Santana J

I was part of a week long training hosted at the hotel, and our breakfast and lunch were provided by Ellie’s. We were lucky enough to have Mario as our server, and he was truly exceptional. By the first day, he had already learned everyone’s preferences and remembered them flawlessly our favorite condiments, how we liked things prepared, and even the little details that most people overlook. Every single day he greeted us with a genuine smile, unmatched professionalism, and a warmth that made all of us feel seen and cared for. Mario is one of those rare people who makes a lasting impact. His service elevated our entire week, and we will miss him the most. He is absolutely incredible, and Ellie’s is beyond fortunate to have him. Highly, highly recommend!

Karen Lane

We had a great experience. When Chelsea heard it was my birthday she showed up with a beautiful dessert and glasses of champagne for the whole table. She went above and beyond to make my day very special. Thank you Chelsea!

Tam Fran

I have heard about this place many times but I finally went to celebrate my friend's birthday. I heard this place is popular and crowded therefore I made a reservation which was simple and easy. Ellie's is located inside Hall Arts Hotel which is surrounded by art pieces inside and outside the hotel that made great picture opportunities. I do recommend valet because the parking around the hotel and restaurant was $15 and up but with valet it's only $5 since we were going to Ellie's. The jazz trio started around 11am (we went on Sunday) and they weren't too loud that you could still have conversation and enjoy the music. I had the Sunrise Sandwich with salad and my friend had a Burger with Parmesan Fries. They were also so nice where there was no more Prosecco and was able to substitute with Champagne. Lilly our server was awesome and overall everything was great.

+6

Casey Reho

We ate here for brunch since we were staying at the hotel. The food was really good but also very pricey. The service was friendly but inattentive. I had the avocado toast and it came with one piece of toast and was really good and the poached egg was perfection. It was $22 dollars. My husband had a breakfast croissant with potatoes and it was also really good and it was $19. It was a nice place and a quiet atmosphere for brunch on a Sunday after a night at the symphony.

+1

Chip Carlson

This review is about checking out Ellie's new fall menu! If you haven't had the pleasure of dining here it is located within the hall arts hotel downtown Dallas. This will be my second review of Ellie's but I loved it and with a new menu, comes a new review. After being seated, we were greeted by our server Chelsea and the food and beverage manager Sydney. They were both extremely helpful in picking out some great starters. We decided on the smoke trout dip, warm focaccia, lamb meatballs, and fire roasted oysters. The smoked trout dip was very nice at first but I thought it needed a little salt or boldness but that was because my first bite did not include the trout row that was sprinkled on top. Make sure your bite has this because it adds the punch of flavor and texture needed. The cracker I felt was a bit too soft to go with the soft dip, but that's just my opinion. Flavor was on point however. Next was the warm focaccia bread served with Olive tapenade. This was amazing! Best focaccia I've ever had! I believe it takes 2 days to prepare this. The tapenade was very good but not even needed, that's how good the focaccia was! I don't eat a lot of bread but could not stop on this must try dish! The lamb meatballs were good sized and much denser than expected but packed with flavor and served with a Moroccan sofrito and mint yogurt. Very nice. Lastly, we tried the fire roasted oysters with tajano butter and charred lemon. They were small but very tasty. My father who is not an oyster fan, ate half the dish! They did have a little spicy kick which I loved. All the starters were incredible but the focaccia stole the show for me! The main entree course consisted of grilled lamb chops with cashew hummus, mint and pomegranate salad, and molasses drizzle. Then we had the grilled pork chop with cardamom scented poached peaches and dried fruits, fennel, and saffron and infused bourbon sauce. We also had the crispy potatoes as a side. The lamb was very good quality and cooked perfectly how I specified. It was incredible with the velvety cashew hummus and crispy potatoes. You cannot go wrong with this choice. The pork chop was cooked perfectly. It was juicy inside and full of flavor. It is on the sweeter side so keep that in mind. Dinner was paired with a bottle of Etude 2019 pinot noir and it was a perfect compliment for the dinner. I hear the Hall's have their own winery but we didn't try them this evening. Of course you cannot have an incredible meal without trying some dessert. We chose the warm bread pudding and chocolate terrine. Both excellent but my winner was the bread pudding with dried fruit, orange zest, chocolate chips, orange liqueur, and topped with Vanilla Ice cream. Not too sweet, which was perfect. The terrine is perfect for those chocolate lovers out there. Our server Chelsea was incredible the entire dining experience she is an A+ server who is very knowledgeable, funny, helpful, and even suggested some other cocktails, which I did order, and they were both incredible. She perfected the pace of the meal and provided stellar service from beginning to end. All in all, I highly recommend Ellie's and trying their fall menu while it's still available. The hotel/restaurant is top-notch and beautiful with all the art. I highly suggest you make reservations and go try for yourself. I can't wait to go back!

