Going down hill. I know the restaurant industry is suffering but still no excuse for bad service and mediocre food. The Hamden Eli’s has always been the best until today. We were served two sides of awful soggy French fries and the chips for the guacamole were going stale. The waitress (trinity) never even checked on us after serving our appetizers or dinner! My husband was going to go to the bar for a beer, when he got up the waitress saw him and then came to the table. Mind you she was just talking to another worker. Just unacceptable. Very disappointed today
Eli’s does the job! Went for a day hike today and we were starving to stop somewhere promising for dinner. Our local described Eli’s to us as “when you’re hungry and want something that you know will satisfy you, Eli’s always the answer”.Guac and chips were good. Drinks were good. Our meals were good. Staff was nice! Vibe was chill and a cool bar!Recommendations to make 5 star:-not scooped guacamole (maybe smoothing it in the bowl so it looks less mass produced)-chickpeas were VERY spicy. But hey, the menu did in fact say spicy! So this isn’t the restaurant’s fault. I couldn’t finish the chick peas but I’m more of a mild spice girl. I should have known- if you like spice I’m sure you’d love it!-drinks were okay but could be much improved with fresh juices rather than syrup flavors.Overall, great place!! We see why it’s popular and would happily come back :).If you liked this review, check us out on Instagram @andiamoadventure
Food never dissapoints!! Server's were able to accommodate our party of 20 last minute. All orders came out correctly, fresh and hot. Wonderful place and strong drinks!!
Went there for drinks. Pandemic has definitely had an effect on them. Menu is a bit slimmed down but still food is good. Prices have gone up which is unfortunate. Service is still solid though. Bartender CJ was awesome. Makes a great drink. Service was quick and efficient. Still the best (and only) spot to go to in this area of Hamden. Prices regardless, I'll be back.
Service was great… Food was not! Disappointed by the quality and quantity. I had the Citrus Glazed Salmon. I received maybe a 4 oz piece of Salmon. The rice tasted like it came out of package and was undercooked. Quality was comparable to a chain restaurant like TGI Fridays, but was priced at $22. My daughter ordered Mac and Cheese off the kid’s menu. And it’s the kid’s menu so we weren’t expecting a gourmet dish. But $10 for cold boxed macaroni and cheese in skillet? Give me a break. At least throw some breadcrumbs on it or something. My wife had the Chicken Florentine, and had no complaints. Except the chicken didn’t have a typical light four coating. But was instead just a breaded chicken cutlet. Portion size and price was slightly better. We have been going to Eli’s for decades and we love to support local restaurants. But we’re not planning on making a return visit unless things change for the better.
Honestly, I was slightly disappointed. The environment was great, the servers were super nice. But the food was a bit bland. I got a burger and my wife got a sandwich, and both them and our fries tasted like they had no salt at all. I will say they have a gluten free bun for the burger that is one of the best I've ever had. But the food was just okay at best.
We had my daughters 1st birthday in their downstairs event space and it was a great time! We have a large family and with a February birthday we knew we couldn't host her birthday in our small home! So we opted for a bunch style at Eli's and we couldn't be happier! Food was good and the drinks were better lol but even more than that they let me have a small section for a toddler play area and a dedicated table for coloring so the kids had something to do! It was nice to have a great event and not have to worry about a thing! The staff was friend and helpful! I had a bridal shower here for my sister like 6 years ago and it was nice to see the service and atmosphere was just as nice today as it was all those years ago!
The space that my aunt rented for her birthday party was a very private and intimate setting. Very clean and the food was delicious highly recommended for your personal private function.
Comfortable atmosphere with excellent food and service.
My wife and i along with a friend had dinner tonight at Eli’s. I cant tell you how disappointed we were with the quality and the quantity of the food. It is definitely not what we have been accustomed to in our past visits which were pretty frequent. I ordered the fish and chips, the fries were terrible….. soggy …no taste at all…. And the fish portion was 3 tiny pieces of fish that would have been small for an appetizer. For $19.00 and Elis reputation, we were shocked. If this was our first time at Elis it would definitely be our last. I really hope that this communication will be taken seriously. Eli’s has always been a reliable and constant restaurant in the area where most of our choices are just chain stores…. I mentioned to our server about our disappointment thinking that maybe he wold give us some sort of credit, but that did not happen. Thanks for your reply, James Detweiler Chaplain North Haven Fire Department Lead Pastor Hope Christian Church 860-460-4538