Food
The menu here mainly consists of burgers, sandwiches, and meat-centric mains, but they also do a few Chinese-Sri Lankan style rice and noodle-based dishes. For just Rs. 550, this Chicken Burger by Ice Cube is solid. Well-grounded and well-seasoned, the patty was firm from the outside along with a little crisp, leaving the inside to be all juicy and moist. And when you bring the melting cheese into the mix, it becomes messy in the best way possible.
There was a bed of lettuce covering the bottom, and a few slices of tomato and cucumber adding a bit of crunch, tang and a leafy note.
Drizzled with pepper sauce, the Braised Beef Tenderloin (Rs. 1300) was served with a side of steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. They use local beef here, nicely softened by the right touch from the grill.
There were shades of red spreading through the meat, which got browner as they reach to the top and bottom layers of the fillet. Deliciously spicy, the pepper sauce was excellent, which helped to spike up the flavours even more. It tasted even better with the creamy and buttery mashed potatoes.
Drinks
On the drinks section, Ice Cube does both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. We opted for the Arrack Punch (Rs. 450) and Mixed Fruit Lassi (Rs. 300).
A refreshingly tart, sweet, fruity and boozy treat; the Arrack Punch was all those things jiggling inside a jar. The fruity flavours are contributed by passion fruit cordial. Using actual passion fruit juice instead of the cordial would have made it heaps better though.
We were pleasantly surprised by the Mixed Fruit Lassi. An assortment of pineapple, mango, and orange seem to play a massive role in making everything fruity here, which perfectly balanced out the sour notes of the curd. A superb drink to quench your thirst, and fill up your tummy.
Ambience & Service
Ice Cube has a good, modernised space to accommodate their customers. It's not all covered from walls, so you get plenty of natural lights and air. And despite being located at the edge of Sandungama Road, the noise of the road didn't quite disturb us, probably because of the excellent playlist they've got playing in the background.
If you're planning to turn off your vacay mode for a bit, plug in your laptop and get some work done, this is a good spot for that, too. A lot of tourists seem to do the same here.
The waiters were friendly and do leave you to your thoughts, but instantly pop up if they feel like they can be of help. We received our food and drinks within around 15 minutes.
Conclusion
Ice Cube is a nice place to cool off in Ella, with some good food and drinks. Their happy hour starts at 4.30 PM, which comes with a bunch of sweet deals on cocktails, especially if you love Arrack-based ones.