Lovely , food delicous , great for family service was awesome.dessert was yummy we have a great time read more

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Had a dinner with friends at this restaurant and enjoyed our evening. We ordered salad with shrimp, short ribs, and sliced beef for mains, and lobster escargot and tortellini with pear as appetizers. Food tasted good. The only dissapointment was my bread pudding for a dessert, it seeed to be a little stale even though covered with sauce. read more

I've been to all of the restaurants in Burlingame, but this one is the best. Great menu, well executed, friendly staff, nice crowd. Highly recommended. read more

Spacious layout with some great dishes. I like how you came have a great meal and not spend a whole lot. I'd highly recommend the rigatoni. The pasta is cooked al dente and the sauce is full of flavor and the smoked pork gives it lots of depth. read more

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Stella moved to a really nice space. It's beautiful inside. However, I think the food was even a little below average. Our table and another near us both had to send items back, now I want to set the stage for that and say I send back less than 2 items a year. It was bad. Couple what was mediocre food at best with a server who's language barrier and desire to move so quickly had him mess up multiple items (think no sauce on the kids pasta, or gosh the other was a gnocchi and instead we got something else that sounded like gnocchi) Just kind of a mess. Cocktails and wine were fine. Upstairs smelled of fish, which was of bad too. read more

I made a reservation on OpenTable and requested a quiet table for me and my wife so we could hear each other. We were first seated at the noisiest table in the place, next to the bar. We asked to be moved, and were seated in another room which was almost as noisy. It appears that they have no quiet spots. The staff and service are good. The food was good. The corkage fee is too high. Summary: If you like noisy places to eat with poor ambiance, this could be your thing. We will be looking for quieter places, or at least places with some quiet areas and a bit more ambiance. read more

Had a business dinner here, we arrived a little early. The unfriendly "hallway monitor" would not let us sit at the bar and made us wait outside. We were not asking to order drinks, just wanted to sit down in the warm interior - oh well. She was probably the same person that said we need to be out within an hour when we made our reservations. When we were seated, everything was better, we got past the "hallway monitor"! Dinner was awesome four the four of us. Everything was homemade and fresh. The food came out quickly, our server was awesome, and the ambiance was impressive. We had the Spezzatino (beef stew) - falls apart very good; lasagna - Italian homemade; and Calabrese; and prawns. All super good and big portions. Desserts was so amazing - very creative. read more

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Disappointed... I remember coming here years ago and the food was phenomenal. I always give the benefit of the doubt to restaurants and servers, but this last visit was subpar at best. read more

3.5 Stars*** Came here for my birthday and thought it was just okay. Starting with the service, we thought it was pretty slow especially since it was a Tuesday and not too busy. We also got seated all the way in the back near the bathrooms and kitchen, which meant there were people constantly walking by and noise coming from the kitchen every time the doors opened. Our drinks took a while and the Rosemary Focaccia came out even slower. We thought the focaccia was just okay, as it was a bit dense for our liking. After seeing all of the reviews about the Truffle Stuffed Gnocchi, we knew we had to try it. It comes with ten pieces or you could ask for fifteen, pricing depends on market price of truffles. I'm glad we just got ten, as we thought the dish was average. While the sauce was good, the gnocchi itself didn't have a whole lot of flavor and barely had any stuffing. As for the Maiale con Pancetta E Aglio, roasted pork tenderloin with pancetta and beans we really liked all of the flavors. The dish was good, but some of the end pieces of the tenderloin were a bit over cooked and dry. read more

