Ellsworth

Service incroyablement désagréable, l’”expérience” s’est vite arrêtée, nous avons préféré quitter les lieux. Le serveur visiblement épuisé était anormalement agressif. La serveuse nous a adressé une grimace assez hideuse. Très étrange, il y a beaucoup de restaurants où la cuisine est excellente et l’accueil charmant, en l’occurrence nous avons fini la soirée chez Zebulon.

I made reservations for brunch at 11:30 am on Sunday about a week in advance through their online reservation system. I called around 11:15 am to let them know I was running about 10 min late and they were very accommodating.
Located really close to the Pyramides metro stop, Ellsworth is a cozy yet very simple little place. There’s a bar area for people who didn’t make reservations. At 11:40 am they were busy but still had 2 – 3 tables!
The plates here are shareable portions so for two people, the waitress suggested we order 3 – 4 plates. Me being me, I knew what I was going to order way in advance. Our brunch for two came out to 70 € which I thought was on the pricier side. The service was attentive but somewhat careless. We had to ask for water a few times, for them to take our food order 10 min after we got our fresh orange juices, and for silverware after our first dish was served.
Being shareable portions, they bring food in rounds. In total we ordered two orange juices for 4 € each, a latte, and four plates including the chilaquiles, eggs Benedict, pancakes with bacon jam, and fried chicken, and a dessert to finish it off. The food was good but portions were small, so definitely order 3 – 4 for two people as recommended.
The chilaquiles was delicious but needs more avocado for 14 €. The eggs Benedict was the best I’ve ever tasted! I found the portion for this really small. The fried chicken was good, the chicken itself was seasoned perfectly. I just wish the batter would stick. It came with a light mustard slaw which was delicious. The bacon jam pancakes were really delicious.
The orange juice was good but for 4 €, not worth it. It was freshly squeezed but not very pulpy. It came with ice which I found weird. The latte was good but it was honestly the ugliest latte I’ve ever seen.
The dessert was phenomenal! We got the malt ice cream which came with chocolate sorbet, an espresso cream, and milk crumbs. It was so good. The sorbet was thick and heavenly.
I would definitely come back here to try their dinner menu. My boyfriend really enjoyed the good food and we were both pleased that this place was worth the hype. He was, however, the only French person dining. They lose a star for weird service.

It is really nice. We ordered the Brussel sprouts, duck meat ball, fried oysters, and fried chicken. All were great. Servers were good. Probably the most affordable dinner we had and when you really consider value, this was probably one of the best. Would return for dinner again.

The dinner I had at Verjus a couple of years ago was hands-​down my best dinner so far in Paris, so I have been excited to try Ellsworth (from the same American owners) ever since it opened, especially when I saw that one of their specialties was fried chicken (possibly my favorite food). I had dinner there with a friend and was first of all struck by, as others have noticed, the fact that nearly every diner in there appeared to be American, and speaking English loudly, as Americans tend to do. Don’t get me wrong: I’m American, the owners are American — that’s fine! But if you are visiting Paris, short on time and looking for an authentic French experience, this might not be the place for you. The place is small and a bit cramped, which might be part of the reason it is so obvious that everyone at your neighboring tables is speaking English, but still has an intimate, cozy feel. We had the kale salad, which was excellent (and kale is so hard to come by in Paris so it felt like a special treat!), the fried oysters, which were pretty good, though I prefer raw oysters — and I think it was a mistake (ours) to order both the fried oysters and the fried chicken, since they were both heavy and quite similar in the end. The fried chicken was definitely good — tender and juicy with a crisp batter, but a bit too fancified (or dumbed down?) for my tastes, since I prefer spicy, on-​the-​bone, dark-​meat fried chicken and this was small, white-​meat tenders. The sort-​of Thai-​ish duck meatballs with cilantro salad were quite tasty too, and more interesting than the chicken or oysters. We had the riz au lait with chestnuts for dessert and it was really heavenly — aromatic, not too heavy, not too sweet. I would definitely like to return and try some more dishes — and have the kale salad again!

The service was very nice but I can’t say much about the food as there was only one thing on the menu I could eat other than the bread and that one thing was really not very good, it was prepared carefully but was simply not worth the effort of chewing and swallowing.

The five stars have been earned once again!
Attentive service, delicious food, great wine in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere.
Tres Bön!

