Elle-j's - New Orleans

Steak knife was too crowded. So, we stumbled upon this place across the street. Great ambience and bartender Ryan was top notch. Unfortunately, beyond the excellent service the food fell very short. Incredibly overpriced for below mediocre food. Living in a city known for impeccable seafood fresh off the boat, being served frozen delicacies from the sea is beyond unacceptable. I wish them best of luck in the restaurant biz especially in a city known for its stellar cuisine. Condense the menu and do simple and fresh New Orleans classic fare. Otherwise this will tank and fast.

Great food, chicken marsala was amazing. Sauce was nice n thick not watered down. Chicken parm was hot and a nice big piece of breaded chicken. White chocolate bread pudding was the perfect way to finish. Manager or owner very friendly, visited table to check on us and Him and another lady with blonde hair told us thank you and goodbye kn the way out. Our server Christiana was friendly and efficient and we will definitely be back again.

My friend and I discovered this place looking for a night cap and have fallen in love ever since. Elle-J's is a cozy restaurant that serves excellent, fresh, high quality Italian fare and amazing drinks. We love visiting every week or biweekly and can laugh for hours seated at the bar. The wonderful bartenders Ryan and Rosie always keep us pretty entertained. It's a great place to catch up with friends or meeting with family for dinner. We always leave having a great time. I've ordered different types of cocktails here to find the one I like. They take pride in drinks here so they taste like they should, I just have low tolerance so I just ask for everything on the sweet side and it comes out perfect, for me. If you are serious about your drinks though, this is the place for you. They are always purchasing new types of spirits to try. They currently have my friend hooked on an Old Fashioned made with Penelope Bourbon. If they don't have a spirit or ingredient, they are pretty accommodating and will make their version of what you want. I am currently ordering Amaretto Sour but I've had their specialty Italian Mojito which I recommend. They have a drink special weekly and even had one dedicated to Betty White recently. Ryan also makes a coffee shot/cocktail that's pretty great as a dessert drink. Rosie's specialty is making drinks with egg whites and will make you an Amaretto Sour or French 75 with one! For appetizers we order either the Spinach Dip or Calamari Fritti. The spinach dip comes out in cast iron and piping hot. It's creamy and fresh and is served with house baked flatbread chips. The calamari is never overcooked, tender, crispy and never greasy, and served with red gravy and lemon wedges. For entrees I typically get the Shrimp Fra Diavolo. Shrimp are always huge and fresh, the sauce is laden with crushed tomatoes and cloves of roasted of garlic. My friend gets the Chicken Parmesan which runs a close second, but I'm partial to the spice in the former. The chicken is juicy and the batter is crunchy. Red sauce pastas here are a win! We love them so much we haven't wandered past our favorites but I look forward to trying others. We both had the filet one night and did not regret it! We were served a thick cut cooked to a perfect medium rare, the demi-glace it's served with coats the meat and pairs well, and also has those roasted cloves of garlic. The roasted potatoes in olive oil are so satisfying I can eat a whole plate of them. For dessert my favorite is the white chocolate bread pudding. If there is a mention it may be ordered the entire restaurant and patrons will encourage you to try it. It's a little bit of bread pudding with panna cotta on top served warm with slivered almonds and white chocolate sauce. We love getting cheesecake if it's available (if it's New York we have it sauced half chocolate half strawberry) and our favorite kind is the turtle one. Tiramisu is the pick if you want to finish off your Italian meal properly, down to the perfectly roasted espresso dust sprinkled on top. I'm going to have to update this review with a recent photo of the menu and entailing their happy hour times. Due to shortages they are still not doing pizza, but everyone speaks so highly of them I hope to try them soon! I highly recommend this place and will invite anyone who is willing to come with me in my life. The food is great but the staff really makes the experience here!

I recently went to Elle-J's for the first time. I did not know what to expect, but had heard good things. When we arrived, we walked into the front door and had the option to sit in the bar area. We chose to sit in the restaurant and were seated in a booth. The restaurant was casual, but nice and had a great atmosphere! For drinks, I ordered a Lakeview Sunset. It was a pretty good drink. The spinach dip and chicken Parmesan were both delicious. I would definitely order both again! The menu was full of Italian options and I would love to go back to try other options. I will definitely be going back to Elle-J's in the future!

The food was great. Plus, they do Wine Wednesday!!!