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Came here for a birthday dinner on a Tuesday night around 6pm. Reservations are highly recommended. Note that it is mostly street parking but we were able to find a parking spot in less than 10 minutes and it was good walking distance (~3-4 min walk). Food/Drinks we ordered: 1) Sparkling water - in hindsight, won't get this next time, as tap water is sufficient 2) Stella Marina - this was delicious, loved the raspberry and hibiscus flavor, kinda reminded me of a smoothie consistency, very sweet 3) Barrel Aged Old Fashioned - this was sooo smooth, great orangey scent 4) Carpaccio All' Albese - this dish is a bundle of arugula salad sitting atop a plate of VERY thinly sliced beef filet - and the beef is RAW. I actually enjoyed the beef a lot! Filet is super soft and creamy - almost melts in your mouth. The "beef taste" is very subtle and I actually had to try it by itself to really get a taste of it, b/c when I take a bite of everything together, all I taste is parmiagiano and arugula. 5) Gnocchi di Patate "Nonna Nilla" w/ Italian sausage and Porcini ragu - I've never had gnocchi before so I wanted to try this out, I'm quite surprised at how soft the actual pasta is - it was almost a little bit mushy? The taste is mostly from the ragu since the gnocchi itself didn't have much of a flavor. It filled me up for sure and I would like to come back to try the truffle stuffed gnocchi one day. 6) Lasagna Filetto Bolognese - meaty/carby/saucey mouthful of goodness 7) Vanilla Bean Crème Brulée - one of the more thicker caramelized sugar crusts I've had and it gave more texture, but that was the only thing to note, other than that, great dessert All in all, I had a great time, service was good, ambience is nice, I would definitely love to come back to try out the other things on their menu. read more

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Brought the hubs here for his birthday as he had been wanting to try this place out and man, it did not disappoint. This place is known for their truffle gnocchi so of course, we had to get a plate of this to start off our meal. The price was very reasonable as well - only $8 for each set of 5. And you can get as many multiple of 5s as you want. We decided to go with 10, which was the perfect amount for two people to split. Anymore, the richness of the dish probably would have been too much. For our mains, my husband got the filetto con taleggio while I got the fiocchi con pere e asiago. His filet was cooked on point and came with mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and carrots on the side. Everything was delicious but one small point of complaint was that the carrots were not all the way cooked and were still a little firm. However, my pasta dish was to die for. I've never had pear in creamy pasta before but this combo totally worked. Each bite was a rich concoction of savory and sweet and was so delicious. They don't provide table bread here, but I would recommend getting their rosemary focaccia bread. It comes out with a side of fresh olive oil and balsamic for dipping which is always an amazing combo. The bread also comes in handy for getting the last bits of sauce in your bowl - so yummy. For dessert, we split a vanilla bean creme brulee. Fresh, light, yet creamy, it made for a great end to an already notable meal. Definitely come and check Stella Alpina out! read more

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Loved the food and ambiance. Wait staff were pros and menu had some classic southern Italian dishes. Nice and well priced wines on offer and Italian sauces were spot on. Highly recommend Stella and felt price/value ratio excellent. We will be back read more

I've been wanting to try Stella alpina for a while now! We came here for a work dinner and everything was on point. I had the blood Orange cocktail and that was yummy! The table had ordered a few orders of truffle stuffed gnocchi, which is their specialty. They were really good texture with a delicious sage brown butter sauce....but I guess I was expecting a bit more? It was delicious but lacked the wow factor. Maybe my expectations were set unreasonably high? I had the lamb entree and it was also really solid but again not quite a home run for me. Maybe I need to come back for the risotto or pastas. Everyone else got the fish or steak and everyone seemed overall pleased. For dessert, I got the tiramisu. Lots of cream and not as much "cake" in a little mason jar. Flavors were great and overall a good solid dinner. Will want to come back and try more things on their menu next time! read more

Stella - Lamb chops - Italian Near Me - Burlingame, California

Great pastries and cakes, as always! Nice selection, and Excellent service too. Really enjoyed the apple turnover, tiramisu, sarapintina read more

I went with a girlfriend for dinner, and the experience was wonderful. The restaurant is huge, with ample outdoor seating. It's very clean and modern vibes. We both ordered the lamb and it was delicious! I don't usually eat lamb, but really enjoyed this meal. We also ordered brussel sprouts on the side. Our service was really friendly and attentive. All and all, great restaurant! read more

Stella - Brussel Sprouts - Italian Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Risotto Cakes con Porcini -- delicious appetizer, it was seasoned well, would get this again. Truffle Stuffed Gnocchi -- gnocchi was chewy and soft, saltiness was just right, I would prefer a creamy sauce but not too bad. Risotto of the Day -- risotto was paired with shrimp, flavor was with truffle. Osso Buco di Vitello -- delicious dish, the polenta was buttery and nicely paired with a tomato based sauced veal, veal was very tender. Cannelloni Della Casa -- best dish! delicious and flavorful, spinach and ricotta were paired nicely! Matteo's Tiramisu Tradizionale -- not too sweet, was chilled nicely, coffee flavor was prominent. Bourbon Bread Pudding -- delicious! warm pudding paired with the creme anglaise, was a great dessert to end the meal. French 75 -- very refreshing and bubbly , prominent lemon flavor. Overall ambience is nice, waiters are quick, nice and very perceptive if you need anything! read more

