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Mon. 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Tue-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tue-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sun. 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Snooty, French, delicious, romantic.
A little cramped, a little overpriced, but after your first bite...you'll be fine.
When you decide to almost skip the Blue Monkey business and get French, that's what happens.....
We both (friend and mois) found ourselves to have the awful pain of hunger...... and the closest and hippest place near Hollywood, obviously is the fabulous Silverlake, ready to be explored with its goodies.
Thank human brains and Apple INC who created the iPhone, this time Yelp wasn't called for help. iPhone has this app., that randomly chooses a restaurant for you like a slot machine and our luck was graced with Cafe Stella in Silverlake.
This place is like a tiny little restaurant cut and pasted from Paris to Silverlake. Very cozy, very warm, (I'm disregarding the fact that the hostess took forever to assist us, because the after was stupendous).
The colors of the restaurant are in warm red, orangish, yellowish tones, in order for you to have a bigger appetite to enjoy the fine dishes made there. According to the last article I read about wine combinations, Pinot Noir can be matched with lots of dishes, and coincidentally it's my favorite red wine, I ordered Napa Valleyan Pinot Noir.
The french, crunchy, sour dough baguette, cut into 4 pieces, was accompanied with salty butter, in few moments after the wines arrived, were brought from our wonderful waiter.
Our appetizer was quite appetizing; grilled artichoke, with hints of garlic and mixture of herbs with the flavors of the smoke engaging your mouth was quite a palatal adventure.
Usually I'm not a chicken fan on restaurants, I rarely order chicken, but this time, was it the French description? or was it the red warm atmosphere? I'm incapable of knowing. So, I ordered the red-wine sauteed chicken with chorizzo and mushrooms, scallions, herbs and a smile.
My friend was a guy, he wanted to keep the stereotype of a guy-dish so he ordered steak. But in French cafes you can never go wrong with steaks. It's like their signature celebration of beef made in heaven.
I have photos to prove my adventure, but you gotta excuse the quality for it was taken from my 1.3 Megapixel camera phone and not from my Powershot.
I'm definitely going to Cafe Stella (most likely) for a date!
a bientot cherie!
Barely rates the 4 stars but definitely not a 3 star.
Very tight seating but great for smokers.
Too bad they got rid of the bread bar, brown bread.
This place has AMAZING food though it is a little pricy it is totally worth it they have an AMAZING AMAZING Cheese selection for all you cheese lovers and a great whine selection to !!!! I love Cafe Stella
Had a solo lunch here on 11/19/2009. Was going to Intelligencia, but It appears they do not serve food; so I rounded a corner and found this slice of bohemian Paris in the midst of silverlake! I sat on the heated, covered patio, surrounded by fashionistas on one side and two moms taking their cute kids out to lunch on the other. Over in the distance were actual French speaking patrons drinking a bottle of vin rouge.
I ordered baked eggs and a side of crispy potato wedges. I asked the server if the baked eggs came with anything and she didnt quite know because she was new. Well the baked eggs come with two slices of heavenly french bread. The meal was quick to come to my table and fastly consumed by me. All drunk down with a glass of stella artois beer. I would def come here again. The bar area looks great and authentically french in appearance. I will suggest, if coming for lunch, its best to patronize here during the week. Ive driven by this complex (stella, intelligensia,& cheese shop) on the weekend afternoons and its slammed......
Great little place hidden behind a shoe store. The way they have the out door seating setup it makes you feel like your on some little street in Paris. The lighting adds to this as well. Great for a intimate dinner for two.
Get the Moules Frites and the Pommes Frites Truffees
Love, Exciting and New!
~Ambiance 5 Stars
It's all about Romance, Ambiance and Getting Lucky! This place is unique in that the outdoor portion is a totally old-world style cafe. Very romantic. Love is in the Air and Captain Merrill Stubing (The Love Boat) could not bring this much romance!
~Food-4 Stars
1. Steak Au Poivre: I ordered medium well and it came out well, very well cooked and a bit dry. The meat itself is 3 stars. The peppercorn sauce is five stars. Way too many fries! There was only a small portion of meat and a plate full of fries (fritte). I left them pretty much untouched. Tip: Make sure the waitress confirms how the cheff will prepare your steak, or just order it medium. If the steak was medium or medium well, I would have been five stars!
2. Mussels (Moule Fritte): Again, five stars on the sauce. There was a mussel that was served that had not opened. I find serving mussels that have not opened annoying and un-classy. The chef should make sure there are no bad mussels before serving. Once again, too many fries!
3. This place has various pate spreads including salmon and rabbit. I opted for the rabbit. Delicious! The toasted bread was perfect! 5 stars for this yummy appetizer!