Disorganized
That is the best compliment for the place
Menu is original food s creative but the guy and two waitress that serve needs some serious training
Food orders were confused late diners were served first
Just a poor dining experience
Good food first but ok service at best is needed
Skip

We’ve been in Paris for a week (from California) and Ellsworth is easily at the top of the list of restaurants where we have eaten.
Though most people in the restaurant were local, the staff were kind enough to speak English to us and help us with the menu.
We ordered four of the small plates and then the cheese plate. Each dish was an inventive mix of seasonal ingredients and delicious flavors.
The staff were attentive and gracious. The interior has a cozy feeling.
We would go again, but sadly we are flying home on Monday morning.

Sunday Brunch in Paris doesn’t get much better than here. Yes, you need a reservation in advance but that is super easy to setup online with a little advanced planning. The menu has some classics like eggs benedict and such but with their own twist. My favorites included their fried chicken bites over a slaw and also the pancakes with bacon jam. Make this a must do in Paris if you can swing it into your schedule. Since most things are closed Sunday this is an awesome treat.

Après un accueil courtois, nous voilà installés autour d’une table de quatre pour un déjeuner en semaine.
La salle, bien qu exiguë, bénéfice d’un bel éclairage naturel.
Le style est sobre, presque froid. Mais j’aime bien.
Pour ce qui est dans l’assiette, c’est top.
L’entrée de salade de choux de Bruxelles et ses épeautres était une très bonne surprise. Craquante, fraîche. Un régal.
Le plat d’encornets et sa sauce romanesco: une réussite.
Formule entrée-​plat à 18 €.
C’est vrai que la portion n’est pas gargantuesque mais pour un déjeuner de cette qualité, ça suffit amplement.
Une très bonne adresse. Pensez à réserver tout de même.

A nice place to have lunch at moderate price and good food. Waiters were cool.
I just found that the dumplings could be tastier and the crumble served with icecream was a bit oversalted to my taste

Excellent food and service. Tapas style dishes and we thought all four we ordered were very tasty. We had the green beans, fried chicken, linguini and beet salad. I recommend them all. We finished with two desserts: ice cream and walnut cake. Highly recommend either. We reserved online via their website 3 hours prior on a Monday

amazing meal! We were disappointed that it was American cuisine at first but everything we ordered was so well done and the ingredients were so fresh. It’s was delicious

At 1am, I’m in bed and I suddenly started thinking about Fried Chicken. If you have ever taken a look through some of my other reviews, you might have gotten the idea that I freaking love fried chicken — yes, even KFC included.
I started looking on Unilocal,wondering if there’s any possibility of getting a buttermilk breaded deep-​fried drumstick in Paris while my boyfriend looked-​on at my intensity, his eyebrows furrowed worried that he’s going to have a problem on his hands down the road, although I’m pretty sure that problem has already started to show…
A search of the words «Fried Chicken» on Unilocal led me to Ellsworth as one of the top choices. Boom! Reservations made. However, after checking the website more closely, I realized that this seems to be a fancy-​pants restaurant and might not have the chicken I’m looking for… oh well… might as well give it a try right?
We only had the options of a 7pm or a 9pm dinner reservation and being north americans, my bf and i wanted to play it safe and went the earlier route rather than the Central/​Southern European route of eating late into the night.
We were the first one in the restaurant as the kitchen only begins at 7. The tiny, non-​descript bistro smelled of cigarette smoke — the staff was still smoking next to the back door. We were greeted by Hannah who seated us immediately and brought us water and the menu. Eventually the smoke smell went away as the night wore on.
The restaurant started to fill up immediately after 7pm, one after another, the American couples came. Maybe it’s because a large number of the great reviews on Unilocal is English, maybe it’s because Parisians don’t eat at 7pm, so by 7:30pm the Bistro was 90% full, and its clientele 80% American, everyone speaking in loud, confident American accents humble-​bragging their travels and knowledge of the world and food. A little disconcerting.
Thankfully, the food was good. This tapas-​style bistro recommends that each person order 2 – 3 dishes, each dish at around 10 – 15 EUR, so be prepared to walk away at around 40 EUR a person including drinks.
We had:
— Roasted Beet and Kale Salad: really nutty flavoured and my bf loved this dish
— Fried Clams on corn: my favourite dish of the night, the breading on that clam was a bit tangy and full of flavour. The corn was a nice touch to balance off the heaviness of the fried goods.
— Fried Chicken on cabbage: extremely juicy. Although it was four small nuggets of dark meat and not the southern fried chicken i was looking for, it’s very rare to have deep fried chicken this tender and juicy
— Steak Tartare: nothing like what we’ve had before. rather than the old raw egg, salt, pepper, and a bit of dijon, Ellsworth went Mexican! Coriander and onions and tomatoes — my bf said it tasted like pico de gallo, and I thought it tasted a bit like salsa on nachos, which is probably the same thing. He liked it since he’s a mexican food fiend but i was turned off
— Malt ice cream and chocolat sorbe on a bed of vanilla milk crumbles and espresso cream: the other reviewers are right about the dessert. That malt ice cream was amazing — a bit like salted caramel and went deliciously with the espresso cream and crunch crumbled biscuits.
— A glass of orange wine: When I asked what that was, the server told me that it was actually just white wine macerated with orange scent from the peel. She gave me a bit to try before serving it to make sure I was okay with it. It was good — tasted like dry cider
— an Parisian IPA that was ultra bubbly
The total was 71 EUR for the two of us, but we actually weren’t that hungry going in because we had a late lunch. If we were hungry we probably would have had to order at least another dish. After we came back, the same night, I saw on my fb feed that someone posted a list of the 10 hottest restaurants in Paris right now, and Ellsworth is on #4. The post was in english, so there you go — don’t be afraid to speak english there because the massive number of americans there trying to personalize their orders and complain about their food in english is not abnormal there so I’m guessing the staff must be used to this.
The place didn’t wow me but it was great food at reasonable prices, and a good place for a nice date. The staff was wonderful. I definitely will need to continue to search for my fried chicken, but this was a good substitute until i do.

