Ela excels with its shareable delights

Poncey-Highland spot showcases Mediterranean flavors.

Ela got on my good side before I even stepped through the front door.

My preferred way of eating is to sit down to a table loaded with wedges of bread, smearable dips, snacky platters of meat and seafood, rounded out with bowls of fresh, colorful, texture-laden salads and produce-heavy side dishes. Everyone then dives in, helping themselves to a little of this, a little of that.

That style of noshing is exactly how Ela’s menu is structured to showcase pan-Mediterranean flavors.

In addition to its natural appeal for the shared-plates crowd, the 2-month-old restaurant’s timing is superb, as it joins buzzy restaurants nearby that include Tio Lucho’s, Southern Belle, Fishmonger and Colette Bread and Bakeshop.

Ela is very much a neighborhood spot, but the food, drink and seasoned service also make it worth a drive.

If you arrive hungry, an order of the must-try mezze board likely will arrive quickly. This sampler is a gussied-up presentation of housemade Persian labneh, smoked eggplant dip, your choice of hummus — mine is the one capped with roasted mushrooms and herby, oily, garlicky chermoula sauce — plus a handful of pickled vegetables and grilled pita wedges.

My only gripe was that the ratio

of spreads to flatbread was off; there wasn’t enough bread to use up all the dips. Expect to order at least one more round of pita at $4 a pop.

Mark Jeffers, Fifth Group Restaurants’ culinary vice president, developed the menu with a goal of offering familiar dishes without adhering to what he called “strict authenticity” in its representation of Greek, Moroccan, Israeli and Turkish cuisine.

You’ll see that in the cauliflower falafel, a starter that brings a halfdozen fried balls topped with tahini ranch dressing, or the Moroccan “hot chicken,” with ras el hanout wing sauce.

You’ll also see it in the cocktails developed by Ian Mendelsohn, the beverage director. Flavors might include sumac and blood orange for a tequila and mezcal-based cocktail, or an alcohol-free drink whose purple hue comes from pea powder. Mendelsohn also has curated a list of eye-catching wines that all hail from the Mediterranean region. For something spunky with peach notes, get a half or full carafe of a kegged Greek white wine called Gotham Project.

A meal ordered by my party practically turned into a fete, as we enjoyed all five of the chargrilled skewers while sitting on the all-weather patio, which had clear vinyl awnings that sheltered us from a heavy downpour. We dug into a platter bearing harissa chicken, black pepper lamb, chile-garlic shrimp, uber meaty mushroom shawarma and an Adana-style kebab of pork seasoned with tamarind and date.

Our server encouraged us to “get sauced” with a selection of five house-made condiments: lemon tahini, a red chermoula, traditional red harissa, a milder green harissa and bottled hot sauce. All were delicious but, as it turned out, unnecessary. The kitchen does a terrific job seasoning the meat, seafood and mushroom skewers; they don’t require more sauce.

For sides with your platter of

skewers, go for grains of couscous studded with the traditional Moroccan mix-ins of dried fruits, herbs and nuts. Better yet, bring on the veggies! A serving of local greens might sound boring, but roasted pepper, shaved fennel, olives, feta, pita croutons and green goddess dressing made it pop. And another option was a fine combination of roasted red beets, thin rounds of raw golden beets, strawberries and nuts, resting on a swath of thick labneh.

However, while Ela excels in shareable dishes, it falls short with single-person entrees. The lamb kofta burger was a confused mess of flavors, and the beer-battered cod was oversalted, though otherwise it was crisp and flaky. There is no vegetarian entree besides the mushroom shawarma, but Jeffers said they are working on a meatless main.

For dessert, take your pick of Greek doughnuts or tangy frozen Greek yogurt with crumbled baklava and drizzles of honey. And Ela’s parting, complimentary offering is a tiny shot of house-made liqueur served in a miniature goblet-shaped shot glass.

I wasn’t impressed by the concoction of Greek tea, vermouth and what Jeffers called “a few other secret ingredients” (nondrinkers just get the tea), but I was impressed by the gesture.

COURTESY OF FRANKIE COLE Ela’s mezze board includes Persian labneh, smoked eggplant dip, your choice of hummus, pickles and grilled pita.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FRANKIE COLE The mushroom shawarma with umami glaze and pistachio dukkah is a vegetarian skewer option at Ela.

Ela offers three hummus options, including this one featuring crispy chickpeas and sumac. The trio also is available as a $15 sampler, with grilled pita. An extra order of pita is $4 a pop.

The spice road cocktail at Ela — a mix of tequila, mezcal, blood orange and sumac — is as pretty as it is tasty.