4. Wine and Beer 3 Stars
Even though the wine list was big in appearance, I did not see any wines that were to my liking. I ordered by the glass. Not finding a wine that suited my taste, I opted for a beer with my meal. I had one of the Belgium beers. It was ok, but nothing spectacular.
~Getting Lucky!
The romance runs thick. Be careful who you bring here because you might just end up marrying them. Whoever designed this place knew exactly what they were doing. The romance is so dangerous, the restaurant took the next step in safety and made it convenient for protection. Just 4 quarters and it is offered in both the male and female restrooms!
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Getting Lucky is not averaged into this review:)
So, "Set a course for adventure.Your mind on a new romance and love won't hurt anymore. It's an open smile on a friendly shore.
It's love Welcome aboard. It's love! " Better than the Love Boat!
The ambiance at Cafe Stella is great. It provides a very romantic setting and is a perfect date spot. There is an inside dining area as well as a patio area. It is reasonably priced and the service is very good.
The staff here were very good, they provided an accommodating environment. Parking is valet but very convenient and not too pricey.
The food is very good, but not worthy of a 5 star rating in my opinion. My favorite dish here was the Steak Au Poivre.
Crap! I've never been as insulted as I was when I brought my fiance to celebrate our engagement to this otherwise charming restaurant. It was like being spit on by a hot girl after giving her flowers.
The African American bartender did not demonstrate any offense, however, his service was "cool" and impotent and he always seemed to be bothered by us whenever we needed anything. Despite his lackluster service, we left him his obligatory 20% tip.
I complained to the maitre d' (tall, skinny, Frenchmanorexic with longish hair). I told him that I was celebrating my engagement and that the service could have been better. In his arrogance, he snipped "I don't care," and quickly pranced away, leaving my fiance and I stunned.
We are easy going diners, and do not expect too much. We've worked in restaurants ourselves, and are sympathetic to the moment to moment plights of restaurant service people. What did we do to deserve such grievous service?
So as it stands, this place gets decent reviews on YELP. No question that it displays a charming bistro facade. But take a closer look at all the one star reviews. Many of the reviews blast the arrogant service. Hope they treat you better than they treated us. :(
First off, I want to give this place 4.5 stars but then I think that'd be too emotional towards the evening and less critical of the place. Let me explain, my friends took me here on my birthday, which was a great evening as a whole, but that wouldn't be fair to include that with my review of Cafe Stella.
Ambiance: Real cozy spot in Sunset Junction, check.
Wine: Went with the Malbec on this night and it didn't disappoint.
Food: Steak with Peppercorn Sauce and pommes frites: WHOA!! HELL YEAH!!
Service: Here's where it gets a little rough. I can understand slower service for a party of 8, but dang, there were probably 3 other parties of 2-4 in the place and it took A WHILE to get our orders in!!
I'm coming back for sure, to give this place another shot, and to eat that peppercorn steak, and yes cooked rare. 3.5 stars at best but that service needs to work for the other star!!
Stella came through,
First off, she gave me a same day ressie. Then she sat us outdoors early. They had champagne cocktails and draft Chimay, which in itself makes the night. I wanted pomme frittes with my filet mignon which was graciously accomodated and the frittes were frigging fantastic.
Afterwards I left my used Cirque Berzerk ticket from last week on the table. Ten minutes later, Chelsea the hostess called me to see if I had lost/forgotten a ticket. . two tumbelina thumb ups !iiiii
I'm very sad to write this update. I was looking forward to coming back to Cafe Stella, this time around I came with a couple of friends for dinner prior to a night of dancing.
We arrived at 9:30pm and the place was packed, but we were seated immediately at a nice cozy booth in the bar. The waiter was a complete polar opposite to the one we had during our first visit. He was curt, dismissive, impersonal and forgetful. It has completely soured my taste for Cafe Stella.
He started to walk away after taking 2 dinner orders... um, there's 3 people at the table, bro.
He completely forgot one of the orders. Two orders arrived, and after a good 10 minutes I called over a different server to inquire about the order. We watched him make the "oh crap" face and order the meal to the kitchen staff, and then he tells us "the sauce is still getting worked on, 3 minutes". I love it when the wait staff throws the kitchen staff under the bus for what was clearly their mistake. At this time I asked for a refill on my coke. It didn't arrive.
15 minutes or so later my friend tells him to forget the order, she's full. He dismissively tells her it's on the house, you can eat it or leave it if you want. At which point, I remind him to refill my coke. Still, it did not arrive.
I tell 2 other bus boys to refill my coke, because clearly I wasn't heard. 10 minutes later, the third order arrives, with a "sorry, I'm only human, it's on the house, eat it if you want." apology that was said with more of a "you know what, I know my tip is already lost so fuck you" tone of voice. I reminded him of my coke.
