Lillo & Ella

They have a great outdoor patio that is also dog friendly. By "dog friendly" I mean they have bins for your dog's "accidents." And, don't worry, they are not next to the tables. Your food and nose are safe.

A few girlfriends and I ended up here on a weeknight without remembering it was August. The waitress reminded us that they were participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks as well as how they are the only restaurant participating who gives you an alcoholic beverage with the meal. So, this is great if you're one who like a beer or wine with meal. I was on allergy medication and needed water, my friend was on antibiotics, and my other friend wasn't going to drink alone. We decided to forego the HRW Menu. Maybe next year?

All three of us, without trying, ended up with similar meals! We each ordered an individual order of brussel sprouts, and they were heaven! They were just the right amount of crisp and flavor without being overly salty or too soft. We all were in agreement that the brussel sprouts we make at home never turn out this way. And, we all ended up having skewers. I had two yogurt and curry shrimp skewers that were just the right amount of spicy without making me sniffle or cry. One of my friends had a pair of the zucchini and mushroom skewers and the other friend had a pork belly and a beef skewer. We were all full, but my mouth needed some cooling, so I ordered a dessert we could split: A Nutella pie with banana-palm sugar ice cream, burnt caramel sauce, cocoa nibs for only $6.

This is a great date place or a night out with the girls (actually the table next to us was celebrating a birthday) and doesn't break the bank! And, don't forget your pooch if you don't mind sitting outside.

Interesting concept with unique but confusing dishes. Basically just top dollar appetizers. If you feel comfortable paying the equivalent of $1.50 per piece of shrimp then come on over!

They should change their name to Lillo $ Ella.

The staff was very kind and the whole atmosphere of the restaurant is awesome. It's a cute little spot and well decorated.

The food on the other hand was very disappointing. I love Asian cuisine and I'm all about places that are trying to really modernize and westernize Asian dishes...but this place wasn't the right place to go for it. The best thing we had was probably the Honey Chipotle Edamame.

The blue crab fried rice, toasted garlic, chinese sausage, snow pea and basil was a blend that I was really looking forward to tasting but for some odd reason, it did not taste as delicious as I anticipated. It just did not taste good. The sausage was good on its own but it seemed like there were too many things fighting for my taste buds.

The Thai muu noodles, ground pork shoulder and chili tossed with egg noodles, long beans, bean sprouts and herbs was probably the worst. It seemed very watery and didn't have enough flavoring to the dish.

And the egg rolls. Don't do it. It's not worth it. It just falls apart when you grab it and it's a horrible interpretation of a "westernized Asian egg roll."

Came here for a quick lunch with my husband after an appointment at Memorial Hermann Northwest. It is within walking distance of the hospital. We shared the crab fried rice, Brussels sprouts, and Nutella pie. It was a generous amount of food to share without any leftovers to take home. The rice was slightly on the salty side for me, but very flavorful. The Nutella pie was clearly house made and not overly sweet.

I liked Lilo and Ella much better than the tequila bar that used to occupy this space. The the food and drink menus were both interesting, my favorite part was the Zatoichi's Revenge drink - named for the blind swordsman who has been a staple of Samurai Saturday on IFC.
While this place was a little on the pricey side it was not ridiculous, the food and service were both good. When I go again I will probably get one of the noodle dishes, they looked delicious.

First visit - on a rare cool evening and sat outside.

This place is a winner - great and unusual dishes. We liked most everything (exceptions below).

We started with three of their unusual cocktails (well priced at $7 each) - one was a bit over gingered.

The charred brussel sprouts (a different take than Uchi's) and crispy calamari were very good and decent sized (more than enough for 3 to share).

Entrees were mussels, crispy chicken, and braised pork belly (latter more of an appetizer at $6 but after too much appetizers..). All VERY good - issues were not all the mussels were cooked properly - a few could not be opened - and crispy chicken was a tad light on chicken.

Throw in 2 beers and tip - damages for 3 were $115.

We'll be back - probably not order the mussels again. Give them a try. BTW - a large private parking lot.

It was a fairly disappointing dinner at Lillo & Ella: their food is way too expensive for the $$ price. I'd compare it to a fresher, more upscale Pei Wei with much higher prices. But if you go, the blue crab fried rice was the best thing we had. The brussel sprouts were WAY too salty, and the thai muu noodles and beef sesame skewers were OK but nothing to write home about.

And the staff really seemed like they hated being there and couldn't understand why we were there too. Strange.

As an Asian, I was excited to try the new "Asian foods at the new heights" restaurant. It was in the top 10 new places to try in Houston even.

So I picked the place for my pre-Gaga concert eat. We had to sit in the patio because the inside was pretty small and full. I like the decor, somewhat cute and chic, and somewhat European for my taste. However, please if you have outside seating, have the decency to find some way to get the mosquito out. In the end, I had to run from the place to the car so I wouldn't be devoured alive.

Menu was short, so that's a good thing for me. We tried to order some of the good dishes recommended on yelp, such as the lamb chops, tuna tartare, and the blue crab fried rice. We also ordered the yogurt and curry shrimp and the scallion bread. I also got something from the bar, and that drink was good!

However, the food... most of it was a disappointment. First, the bread. I advise you to just go and buy some bread rolls in the grocery store, cut some scallion pieces and add some sesame on top. That's basically it, nothing so *different*. The tuna tartare was meh, the flavor did not come off as anything "Asian" to me or taste nicely anyhow. The only dish we liked was the lamb, it was seasoned well and very tender. But I recognized what constitutes as "Asian" for this restaurant: sesame, scallion, and some fish sauce. Every dish had literally some sesame seeds and scallion sprinkled on top.

On top of that, the waiter forgot to put in the other 2 dishes we had. We patiently waited for 30 minutes since we finished the previous dishes, since maybe they tried to do it the leisure way of a European cafe. Boy, was I wrong! Our waiter curtly said sorry about it, and e could punch it in if we still want them. I said no since we had to leave for the concert. No other apology of any form.

Overall, if you want real Asian food, try it in Chinatown, or Korean town. But this place? As I put it when I told my coworkers about it, "white people trying to be Asians."

At first glance Lillo & Ello is a fun, chill place to eat in the Heights. There's ample outdoor seating to hang out at and the menu offers a variety of small plates. Which is great for sharing between a group. While the staff was friendly and the food came out quickly, I just wasn't impressed with the food.

For this visit I tried the Salty Viet Wings, Thai Muu Noodles, and the Black Pepper Steak. The wings weren't fried enough to get that crisp skin for the sauce to stick to. Which was unfortunate as the sauce was tasty but sat at the bottom of the dish. I found the noodles to be bland. There was no heat despite the token slices of chilies and the blanched beans only made it worse. Thankfully the pepper steak was very flavorful and was my favorite dish of the meal.

I can see L&E being a good place to chill at, but wouldn't come for a full meal. The menu is varied and reads to be flavorful. However the actual product doesn't always live up to the description.

Went back again Thursday night. Menu had changed and it was Happy Hour. Had the shrimp skewer and the samosas and they were really good. Then we had the beef skewer (tough and fatty) and the turkey lettuce wrap ((YUM!). Some cocktails, some glasses of wine. Nice service

Only complaint was we had a $10 off coupon and the waitress would not honor it as she said it could not be combined with Happy Hour. I had the coupon sitting on the table in plain sight for the whole meal and she never said anything.