Ella’s Kitchen

Delicious. I had the bbq ribs sandwich which was out of this world good. I haven’t havent had ribs that good in a long time.

Best BBQ in the Portland metro area. Tried every BBQ place around & so disappointed until we found Ella’s Kitchen on Mississippi Street in North Portland. The Ribs, potato salad, greens, cornbread, beans & rice are all amazing! Oh & the banana pudding & sweet potato pie, YUM YUM YUMMY! If you eat there and aren’t completely satisfied, you don’t know what great BBQ taste like. We travel 30 miles to eat there!

This place is the real deal! Ms. Ella cooks a mean (translation: swell) catfish, not cooked to hard or soft and spiced just right. The mac and cheese was real mac and cheese like momma used to (or should’ve made), no cornbread sprinkles on top just macaroni amd chunks of cheese.
For those soul food afficiandos like me, Ms. Ella used to run the food portion of Soup and Soap where I could get the only chitlins in town. She retooled (translation: watched her stories for a few years) and is back almost as good as ever.

The mains: go here for the tasty, tasty ribs or the catfish (although my salt-​a-​holic better half warns you that even she thought the catfish was salty).
The sides: the collard greens was unimpressive, the candied yams were pretty wonderful and sweet.
The dessert: the cream cheese pound cake didn’t seem to have any cream cheese, nor did it seem to be homemade, but rather a store-​bought cake wiped over with a smear of crisco & sugar, with a cake drier than sidewalk chalk. An insult it was, after the good parts of the meal. It left a bad taste in our mouths, figuratively and literally.
Would go back for the ribs and catfish… nothing else.

Finally! I found a great cozy soul food spot in Portland on N. Mississippi Ave. And Lord knows I’ve been looking for sometime trying all different places but nothing like this place. The catfish was cooked perfect along with mac&cheese, red beans and rice. The owner Ella is also the cook unlike other Restaurants. Ella’s Kitchen is my home cooking away from home. Yummy! Standing ovation!

I’ve had very little experience with soul food, but I know good food when I taste it. Ella’s Kitchen is a hidden gem on Mississippi, across the street from Por Que No, next to the King Burrito cart. This place offers meals for all times of day, but my recent visit was during lunch.
I ordered the Fish & Chips, choosing catfish with mac and cheese as my side. When I was in Chicago, I was really unimpressed by catfish I had. Something about Ella’s catfish is magical though. Lightly breaded, perfectly fried, and flaky enough to tear and dip into tartar sauce. I’m a catfish convert, at least with this place.
I wasn’t expecting much from the mac and cheese, but I was pleasantly surprised. Seasoned perfectly with hints of garlic, and cooked past al dente so that it just melts in your mouth. This place is going to make me fat with joy.
If you’re in the neighborhood or reconsidering the line at Por Que No, do yourself a favor and drop her a visit. She says she loves to cook for people, and I believe her. It shows in her food.