Outstanding experience twice. The staff (Jean Baptist at the bar, Kali the hostess, David the manger/​Sommelier) are amazing and chef Hanna herself is charming, cool and the creative force behind the tapas style menu. Here is the last thought– truly amazing dining experience with a staff focused on satisfying customers who love food and overall dining so embrace the slow pace.

Franchement très très bon, pour le brunch du dimanche on s’en est tiré pour 55 € à deux: 1 bière pour lui, 1 jus d’orange pressé pour moi, 4 plats à partager. Le principe c’est une carte qui change régulièrement selon le marché et les saisons et bien sûr tout est 100% fait maison. On prends plusieurs plats à la carte à partager. Tout est à tomber et pointu. Les verres sont gravés au nom du restaurant, les table en marbre mais pas guindé du tout, le service est impec’ et pas au lance pierre, c’est vraiment très mignon et cosy (peu de tables) et surtout c’est juste tout ce qu’il y a de meilleur dans l’assiette ! (Réserver impérativement pour le brunch)

From the moment you walk through the door you know you’re in for a premium experience. We couldn’t even get into the restaurant space but we stubbornly waited for a seat at the bar, and I am so glad that we did!
The brunch here was one of the best I’ve ever had — and I am picky about brunch. I wanted to eat absolutely everything on the menu, and luckily they’re prepared for that, as they told us that everything was designed to be shared. Shareable brunch plates — what an amazing idea!
Our food was mindblowingly delicious — all the flavours and textures were new and interesting, but all paired together beautifully. The coffee was great as well. I want to go back already!

Déjeuné a trois chez Ellsworth ça donne quoi?
Situé rue Richelieu dans une des anciennes maison qui bordaient autrefois le jardin de Palais royal c’est dans un espace tout en longueur que nous nous installons au bar.
La deco est sympa style East Hampton branché.
On nous propose (une fois de plus c’est la mode) de partager nos plats façon tapas.
La carte est plutôt courte mais fais envie:
— Chilaquiles au poulet 15 euros: Un plats mexicain mélange de poulet/​avocats/​chip de mais; c’est plutôt bon la coriandre apporte une réelle fraicheur, j’aime bien même si la portion est petite.
— Oeufs bénédicte 12 euros: Deux «oeuf au plat» sur un toast détrempé, hollandaise bien mousseuse et pas trop salé comme j’aime mais la portion est petite et la sauce microscopique…
— Poulet frit au lait fermenté 11 euros: la bonne nouvelle du repas, sûrement dans le top 10; croustillant et tendre à coeur, chapeau l’artiste le poulet frit c’est un peu pour mois
la nouvelle omelette test pour nos nouveaux chef!
— Chorizo pomme de terre nouvelles 12 euros: Sympa tout ça, cébettes juste frittes, épices a chorizo (ça me donne des idées), c’est beau, c’est simple et c’est bon.
Le personnel est sympa même si la propreté derrière le bar laisse clairement a désirer. Ca se sent aussi sur la table: carafe d’eau sale, assiette pas toujours nettes mais bon c’est le début on pardonne les filles…
Café sélectionné fait dans la tradition.
Belle carte de vin avec du Cava (miam miam)
Conclusion: C’est bon, un peu cher et les portions trop frugales mais j’y retrouverai avec plaisir.

