Stella’s Serious Italian Restaurant

Just finished a fabulous lunch at Stella’s! My sister, niece and I had the sole special, the seafood salad, and chicken parmigiana. Each was outstanding and Denise, our server, was knowledgeable about the food very helpful when it came time to make our meal choices. We finished our meal off sharing a pistachio cheesecake which was heavenly. This place is a gem and offers a nice view of the ocean. We will be back!

Beautiful view, Great Service and Wonderful Music (Gary).
Italian restaurants are so common that it’s hard to differentiate yourself and I can confidently say it is one of, if not the best, I’ve been to. We were there for a graduation dinner and I can say everything I tried was awesome.

Shawn was our bartender. He suggested my amazing breaded veal (which I have a hard time allowing myself to eat it, but I did) and it was to die for. Then he suggested the pistachio cheesecake which rocked our world. My husband loved the cannelloni. Another five stars goes to this place.

sit back and relax with a calming night of enjoyment.
meat sauce is to die for.
please do not forget dessert.

Wonderful staff and wonderful food. The race of Lamb Special
Try to go earlier because the view of The ocean is stunning!
There was a live sax player that took request and super friendly.
Really fun night!

Food very nice and also service was great.
They are not ready for people not eating pork. Most pastas and dishes with meat includes pork.
Also there is live music.

Lemme start with this: satisfying a pregnant woman’s appetite is pretty difficult especially if she’s in her 3^rd trimester. I had a wonderful experience there. The atmosphere was awesome, the live music, and off course the food. We had pizza, eggplant pasta, and a veal something dish (i’m not a fan of red meat so i didn’t care much about it). The pizza was so light and not fatty at all. The pasta had this balanced flavors, no overwhelming oregano or other spices that i hate. The veal dish was good according to the husband, however the risotto wasn’t that good (i tried it and totally agree).

AMAZING happy hour! Great food. Feels just like Italy! They really took care of us. Will be a regular.

My boyfriend and I happened to be in the area yesterday afternoon, so we decided to stop by for an early dinner. We sat on the patio and had a beautiful ocean view. The food was on point as well as the service. Will definitely be going back in the future.

I do not believe I have ever been treated like family in a restaurant! Outstanding service and food. Would come back any time

The view is nice but the food is nothing special. The waiter we had was not accommodating. I came here for my birthday with about 15 people mostly couples asked for separate checks and the waiter said that’s not possible. And he seemed very annoyed. I was not impressed with this place it’s very price for average food. I usually base my Italian food on the Sauces as I make my own sauce handed down from my mother. This sauce tasted like tomato paste

We ate here recently and had a great experience. Having only heard about this place via Unilocal,we really enjoyed ourselves and enjoyed some drinks in the bar before our meal.
The Bolognese meat sauce was some of the best I’ve ever had! We also enjoyed the Mussels in White Wine sauce as an appetizer!
Great small locals place!

One of the really fine Italian joints around. Food is terrific, a sax player plays all the old favorites and the environment is truly old school.
Make sure you give it a try and ask for Daniel, a great waiter

Happy hour is amazing. Calamari, meatball sliders, scallops drinks discounted. And for good measure on Friday… a live saxophone player to serenade us!!! Great service, 5 stars easy. We like it, you will too

Wow this place is amazing! We came here for the first time to celebrate our anniversary. The entire staff was incredibly friendly, from the hostess to the waiters to the saxophone player. We utilized the $ 25 for $ 40 Unilocal voucher.
Our waiter was Guy and he was the best waiter ever. Very vivacious, informative, and attentive. He gave great recommendations and checked up on us the perfect amount of times.
My boyfriend and I are both vegetarians so we ordered the Penne Melanzane and the Capellini Checca on the serious pasta menu. If you’re a picky eater maybe don’t get the Penne Melanzane because my boyfriend wasn’t a huge fan (he said it was too cheesy for his taste). However, I thought it tasted great. The Capellini Checca was really flavorful.
By the end of the night they gave us a dessert on the house! I honestly can’t remember a time a restaurant was this accommodating. Exceeded my expectations both in service and quality of the food. Definitely coming back, thank you Stella’s for a wonderful night!