+8

Enny

I'm absolutely thrilled that I stumbled upon this place! It's not only budget-friendly but also exceptionally beautiful. My brunch experience was genuinely enjoyable. The ambiance was just right, and the interior design was truly remarkable. I must say, the standout dish for me was the potatoes – I haven't had potatoes that delicious in a long time. The service was top-notch, and I was equally impressed with the valet parking cost, a mere $5, which is fantastic.

+7

12/20/25: Staycation at Hall Arts Hotel. Ellie's Restaurant & Lounge was recommended by the front desk, and we decided to check it out. Chelsea was our hostess and she was great. Very nice, laid back atmosphere, with several TV's by the bar area. We were seated at a table, and it was a very comfortable setting. The food was pretty good and the service was great. Cam, the manager, came to check on us, and he was great.

Amanda Valdespino

Very quiet restaurant. Food was good 👍 our server kept forgetting things. The drinks were basic and a bit over priced for what you're being served. It wasn't bad, I just like my drinks to taste good for what you Pay.i don't recall the name of it, but, I had the grape drink with tequila in it.

Debbie C

Tucked inside the Hall Arts Hotel, this restaurant is a great place for brunch, especially with the nice live music. The chilaquiles were sweet and spicy, it was delicious. The focaccia sandwich took awhile to come out and the bread was still cold/barely toasted. However, the sweet potato fries were piping hot and crispy on the outside they were delicious. One strange thing the host mentioned is that they cannot split checks for a table with 5 or more ppl, but can do it for a table with 4 ppl. Really weird policy!

+2

Flitter

Great atmosphere and comfortable seating. I love all the windows. My chicken was perfectly cooked but the roasted potatoes under it had no flavor. The brussel sprouts were good and great to share with 4 people. The salmon was great, the chop salad was very good. The one thing that bothered me the most, is... here we are, at a nice place and every pen we were handed was broken and shouldn't been thrown away.

+2

We chose Ellie’s for Father’s Day because we were excited about having brunch with live jazz music. Unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing. This was my second time visiting, and sadly it didn’t improve. It took quite a while for our server to even acknowledge us and bring menus. After we ordered, the food took a very long time to arrive. When it finally did, it was extremely bland and lacked flavor, which made the long wait even more frustrating. One of the main reasons we chose Ellie’s was for the jazz atmosphere, but we didn’t even get to enjoy any live music during our visit. Overall, it was not the Father’s Day experience we were hoping for. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be returning.

Enjoyable live music and an interesting selection of cocktails and mocktails. Unfortunately, there are zero gluten free food options available - we were told that everything was cross-contaminated. Disappointing, but I appreciated the openness and clarity that they will not accommodate guests who are gluten free. We’ll go elsewhere in the future - I prefer to be able to eat something & there are plenty of other spots in the area with great gf options.

Apryl Ashcraft

Ellie’s is beautiful. The jazz music for “jazz brunch” was fabulous and just the perfect background music. We sat at the bar because we didn’t plan ahead with reservations and the wait would be 15 minutes, but the bar was empty and offered the full menu. We were there about 12:45pm and had a 2pm matinee at the Winspear. The cocktails at the bar came quickly, but the bartender struggled with remembering our order as he put it in the computer, he had to ask us over his shoulder a few questions (I think this is where later issues started). Then we seemed to wait for a long time. When the food finally came my Ellie’s Breakfast plate had the wrong eggs, and he seemed to struggle with what to do about his error except just say sorry. I was concerned anything from the kitchen would take too long so I said whatever. I also didn’t receive the croissant part of my meal. The potatoes on my friend’s dish and mine were barely warm. Her Benedict was missing sauce, and she finally was able to get another server’s attention to get her more thankfully. In order to show we needed our check, I set out my credit card, and the bartender took it and charged my card before I saw the bill. I hoped he had taken care of the cost of my plate due to all the errors, but no. When I mentioned it, he just said sorry he’s been so busy. I’m not sure I saw him being so busy. If he had too many things to handle, then it seems a lack of management to take care of that and make sure the service was smooth. We wish we had waited the 15 minutes for a table after all, it might have taken the same time in the end. We got to the Winspear and to our seats with just a few minutes to go.

