Insula

I had the braised short rib and it was amazing. The meat fell off the bone and was teamed with some perfectly cooked carrots and a side of mashed potatoes. The server was very friendly and thanked us for stopping in for dinner. Exceptional service and great food cant go wrong here

Great meal and service. Battered chicken sandwich is perfectly done. Chicken and waffles are really tasty.

The best place I’ve dined at in Ely. I really wanted fried chicken before our trip into the Boundary Waters, and this is the place to get it! The seasoning is on point and the breading is light and fried to perfection. My wife’s bison burger was the best I’ve ever tasted and the hand-​battered onion rings were amazing. To top it off, the servers were very attentive and super friendly. Everything here is way above and beyond… The perfect place to eat for our 5^th wedding anniversary.

We had a good experience at insula. It was a nice to be able to get something besides burgers and greasy food. I had the soup of the day which was amazing. My Waldorf salad was okay. Great presnstatin lion but a little too much dressing for my liking. I would defiantly come back and get something else a try.

I eat there once and the food wasn’t great. The food is very expensive. I wouldn’t eat there again.

Stopped in for breakfast before heading out of town. Great breakfast plate (PLENTY of food), and good hot coffee! Also, love the décor and atmosphere of the restaurant.

This was our first visit Insula. The three of us each had sandwiches and they were quite good. The Monte Cristo sandwich was a bit disappointing in that was grilled and not deep-​fried. (Yes, I know that grilled is one of the two common variants of the Monte Cristo but in my opinion deep-​fried is better and opinions are what restaurant reviews are all about.)
Service was good, prompt, and attentive.
Insula gets a lower number of stars in this review for not having air conditioning. We visited on the the most humid day this summer and it was uncomfortably hot and muggy in the dining room.

Great place. Great atmosphere in a cute town with really good food and menu choices. The service was great. Great blueberry pancakes for breakfast with excellent duck sausage.

The Nicoise salad was spectacular; really excellent fresh greens with delicious fresh cuts of tuna steak. Needed a little salt (for my taste), but overall a top notch salad.

Fabulous food and atmosphere! So nice to be up north and still get great food and drinks!

Very good! Literally everything we had was great. So refreshing to have something a little different in Ely. The food was truly great, the walleye, short rib and lamb shank highly recommended. We will be back next time we’re in Ely.

Really enjoyed the Baked Goat Cheese with Pan Bread appetizer. The Hawaiian burger was excellent with a tangy sauce along with the pork added in. Great spot in Ely!

I felt it was unfair that there were so many 5 star reviews on Insula’s FB page before it even opened that I formed a slightly negative view before even trying it. Insula is the new restaurant in the old Vertin’s building (where I once worked). I loved Vertin’s giant booths, giant donuts and atmosphere very much while growing up. Even walking into the entrance brought a good feeling.
First impressions: the layout is similar but except there are tables instead of booths, no smoking and non-​smoking sections (good thing), 100 pendant lights hanging everywhere and a large bar. I guess I’d call the look «industrial woodsy.» It’s a pretty decent look and there are higher and lower tables which seat up to 7 – 8 people each or less.
The menu is decent and not too pricy, maybe a $$. I went with a different kind of burger-​the Taj Mahl. It has a curry mayo which I wanted to try. For an appetizer, I ordered the wanton tacos. The tacos went in my stomach very quickly. I loved the crispness and the flavors weren’t very strong but good.
The burger’s mayo was amazing. I’m a huge fan of curry and it was spot on. It’ll definitely be something I look into making myself. The fries were dry and it’d assume this isn’t common.
Another dish I was able to try was the eggplant Florentine. I thought it had a nice natural flavor to it. The eggplant was breaded and thin but the portion looked good. The sweet potato side was my least favorite. The rosemary really took away from the flavor I anticipated. My fiancée said it tasted like she just ate a flower.
Overall the experience was a good one with props to the wait staff for being attentive! The only real complaint is there wasn’t any air conditioning. There are 2 propeller-​style ceiling fans but they felt like decoration because they weren’t felt.

