What to expect from Melbourne’s brand new foodie precinct, ELLA

Melbourne is about to welcome a new city precinct with ELLA (where Elizabeth meets La Trobe), rolling out a whole heap of new cafes including an off-shoot of South Yarra’s beloved hatted restaurant Atlas. Promised as an ambitious 2500-square-metre food and lifestyle space, it will embrace numerous aspects of everyday Melbourne life while also channelling inspiration from the high-end offerings found throughout the train stations of Asia.

The Atlas spin-off, Colours Bowls will be joined by deep-fried Korean chicken joint Sam Sam, Thai eastery Son in Law The Pad, Chinese skewer diner Pick a Stick, Nepalese restaurant Chilli Everest, and a reimagined Ajisen Ramen.

A co-working space, Worksmith, with an on-premise “drinks lab” and event space will also be a major part of the new precinct, which will also embrace music, art and technology alongside all of that food.

“We want the space to be an intimate place for residents and visitors to meet and enjoy Melbourne life away from the hustle and bustle of the CBD streets, while still being surrounded by the attributes that make this city so fantastic”, explained Development Manager Stuart MacLeod-Smith, who has ensured the precinct be acoustically treated so that both live and recorded music can pop-up regularly throughout the week.

The precinct will even host tech platform crowdDJ which invites visitors to put forth their favourite tunes from their mobile device and even vote for a genre of the week via an in-built kiosk. ELLA staff will have the chance to curate their own Tastemaker Playlists – with new selections uploaded monthly.

A dedicated mural wall will keep Melbourne’s long legacy of street art flowing through the precinct, while food and drink continue to roll out and fill the precinct with local businesses. Before the end of this year, that will include Blackheart & Sparrows with wine, beer and cider, upscale cocktail bar Byrdi, artisan-focused The Fermentary, and more.

ELLA will be located at the corner of Elizabeth Street and La Trobe Street and is the latest
precinct by GPT Group – the developers behind next-door Melbourne Central. More information can be found HERE.

Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.