10 minutes later, my coke arrives. I asked for the check. He apologized again, saying "I'm only human, and I'm sorry I had a bad day."... again, with that "I'm saying it just because I have to" tone of voice.
You know what? I was tempted to pay zero tip, but I ended up tipping extra. I added a note: "everyone has a bad day."
Why the hell did I tip him extra? I don't know. Maybe because he was expecting nothing as a tip, and decided he couldn't salvage the situation so he might as well let it fall apart. But you know what? I hope he learns something from the experience, and that is this: if you fuck something up, it's your responsibility to man up and unfuck it. But I don't know. Like my coke order, it could have fallen on deaf ears.
I love the food and the atmosphere at Cafe Stella... but sorry, I'm probably never coming back.
From the moment I stepped into Cafe Stella, I was smitten.
I don't get out to the Silverlake area…
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watching late night w jimmy fallon. he's playing beer pong with january jones. what a chump this guy is.
This place is a jewel in Los Angeles. As somebody who travels the world a lot and eats in some of the finest restaurants (as part of my occupation), I was very impressed with the food in this establishment. I actually ate in the bar b/c we prefer the atmosphere there - lovely decor, very French European feel. The bartender, Luke, (from Australia we learned) was extremely helpful and knowledgeable in helping us select our food (a Chucrute plate - delicious) and also selecting wines from an extensive list. He was also very entertaining with us and all of the other guests! A wonderful, wonderful night! Highly recommended!
Café Stella came to our rescue when we were in need of a last second dinner destination. Did I mention it was a birthday party for 10 people on a Saturday night? We called around noon and they were able to accommodate our large party on their cute as a button patio that very evening! Speaking of cute as a button, I was quite smitten with our waitress who did a good job of keeping our wine glasses and stomachs full.
As I was feeling oh so French, I decided to go with the Steak Frites. The steak was perfectly cooked, as were the crispy shoestring fries. My one complaint was that they were both WAY too salty. I can normally handle a good deal of salt but this was too much even for me. Did I still finish the entire plate? Of course I did, don't judge.
Prices are on the higher side (think high $20's-$30's) but for one night we were transported away from the hustle and bustle of LA and dropped off smack in the middle of the French countryside. Merci beaucoup, Café Stella!
Two words - panty dropper!
No really...dudes...I'm serious. The ambiance of the outdoor patio, set with amazing lighting, great staff, enticing menu...top that off with location, ability to chain smoke and a great wine list, this could be the ultimate spot.
I would say date spot, but really, this is an anything spot. Bring a date, bring the dude you wish you were dating, have a girls night...however fleeting it may be, you can easily fall in love over a glass of wine and some cheese at Cafe Stella.
I'm in love with the thought of walking there, full pack of American Spirits in tow, and enjoying a lovely conversation over a few bottles of red...creme brulee? YES PLEASE!
I would also probably give it 4.5 stars, like another reviewer suggested, however unlike he or she, I am rounding up. It was incredible food. I am not one who thinks French cuisine trumps all other cuisine, but this was one of the finer meals in recent memory.
The pommes frites were, seriously, amazingly delicious. I had a truly great Bordelaise Filet, cooked PERFECTLY. If I were on death row and this were my last meal, I would die with no regrets. I could easily eat this meal every night of my life.
The decor was great and I liked the ambiance, but the fellow patrons tended to be hyper-hipster. Also, their menu is not incredibly creative or unique.
Despite the very minor flaws, this place is terrific. Try it when you get a chance (and/or when you have the money).
Bonus: My favorite coffee bar in the world(!) is right next door, Intelligentsia. If it's available try the La Tortuga microlot from Honduras. It's the perfect conclusion for an evening filled with gastronomical delights!
3.5
Cafe Stella is a nice little nook - you are really transported to Europe - especially seated outdoors, and there's opportunity for romance under the warmth of the heat lamp. They have delicious and refined food, good portions, and good wine/beer options. My only issue, which I guess was strong enough to knock it down 1.5 stars, is that if you're going for all the bells and whistles... drinks, appetizers, dinner, dessert, and coffee -- well, I've had more affordable food at this caliber elsewhere.
Now, this place is pricey, there's no doubt about it. And trendy/hipster too. HOWEVER, the food has been good every time I've been there (about ten times from 2006 to most recently May 2009), and that is why I'm giving it five stars.
Moules frites are excellent, tend to be large juicy mussels. and the saffron broth is wonderful. The duck confit is also good. All the desserts I've had have been tasty.
