Ella’s by Christian Petroni

Ella's exceeded our expectations in every way, making for an unforgettable dining experience. We arrived quite early for our reservation, and they graciously accommodated us without hesitation, setting the tone for the excellent service that followed.The meal started with a refreshing touch--cold fruit served alongside our water, a delightful surprise on a warm day. Our first course included the Caesar salad and prosciutto. The cracked pepper on the salad added the perfect burst of flavor, and the prosciutto was delicious with every bite. The portions were generous, which we appreciated right from the start.We ordered margaritas, and while they were spirit-forward--a detail worth noting for those who prefer a less potent drink--I thoroughly enjoyed the bold flavors. My wife found that as the ice melted, the drink became more to her liking. The volcanic salt on the rim was a unique and thoughtful touch.For the main course, we opted for the chicken parm. Coming from a family with deep Italian roots, we have high standards, and Ella's did not disappoint. Every detail of the dish was spot on, capturing the essence of a true Italian meal. My mother-in-law, born in Italy, would be equally impressed. Considering we were dining in one of the busiest areas of Nashville, the price was incredibly reasonable for the quality and authenticity we experienced.We finished our meal with tiramisu, which was the perfect ending to an already wonderful evening.Our server, Kayla, was exceptional. She was attentive, ensuring we had everything we needed throughout the night. Other team members also stopped by to check in, making sure our experience was top-notch.In total, our bill came to only $150 for a full meal, including salad, appetizer, drinks, entree, sparkling water, and dessert. The value was outstanding for the level of service and quality we received. Ella's is a must-visit for anyone looking for an authentic Italian experience in Nashville.

We are big Food Network fans so we were excited to try Chris Petroni's restaurant while we were in Nashville. The space is attached to a hotel but it's a nice, comfortable dining area. The bar area was bustling but the restaurant was fairly empty. We chose to eat in the bar for a better atmosphere.We ordered the Caesar Salad to start, followed by the Pork Scarpariello with a side of Cacio E Pepe. The food was good but not excellent. Caesar salad was average. There wasn't enough sauce with the pork, and the pasta was a bit runny. I've made all of these dishes ( using Petroni's recipe for the scarpariello) and mine were all better. We felt like we had a good meal, but wouldn't rush back.

This dinner was great! Visiting Nashville and stayed at the Hyatt Centric and was very pleased to find out on arrival that there is a trendy restaurant from a celebrity chef. Came here on a weeknight and there was no wait, was able to get seated right away. I knew I wanted the mozzarella since I've been craving them for weeks. These have set a new standard for mozzarella sticks! Probably the best I've ever had. And they were HUGE!I got the pappardelle pasta and was happy with it. The spicy tomato sauce had just enough heat to set it apart from a standard red sauce without having too much heat. The fresh pasta was delicious. My boyfriend got the chicken parm and he was a little let down. The chicken wasn't very crispy. The menu online showed that it comes with fries but the menu in person says it comes with spaghetti. Fries would have been the better choice. Between the mozzarella sticks, the chicken parm and the spaghetti there was just definitely a red sauce overload. At the end of the meal your palette may become a little exhausted with the same flavor profiles. Overall, a very delicious meal and would absolutely recommend anybody to visit for a nice dinner.

Good spot, decent wine selection, the pizza dough was good, but too wet, too much sauce. They could do better. The service was nice, but in a hurry, like they just wanted to get the orders in. They were not busy, and it was early enough that it was not an issue. Like read the table brother. But nice guy overall, what ever. Great vibe, nice atmosphere, good decor, pretty clean overall. I will be back for drinks maybe, but that's it.

We went to Ella's last night for dinner. The restaurant had plenty of seating, a nice bar area & outdoor dining area. The inside was quite noisy, though. Our server was Matt & he was personable. I told Matt that I can't have nuts/seeds due to a medical condition & he said that there was only one thing that had hazelnuts so I should be good. Not true because a dish did have pistachios. More on this to come. Our table of 4 started with wine & cocktails then shared a starter, the fig & prosciutto pizza. This was the best dish! The crust was the perfect Neopolitan style, thin with air pockets & a good char. Very good! I ordered the Caesar salad. Generous in size in a too small bowl, I shared this with my husband. The dressing was tasty but overly thick & it was iceberg lettuce! Seriously? A Caesar is made with romaine. My husband had the pork chop for dinner. It was served cut in pieces, and moist. The potato croquettes were delish; however, the dish was very salty. Our friend couldn't stomach it & left it uneaten. I had the cacio e pepe & it was a perfect al dente. However, this is big, there were whole peppercorns that I didn't discover until I ate a couple bites. This would bring on an attack & possibly to the hospital. I had to fish each out, which was messy & tedious. I asked Matt why he didn't inform me & he said he didn't know that was a seed/nut. I explained it was bigger than a seed & could cause a huge problem. Big fail on his part. Inattentive service as well (we had to get up and actually go ask for water refills) but it got worse after voicing the issues. To be fair, a lady came by and offered to remake my dish, I declined since everyone else was done eating. When we asked for the check, Matt said they were bringing over an array of desserts, which we declined. They did take off the two pork chop dishes since they were so bad & a double charge for a martini was corrected. I was so disappointed with this place. I was embarrassed we took our friends here. Cannot recommend. Thankfully, our next dining experiences are restaurants. I've actually eaten at and love for the rest of our trip, here in Nashville. Hopefully, that will make up for this bad start on our first night.

