As we reported earlier, Ellerbe Fine Foods has had their soft opening this week as they work out the kinks in their systems. We stopped by and gave it a try.

First, the renovation of the old gas station is outstanding. The building is light and open, like a loft, and features concrete floors, skylights, and huge windows. The repurposing of the gas pump island into a large outdoor dining area is just great. It’s a beautiful redevelopment from beginning to end. The market space isn’t open and stocked just yet, as they’re working on getting the restaurant going first before opening the market.

For appetizers, we tried the cheese sampler plate, which was delicious. Our server gave us the rundown on the various cheeses, and brought along some fresh-baked bread as well. All the food at Ellerbe is extremely fresh, and much of it is local – much of it is grown by local farmers, with other selections coming from more exotic locales.

The bread, by the way, is wonderful, and is served with a butter from Europe and some red salt.

For our main course, we were a little worried at first. The items under the entree section are all meat-based in some way, and everybody at Fort Worthology is vegetarian. Turns out that there is a vegetarian option not on the menu, that changes daily depending on what is fresh and available. We ordered this, and received a very fresh and flavorful pasta dish featuring pappardelle pasta and grilled seasonal veggies, topped with a crunchy garnish. It was quite filling and very tasty as well.

For dessert, we debated on the chocolate tort (featuring graham cracker and marshmallow, sort of a spin on a s’more) before deciding to go with the bread pudding. Ellerbe’s bread pudding is a more refined, and simplified, dish than what you might normally find around here – no raisins or other extra ingredients, and the consistency is more cake-ish. It’s covered with whiskey sauce and pralined pecans, and is simply wonderful.

Price wise, Ellerbe is definitely one of the higher-end establishments on Magnolia, though along with the prices you do get very tasty and fresh food along with great service. We’re really looking forward to seeing how things go as they refine the process over the coming weeks. We also look forward to the market opening up later down the road.

Here are some more photos from Ellerbe’s first day of business. We arrived before the dinner rush (and when we left, it was quite busy indeed, both inside and out).