Popular Ecclesall Road bistro and café closes down after four years in Sheffield

Ella’s Café opened its doors just off Hunters Bar in April 2015 and offered an extensive breakfast ad lunch menu as well as coffees and cakes.

The café then turned into a cosy candle-lit bistro on Friday and Saturday evenings towards the end of 2015.

Ella’s was opened by Brisbane native Matthew Begley, and his Georgian partner Khatuna Begley, after managing Antibo in West Oe for 15 years.

Matthew decided to open Ella’s following the closure of Antibo and named the café after his German immigrant grandmother.

Speaking in 2016, Matthew said: “We want to provide an environment where guests can relax, bring their own wine so they don’t feel harassed into buying the priciest wine, and have a proper conversation when they haven’t talked to each other all day.

“My grandmother’s family came from a very poor background and she learned to make everything. I have fond memories as a kid of her making dumplings for stews and apple tarts.

“We keep the food simple and the menu is short so the chefs can focus on the dishes they have.

“When we were getting ready to open I watched a lot of Gordon Ramsay on television and the first thing he did when trying to turn around restaurants was to cut the menu – it reduces waste and if the menu is too big the chefs can’t focus on quality.”

Matt said that the business has now been sold to two cousins who plan on turning the venue into an Italian café.