My partner and I ate at Ella's while visiting Nashville for a few days. Having seen Christian Petroni on various Food Network shows, we were excited to check out his restaurant.We went on a Tuesday evening around 8pm and were seated immediately without a reservation. You might need one for a busier Friday or Saturday night, but we were staying at the hotel in which the restaurant is located for 4 days and it was never packed. The inside of the restaurant is nicely decorated. Feels very upscale and modern, while cozy and intimate at the same time. For food, we started with the Housemade Mozzarella Sticks and an order of the Steak Fries. Both were fantastic. This is the mozzarella stick to beat all other mozzarella sticks - they were thick, gooey, and had the perfect crunch. The fries were equally impressive. So crispy and so delicious. It was an excellent start to the meal. For mains, I got the Chicken Parm and my partner got the Fresh Pappardelle with Spicy Tomato Sauce. He added on meatballs too. I really enjoyed the bites I had from my partners dish, but felt indifferent about my Chicken Parm. The menu description says "crispy cutlets" but there was nothing crispy about them. They were so completely swamped in marinara that they were actually kind of soggy. Additionally, with the amount of marinara on the chicken, combined with the same marinara on the spaghetti which comes on the side - it was a marinara overload for me. I like marinara (and this is a good one) but the entire dish just started to taste the same after a few bites in. I'd recommend this place and would come back without hesitation. But I wouldn't order the Chicken Parm again. I would absolutely order the mozzarella sticks though!

Christian Petroni has been someone I've followed for a long time. I love his Italian roots being brought to life. His meals have new ideas with classic traditions. Being from the north east I was super pumped to see he had an Italian restaurant being put up in Nashville. We constantly crave Italian from back home so this was a huge deal for all of us as a family. I was a bit let down by this place though, I'm not sure if I put it on a pedestal or not before even trying it but was expecting to be absolutely blown away. I'm not saying it was bad but just was expecting that WOW factor. The Sauce was phenomenal, only element that reminded me of home and saved the entire experience as a whole. I ordered margarita pizza and the pappardelle with meatballs. Pizza was a stereotypical Neapolitan style pie, I enjoyed it. Pasta dish was good but the pasta itself seemed a bit sticky instead of that silky smooth pasta I've had before at high end Italian restaurants. Almost like they left the pasta out to dry first and it got all sticky. The meatballs had good flavor but I was confused by the style. Meatballs were a bit dry, had a harder outer shell with no moisture inside. The chicken parm was the biggest let down of all the dishes unfortunately. Knowing how passionateChristian is of his authentic Italian I was surprised how the chicken cutlet of the chicken parm was so underwhelming. My wife described it as similar to something she would get at Olive Garden. No crisp to the cutlet whatsoever, it was a soggy piece of chicken parm. It was like rubber. Very sad because we love chicken parm from back home. The fries on the side of chicken parm is something we've never seen before and was a huge throw off, fries were very good just a strange choice. Ella's is a great place with a well educated staff. Be sure to know you are going to drop some money here as well, this is not a place to get Italian on a budget. We spend around 300 on 4 ppl. The sauce stole the show, and really put the whole meal on its back.

Yep - it's a keeper. Didn't start well, waited for almost 10 minutes until I hailed someone. It happens. They made up for it with great food, shout out to the crew working hard in the open view kitchen and Savanah gifting one or two items off the bill - goes a long way. The experience thereafter was grand, here we go:- bolognese rigatoni something had a red sauce with fra Diavlo overtones that was excellent albeit pasta was more cooked than I like it but certainly not overcooked. It's was really good.- fried meatballs that were moist and in another decadent red sauce. Wonderful.- arugula salad with a citrus based salad dressing and candied pistachio that might have been the best damn salad I've had in some time.- prosciutto plate with two cheeses: one was like a Romano hard, sharp cheese that was pretty good. The star, the mozzarella was something I'd find on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx's famous Italian market. - dessert was a panacotta treat with a great flavor profile.This place is the real deal. If I return to this culinary paradise that is Nashville, I will return here as well. Bien hecho!

Far too expensive for a hotel meal. Pitiful portion size. Also don't try paying in cash because they don't have change.... My husband had the chicken parm which had a good flavor but was very thin, not much meat to it. I tried the meatballs with ricotta app which was really good. For dessert I chose the panna cotta to go. We also had a bottle of spring water. Without a tip, the bill was $90 for one entree, one app, one dessert and water. To add to that, the panna cotta was pathetically small. It tasted delicious but the portion was pitiful. Paid with cash, the server came back and said they didn't have any coins so we were shorted $.37 ...

I was able to finally try this spot tonight and it did not disappoint. We started with the shrimp scampi that surprisingly had a nice level of spice to it. Then i ordered the pappardelle which was also a little spicy. I added meatballs. As someone who isn't normally a meatball fan this dish was really good. I also tasted the salmon. The sauce that it sits on took the salmon up a notch. We didn't make it to dessert however I highly recommend this Italian spot. The restaurant was really cute, our waiter was very nice and walked us through the highlights of the menu. I wish I could remember his name because he was great! The restaurant is downtown inside of the Hyatt Centric. We parked in the lot right across from the restaurant which was very pricey. I didn't see an option to valet nor did I ask if the restaurant validates parking in their lot which I would ask next time as parking in the open lot was the only negative for the night.