was in a small cup 2 inches across. It was about 3 bites at most. We asked about having a larger salad and she said we could have a Caesar salad for $19.95. It was not on the menu. We said just take back the tiny salad and we would decide. She said we would have to pay for the tiny salad. I said we never touched it and it was so small it would not be enough for dinner. The waitress continued To argue with me that we had to pay for it. In any other restaurant if we have been disappointed in a food item it was always returned and not charged. This waitress was adamant that we must pay. I asked to speak to the manager and she said there was no manager there. I was ready to walk out and she finally said ok. Her attitude and complete lack of respect for a guest was very disrespectful. I will never set foot in Ella s again. read more

Sketchy and fake "restaurant". They order their fries from Mcdonalds via doordash, put a little pepper on them to "disguise" them and secretly deliver it through the back. Took an hour and a half to get a meal the size of my hand. The brisket sandwich tasted like old, bland, and dry meat. I am so sad and angry I had to pay for that meal. It was such a joke of a place I couldn't even bring myself to complain in person, its like they knew it was a joke too and were just hoping no one noticed. Trust me, you are not fooling anyone. This place is gonna get sued and go under. read more

Their barbecue brisket was okay. Needs more flavor in my opinion. The ambience was good. The price was a bit too high for the quality of food. read more

Went to have dinner last night at Ella's. We knew it was new-ish and wanted to give it a shot. It was pretty empty at 6pm on a Monday night. The server was nice and attentive. The bartender was sitting at the bar watching the game and when I ordered one of their menu cocktails (Cantarito) he had to look up how to make it - but it was nearly perfect for me. Food was okay - I ordered the Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich and overall it was okay but it wasn't spicy and was just heavily peppered. The side salad I ordered with it came with grapes - what? And I asked for blue cheese dressing and got ranch instead. My boyfriend liked his 49ers burger but for $19 he should've been given more onion rings. Overall okay but not really impressed. We'd like to come back and try their breakfast since that seems like what their focus is. read more

Ella's Cafe And BBQ - House side salad - Barbeque Near Me - Belmont, California

Ella's has one of the best Bloody Mary's in all of the Bay Area! Brunch is a must! 10/10, would recommend. If you're in the area, stop by. If you're non local it's a MUST try!!!! read more

Great selection of BBQ and related slides. Food is very good and a good value. I have gone twice recently in 2024 and will return. The menu is extensive -- covering a lot of American / comfort food in addition to BBQ. read more