Ellison's Bistro has atmosphere that you won't find at any other Caribbean restaurant in Kitchener.It has an upscale décor with intimacy that you can feel from the minute you walk in the door.
Had high hopes for this place based on all the great reviews. It was not good at all. The jerk chicken and pork was very plain the rice was not cooked very wel and was flavourless veggies were good and the roti was ok probably the best thing we ordered. From what I could see of the kitchen it was very messy and unclean dirty pots and pans and dishes piled up. I'd like to when we all these others were there and had such great food ours was not good at all. The staff was friendly
We met a friend for lunch here as he his a frequent visitor, our first time. It won't be our last! The food was amazing! The Pepper Pot Soup was apparently really, really spicy that day as the scotch bonnets were imported from Jamaica. The octopus was so tender in the linguini, some of the best I've ever had. The Jerk burger was well seasoned, but the bun I thought was a bit disappointing (something from a grocery store).
The atmosphere and service were great! Looking forward to trying more items off of the menu, and fabulous sounding & priced lunch specials. :)
We were there last night, 21 March,
visiting with our son and fiancee` who reside in Kitchener; the chef was there to greet us and proud but unassuming.
We had Black Bean soup, Outstanding and wholesome, my wife had Sweet Potato and Pumpkin soup, to die for; the Shrimps appetizer amazing and HOT, delicious.
Vegetables Roti Wrap wonderful and generous,Curried Goat with rice was delicious too.
A charming and colourful Jambalaia.; the meat special being pork Tenderloin with a cramberry rub also top notch.
Finished the meal with the Cream Puffs, delicious, in retrospect we should have tried more than one dessert.
The presentation of every single dish was artistic and professional.
We definetly enjoyed the experience and plan on returning soon.
The cook/manager at this restaurant has a passion for making the foods on the menu. The foods come out delicious, but they are a bit spicy--which is good if you like spicy. There is lot's on the menu, and there are a handful of very unique meals that you won't see at other restaurants.
I entered Ellison's Bistro totally based on the reviews on Restaurantica. I'm glad that I did! It looks like a tiny cafe from the outside but, once you get inside, you see a very professionally set up ... well ... bistro. This was my first time eating jerk chicken. it was very nicely done and just spicy enough so that you knew that you were eating Caribbean food without it being overbearing. The rice that accompanied it had a slight tinge of something like orange, which made it quite tasty. One warning: the rice was extremely hot, temperature-wise. And spicy ginger beer isn't the solution ;-). After the meal, I had a nice chat with Elvis, the owner. He takes his business very seriously, which is quite evident. I don't get into downtown Kitchener very often but I now know where I can go for a classy meal without a lot of pretension.
Yeah maybe the place could use a facelift, but this is Kitchener not Waterloo. If the food and service are good, then who cares?! That is certainly the case at Ellison's. The courteous personal service from the chef himself balanced with authentic but elevated Caribbean cuisine are a match made in heaven. I had the curried goat with rice and peas. The depth and balance of flavour along with the perfectly pitched after burn are unmatched in any other Caribbean-style curry I have had. Definitely need a sequel on that one. And ohmigosh the bread. Did I tell you about the bread people?! This napkin-covered plate comes to the table and I get this waft of deliciousness. That doesn't smell like just your average bread and, believe you me, it was not. One of the best moments of carb-laden euphoria I've experienced in some time. I will be back, oh yes, I will be back.
My GF & I are from Stratford & we wanted something different from the "same old same old".We found Ellison's on the web so when we got there we were greeted by Elvis(the owner).Skipping through the pleasentries(which was gr8)we ordered chicken Roti.The curry was a little spicy(hot) which I didn't mind but my GF does not like hot at all so she had the Breast of Chicken it was much better for her than the roti.Overall the atmosphere food service was good.Ppl have said the service is a little slow but for us it was normal,maybe because we were the only ppl there at the time........I would certainly go back there again and as for my GF......maybe:) Being from Trinidad I know how much I miss roti and for me Ellison's the place
Terrific service and wonderful food. Very flavourful, with an impressive presentation. The dinner went far beyond what we expected, especially in this price range. We ordered pepper pot soup, blackened catfish and curried goat. All three would be worth repeating.
Extremely friendly staff and the chef even comes out to greet each guest! Food was very tasty and a nice change from the usual. Will definitely visit again!
Ellison's Bistro is a cozy place, right across from the bus station in Kitchener. There is a nice variety of Caribbean drinks, appetizers, and dishes. Service is a little slow when it gets crowded. The main dishes are quite delicious; only once was it just average. The soup is a must have with every meal; every soup I've had there was quite good.
I have eaten at Ellison's before and the food was good. I have tried their pork tenderloin, jerk chicken, blackened catfish. This time i decided to try their goat roti and I was very disappointed. The roti was pre-packaged, it was not made in the restaurant. There was barely any goat curry inside the roti. The meal was like eating a tortilla with a slight trace of curry. Very disappointing!!! Don't get a roti here.
