I had a quick lunch with a coworker here and it was delicious! I was in the mood for Mediterranean and this came highly recommended by a colleague. When we arrived, there was plenty of seating and we were sat right away. Our server was very attentive and the whole staff was friendly. The decor is gorgeous with little cutouts in the wall and beautiful light fixtures - a very fresh experience! The food was good- I do wish I had an opportunity to try more but it was only a quick meal. I love Gyros and it was very tasty although the meat might have been a bit overcooked. It came with some delicious fries and also there was bread and oil for the table that was a treat as well. There were many items on the menu that looked good and I look forward to trying more read more

Elegantly decorated. Burrata with fruits were refreshing and it awakened my palate. The lamb chop is a little gamey than the others that I tasted, I personally do not mind it, for me, it is the distinguishing factor between lamb and beef. And I love lamb! Fish was tender and perfectly seasoned. Moussaka was really good. Will order this the next time I go back. Prawns Rockefeller tasted good, like playground in my mouth. Some ingredients were sour, some were a little sweet... but they all compliment each other and was just the perfect combination of taste and texture. I understand Paella has variety depending on where it came from. Seafood Paella is not to my liking. It did have a lot of protein but I am not a fan of the taste, nor the texture of the rice. Greek coffee was good. The texture was kind of like drinking a chocolate drink. Like there's depth but flowy. Service was great. Staff were friendly and attentive. read more

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Dined in for a weekday work lunch with a group less than 10. I'm honestly new to Greek/Mediterranean food, but everything on the menu looked tasty. I had no idea what the items are, so I had to refer to the ingredients and some photos on Yelp, but no combination of ingredients sounded not good to try. It took me so long to make a choice. The item I got (no longer found on the menu--I literally been scanning their current menu and cannot find it for the dear life of me) was a coconut dish with fish, avocado, mangos, and chips for dipping. It was a fun dish, but a very tasty one. The drink on the side is the coconut juice they extracted from the coconut bowl. Everything tasted very fresh. I would order it again, but sadly it is no longer on the menu. My second option would had been the beet salad with a salmon protein. My coworker ordered it, and it looked very good. Everyone's items looked tasty, and I didn't hear anything that went wrong with their food. The only thing that was disappointing at first was the service. It was not busy for weekday lunch, but we were left abandoned outside at the corner and we didn't really get attended to. We were basically the only party outside in our area. A lunch that could had taken an hour took to almost a hour and 45 minutes because of their inattentiveness. When the server was there, he was kind, but they did not check in with us when we were ready to order. I would come back and try other dishes though! read more

Elia - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

What a beautiful restaurant with gorgeous interior and patio! I had been eyeing this place for a while. Came on a Friday night for a work holiday dinner-- we were about 10 people and had reserved a table ahead of time. The decor and warmth, friendliness of the staff were not only welcoming but made us feel special. My colleagues enjoyed the Evil Eye cocktail and I loved my Cupid's Arrow mocktail-- what a treat! Hold your hats for the appetizer Saganaki-- flaming cheese that is quite a show-- don't miss it! As a vegetarian there are many apps to choose from but that is the way to go. For vegetarian entrees there is the veggie pasta, mushroom risotto, veggie paella. My colleague found her veggie pasta underseasoned but I enjoyed my creamy decadent risotto! I ordered a side of mixed vegetables but probably should have gone with a salad instead as the veggies were mainly a frozen mix with artichoke and roasted peppers added. The staff were attentive and made it a fun night for our large group. I look forward to coming back for a romantic date night with my husband. There are multiple public parking lots within walking distance. Keep in mind this location does NOT have live music/DJ. read more

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A lovely atmosphere with a upscale look and experience. Our server was extremely patient throughout the entire process. I enjoyed the grilled octopus for my appetizer, and the beet salad for my main course. I highly recommend both dishes, as they were both beautifully plated and perfectly executed. The goat cheese in the meat salad was a perfect addition and the salad was wonderfully balanced read more