Wonderful selection of vegetable dishes and a very good chicken sandwich. We had the tempura vegetable appetizer which was very tasty. I selected the quinoa stuffed zucchini and loved it. I chose the Ratatouille side dish which was a good choice. I would
definitely come here again. Yum!

We were quite surprised to come across this lovely dining option in Ely. We sampled a nice cross section of options: a cheese tray with a balanced options and accoutrements, crisp vegetable tempura, a tasty gruyère and caramelized grill cheese sandwich, and a very nice version of a wedge salad (the Blue Moon with bacon larder, blue cheese and Boston lettuce). They were well executed, and we could tell the ingredients were of high quality (and many reportedly locally sourced). We will come back next year when we pick up our sons from Widji-​lucky Ely!
We also appreciated the Current as our dinner soundtrack:)
Please note that this would be a great place for all purposes or date night, family meal, night out with friends etc.

Fresh new look for Ely at Insula! Have been there for lunch and dinner with friends. Great food both times. Would definitely give this place a try. Club sandwich was filled with «real «meat not deli style. Spinach salad was perfect. Eggplant was very good. Fried chicken was too salty but has great potential. Will definitely be back.

Great service! Great food! Reasonable prices! We visit every year from California, and we’ve been waiting for the «new» Vertins… Insula does not disappoint :-) 3 of us had the flat iron steak special and 1 the burger. LOVED the steak and Rosemary butter sauce with sautéed mushrooms. The steak was grilled very well and the fries were awesome. I’ll be back for s burger before heading back to CA. The only reason I gave 4 (not 5) stars is because there were no fresh veggie options. Overall, this place rocks!

New interesting restaurant. Beautiful wood on tables and at bar. Service friendly and attentive. Had the walleye which was very good but wild rice was tasteless. Had to add sllot of salt and pepper but still was watery. Was by the far the mist expensive item on menu. My husband had the short ribs and they were delicious. Rich and flavorful. Enjoyed dinner. Think it is great addition to Ely

I was very glad to see a new restaurant in Ely this year during our annual week long vaca. Took our two younger kids in for dinner and was very pleased with their menu and drink selection. Atmosphere is fresh, modern and inviting. My wife had Nicoise salad and I had the Walleye. Salad nicely presented and tuna was great. Walleye filet was large and perfectly cooked. I had hoped for a little more on the Walleye plate like some wild rice but opted for a side caesar salad. We went back in for breakfast a few days later (used to eating at Britons for 15 yrs) with 8 adults and 7 kids. Everything was great! Plenty of seating. Wild Blue Yonder pancakes are awesome, Corned Beef Hash was great. Kids had chocolate chip or blueberry pancakes. All plates were licked clean! We had a little mix up with our bill as they forgot to add coffees and 2 meals and to our surprise they gave us a to-​go box with caramel rolls. Very friendly and helpful staff. A couple suggestions would be to lower the lights a little during dinner and drop the temp a bit as it was a bit warm inside during both visits. A fresh exterior would really help boost business and match the interior. Overall I was very pleased with Insula. It exceeds expectations for Ely and will definitely return!

Ely is lucky to have this restaurant. We don’t have to eat only brown food any more! I have eaten here twice since they opened and everyone enjoyed their meals. For lunch I had Vertin’s special for $ 7 which is modified BLT with high quality ingredients. My daughter had the chicken waffles for $ 9. Any kids dream meal with maple cream cheese made you want to lick the plate. Both were big enough to bring home leftovers. This morning we had breakfast. Good coffee and happy staff. Wife had poached eggs with avocado and salmon for $ 10 which kind of a breakfast salad but delicious. I had crab cakes Bene with Sriracha hollandaise for $ 14 which seems high for a breakfast but it was awesome. I would gladly pay that for the meal but not everyday. Ordered a side of hash browns because I love spuds. Very good griddle cooked hash brown. We sat at the counter for each meal which gives you the feel of the old Vertin’s that was in the building. I haven’t tried the historically famous Vertin’s caramel roll but that’s for next week.