Ella by Minoli

Kitchen was fantastic, service was fantastic, the prices however are a bit above the threshold of greed for the portion size. A night here cost us more than peewees, and while this place was good, it is nowhere near peewees.

If your kitchen closes at nine, don’t say that you’re open till 11. It’s just cruel.

Went here a couple weekends ago with my partner. To start off, the ambience of the restaurant was cozy and welcoming. The staff were quite attentive and prompt with their service. With regards to food, we ordered the "feed me" feast and it came with the following dishes: Curry leaf cured snapper: Flavours were light and refreshing while the presentation was vibrant. A little light on the fish portion. 3.5/5 Crispy pumpkin: Easily the standout from the whole feast. The crunch from the breading contrasting the soft pumpkin was phenomenal. The accompanying sauce around it was also a standout and would gladly have on its own. 5/5 Spiced lamb ribs: Texture was perfectly off-the-bone. Could have used a little bit more dressing. 4/5 Black pork: The serving size was generous. Flavour-wise, it was well-balanced and spiced well. With regards to cuts, it was served with a block of pork belly and what seemed like slow-roasted pulled pork. The pork belly cut was unfortunately really tough to chew on. 3.5/5 Spiced potatoes: Serving size was also generous. Texture-wise was a bit of a miss as we were expecting the potatoes to be a bit crispy which would have been a nice combination with the chickpea salad. Unfortunately, the potatoes were on the mushier side. Flavour was okay. 3.5/5 Goat curry: Flavour-wise, this was the 2nd best tasting dish from the feast. Portion size was also generous. The meat was also falling off the bone and tender. 4.5/5 Coconut icecream: Exceptional flavour but some bites had a texture of shaved ice more than ice cream. 4/5 Spiced flan: Flavour, texture, and portion was spot on. No complaints. 5/5 It came with A LOT of food for two people but at its total price point of $240, it was still a bit overpriced when accounting for the inconsistencies in the quality of the food. Would definitely come back and try an a la carte dinner to try other dishes we missed out on.

Food was lovely, great flavours but very over priced for the quantity. Couldn't fault the service, however they weren't keen on allowing five of us to pay the bill separately via eftpos. Won't be back.