I was visiting Charleston with my mom and sister for a short weekend trip. My mom and I have been dying to come back to Stella's ever since our phenomenal dinner here a couple years ago. We got a reservation for 3 for a Saturday night. I would highly recommend getting a reservation here, especially for dinner. The restaurant itself isn't huge, but I absolutely love the quant, rustic vibe of it! The interior has a chic, Mediterranean feel about it. We sat at the bar seats, which was perfect. The service here is excellent, we even had the same waitress from out first visit! They staff does a great job keeping the restaurant running efficiently and making sure guests our satisfied. Our server did a great job guiding us through the menu and suggesting drinks to pair with our entrees.
They do offer bread service with freshly poured Greek olive oil, this was lovely. For our food, we started with their famous flaming Saganaki cheese. It is kefalograviera cheese that is quite literally served on fire with lemon and grilled pita. This was certainly a presentation and we dug in as soon as the flame went out! The cheese itself has a really unique, deep flavor. The lemon enhances the sharpness of the cheese and pita pairs perfectly with it. While this was good, I was slightly disappointed with the consistency of the cheese. It wasn't "melty" at all and rather more solid than I had hoped. While it was good, I think we would have rather ordered their spanakopita (it is to die for). For our entrees, my sister and I ordered the Pastichio, while my mom ordered the moussaka. The Pastichio reminded me of a lasagna dish. The noodles were nice and thick and the aromatic meat was so good! The béchamel made the dish so unique and paired magically with the flavorful meat. This dish is not a light one for sure, but it was really great! My mom enjoyed her Moussaka, but noted it wasn't as memorable as the first time she had it. She still really enjoyed though! All our food was very good, I would definitely recommend the Moussaka over any entree. It is a must and it is just so good!
Overall, we had a great meal here. Starting with the bread service and the high quality olive oil is a must. We had to try the flaming cheese, was good, but I think I would have rather gotten their spanakopita again! Our entrees were huge portions, with so much flavor. The Pastichio 21 was a nice dish, the noodles were tasty and the meat was quite yummy. But, I think I like the Moussaka more here. I would recommend coming to Stella's if you want to enjoy a nice dinner. They do a wonderful job, serving amazing Mediterranean/Greek cuisine. The inside is lovely and really captures a "Greek" vibe. The service is always amazing and I just really love coming here! read more