Had dinner at Elia tonight for the first time. The bread was really good that came before dinner. I ordered the Spanikopita and the butter lettuce salad. My friend had the chicken kebab plate with couscous and tzatziki sauce. Everything was really good, I really liked the Spanikopita although it only came with two pieces and was a bit pricy. I had wanted to order the gyro but was told it's only served at lunch. Our server was attentive and it was nice that there is a carafe of water at the table. It was replenished in a timely manner. Was impressed with how aesthetic it was inside the dining room. Beautiful colors and nice touches everywhere. I will definitely be back for lunch. read more

Came here today with the wife and in-laws. My wife is Greek so she LOVED it here. She said it felt like home. Outside is very nice and wonderful amount of seating available. Inside you feel like you are in Greece right away. I bet at night its beautiful inside. Inside seating availability is wonderful as well. Overall you can fit a lot of customers without feeling it's too packed. Alcohol options is great. But for me I'm bourbon fan and I was impressed with their options. I had the Michters small batch. Menu's and the options are great. You don't feel like your looking at a over packed menu that has too much on it. Very clean. For apps we had SAGANAKI, KALAMARAKIA and AVGOLEMONO. All was very good. The KALAMARAKIA came jalapeno's and red onions. Really added a great flavor. For the main course we had KOKKINISTO, HALIBUT and LAVRAKI. All was very good as well. Halibut came with a sauce that really went well with it. For desert we had Baklava, Greek Yogurt Cheesecake which was absolutely amazing and I don't like cheesecake at all! Their Greek coffee is WOW. Will be looking for it to buy for home. Staff is very professional and beyond friendly. They take the time answer any questions you have. Also very well dressed. The only negative thing for me which was not enough to lower the stars is my food came out first and the rest at my table came out 20 minutes later. But things happen and it was ok. Not everything is also going to be perfect and you have to understand that and not be a snob about it. At the end with all the wonderful food we had I did not feel over full like I do when I have an American food restaurant. You can for sure tell the food is quality and ingredients are fresh. I highly suggest giving tis place a try cause you will be sorry if you don't. read more

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I wanted a new restaurant to go for Easter Brunch and this place fit the bill. The decor was lovely, the hostess, and our server were attentive and courteous. I had browsed their menu before coming and wanted to order the dolmathes, grape leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts, and herbs ( I was able to order and they were scrumptious), and a gyro sandwich, unfortunately the gyro was not on the brunch menu which was a huge disappointment. I opted for a Greek omelette with cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, olive, peppers, and onions with a side of fruit, and breakfast potatoes. The omelette was okay a bit salty, from the combination of the olives and feta cheese. The ambiance and service made up for the omelette and not getting a gyro sandwich. I need to go back and get that sandwich. The restaurant was packed for brunch. A lovely restaurant in downtown Pleasanton across from Zachary's Pizza. read more

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Unbelievably overpriced for food that was either too salty or had no flavor at all, and awful service. I expected so much more from this place. The menu looks delicious, the decor is lovely, and the vibe is fun and cozy. But what we got was a server who scowled at us the entire time, walked away after taking 3 out of 5 of our drink orders, brought a Cabernet instead of Sauvignon Blanc, and forgot and appetizer AND a dessert. Oh, we also had a "large party" mandatory gratuity added on to our bill even though there were only 5 of us and they list a large party as 6. And finally, my drink order came with what I think was supposed to be an animal face of some sort but I couldn't figure out what kind of animal and it seemed very amateurish for a non-alcoholic beverage that cost $16! Will not be returning to this restaurant. read more