My boyfriend and I were looking for some place "out of the box" to eat the other night and found Ellison's Bistro online. We read some good reviews and thought we would give it a try - I'm VERY glad we did! The outside of the restaurant is deceiving and does not represent the service or quality of food in the least bit.
We both decided to have the pumpkin soup and pork tenderloin dinner specials; they were nothing short of fantastic! Also, our female server and Elvis (the owner of the Bistro) were very friendly and provided great service.
I would recommend this restaurant to anybody and we will definitely be back!!
Had the soup, a delicious entree, the sweet potato pie and liked everything. The service was excellent as well. Go there and feel the generosity and deliciousness
We discovered Ellison's Bistro a few years ago. It instantly became our favourite restaurant in town and has continued as such ever since. The food is excellent and the presentation rivals restaurants that come with significantly higher prices.
The soups are great. Our favourite has been the Pumpkin and Sweet Potato that we enjoyed last night. The main course selections provide good variety. We have tried many of them and all have been very good. There is a really unique flair to the food for the Kitchener area.
The relaxed and friendly Caribbean atmosphere makes for a great way to spend a couple of hours for dinner. The value for the money is great. We will certainly continue to make this a regular dining spot.
About three months ago, my wife and I happened upon Ellison's Bistro completely by chance. At the time it was somewhat late for dining and neither of us was particularly hungry, in large part because we had eaten a light dinner only two or three hours earlier. Initially we had wandered in solely for a glass of wine, some quiet conversation, and perhaps an appetizer. But then we smelled the food!!!
I must first state that I am not prone to excessive eating, no matter how engaging the cuisine. Having said this, before we left we had shared and sampled, the pepper pot stew, a bountiful jumbalaya, an order of jerk chicken, and although we swore we wouldn't, we also shared a dessert, ...a pudding prepared from sweet yams and lightly drizzled in a brown sugar sauce. Everything was exquisite. The food was prepared fresh to order, and the flavours were intense. The atomosphere was warm and unpretensious, and this was underscored by the sincere friendliness of the service. The chef of Ellison's Bistro, Elvis, does not hide away in the kitchen, and takes the time and concern to serve some dishes personally, and he frequents the dining area when possible to ensure that his patron's needs and pleasure's are being met. My wife and I have two young children, so unfortunately we don't visit as often as we would like to. But we have recently taken our kids as well, and in every circumstance we have been made to feel that we are not so much as at a restaurant, but rather that we are at a friend's for dinner, where our friend aslo happens to be an amazing chef. In truth, I have eaten in fine restaurants (and some not so fine) around the world and I can count on the fingers of one hand, those that made dining an experience that ressonates at a deeper and more memorable level. Ellison's Bistro, for me, is among this list of very few exceptionalities. The fact that we found it in our back yard, and only because of random chance, is one of those happy accidents for which I am very grateful.
Love, love love this restaurant. I have been a customer for the past 4 years. Elvis is a gem. Not too many chefs personally come out of the kitchen and check on their customers to see that everything is ok. The portions are fairly large (the dinner size jerk chicken could easily be two meals).
This is truly a diamond in the rough. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you're inside and eating, you won't be able to believe that you've been missing out on it for so long.
The two of us stopped in for a dinner on a Saturday night and were promptly seated, given menus and told the specials. The restaurant was about half-full, so our service was very prompt, especially considering it was just one woman working the entire front of house.
We ordered drinks and were only just done deciding on entrees when they arrived. We were given buns shortly thereafter, which were some of the best fresh baked buns either of us had ever tasted. We waited maybe 20 minutes for our meals to come out, which isn't bad considering everything is cooked fresh and we had ordered shortly after another couple.
When the food did come, it was absolutely fantastic. I had the Jambalaya Risotto, which was a brilliant blend of shellfish, sausage, rice and vegetables. My boyfriend had the Chicken Paprika, which was so good that I didn't even get the chance to try it. The chef himself came out a couple of times to talk to us and ask how our meals were, which was a nice treat.
We finished off the evening with a dessert of sweet potato pudding, which wasn't at all what we had expected but was fantastic nonetheless. Everything about the dinner was wonderfully relaxing: we didn't feel rushed, the chairs were comfortable (something other restaurants seem to miss on) and the dining area was cozy.
Only complaint would be that while the portions were on the large size of reasonable, my boyfriend's meal wasn't as big as mine so I was quite full while he was just satiated. Just something to note: the Chicken Paprika is a smaller meal while the Jambalaya is a larger one.
We chose Ellison's based on the reviews on this site and we were glad we did. We all had a great meal, and agreed that we will go back again. We will be back again for the warm and friendly service and wonderful food.
We took my brother to Ellison's for his birthday and he and his wife are still raving about it two days later. The food was fantastic - best lamb I ever ate in my life and I have had plenty of lamb. We all ordered something different and then tried each other's dinner. Everything was great. Dave got a piece of birthday cake which was sweet potato dessert. Marvellous!
Thanks to Elvis and Zorina for a great evening. We will be back. Looking forward to Tapas Night!!