This was perhaps the single worst Italian meal that I have ever experienced in my lifetime. It started off poorly with the owner arguing with me whether I called and had a reservation (I did and the restaurant was empty so it should not have mattered).
Next, the service was incredibly slow and we waited a very long time to order a cocktail. We had a martini and a lemon drop. They were mediocre. They became even worse when the bill came and they charged me $ 17 for each of them. Totally not worth the price at all. My GF ordered a side salad and the waiter asked if we wanted to split it. She said yes. Again, mediocre salad and they charged us a fee to split it without ever saying there was a fee to share a salad.
I ordered a bottle of wine and the server brought me a glass of wine. I did not argue because at this point it was obvious that the restaurant was of very poor quality and service. Both of our dishes were boring and had zero flavor. The sauce was weak, watery. I have had better out of a can. The chicken was rock hard and almost impossible to chew. I asked for the owner to complain and was told he left. I then asked for the manager, who brought out the chef. The chef indicated that he knew it was flavorless because the owner would not allow him to use the sauce that he wanted. WOW. Just WOW.
I then went to the bathroom and it was absolutely disgusting. I pointed it out to the manager and he agreed it was really bad and unacceptable. They gave a us a free desert. It was not very good.
The entire bill for our meal was almost $ 200. Not even remotely close to what it should be. As a local concierge at a hotel I expected so much more. I send guests to all kinds of restaurants and cannot ever recommend this one. The ambience is so-​so but the, bad service and very expensive prices are a throw-​back to an outdated style of eating. I left my information for the owner to call me so we could discuss our experience and he never took the time. Very sad. Don’t eat here. It is not worth the money or the time.

This review is overdue but necessary for my fellow Italian food lovers.
We ate here for my husband’s birthday dinner date and totally enjoyed the authentic food and the live (and super down to earth, friendly) jazz musician. Being in the covered patio seating area we had a good glimpse of waterfront and the sunset was just added charm.
I’d recommend trying their meat lasagna, if you’re a meaty lasagna kind of person.

Friends of ours recommended we come here
It is in the Gelsons mall near the St Regis and we get Starbucks coffee here a lot
Parking is easy so no need to stress out which is always good
We walked in and the place seemed small until they brought around to the patio that was huge and they sat us in front of a beautiful outdoor fireplace.
We both brought our wines and the corkage was about 20 a bottle
We ordered bruschetta that was very good
The calamari was good as was the marinara
Pizza Bianca was yum
I had the eggplant parm which I was told was baked but it was actually fried
The veal saltimbocca was good
We didn’t stick around for coffee or dessert
There are so many more serious Italian restaurants in Laguna and Newport so unless someone else is buying, I don’t see this restaurant in my future

We love this place for its location, view, service, food and ambiance. But we especially love it because of its owner, Tom. I swear he’s always there and remembers the last time we were in and where we sat. He runs a restaurant the way you wish all owners or managers would. He talks to every guest and really gets to know you, what you’re eating and drinking and what you like.
This customer service mentality carries over to the servers who help you order the right food and drinks for your tastes. They’re knowledgeable and aren’t just order takers. They want you to enjoy your time and what you’re eating.
The restaurant sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean so the great views help with the experience and ambiance. The glass enclosed patio section makes you feel like your outdoors, but keeps you comfortable from the sun during the day and the wind at night. A live saxophonist makes the dinners even more special.
The menu has just the right amount of items and include traditional items such as pizza and pasta all the way up to elegant gourmet dishes. They serve a good amount of seafood from appetizers to pasta dishes to entrees and fit so well since you’re sitting on the coast looking across the Pacific.
Stella’s is both a great family restaurant as well as a quaint romantic spot for two. It just depends what you’re looking for at the time. Either way you’ll have a great experience and want to return as soon as possible.

Located in a shopping center off of PCH in Dana Point, Stella’s has lovely views, wonderful food, and great service!
We’ve been here several times, and the food has been consistently good here! I’ve ordered the Chicken Piccata and Chicken Marsala on previous visits, and both were wonderful. My husband said, ‘The Cioppino was incredible, and the Chicken Parmigiana was really, really good!” My son is a huge fan of the pizza and all of the pasta dishes here too.
On our last visit, we ordered the Calamari right away. This appetizer was a great way to start our meal. The bread was served quickly and was warm and delicious. We also ordered the Mozzarella Salad, and we were impressed with this salad as well. This salad’s dressing was quite flavorful and delicious!
For dinner, we enjoyed the Seafood Pasta. With salmon, sea bass, and shrimp with a butter and olive oil sauce, we thought this pasta was so good. My son ordered the Penne Pasta with extra marinara, and he thought this was great too. We also saved room for dessert and decided on the Tiramisu. It was the best Tiramisu we’ve had in awhile.
We’ve had the same waiter on our last couple of visits, and he’s really friendly and helpful. We also enjoyed watching the sunset while listening to the saxaphonist, Gary King. It was fun requesting songs while we were finishing our meal. When I was cold during dinner, the staff quickly lit the fireplace for us. I thought this was so nice!
This restaurant had now become one of our favorite Italian restaurants. The food is unique and delicious, and the views are breathtaking from this restaurant’s beautiful patio. With the wait staff’s wonderful service, the restaurant provides a truly lovely dining experience.