Elia - The lemon animal head "garnish" on my mocktail. - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Food - 4 stars. Service 1 star 1. Kolokithokeftethes 4 stars- zucchini fritters were excellent. Flavorful with different herbs and not oily at all 2. Melitzana (melitzanosalata in Greece)- 3 stars. Good but not enough garlic, the depth of flavor from roasting was absent, and the eggplant was not as delicate as the melitzanosalata we had in Greece and NY. 3. Butter lettuce and Beet salad- 3 stars - solid but not outstanding 4. Keftedes (meatballs)- 5 stars-excellent flavor, texture and good quality meat, not too salty like a lot of meatballs or sauce 5. Kokkinisto - 5+ stars -outstanding- lamb was so tender, not over salted, excellent flavors, and the side of veggies complimented it very well 6. Moussaka- 5 stars- excellent, perfectly cooked, could taste individ ingredients instead of being mushed together like some moussakas. Service- ONE star. It took 4 requests for more water and 5 requests for ice before they brought it. There was 1/2 hr of sitting and waiting between courses after finishing the dishes. With the dishes we ordered for 4 ppl and no drinks, it took 2.5 hrs for dinner, even with repeated queries about our food. In many restaurants, a table for 4 has a 1 1/2 hr limit at a table. It was hard to find someone to flag down to ask questions about our food and other tables had the same issue of waiting a long time for their food. Yes, it's Mother's Day, but as I said to the manager who kept telling me they're busy, they know how many reservations they had. They know it's Mother's Day. They should be prepared; it wasn't a surprise. We cancelled the one dessert we were going to share between the 4 of us because it took so long and we have to work early in the am. And by the time we ordered the dessert, the restaurant was half empty so it should have arrived promptly. It looked like they prioritized the large tables with 8 ppl ordering a lot of alcohol. Sad because I was looking forward to dinner here after a friend's recommendation. There were no apologies, just excuses, from the manager read more

This was probably some of the worst service I have had a restaurant for a while. We came in on a Sunday for brunch around 11am. The place was practically empty. We sat outside. The ambience of this place was really nice. The decor was beautiful and we sat outside near the fire which was lovely. They were so incredibly slow. They never brought us extra bread we asked for. They took my friend's plate away before she was done eating her bread so she didn't have a plate for her bread. She ordered the salmon benedict - no salmon on her benedict. We had to ask three separate times for our check. The food was fine but nothing to write home about. I got a Greek omelet and honestly it was no big deal. I don't know if they were short-staffed but we won't be returning. read more

Stopped by pleasanton elia for a quick bite and absolutely loved everything! We got the grilled octopus and lamb sandwich, and that was definitely enough for two. The lamb sandwich was genuinely one of the best sandwiches i've had, i'd highly recommend it. On top of that, we received great service from our server Ismail. He was warm, funny, and very attentive and made sure all of our needs were met at all times. Definitely come here for good food and good service! read more

Elia - Lamb sandwich - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Didn't have a great experience here and was disappointed given the stellar reviews. My friend and I came in at 10:30 so shortly after they opened for weekend brunch. There was only one party of 2 seated in the restaurant as far as I could tell (ie, not crowded at all). At first the waiter was pretty attentive and asked what we wanted to drink, gave us our coffees and refilled mine quickly, etc. But once we ordered we waited quite a long time for our food... especially given there weren't many people in the restaurant and I think our food should have been pretty quick to make: French toast and the Greek breakfast plate (basically a charcuterie board with 2 fried eggs). After ~25 min? the food came. The French toast was really good! The charcuterie breakfast plate was interesting lol. The two fried eggs were exactly as described lol. Not really any seasoning for them as far as I could see. There were some good dips for the rest of the board: honey w/ butter, some sort of fig jam, and maybe something else I forgot. Fries with ketchup were good, too, and thin cut. The bread was kind of interesting because one was like a pretzel bread and the other was sort of like a doughy donut? I wish there were crackers or some sort of pita bread / thin bread to spread the cheese and dips on. Of note, olives had the pits in and my friend had a rude awakening when chomping on one lol. In addition to the slow food I was disappointed with the service. Our water glasses were those tiny ones that get empty super quickly and no one refilled our water until the very end so I was quite thirsty. I was trying to look for the waiter throughout the meal but he basically disappeared. My friend and I were both disappointed and wouldn't come back. Nice ambiance, decent food, but service leaves something to be desired. read more

