The playlist is pumping and the electric oil burners are smoking. LED lights glow beneath timber shelves laden with plants, cookbooks and Raksha masks. A gallery of framed photographs pops from the teal walls, one of which is completely cloaked in vines and fairy lights twinkle overhead. 

We’ve just entered the ‘Green Room’ – the private dining space at Minoli de Silva’s Darwin restaurant, Ella. The former MasterChef Australia contestant opened Ella in June 2022, naming it after the small hill town of her homeland, Sri Lanka. A place she describes as “paradise”.

After finding the entrance tucked away on West Lane, opposite a Monet-style mural by Darwin artist Colin Holt, we’re greeted by a scarlett-lipped host and ushered through the restaurant to our private table. It’s a Wednesday night on the tail end of the dry season and I’m pleasantly surprised to find the entire space abuzz with in-the-know locals and Top End visitors, obviously tipped off to its punchy flavours. 

The interiors – a sophisticated dance of timber panelling, sheer curtains and hanging plants – are the handiwork of interior designer and MasterChef alumni, Scott Bagnell (the pair were both eliminated during the same episode back in 2021). The restaurant has more than plugged the gap left behind by beloved former tenant, Magic Wok, which had played host to locals for more than 16 years. 

Hailing from Treviso in Italy, our waitress, Beatrice, has been in Darwin for three months – a tropical juxtoposition from her previous base in Melbourne. With five girls in a room and a cocktail menu in front of them, she’s wise to lead us through the four-part menu – smalls, vegetables, meat and sides – with guidance on how many dishes our group should order.

My ‘Island Medicine’ cocktail is the perfect palette prepper, balancing gin, lemongrass, pineapple, lemon and ginger with a gentle jalapeno finale. One friend opts for the ‘Pandan Slam’, a beautiful infusion of pandan syrup, coconut liquor, rum and lime with a colour that matches the walls.

Everything on the menu, right down to the spice pastes, is made in house and curry leaf is ubiquitous. My mouth is salivating just reading the line-up. With a vegan in our group we skew our ordering to mostly vegetable choices and they’ll later stand to be the most memorable.

As if an omen of the quality of the food we’re about to taste, Prince’s hit “The Kiss” thumps from the speakers as our starters are placed down the middle of the table. “You don’t have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude, uh. You just leave it all up to me. My love will be your food.”

Charred Mooloolaba prawns come dressed with delicate pink finger lime pearls and curry leaf oil but it’s the rich, more developed flavours of the crispy roast pumpkin, swimming in a sweet spice jaggery turmeric sauce with toasted pepitas, and the crisp cauliflower with spiced tomato sauce, pickled green chilli garlic aioli and flaked almonds that prompts audible appreciation. 

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Coconut is a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine and over glasses of rosé, we appreciate it’s myriad uses – from the twice-cooked eggplant moju with a slow-cooked spiced coconut sauce to a chicken curry with creamy coconut tamarind sauce. We rip apart blistered godamba roti and spoon coconut sambal – a vegan option omits the Maldives fish but still brings the flavour – and a seasonal chutney to complement each bite. 

It leaves us with just enough room to sample a spoonful each of three desserts. The panna cotta with curry leaf tweel is visually beautiful but the spiced sticky date pudding wins in our group adjudication. 

It’s our first meal in Darwin and sets the bar high. We leave satiated by not stuffed, bellies warmed by the delicious food, cocktails and conversation. In a city overflowing with Asian culinary influences, Ella strikes a winning balance of ancient Ayurvedic spice blends, fresh local produce and modern cooking sensibilities, all dished up to a rocking soundtrack.

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*The writer travelled as a guest of Virgin Australia and Tourism NT. Virgin Australia offers direct flights to Darwin from several major cities in Australia, operating daily services from Brisbane to Darwin and Melbourne to Darwin with additional services added during peak periods. Virgin Australia also operates 5 flights per week from Perth to Darwin and seasonally operates up to 3 flights per week from Adelaide to Darwin between April and September.