New cafe offers gourmet lunches, dinners with organic food
Visitors to Cafe Ella, the recently opened deli and sit-down
restaurant on Airline Hwy., can expect a warm greeting when they
arrive and depart as well as made-from-scratch meals.
New cafe offers gourmet lunches, dinners with organic food
Visitors to Cafe Ella, the recently opened deli and sit-down restaurant on Airline Hwy., can expect a warm greeting when they arrive and depart as well as made-from-scratch meals.
Ella King, the owner, has been in the restaurant business for more than 15 years.
“I’ve always had a passion for food,” she said. “I know people always say that, but ever since I got out from under my parents I’ve been cooking for friends and neighbors.”
King opened a Cafe Ella in Watsonville a year and a half ago, and began preparations for the Hollister shop when she felt the Watsonville crew was running smoothly enough for her to focus on the second location.
Upon entering the new eatery, visitors may at first mistake it for a coffee bar or deli, but it is much more. Inside the eatery, visitors may first notice the prominent coffee menu and a display case with cold drinks. The walk-up register allows visitors to quickly pick up take-out or order sandwiches to go, but the restaurant is also suited to eat-in diners. There are long dark-stained wood tables with bench seats on one side and chairs on the other and the walls are painted calming colors such as sage green.
“We always try to do sustainable,” King said. “We try to get organic, do free range chicken – our stock is made from grass-fed lamb bones – the fish is sustainable.”
The lunch menus at the two locations are similar with offerings of thin-crust pizzettes, panini sandwiches and soups and salads made with organic or sustainable food. In addition, the chef offers lasagna, chicken fettuccini and a burger. Lunch items range from $3.50 for a cup of soup up to $9.50 for lasagna.
“We don’t prep the sandwiches,” King said. “You get it how you like it.”
They welcome lunch orders by phone and take-out. But late in the afternoon, the atmosphere transforms from a quick deli service to a sit-down restaurant.
The Hollister staff offers a happy hour from 4-5 p.m. and full-service sit-down dinners after 5 p.m. The wine menu has offerings from local wineries including De Rose and Calera. The dinner menu includes hearty pasta meals as well as entrees with ingredients that skew to the gourmet range. Try free range half chicken with herb-infused jus and eggplant caponata or petite lamb chops in a sun-dried currant reduction with fresh mint. The entrees range from $16 to $22, with a fresh fish offered each night based on what is available at market, and are served with a starch and greens.
“When you go out for dinner, it feels good to sit down and relax,” King said.
The restaurant has a staff of 10, and the kitchen staff is the same most days for consistency in the food.
“The only challenge is getting our gears together like a well-oiled machine,” King said. “With a new staff it’s new people working together, but we stay busy.”
Cafe Ella is open Monday-Saturday. Lunch served 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy hour is served 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner is served 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. For a complete menu and more information, visit www.cafe-ella.com. 1709 Airline Hwy., #A, Hollister. 638-0338.