A little disappointment on the visit last night. I was here to celebrate my friend's birthday. Service, drinks were fine. Appetizers and salad were good as usual, but escargot was very tiny. We were given a small table that was a bit challenging to share three appetizers at the same time, couldn't enjoy comfortably. When it came to the entree, lamb chops, was a big disappointment. The server specifically asked how we like it and also suggested us get 4 pieces because order comes in 3 originally. We agreed and asked for medium. However they came out overdone. The cook decided to make it up by giving extra two pieces to us instead of remaking the whole order. I am not sure if it's an appropriate way to do in a high end restaurant. A small gesture of giving complimentary birthday baklava was appreciated. read more

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Ambiance was excellent, we sat outside on the patio and it was so lovely. Service was good, our water was never empty. The food was so good! I read in one of the older reviews someone said the house bread was not good but i disagreed? It was very soft and the house dipping was delicious. We had tzatziki as appetizer and it was really fresh and bright . The beets salad was good but the octopus was delish! It was cooked just right and not rubbery at all. The Moussaka was also delish if eggplants is your thing. read more

Elia - Beets salad with octopus leg and moussaka - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Great service! Tge crew are friendly and all smiles. The food took a bit long to arrive but they made sure they keep the free pita bread and dip flowing. Food was also good. I ordered the lamb shank and it was falling off the bone. Serving was a bit smaller than the other restaurant I went to such as Meso in Santana Row, but it was flavorful. Ambiance was casual and some tables had birthday celebrations so it was a bit loud where we found ourselves screaming even if we're seated next to each other. read more

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Fancy! Yes it is . With its chic decor it gives out Santorini and Mykonos vibes alright and the food to definitely match . It's an uber chic place to head out for your special evening in tri valley . From the flaming halumi cheese, trio dips to its paella or lamb chops , everything on the well curated menu is worth a try . The wrap around patio with its fire pit and lovely bougainvillea is a great spot to people watch while enjoy a lovely meal . The cocktail list is fun and eclectic and the wine list is extensive . Weekends feature a great brunch spread and dj / live music in the evenings. read more

The atmosphere at Elia is beautiful, especially the outdoor patio seating. Unfortunately, the overall dining experience did not fully match the ambiance. The service felt inattentive at times. For example, we ordered the sizzling cheese appetizer (Saganaki) and the presentation was done while my husband had briefly stepped away, rather than waiting a moment for everyone at the table to be present. The bread was served cold, and my pasta lacked flavor/seasoning. While the setting is definitely aesthetically appealing, the food and service felt underwhelming compared to the expectations created by the atmosphere and pricing. Overall, it was a nice evening because of the location and patio, but the restaurant itself left room for improvement. read more

Elia - Evil eye cocktail and Saganaki appetizer - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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Service and ambiance of the restaurant was amazing, but sadly the food was a bit disappointing. My husband and I had come there for date night. Their outdoor seating has great vibes and little fire pits and blankets for if you get cold. We really wanted to like this place but almost every dish we ordered was just OK. read more

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5-star all the way, from ambiance, to service and food! Fine dining Greek restaurant. Quality service and food! Will surely come back. read more

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This place is located in Downtown Pleasanton. It's a very cute area and the restaurant is as well. They offer outdoor seating which was lovely. The Octopus was the best I've ever had in my life. (Sad I didn't snap a pic) It was grilled to perfection and melted in my mouth. The fish was fresh and delicious and the service was excellent. Everyone was polite and ready to help. I'll be back! read more

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Chose this restaurant for a birthday dinner and it did not disappoint!! The service was amazing with a lot of jokes and constant support. We were treated like family and the food was delicious! There was such an inviting environment inside with beautiful decor and a great location to walk around after we finished our meal. Overall would put this high on the list for places to try when you are in the area! read more

A Greek Spot That Gets It Right Beautiful blue and white decor with faux bougainvillea and real succulents - feels like Greece. Great for dates or families, locals love it. Service: Actually pays attention - no rushing courses, proper pacing. Food hits: * Burrata and meatballs (check under the burrata for fig/pecan surprise) * Moussaka - warm and homey with rich tomato sauce * Chicken skewers - amazing chicken, unexpected bulgur side but good Drinks: El Greco cocktail (strong, sippable) and moscato d'asti paired with Galaktoboureko. Solid Greek food with service that cares. The kind of neighborhood spot that earns its local following. read more