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We had dinner here last night and the food is fantastic! We split a Caesar salad which was very good. I had the short ribs and hubby had the veal piccata. Both were excellent. The service was prompt but I will say that the waiter was not very friendly. The place itself is pretty and they have a beautiful outdoor patio in the back. We will definitely be back and we may use this restaurant for an upcoming 95th birthday party in January as they have private rooms. I just hope we get friendlier wait staff. read more

I'm hoping we went on an off-night, but unfortunately it was a Saturday. Lobster "escargot" was clearly frozen lobster - came out mushy and in mushed bits. My date's salad looked utterly sad, a pile of packaged romaine with a slice of bacon on top. Each of our pasta dishes was underwhelming, swimming in tomato sauce with a cheese so bland the dish would have been better without. Very disappointing, as the space is nice and reviews seem to generally good for Burlingame. read more

Restaurant is beautiful. I've been wanting to come here for years and when I saw that it wasn't in its previous location I was so sad for not trying it. I thought I missed my opportunity. Then after walking around in the area, I noticed that they relocated around the block! I was pretty happy. I decided it's time to come in. We started with the charcuterie plate, and it was one of the best charcuterie plates I have ever had in my life. Sometimes it feels like with the charcuterie plate things are just thrown on there without any real thought or love. Like they have some leftover of this and some leftover of that and this might be on its way out so screw it let's just throw it all on a plate. This is not the case here. The delicate pieces of prosciutto are beautiful ribbons of deliciousness. Really great quality Genoa salami, marinated roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts, olive medley, and I'm not certain, but I believe it was Taleggio cheese. Whatever it was, it was creamy, savory and fantastic, and it went perfectly with the meats. The charcuterie plate was my favorite thing here. We ordered a side of ciabatta bread, which went perfectly with it, and also went perfectly with the gnocchi that we ordered for our second course. We ordered the gnocchi with Gorgonzola cream sauce and walnuts, and it was heavenly. You could tell that the gnocchi is made in house. Perfect little pillow dumplings with exquisite texture. I personally didn't care for the walnuts but I didn't hate them either. They give a great texture to the dish and also add some nuttiness. Boyfriend had the short ribs with polenta and he loved it. I had the veal piccata and it was perfect. The sauce was so good I could've licked the plate. I was sad that we didn't have any bread left to soak up that sauce. I was worried in the beginning after seeing the charcuterie plate that we ordered too much food. Although the charcuterie plate is very generous, the other dishes weren't over the top. The gnocchi is a great second course if you want something to share. The entrees were a nice portion and didn't feel feel heavy. We finished the dinner with the apple Galette and gelato. It was a nice way to finish a beautiful dinner. It could've been heated up a bit longer but it was still delicious. Cocktails were nice. Loved the lighting fixtures throughout the restaurant. Back patio was also lovely. Very clean restaurant with nice bathrooms. Service was friendly and fantastic. We didn't ask for the food to be coursed out but they did anyway and it was very much appreciated. The one thing that did bum my boyfriend out was that he was told when he made the reservation that we would be seated in the back patio, which they did not seat us in. We were celebrating a special birthday and with having a baby we rarely get a night out. I know my boyfriend just wanted to make the night special so he was a little upset when we were sat inside at the tiniest table ever. If there's somewhere you specifically want to sit inside of this restaurant just make sure to tell them that when you make the reservation or else you may not get it. Even with requesting it, you still may not get it. Overall it was a wonderful experience and we can't wait to come back. Great service and great quality food with fantastic attention to detail. Bravo. read more

