Ellē

Ellē is a Mount Pleasant institution that operates as a coffee shop and bakery by morning, a counter-and-table lunch spot midday, and a full-service restaurant and bar at night. It was opened in early 2018 by founder and pastry chef Lizzy Evelyn and her husband Nick Pimentel (previously of Bad Saint and Room 11), in a former 1940s bakery space on Mt Pleasant Street. The kitchen built its reputation on vegetable-forward, inventive cooking and acclaimed breads and pastries, earning a James Beard Best New Restaurant semifinalist nod in 2019 and the Michelin Bib Gourmand every year from 2021 through 2025. Its non-alcoholic program is part of a broader low- and no-ABV beverage offering: per Resy, the bar pours alcohol-free cocktails including the Root Awakening (watermelon shrub, Aperitivo Bianco NA, lemon, sumac, and club soda) and the Pendennis Punch (black tea, pomegranate, and bitters), alongside low-ABV beers and alcohol-free wines such as J&H Funkelwurtz sparkling. The setting is a warm, light-filled neighborhood room that has become a go-to for everything from morning baguettes to date-night dinners. Accolades have piled up over the years, including Bon Appetit naming it a Top 50 Best New Restaurant in America in 2018 and repeated placements on Washingtonian and Time Out best-of lists.