Ella's Deli

My boyfriend and I wanted to try ellas ever since we moved to madison, as he had seen a show on food network showcasing the restaurant. We got in and the place was dimly lit, but lots of cool crazy stuff all over the place. We ordered our food and about 5-10 min after ordering I saw a large cockroach scurry across my table. I told the hostess and left. The worst part was seeing all those people with their children who didn't know they are eating at a restaurant with a cockroach infestation. more

Always on the look-out for the unique and unsual, and based on the many Chowhound posts, we decided to try Ella's Deli in Madison. Pros: Good deli food, highly entertaining atmosphere more

Oh my GOD, I cannot believe Ella's is still in business. When I was in college, I worked there for 2 illustrious days. When I quit (after the longest 2 days of my life), the manager told me ""that's funny - the last 3 employees quit after less than a week, too."" HERE'S WHY. It's a miracle the restaurant hasn't been shut down due to health code violations. I was hired to be a server, but found myself on the line, making sandwiches within minutes of punching in for my first shift. The surfaces are wiped down with the same dirty, non-bleached, cold and slimy rag - all day. The ""break room"" was also the baking area - complete with dishes and ashtrays (!!!!) on the rolling bins that hold the flour, oats, etc. The place is NASTY. Even if the food were stellar, which it is not, I wouldn't let anything in that restaurant touch my mouth. Pros: Good god, none Cons: DIRTY, bad food more

They have a HUGE menu that will take a while to go thru, while you do don't let yourself get distracted by all the robotics and puppets hanging over your head and installed in your table! If I had kids I would definately bring them here! A few of my favorites: the Blintzes, Fried Onion Rings with ranch, Fried Dill Pickles, Grilled Cheese (Chedar and Swiss on Challah bread with fried onions and tomato), any of their old fashoned ice cream deserts. They also have an old fashoned carousel outside for the kids! Pros: Entertaining, Great Food, Good Parking Cons: Busy on Sundays more