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Came by for dinner the other night and it was a tasty experience! Made a reservation and our indoor table was ready upon arrival! Despite the doors being wide open, the A/C kept the dining room nice and cool! There was plenty of "outdoor" seating, including the sidewalk, a outdoor patio along with some space in the walkway for those that were uncomfortable with indoor dining. Interestingly enough, neither the host nor the wait staff wore a mask nor gloves. The busser did have both a mask and gloves on... The tables indoor were spaced probably 4-5 feet apart. Meal started off with the burrata cheese which was excellent! Cheese was super fresh and the tomato was excellent! Probably my favorite for the evening! Moved on to the garlic bread which was huge and fresh! Had the veal shank as a main entrée and it was huge! The was tender enough and the flavors were pretty strong. The side of wild mushrooms were pretty tasty! Meal ended off with a tiramisu which was decent. Interesting presentation! Tons of whipped cream and most importantly not too sweet! ~$75/head after tax and gratuity for dinner. read more

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What a delightful experience it was dining at this charming spot! Came here for Valentine's Day dinner on 2/12 so it was fairly easy to make reservation. We were seated in the outdoor area that was past a ramp below the street level. This was a plus because it was away from the hustle and bustle of the Burlingame downtown traffic. Another plus was that this restaurant was very generous with outdoor heating. This made dining in short sleeve polo and sleeveless blouse a very cozy experience. Now onto the food. What more can be said about the infamous Truffle Gnocchi other than that each bite was a explosion of fungus (fungi?) goodness in the mouth. Each order comes in multiples of 5. We ordered 10 to share. - 5/5 The Spezzatino comes with beef that melts in your mouth. The polenta's smoothness cannot be matched by the best of mashed potato. - 4.5/5 The Rigatoni is the "boring" but safe choice. So safe that it left me nothing to nitpick about. The shaved ricotta cheese on top brings the dish to another level. - 5/5 The overall bill was reasonable given the location, ambience and food quality. Will definitely come again! read more

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Order: * Spaghetti & Meatballs * Spezzatino al Barolo * Roasted Garlic Butter Mushrooms * Chianti Pros: * New space is modern, open, spacious, high ceilings, round bar top for dining. * Friendly service from the hostess, servers and bussers. * Spezzatino came out piping hot, just how I like my entrees, and perfectly cooked all the way around. The shortribs were perfectly fork tender and moist. * Spaghetti was was perfectly cooked and the meatballs were flavorful, tender and moist. * I didn't get dessert but the menu looked delicious. Cons: * Halfway through eating the Spezzatino, I felt like the dish could have used a smidge more salt and pepper. But, pairing a bite with a sip of red wine helped balance out the flavor nicely. * I could not detect any roasted garlic flavor with the mushrooms and the dish was overall a bit bland. Adding minced garlic or garlic salt might have helped. Comments: * Five stars for the great service, very pleasant ambiance and tasty entrees, with more dishes I would want to try next time. It's not going to win any Michelin stars, but as Gail Simmons might say, I just feel like I'd want to go back for more. read more

We asked for a booth but told we would need a reservation. We were seated in a dark table in the middle of the restaurant while there were many open booths. $17 for the Caesar salad which consisted mostly of the core of the iceberg lettuce. $32 for the lasagna which was completely burnt on the bottom and not edible. $42 for the Veal scaloppine which was average at best. Would NOT Recommend this restaurant! read more

Consistent delicious food. Price has gone up since they moved to the new location. But I still love Stella. Service is great. I started making reservation via Yelp and it's been working out very well. Ambiance is absolutely perfect! So much better than the old location. Beautiful decor. One of my favorite Italian restaurants in the neighborhood. read more

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Food was great. Service was really good though at times the host appears snobby (not sure why). The accommodated my mom who could not take the stairs. The price is reasonable compared to the prices of other restaurants with lower quality food. We were celebrating a birthday. Most places give you a complementary desert but they gave us a 50% discount which was ok. read more

Sadly we didn't love the new outdoor space nor the meal. The outdoor is very industrial and minimal with visible down space. Not very inviting at this price. The food was mixed. Our Brussels sprouts were delicious. The polenta was swimming n sauce and very one note With zero texture. My husband got his entree - he liked the short rib. But they brought me the wrong dish. Our waiter never came to speak to us - the bus took it away and some many minutes later my entree arrived. It was in a sickly sweet 'marinara' that would have frankly depressed Italian grandmother. The pasta was also over cooked. Gelato was good. At the end no apology for me getting my entree way later and no one even inquired when I barely touched my auger sauced overcooked pasta. Inside looked nice but we will likely not be back. There's so many amazing Italian restaurants in the area and their prices are very high for mediocre food and service. read more