Kathleen Staten

WHAT HAPPENED?! This place used to be innovative, attentive, luxurious. They need a new restaurant manager who understands customer service; a new chef who knows how to balance flavor, and a new bartender who makes good cocktails like they used to. No piano in the lounge: they sold it. No extensive wine list or diverse menu. No mixologists. Pour your own water because servers can’t be bothered. Except Chelsea. If you’re lucky enough to get her as your server, then you’ll get a glimpse of the service that once made this hotel remarkable. Props to the pastry chef who is doing amazing things. I used to fantasize about coming back to this special hotel. I won’t come back any time soon.

Marie Bonilla

My boyfriend took my little sister and I here this past Sunday for brunch around 11:30am. Service was literally the server just asking us what we wanted and then drop off food after like 25 min of waiting for honestly pricy breakfast food that was not even hot to the touch and then to drop off the check. Not once where we asked if we needed anything else or if the food had came out to our liking. Not once. Place was not packed or understaffed. I got the breakfast sandwich and honestly nothing special. My little sister had the hash bowl and all she had to say was that at least the bacon was crunchy. My boyfriend had the burger and he thoroughly enjoyed it he said it was juicy and his fries were good. I personally would not come back here again especially after a $20 tip was added to my card without my consent. I always tip cash and at the least 20% because I know servers are not taxed on it. I contacted Ellie’s on Tuesday letting them know about it and spoke to Bryan who said was the director of beverage and food and would get this fixed after I provided him with my check receipt number which is one of the main reasons I keep my receipts because I do not tip on my card. I was contacted on Wednesday afternoon by a server asking for my email which would reflect my updated receipt with the correct amount but I was not provided with an explanation to why that tip was added without my consent. Besides all this the art in the hotel was worth coming by and seeing.

+9

Jonathan Speerly

We arrived for our reservation to be met by someone who let us know they didn’t know how to look it up. Reservation was for 6, they sat us at a 4 top and pulled up a chair. Luckily one person didn’t show up. Drinks came, apps came, then nothing. Ordered another round and those took almost 30 minutes. At an hour after we ordered entrees, we asked that they be cancelled so we could leave to get to our performance on time. The manager then brought out two of the 5 entrees and said “he was taking care of them.” Sir - there was nothing to take care of. We waited over an hour and needed to leave. We asked for our check, in a Rush we just paid , tipped , and left. Server was 100% amazing and she was really trying her best. But kitchen must not have made the order or something else. Not her fault. (Btw drinks were unnecessarily expensive $35 for a glass of cab? $18 for a Tito’s / soda? ). It wasn’t until today that I noticed an added service charge of 20%. We tipped over 20% on the total. So we ended up spending almost $400 for drinks and apps that we had to wait forever on. Not sure if their issues are staffing, management, or something else. But I won’t be back to find out.

Jonas Meyer

Slow service, terrible omelette. Omelettes were so greasy they legit needed to be toweled off. We waited 35 minutes at 10 in the morning for food as well, on a Saturday morning, and it was obvious from the temperature of the plate that the food was sitting under a heat lamp for most of the time. It's not like it was busy either. Peanut butter was Jif. At a full service Hilton? Seriously? Have some respect for your guests and don't serve them bottom of the barrel ingredients from the discount grocery store. (Fully hydrogenated rapeseed and/or soybean oil because there's not much peanut in the peanut butter!) Coffee was drinkable, but predictably over roasted. Weirdly, the decaf is better then the caf! On the plus side, the service, while absurdly slow, was EXCELLENT about dealing with food allergies. So while the low quality ingredients will give you a heart attack, at least it's killing you years later and not right away! Tl;dr gas station omelettes for 5 star hotel prices.

QB Family

When I first arrived I was pretty excited. The atmosphere was amazing. Beautiful scenery. As we sat & waited, the customer service was really slow. It took a while before we got drinks, even when we ordered drinks the waiter got the drinks wrong bringing 2 mimosas when we asked for 1. The food was kinda bland as well & dry. the roasted potatoes were great & apple juice. The entire time we needed anything the waiter was hard to come back we would literally have to go to the bar to get help. At the time of check out I gave the waiter my card. He took it & charged it. As I’m leaving I didn’t think to look at the receipt of what was charged. But I did notice it said $85. Once I arrived home I went to my bank account & was charged $100. Also notice he charged for two apple juices. So I gave Ellie’s a call no one from the restaurant answer only the front desk. She took my name & number yesterday. No one had reached back to me yet. I have called twice the restaurant do not answer. I’m very concerned on why they would charge extra without my knowledge. For grautuide it was blanked in that area. Also charging for 2 apple juices when we only received one & it was bought right before we left due to having the mix of being the 2 mimosas.