I went for lunch with a Unilocal Elite friend who chose the place. As usual, she got it right. The menu offers for lunch are quite affordable and you get reasonably sized tasty dishes. Not much movement at noon, allowing a quiet ambiance. The staff is friendly and the service super fast. I strongly recommend this place for business lunches or just to have a nice meal and catch up with friends during lunch break.

I found out about this restaurant from the waitresses at verjus, one if my favorite restaurants in paris. They opened this slightly more casual restaurant only a few months ago. We tried it out on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. They serve small plates and they have around 10 – 12 on the menu. We shared 4. Each one was better that the next. Just excellent! There are many small plate restaurants that are trying to accomplish what Ellsworth has seemed to have pulled off with ease. Creative, delicious, simple with complex flavor combinations… And I haven’t even gotten to the dessert. After trying the chocolate malt ice cream, I would never try anything else. I would return just for this one dish. Add this place to your list of top dining in Paris. And be quick before everyone finds out about it!

This place is absolutely stunning. From the interior design to the ceramics. From the food to the friendly service. Everyone provided a lot of smiles and happy faces — and their job was done with a lot of care, love and integrity. Big plus.
The place is famous throughout the worldwide hipster population, and Ellsworth is a perfect match between Williamsburg, Shoreditch, Copenhagen and Paris.
The brunch was sublime. Freshly squeezed orange juice is always a winner, while my eggs benedict were perfect. One of the best ones I have ever eaten.
In a need of food? Skip a bistro or two and try the new Parisian eateries — including Ellsworth.

Déjeuner en semaine, la salle est pleine, pas de problème de volume sonore pour nous, mais les déjeuners sont certainement plus calmes que les dîners…
Nous avons profité de la formule E/​P/​D pour 24 € (E/​P ou P/​D pour 18 €) et avons tout trouvé excellents: velouté de petit pois/​menthe et beignets courgette/​polenta pour commencer… les beignets sont assez «légers» et mention spéciale au velouté! puis gnocchi agneau et le fameux poulet frit (accompagné d’un bun, de choux et sauce) là encore un sans faute. Les portions sont tout à fait convenables. Enfin les desserts, sorbets malte et chocolat d’un côté et dessert fraise rhubarbe de l’autre. Toujours excellent!
Service agréable mais seul petit point négatif il né faut pas être pressé, il y a un peu d’attente…
Nous reviendrons

Ce midi j’ai eu plaisir de déguster l’excellente cuisine de chez Ellsworth! J’y allais pourtant avec des à priori négatifs après la lecture des avis publiés précédemment. Mais qu’elle né fut pas ma surprise de découvrir qu’il y avait erreur en la matière… Nous avons partagé 5 plats en portion tapas tous plus bons les uns que les autres! Dans l’ordre: de l’artichaut grillé accompagné d’une purée de fève et d’une ricotta maison; des brocolis revenus dans un beurre d’anchois et gratinés au parmesan, les saucisses de lapin en korn Dogs; le ceviche de dorade; et pour finir en beauté, la succulente glacé de malt et le sorbet de chocolat recouvert d’un espuma de café… Tout y est aussi beau que bon… Le service agréable… La pièce toutefois un peu bruyante!

Heightened expectations rarely mean something other than some disappointment. We went for lunch on a Saturday, the resto was relatively empty, so no noise levels that many people have described. Their assortment of little plates is a motley collection of flavours and styles, with no seeming cohesion. Everything was good, but all together, they made no sense. All in all, disappointing.

The owners are excellent Chefs and also own Verjus a very popular restaurant. I’ve had their food in different venues, and I have to say, I was really disappointed with Ellsworth. I’m a stickler for the dining experience being about the «whole» experience, from the time you make the reservations until you leave. I love their online booking system, so you can book any time you want. Thumbs up to them on this simple technology.
The one of many problems we had was the noise level. The restaurant was not at full capacity, but our friend had a decibel measuring device and it reached as high as 95 (db). They also had piped in music which did not help.
Now onto the food. We unanimously did not like the entrées or the plats. The broccoli had a strange bitter taste, the ganache of foie gras, their creation had an off putting texture. As for their main dishes, although the chicken was perfectly fried and crunchy, the meat was beyond salty, probably from the brining, which made me thirsty the rest of the day. The pasta dish was gummy and rubbery.
However, the desserts were perfection. The beignets were to die for, as well as the ice creams. But for some of us, desserts do not make a meal.
NOTE: Now this is the part that really annoyed me. They asked us to keep our utensils after our entrée course. I find this practice insulting. Get a damn dishwasher!