We have a dinner here for party of 6 people last Feb 7 2025 Friday nite made reservation to coz it's my bday. I'm telling you all patrons out there, do not eat here!!! I am so so upset coz mngr says to us we only have 8mins to stay at our table we're only there for like an hr, food came out in 35mins so not even done eating yet and mngr says 8mins on the table and we have to go coz they are people waiting in line . The other tables across , next to us weren't told to leave they were there before us! This manager is the worst or may be he is racist! To Asian people. I will not ever go bakc in this restaurant and this is the first time in my life eating in a restaurant saying you have 8mins on your table. I am so disappointed,upset that nite bcoz of him , did not even respect me on that dinner it my bday Mr. Mngr of Stella Have respect pls! read more

The risotto cake is one of the best appetizer I ever tried , I wish I had it in a sandwich as a patty with lettuce and pickles. Everything else about the meal was good too a little long wait for the food. Totally worth it. read more

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Been trying to come here for some time, so I was very excited when I was finally able to dine here. The lasagna and rigatoni were sizable and delicious. So was the focaccia bread, but they charged $8! The mescal cocktail was OK. Nothing to go home about. The mixed green was very refreshing with nuts while the chocolate pudding fell flat. The most surprising and disappointing thing was that they didn't have any spritz or panna cotta. Both are my favorites! This might be my first time not seeing these on the menu of an Italian restaurant. Maybe northern Italians aren't into them? *shrug* read more

My team booked a dinner at Stella, which hit the mark with its classy ambiance and upscale Italian-American food. Since our group was large, we were seated in the private back room and ordered from a prix fixe menu that included their famous truffle gnocchi, focaccia, caesar salad, a choice of steak/osso buco/branzino, and bread pudding. The highlight for me was the warm, freshly-baked focaccia, which tasted heavenly dipped in olive oil and vinegar. The truffle gnocchi were a bit doughy and starchy, but the focaccia came in handy to soak up the rich butter sauce. The branzino was served crispy on the outside and tender on the inside - another one of my favorite dishes. By the time dessert arrived, I was too stuffed to eat another bite...however, I tried a bite of the bread pudding and wasn't blown away. Overall, I loved the ambiance and would consider coming back to order off the a la carte menu. read more

Stella - Branzino - Italian Near Me - Burlingame, California

Celebrated Mother's Day with my sister and mom and was very disappointed. We only went there because my mom really wanted to go. Things that were good: - Service was great, everyone was friendly and knowledgeable - Cocktails were perfect and not too sweet - Parking was easy Things that were bad: - Prefixed menu with only 1 option for appetizer, 1 option for salad and 1 for dessert. Their salad had nuts and pears and I am allergic so asked if there was a house salad or plain salad, he double checked and came back with no other option. It would have been great to have 2 options to choose from - Prefixed menu was $89++ per person, the only thing you were able to select was your entree, I selected the Braised Short Rib Cannelloni and all I could taste was the white Bechamel sauce which was heavy and creamy yet bland and the texture was like baby food, a limp noodle stuffed with heavy cream and pureed meat (I could not even taste the meat) - All the food was super heavy and rich, yet no flavor. Vegetables would have been a great and elevated the meal. - Food was lukewarm - We asked for plain bread and was told no bread unless we ordered $8 focaccia. - Our tab was $500 for 3 of us and honestly I am mad about it. I defiantly am not giving it a 2nd chance. Not ONE dish was satisfying. I hate to say it but honestly Sizzlers would have been tastier and I would have been happier. read more

This place has been on my list for a few years! Finally got to try it, my friend took me here for my birthday dinner. We ordered the truffle stuffed gnocchi and it was good but just super rich. The risotto of the day was good, perfect consistency. I didn't take a photo of the bread pudding but it's a must if you love dessert! Wasn't too sweet but warm and hit the spot! read more

