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Ella - Darwin, Darwin, AU-NT

Ella - Darwin

4.6
4.6
611 Reviews
$41 to $100
Sri Lankan
At Ella by Minoli, we nurture curiosity, have no fear in the kitchen, and love pushing the culinary boundary.

We use seasonal local produce, modern cooking techniques, and the deep and rich flavours of Minoli’s Sri Lankan heritage, to bring you flavour packed Sri Lankan food like you’ve never tasted before. Minoli’s insatiable need for travel has enriched her food knowledge and she has no boundaries when it comes to flavour.

Sri Lankan food has Ayuverdic properties and origins, and this perfectly balanced menu will leave you more enriched than when you walked in, guaranteed to keep you wanting more, long after you leave. From your first bite to your last, your tastebuds will come alive, and we welcome you to take this new-age Sri Lankan culinary journey with us.

Make a reservation

2 people

7:00 PM


Booked 12 times today

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $41 to $100
  • Cuisines
    Sri Lankan
  • Hours of operation
    Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–12:00 am
  • Phone number
    0498 369 021
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive chef
    Minoli De Silva

What 611 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

610 Reviews
  1. VidyaB

    NT

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Very tasty food. I would like to see more non-alcoholic drink options

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  2. MeganT

    Tasmania

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Absolutely delicious, I'm so glad I came. wish I could have tried everything on the menu! Staff were very friendly and helpful about how much to order & option to pack any leftovers as takeaway.

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  3. KarenG

    NT

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Ten of us on a Wednesday night - absolutely superb wait staff. Noisy until 8 pm but lovely happy ambience and excellent food. We'll be back for sure. This was a work dinner and the atmosphere around us was really nice and everyone at our table seemed relaxed and chatted away. Just what you want for your team to end the year on a great note. I have had lots of great feedback from the group at work today!

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  4. ChristineC

    Melbourne

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The Sri Lankan menu is always surprising, always delicious and leaves you wanting more (if only you could fit it in). Excellent cocktails and drinks list and attentive and friendly staff. A special place to dine

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  5. NicolaJ

    London

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 24, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Incredible food, wonderful experience. Will be back!

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  6. KarenW

    NT

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on November 23, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Third visit and will go again. Expensive end of dining experience but worth it for a lovely treat. Highly recommend all aspects of this lovely restraunt.

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  7. Alim

    Brisbane

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on November 23, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Great food and service. Every dish was delicious with the barramundi being the stand-out.

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  8. Joel1111111111111

    NT

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 23, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great food. However parking is limited. The restaurant should provide access to the West Lane Car Park after 7pm.

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  9. Sampi141

    NT

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 18, 2023

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    Usually a good feed, our first waiter was brilliant, but a few after really dropped the ball. Got the orders partially wrong and few other elements where they didn’t quite land it. The food is nice, but relative to the price it’s too expensive. Fine dining has to hit a point to justify its price and sadly on this instance it didn’t

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  10. SharonK

    NT

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 17, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The best meal I have had in a while - absolutely delicious! Fantastic service - beautiful food with some lovely surprise elements. Deep flavours - Loved it!

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  11. Frank

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 14, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great little find in Darwin city. Unique dishes and flavours that were all delicious. Service was excellent with great wine and cocktails. Would definitely recommend a visit

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  12. Sassy

    NT

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 14, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was delicious and outstanding, thank you. Fourth and not our last visit.

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  13. VMil

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 11, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Best dining experience I’ve had in a long time. Food incredible, cocktails delicious and service by Mel was top notch. Totally recommend!

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  14. DavidK

    NT

    2 reviews

    2.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 11, 2023

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    The best tip we got was from an American tourist who said eat at the bar. We arrived staff we too busy to greet us eventually someone came to the front of house. We sat at the bar and the cocktail staff were fabulous. We struggled to get service and another 5 people sat at the bar and got served first. As booked our table was ready at 7.30pm so we took our seats in the outdoor area. This is when we were forgotten and struggled to get consistent service. We asked for the wine list. Then we had to ask for the wine list again from another staff member. The starters were outstanding, but the mains were ordinary. All 3 bases looked the same with the difference being what they added on top. The starters had love but the main were churned out in my opinion.

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  15. Jess

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 11, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Absolutely beautiful restaurant with amazing people to help! The food was 11/10 and the drinks were great!!!

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  16. LarissaE

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 7, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    A delicious meal, perfectly presented. Little bit noisy - but probably just because everyone was enjoying their food!

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  17. DarleneL

    Victoria

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 4, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I made a booking on a recommendation and had high expectations. We were not disappointed. Wow. The food was amazing. Fiona did an amazing job helping us choose from the menu. Price was what i expected. Great night out for us. Will definately return.

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  18. TianaA

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 4, 2023

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Nice service, good food and decent price. Would recommend diners that loves modernised Sri Lankan cuisine.

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  19. Brendon

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 4, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    It was out 2nd time here. The service is awesome, the ambience is perfect, and the food is outstanding. Amazing place!!