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My husband and I decided to try this new restaurant. He had a glass of Syrah and I had a mock tail, the cupids arrow. Both drinks were very good. We started with the keftedes meatballs. They were okay. Meat mixture not as tasty as my Yiayia's recipe. My husband had the chicken souvlaki. The rice pilaf needed salt or seasoning and the chicken was very bland. I had the moussaka and it was very tasty. We were too full to try any dessert. Service was very good. I would definitely return to try other entrees. read more

Elia - Mocktail-delicious - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Returned here again and gave the lobster paella a second try and was sure glad I did! Cooked perfectly and rich with flavor. Evil eye cocktail was little too sweet for my taste. It was like eating candy. So if you like that, give it a try. read more

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Came here for bday dinner and had made reservations ahead. Street parking was available. The restaurant was beautiful and please to the eyes. We ordered seafood paella, filet mignon, lamb shop, fried calamari. The lamb chop was amazing. So tender and well seasoned, I would totally order again. This is a great restaurant for anything celebratory! read more

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Nice experience at Elia for Father's Day! Great ambiance inside! Made me feel like i was back in Santorini! The food is good, I liked the temperature of the pasta which was piping hot! Cute for date night and also for girls night! A little pricey on the entrees but overall nice experience! read more

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We went to Elia in Pleasanton and tried several dishes -- everything from the lobster paella and lobster pasta to the whole branzino, ribeye skewer, and ceviche. Every plate was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. The flavors were fresh and vibrant, and the seafood was cooked perfectly. Service started out great -- attentive and friendly -- but toward the end, things slowed down. I had to ask for the bill several times, and it took quite a while to get it, which was a bit frustrating. The restaurant itself is gorgeous, especially the front area, with a warm, inviting vibe, with the fire pits. That said, the chairs have to be some of the most uncomfortable seats I've ever had in a restaurant, which made lingering over a nice meal less enjoyable. Overall, amazing food, good service and lovely ambiance -- just be prepared for the seating read more

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Never been to Santorini, but if you are in the Tri-Valley and want to pretend you are, then go to Elia in downtown Pleasanton right next to Heritage Bank of Commerce. Pleasanton-ini. Let's cut to the chase, there is a reason there are now three locations. Because they are "opa" Aristotle-style. Yea, I'm 45 now so dad jokes are the new norm. Came here on a Wednesday night and it was packed. Ordered an eggplant appetizer, chicken thigh skewers, and whole sea bass. Honestly, I forget what they were called because it's hard to pronounce Greek shit. I think the eggplant was something called MELITZAHAKUNAMATATA? A lot of Ts, Zs, Ks and Ls and a ton of vowels thrown in between. Greek spelling bees must be hard AF. The chicken thigh skewers were juicy and the vermicelli-bulgur with toasted almonds was fantastic. To all my Asian people and lactose people out there. You may want to stay away from the tzaziki though. I won't go into details. The lavraki, a whole Mediterranean sea bass was cooked to perfection. Crispy skin, perfect seasoning, grilled lemon slices... On top of that, it was semi-boneless with the main bones removed. You may find a bone here and there, but being Asian, just removing the main spine for me was a bonus. That said, this dish will likely scare away the fine dining people who are used to having fish filets where the fish looks nothing like the animal that it used to be. I am sure looking at the expired fish's beaty eyes will freak out some snowflakes. Meanwhile, us Asians are fighting over who gets to eat the eyeballs LMAO. At the end of the day, aside from the tzatziki that game me the tza-shitzies, I am definitely going to be back. Especially since I want to order the flaming cheese thing. I think it was called Saganaki but looked like Nagasaki in a pan when they set the cheese on fire tableside. read more

Elia - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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The service is great. The food is amazing. The decor is absolutely stunning. Definitely a 5 star experience. read more

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Amazing food and great ambiance and atmosphere. Good customer service, all the crew are very helpful. read more

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Nice atmosphere. The sea bass and lamb chops dishes were excellent. Enjoyed the overall neighborhood too.