Fantastic new restaurant on Richelieu. I stopped the bar here a few nights ago and then a sit-​down dinner the next night. The small plates are tasty and well-​portioned! One of mine was the beef tongue which, according to my dining companion, is a traditional British dish (in theory a Brit should know). The preparation at Ellsworth isn’t so traditional — it has flowers and pork cracklin I think. We both agreed it was great. Nice selection of wine and the service is upbeat and friendly.
Several top choices in this neighborhood — Verjus, Juveniles, Caveau on Montpensier (cocktails), Telescope (coffee) and now Ellsworth make this part the city a destination for great cuisine and drinks, incomparable service and a welcoming atmosphere.
PS — yes I know Ellsworth and Verjus are connected.
Decibel meter… Lol

La magie Verjus n’a pas opérée sur moi malheureusement.
C’est dans le tout nouveau restaurant de la famille Verjus que nous avions décidé de faire escale pour le dîner avec Ella V. Une escale à demi réussie, aux teintes plus claires que sombres.
Accueillies par un comptoir bar à vin à l’entrée, nous découvrons notre petite table dans la salle au charme très parisien canaille, tables en marbre blanche, aux pieds noirs, chaises en bois, et bougies sur les tables pour une lumière (trop) tamisée.
Par l’appellation alléchante des cinq plats que nous allions déguster, l’idée de commander une bouteille de vin à deux né nous a pas fait peur, loin de là, elle marqua le début d’une soirée gourmande et rieuse.
La salade de poulpe, artichaut, agrumes, mesclun et riz noir (12 €) n’a pas fait de vague en moi, avec une cuisson du poulpe un peu poussée pour une mâche un peu rude et un arrière goût de brulé, né se mariant pas vraiment avec l’acidité du citron et de l’artichaut. Le riz noir, servis sous forme de tule, apportait sans doute du croustillant mais rien au niveau gustatif.
Les pelures de pommes de terres, tomme, peau de poulet, cébette (9 €), servies avec de la crème fraiche n’aura pas non plus excité mon palais de par sa sécheresse et son manqué de saveur. Pourtant, le plat prenait des allures de nachos revisité, une idée qui aurait du être éclatante en bouche.
Les gnocchis, shitaké, pesto de pousses de moutarde et parmesan (11 €) m’ont brusquement rappelé sur la raison de ma présence ici. Un plat tout en simplicité mais incroyablement délicieux. Impossible de résister à l’odeur une fois trouvé une place pour poser l’assiette, ni une ni deux, ma fourchette se jette dans ce plat bien gourmand et mon coeur se délecte du fondant des gnocchis, de la force du pesto, du relief des shitakés et de la rondeur du parmesan.
Le poulet frit au lait fermenté, choux chinois, piment, Dijon (10 €) n’a pas rompu le charme de ce début de coup de coeur, au contraire. Jamais vous n’aurez dégusté un poulet aussi fondant et subtilement épicé dans une panure croustillante et gouteuse… Ou si, peut être chez Verjus, car c’est bien le plat signature de la maison, du grand art.
Les boulettes de canard, carottes, coriandre, cacahuètes (14 €) m’ont fait redescendre de mon petit nuage. Si nous avons dégusté les boulettes froides par notre faute, le goût du canard n’en restait pas moins particulier et prononcé pour moi. La salade aura eu le mérite de calmer mon palais.
Le rôle de l’alcool aidant, nous nous sommes abandonnées à prendre un dessert, ou le dernier souvenir de la famille Verjus pour ce soir. La glacé au malt, sorbet de chocolat, espuma de café, biscuit au lait vanillé (10 €) nous a replongé dans nos plus joyeux souvenirs d’enfance telle une madeleine de Proust qu’on n’aurait trop peu dégustée. Le mariage de texture et de saveurs était parfait du début à la fin et le coté très sucré du dessert était régressif à souhait à l’heure où l’on aime désormais les desserts légers, frais mais pas trop sucrés.
Heureusement, la fin de la soirée s’achève sur un très bon souvenir gustatif, et mon estomac est rempli, pour une soirée qui nous aura coûté la somme de 50 € par tête. Préférez sans doute l’heure du déjeuner, moins onéreuse mais surtout choisissez bien vos plats car ils né sont pas tous du même acabit.