Stella - Truffle Stuffed Gnocchi - Italian Near Me - Burlingame, California

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This is a long overdue review from my last visit. I made a reservation for this place and i didn't realize i made it for the wrong date and time. I showed up on what I thought was the date and time, and they still seated me! They really tried to fit us in and i really appreciated that. They gave us a seat outside which I didn't mind. We got the an order of the Brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes and it lived up to our expectations. For my mine dish I got the gnocchi stuffed with truffle. The dish looked really small but I actually wasn't able to finish it. I knew I shouldn't have ate so much bread. I enjoyed gnocchi a lot as I normally like truffle. This can be a very rich dish but it's the try. They are located literally in the heart of downtown Burlingame so parking can be hard. They have a lot of outdoor seating and i actually enjoyed it very much, just to people watch and enjoying the weather. Even when sitting outside it can get really loud from all the noise from the street and the surrounding tables. For dessert I had the affogato which was the perfect way it end the meal. This place does get very popular, so i highly recommend making reservations. You won't be disappointed by the service either as everyone provide exceptional service. I'll be back! read more

I booked my baby shower at Stella Burlingame and had a wonderful experience. We reserved the Mezzanine for my 40 guests, and it was the perfect intimate space. From the start, the event manager was very responsive to all my questions, which I appreciated. We went with the buffet food option, which included a wonderful variety of appetizers, entrees and pastas. The food was delicious and high quality - many of my guests commented on how fantastic it was. The service during the event was excellent, too. Our servers were very friendly and attentive, ensuring all guests were well served. I felt at ease, knowing my guests were being accommodated without any worry. The only one tiny downside is that they don't allow balloons for events. However, we were able to make do with the space, setting up a dessert table, adding flowers to the tables, and an arched backdrop with some florals. Also, the space itself was so elegant, we really didn't need to do much to it. Overall, I'd highly recommend this restaurant for your next event! read more

Food: GAMBERI ALL'AGLIO Diavola style - 5/5 Service: Nothing to rave about and nothing to complain about. Servers appear to be here just for a paycheck so manage your expectations - 3/5 Ambiance: Quiet, lackluster, low energy, sleepy, a little dead - 2/5 read more

If you're looking for a dining experience that'll leave you questioning your life choices, this place is it. The food was an absolute disaster--overcooked, underseasoned, and just plain sad. Don't like salt? Love pasta that has the texture of a sponge? Man, have I got the place for you! My dish tasted like it was boiled in regret and plated with zero effort. The service wasn't much better--our server acted like we were inconveniencing them by showing up. The whole experience screamed "we gave up years ago." Save your money and your taste buds--eat literally anywhere else. read more

Came here on a week night and got seated outside. There were plenty of heated lamps available so it was pretty comfortable even thought it was a pretty cold night. We ordered the fonduta alla piemontese, heirloom burrata caprese, truffle stuffed gnocchi, osso buco di vitello, and gameri all'aglio. Everything was delicious, but my favorites were definitely the gnocchi and spaghetti. We definitely ordered a bit too much and I was actually getting full from the fondue alone, but everything still tasted great the next day. My only complaint is that it does take some time for the food to be prepped, but of course you can't really rush the process of cooking pasta. Prices are reasonable and the portions aren't bad. Will definitely come back when I'm craving Italian! read more

The truffle gnocchi is to die for, great date night spot in Burlingame. Staff is very nice. We'll definitely be visiting back again soon.

this is an update to my review bellow. The charge of the $12 for the Birthday Dessert was actually subtracted at the end of the bill so they posted the charge and further down they subtracted it. my mistake. I am changing my rating from 2 stars to 4 stars. Two weeks ago we and our friends went for dinner at Stella celebrating 2 birthdays and an anniversary. We made reservations a day before and informed them to the occasion. As far as the dinner is concerned the main dishes were very good but the Cesar salad was not as I expected. I would have given Stella 4 stars but they really blew it when it came to the bill. Without looking at the details I signed the bill which came to over $200 for the 4 of us. When I came home, the following day I looked at the bill and to my surprise I saw that Stella charged us $12 for a "birthday dessert ". We didn't ordered it and when it came we assumed that it was a complementary dessert that restaurants usually serve for special occasion( besides it wasn't good at all). Stella should have informed us that they will charge for the desert even though it was not ordered. That is the reason I am giving Stella only 2 stars. For you future customers a warning, watch extra charges on your bills. In my case, they made $12 but lost 4 customers . read more

We had a lovely risotto, lasagna and love the gnocchi appetizer with rosemary focaccia, great service.. good space.. just what we needed for our lunch today read more