Ella

Don’t be fooled with the sign outside that says «wine bar» as there is so much more to this place then just the vino.
A quiet Monday evening saw my mother, grandmother, uncle and myself hit this spot.
We were welcomed with friendly staff who had told us that they had just finished redesigning the space — their hard work paid off as the place looked great.
Ella do a great deal on a Monday and Tuesday where you can get either a starter or dessert for the price of your main course. With that onboard, I decided to go for their prawns in a garlic chilli butter to start and I have to say it was absolutely beautiful — completely packed with flavour while my mum had the crab and avocado salad which was so zesty and fresh. There was no fault at all with any starters, they were beautiful.
It took a good 35/​40mins for our mains to come out however — partly due to the place being a lot busier than usual on a Monday night so were understaffed. The delay in our food was never acknowledged — though when our food came it was delicious. I went for their steak and chips — the steak was absolutely divine. It was more m/​r than rare but I didn’t care as it cut like butter and I was kind of hungry at that stage. I was however disappointed with their chips, too fried for my liking and lacking seasoning.
All in all the staff were really accommodating, it was affordable and they house a mean glass of Malbec so I’ll definitely pop in if I’m in the area again!

Small, intimate, unassuming spot, in the middle of Howth Village. Excellent food at a reasonable price.

I went out to Ella a couple of nights ago with my parents as we were passing through Howth and wanted to get a quick bite to eat. Although it says Wine bar on the sign, the place is really a restaurant with loads of wine. They do an early bird special all day monday and tuesday, in which you get a second course for the price of your main. While it’s a good deal, we were stung on the wine. € 16 for two glasses of Pinot Grigio is wallet rape, when you could get a decent bottle for that price.
All the meat is sourced locally, as is the fish, and you can taste the quality. Try the pork wrapped in parma ham. It’s savage.
The atmosphere is perhaps the biggest asset to Ella, the staff are extremely friendly; the hostess (even though under severe pressure as they were understaffed) was really nice and knew many of the customers on a first name basis, always a good sign. Also, old jazz albums played over the stereo, and coupled with the wine, resulted in a very relaxed atmosphere.
Ella is really worth taking a trip to, and a great spot to go on a date (what does that say about me… I went with my parents). Just be prepared to pay for it.