food & drink, singapore, travel, travel guideBlake ErikJuly 21, 2021ela restaurant, ela bukit batok, ela hometeamns bukit batok, hometeamns bukit batok restaurant, bukit batok cafe, cafes in the west, best cafes in the west, singapore insta worthy cafes, aesthetic cafes singapore, greek restaurant singapore, best greek food in singaporeComment

Éla: Cosy Halal Greek Restaurant in Bukit Batok

For some time now, when it came to Greek cuisine in Singapore, my go-to has always been Blu Kouzina, which has been operating out of their beautiful space at Dempsey. And while they have just expanded to the East Coast with their second outlet at Siglap, hot on their heels is Éla, bringing a slice of the Mediterranean to the West instead.

Éla is part of a bigger F&B group called The Black Hole, with brands many of us will already be familiar with, such as Tipo Pasta Bar, Afterwit, Working Title, and more.

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Unlike Blu Kouzina, Éla is a bit more casual, starting with the fact they can be found at HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok.

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Bathed in warm light, the spacious outlet can seat many diners of various groups and sizes, and the interior design features shades of calming pastel blue, complemented by furniture in accents of light wood.

The menu selection here is pretty decent too, with a range of starters, Greek-inspired burgers, pastas, pizzas, grilled dishes, wraps, and seafood, before finishing off with a selection of desserts.

We had the Lemon Chicken Gyro (S$18.90) off the Grill subsection of the menu, complete with pita and fries.

While I could have done with a more generous portion of grilled chicken, it was delectable. The zest from the lemon provided a refreshing tanginess, which is something I’ve always loved about Greek food. The thick cut fries were a cut above average too, and the pita bread was soft and fluffy. The sweet and juicy tomatoes provided a nice balance to round off the dish.

Next, we had the Octopus (Htapodi) (S$26.90) off the Seafood menu. The grilled octopus was delightfully juicy and flavourful, and went perfectly with the bed of Skordalia (Garlic and Potato) dip it was served on top of.

What I loved about both dishes was that every element and ingredient used worked perfectly in harmony.

Over on the beverage menu, you’ll find tea by the pot, tea mocktails, coolers and coffee.

I decided to have the intriguing Santorini Vibes (S$7.90) cooler, which was essentially an iced blended drink with yoghurt and soda, the sky blue colouring provided by the blue curacao. I appreciated the effort that went into the drinks menu too, and the cooler was refreshing on the palette.

Considering it was a public holiday, I was surprised at how only a few tables were occupied.

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Of course, that’s more thanks to the constantly changing regulations for dine-in restrictions right now— because I can imagine a place like this would have packed in the crowds since day one if it weren’t for the pandemic.

Éla isn’t all the way authentic, but for a Greek food fix, it definitely hits the mark.

Mediterranean food has a tendency to be heavy on flavour, but this was a little lighter overall.

My only gripe (and this is completely out of their hands), is that the music playing overhead is courtesy of whatever’s playing in the HomeTeamNS building, so it was a little jarring to hear National Day songs in a Greek restaurant.

A more inspired playlist would have definitely helped make the ambience a little more legitimate, at least for the full-on ‘transporting you to Greece’ experience.