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  20. LeilaniG

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 3, 2023

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    While the goat was fine, the chicken curry was sensational, and as usual, the roti and sides were to die for. Beautiful wines and experimental cocktails.

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  21. Lexi

    NT

    2 reviews

    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 3, 2023

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Food is amazing and the service is great however we were asked to vacate our table before our two hours was up and take dessert to the bar decided so cancel the dessert order and when we left there was no one at our table nor anyone waiting to be seated we arrived early took a drink at the bar and were seated at 6.30 on the dot , happy to pay premium prices for excellent food and service but that left a bit of a bad taste in the mouth .

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  22. RossS

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 3, 2023

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    It is a hidden gem on the Darwin restaurant scene.

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  23. KarenW

    NT

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on November 1, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    My second visit and won’t be my last. Lovely restraunt serving beautiful food . I had Jaggery Goat curry, Coconut Rice and a Roti. Delicious. The waitress ( a French lady forgot her name sorry) was delightful and so helpful. Their desert menu looked delicious but was too full. They did not have a huge choice of wine by the glass 🙁 but enjoyed a Cab, Sav. Will be telling my friends to visit.

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  24. ZoeW

    Adelaide

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on October 31, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Absolutely love Ella We love bringing our visitors here , the food and service are outstanding

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  25. NathalieM

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 28, 2023

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    Food was quite nice, edpecially the pumpkin, but too much of the same flavours, waitress could have provided more guidance on our order, and perhaps. Suggest somethibg fresh, to balance the me, instead she was constantly basically telling us how good the food was, did not seem to be too interested with what we actually thought of it, whilst roti i understand was cooked the traditional way? It is way overpriced. We had a booking for 8pm, and we really had to wait a little too long to ge attended to. Music was too loud for a restaurant, very difficult to hear each other.

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  26. SamH

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 28, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Ella was the perfect place to have our anniversary dinner! The food was amazing and the service was spot on. Our waitress was super helpful with recommendations of signature dishes which didn't disappoint! All staff were super friendly and the atmosphere was great!

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  27. TristanG

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 27, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food exceptional. Great staff. Highly recommended

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  28. Cheeky

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 26, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    we fly into Darwin quite often from Sydney and always make it a priority to eat at Ella , Food is amazing and the staff extremely pleasant

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  29. Jetta

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 26, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Lovely staff (especially Melissa) - the food suggestions were excellent. Loved the area they popped us into and have rebooked this again for Dec

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  30. LILSY

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 25, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Absolutely Delicious. Incredible flavours, and just the right portions. Service is the best in Darwin. Ellas feels like the kind of 5 star restaurants usually associated with Melbourne. Love it. Keep up the good work Team.

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  31. ChristineC

    Melbourne

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on October 20, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Absolutely delicious meal. Every dish was outstanding and we loved the variety of flavours and sauces

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  32. KimC

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 18, 2023

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Amazing food and the service was great. Server had a great knowledge of the product and was very helpful with choices

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  33. Buttons

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 18, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We sat in the Green room. The staff were extremely attending. The music was on point. The food was delicious!

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  34. LizS

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 13, 2023

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    The food makes up for other shortcomings. There seemed to be a shortage of servers. 30 minutes after we'd finished eating we had to ask for the plates to be cleared, second drinks and the dessert menu. The music was too loud for conversation, maybe not elsewhere but we had a speaker right behind us. I felt, delicious as it was, the roti were way over priced considering the ingredients. Negatives aside I do love the food. I could eat that crispy roast pumpkin everyday.

    1 person found this helpful

  35. SuzeH

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 12, 2023

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    We thoroughly enjoyed our delicious dinner. We found the service for drinks was very slow. We had to approach the waitress and request drinks. But the food was next level delish.

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  36. BelindaP

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 12, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We have been many times and the food never disappoints.

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  37. Michelle

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 11, 2023

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 1
    Gorgeous, amazing food. Expensive but worth it. Service not good outside at all. Stuck in a corner looking at a shabbily hung curtain in an alley. Huge room for improvement regarding service and aesthetics. We couldn't eat all our food, were offered containers but not cool storage so had to leave before we could order dessert or more drinks etc as it was too hot to leave food sitting on table. Great food but nil else.

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  38. AlexP

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 7, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Amazing food, great service. We enjoyed sharing several plates between 8 of us.

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  39. MargaretP

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 7, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was exceptional even catered to my fussy palette.

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  40. MichelleH

    NT

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on October 7, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Fantastic meal, each dish was full of flavour and beautifully presented. The service was attentive and friendly. Very professional, great experience.

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FAQs

Ella - Darwin is rated 4.6 stars by 611 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

7:00 PM


Booked 12 times today
Google Map for Ella - Darwin

12 West Lane, Unit 20, Darwin, AU-NT 0800

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Darwin City
  • Hours of operation
    Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–12:00 am
  • Price
    $41 to $100
  • Cuisines
    Sri Lankan
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    None
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Minoli De Silva
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Wine
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