It's high time that some of these suburbs out of inner North and South started blossoming with culinary potential, and Ellacure in Bruce is showing it can be done, and done well! I had the best steak I've had in Australia here, and some of the best wine-parings ever recommended for a meal. Really accessible and knowledgeable staff, and this place is great for groups or small celebrations, catching up with friends, and dates. Would give it 5 stars if there was more consistency in meals from one week to the next. And once, a pasta dish was a bit too....fresh? chewy? I don't know the right description...something. If it was supposed to be like that the waiter should have prefaced the dish....a 3.5 experience amongst an otherwise 5 star dining night. Random location, places like Bruce need places like Ellacure more than places like Ellacure need places like Bruce, but the upside is you can almost always get in (do recommend booking on the weekends (as I have been shut out)), and there's almost always easy, free parking! Help support a new interpretation of the local food movement if you live in Belconnen and check this place out, and if you're from other parts of the city this place is worth a trip if you want to branch out. How I'd do it: The "Conventional:" (requiring a very very early booking to beat the crowds): Visit Ellacure as part of a footy game day or concert experience since it is juxtaposed with AIS, and Canberra Stadium. This place fills up on those nights, though, so book early and often. The "Extraordinary:" This restaurant is just off a couple of great cycle paths and near two really nice walks. Turn your trip into an unpredictable night out by cycling to the restaurant. Even better, if you can work in either "alleged" Bruce Ridge (really just the Bruce Ridge Trail) or the "actual" Bruce Ridge/Gossam Hill then combine your trip with with stellar walks/explores to here: -35.247183, 149.115377 or here: -35.246162, 149.081361, respectively, (or if you have kids, check out the simple but nice Fern Hill Park and Playground at: -35.246162, 149.081361). Hidden gems are all around if you make time, and Ellacure is just that: an unexpected, hidden gem. Also, Ellacure is just off of a busy bus route as well so that is another way to check it out with drinks (without risking a night in a Belco gaol) along with its focused, fantastic wine selection and they seem to welcome BYO. read more

Went for brunch and it wasn't great. Food and coffee was okay but it was pretty terrible service. The place looked like it was closed, but when we knocked we found out it was open. While I was waiting for my friend two people strolled past to go in but thought it was closed so they left. Brunch menu was pretty ordinary with not a huge range. I wouldn't go here again. read more

Great food. Great service. It seems odd to find such an excellent dining experience so far out from the city centre (it's only really 15 maybe 20 minutes out of the city) but this is quite often the case in Canberra. We dine here often and there are some wonderful, consistently good items on the menu. Their Fillet wrapped in proscuito, the polenta bites with smokey tomato chutney, the summer gnocchi... all excellent. The staff are friendly and helpful, the décor clean and modest. An excellent Canberra dining destination. read more

A neighborhood restaurant that is well above average. The chief really knows what he/she is doing. Staff are excellent! We go there regularly for Sunday lunch. MUCH better than the overrated restaurants in Manuka and Kingston. read more

My wife and I have always regarded this restaurant as top notch but last week a friend told us it had gone down hill. We did not beleive him so we went last night. He was right. It appears to be under new management and they are getting it very wrong. The menu is very restricted and does not include any chicken dishes. The old staple of fresh bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil is gone. We ordered an entree of pizza bread and dips. The garlic dip was bland and we had to look at the menu to work out what it was. But the real insult came next. As we were half way through our entree we were presented with our mains. This has never happened to me before and I was shocked. We literally gulped the last to finish them off and make room for the new course. My wife ordered grilled baramundi. It must have shrunk on the hot plate as it was a tiny serve. It was also very expensive. I ordered meat balls with spaghetti. A fancy name for spag bol I think. It was a generous serve but expensive for what it was. In their defence both meals tasted very good. Anyway, we left after finishing our mains and went to another restaurant for coffee and dessert. It will be a long time before we go to Ellacure again. read more