One of my favorite restaurants'. Service and food are always good. We usually choose outdoor seating which makes the dinning experience always special. The ambiance is nice as well as the decor. read more

Elia was our second stop on our (espresso) Martini Monday. We knew they had octopus so we decided this is where we would get a bite. The interior is clean and crisp, definitely a Greek beach vibe. The service was attentive, although in a prescriptive way, not a friendly or engaging way. The espresso martini... I'm just going to come out and say it, this was not our favorite, not even close. The flavor was okay, but lacked the punch we expect from a nice espresso martini. We never even entertained getting a second. Not to mention, there were five beans in each glass. Dear Elia, three is the magic number. Martini Ranking: We hit up three spots for our Martini Monday and this was 3/3, with Almafi and Lokanta coming ahead. We ordered a couple of starters and the lamb ribs to share. Octopus: 4/5 Perfectly cooked, a nice crispy exterior and a buttery interior. The flavor was spot on, and that's how this landed 4 stars. We were not sure why the presentation included a partially roasted (and out of season) whole tomato, it was very bland and took away from the dish. There was one small tentacle, definitely not what we would expect for the price or in comparison to octopus apps at some of our favorite spots. Beet Salad: 3/5 . A visually pleasing plate, but given the title was beet salad we expected more than three little wedges of beets. We both liked the crispies on top, and I enjoyed the greens. If it was advertised as a salad with some beets, we may have given it a fourth star. Lamb: 1/5 Disclaimer. I cook a mean lamb. This one... so disappointing. There was no crisp or the outside, whatever searing they did added no flavor. The lamb and the fries (we asked for fries but it comes with mashed potatoes) were terribly underseasoned. Terribly. Lamb should not be bland, and a pinch of salt, maybe some pepper, would have helped this dish out a lot. read more

Elia - Greek Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Beautiful restaurant and excellent food and service. Celebrated my son's birthday and we had a great time!

We really enjoyed the food, highly recommend the pasta and paella! The ambience was amazing, but the service could've been a little better. The area is super cute, would definitely recommend trying! read more

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Worst service I've experienced in forever. Server was dismissive and almost never came by. He spent maybe 3 mins at our table over 3.5 hrs. We were there to have a nice group dinner and if our server paid any attention to us at all, we'd have been able to order twice as much- food, drinks dessert, etc. and generated much more revenue for them. instead we just sat waiting for our guy to come by which he never did. 3.5 hrs later he finally brought the check, tried to charge us for a bottle of wine they were out of & we never had. We wanted dessert, but the service was so slow we left after the entrees. Food was ok, def not memorable enough to offset the service. Won't return or recommend. read more

I came here with my family for dinner. Delicious food. Amazing pear dessert. Friendly and welcoming service from our server and the manager came around too to ensure everything was going great. We had a great chat with the guy refilling our waters. He had such a charisma and welcoming personality. Beautiful decor inside. Felt like I was in Greece. Would return! read more

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WOW!! All of the apps and main courses were really good. Serving sizes were perfect for 6 people even splitting apps. The fried cheese and fried olives were my favorites. The escargot was unimpressive. Halibut is a must. Paella was a must. Service was good! Our waitress made good recommendations. Can't wait to try the Walnut Creek location! read more

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We had an excellent experience as a group. We had our team's holiday lunch in a large group. The ambience and the decor was good. Not too noisy(Personally, I don't consider people talking loudly and having fun as noise!). The 5 stars specifically is for the staff and the service. They took care of us well. Main food, appetizers were super tasty. Every one liked what they got. Might be a wee bit pricey, but I highly recommend this place for those special occasions and also for work meetings, parties. Great memory we made! Thanks to the entire team at Elia. Creating gourmet food in such a hospitable environment is no less profound than the cool products we make at work. read more

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