Everyone experiences every so often that magical, sublime moment befitting dramatization in some precious, intimate foreign film with grand, universal themes. Well, restaurateur Gareth Kantner may be much pleased to learn that I had such an experience at his establishment, the very air of which is suffused with an appropriately French haughty charm. But I must introduce you to someone - a pivotal character in this little drama - in order for you to appreciate fully this experience.
I have a rather dear friend who is Swiss-French. He is crazy. A self-professed curmudgeon who's nonetheless absolutely charming because he reminds you of a seven-year old boy grinning broadly with breezy insouciance, much self-satisfied with his latest innocent mischief. And he is a true European, maybe even a true Frenchman despite his protestations, for he is quite the chauvinist - Vive l'exception française! - about women, food, and wine. His beloved wife regularly discovers cork and wrappers for stinky cheeses, telltale signs of his preferred diet of wine and cheese, strewn beneath their bed. This friend has been sad of late, however, because his friends have been leaving one by one for other parts of the world.
So to which culinary gem did I take them when they visited me in Los Angeles? Red Lion für bier und bratwurst to appeal to the German Swiss in my friend or Cafe Stella pour vin et fromage to give my dear friend some semblance of being amidst lifelong friends again?
I was glad to have chosen the latter, for my friend was in top form. His spirit was much buoyed as he sniffed and proclaimed "Excellent!" the last remaining bottles of his choice.
To top it off, while it's been months now since I last smoked, I had the pleasure of indulging in a Gauloises along with the "Excellent!" wine in the inestimably marvelous company of my friends at Cafe Stella's bar, courtesy of Gareth who keeps a lovely little stash behind the bar. Needless to say, the service was impeccable.
A magical night of being drunk on happiness and friendship. The kind everyone wishes they could have as they head out each time.
Alas... Francois is gone...
My heart has been broken by another Frenchman.
Still love the mussels...
I LOVE STELLA'S. My friends and I dine here about twice a month. (that being modest) I don't… Read more »
I would probably go 3 to 3.5 stars on Cafe Stella. There were some good parts and some disappointing parts (though nothing was bad). The interior and exterior had a nice French Bistro feel to it (close tables, white paper tablecloths, cluttered decorations).
In terms of the food, the complimentary bread (warm French Bread) was crutsy and good. The entree was Steak au poivre--New York Strip with a creamy peppercorn sauce and french fries. The french fries were very good, but they should have put them in a separate container because a lot of them got ruined by the peppercorn sauce. The cut of meat was better than I expected, and it was cooked to the temperature ordered--medium rare. Overall, it was a very tasty New York strip and juicier than other New York strips I've had recently in restaurants. I could have used a little less peppercorn though.
The cheese plate wasn't that good. It featured white cheddar, gouda, and blue cheese (though none of them were that good). The fruit spread was decent. The grapes and apples were nothing special. I've had much better cheese elsewhere; this was something you would expect to come out of a supermarket. Overall, it wasn't bad, but I've had much better.
The dessert--pot de creme--was basically a cold chocolate custard/pudding topped with whipped cream and a raspberry. It was good--light and refreshing. The chocolate did not have that distinct of a taste; they could have used a darker chocolate. I've seen pot de creme on menus before, but this was the first time I ordered one. I'm not sure if this would be consistent to other pots de creme.
Even though the waitress was a little under-informed on the menu, the service was friendly and good. I like the idea of a French Bistro, but Cafe Stella's prices were from the mid $20s to the low $30s for entrees, and that is a little more than what a French Bistro should charge. Cafe Stella may be worth a trip if you are in the area.
Another side note is that smoking is available for outdoor dining here. This is becoming increasingly common in the Los Angeles area. Tonight, it didn't really bother me though I noticed that one group nearby were becoming noticeably upset. It wasn't too busy, but I would be curious to know how much smoking occurs (if any) on busy nights.
My lover took me here last night and it was a true night of romantic indulgence. Just thinking about it the morning after makes my mouth water. Cafe Stella is like a good lover - she leaves you satisfied and wanting more the next day.
We had the artichoke appitizer - a festival of delicous spices.
Our main course was the Frites & Mussels. 1/2 the splendor was the white wine sauce that melts in your mouth. Probably the best mussels I have ever had.
We finished the evening with their daily cheese platter that very much felt like being in France. The selection was unique & delicous.
I can't drink red wine and I was happy that the white wine selection was stellar.
And as any good fine restaraunt, the service was excellent.
Ambiance is great but the food is iffy. I ordered the Coq au Vin. A classic French dish of chicken cooked in red wine, a surprisingly easy way to make delectable chicken but it was too salty. The "cooks" at Cafe Stella should consult Julia Child and blanch the bacon slices first. If you don't do that the result is almost too salty. My friend had fish - which was very good. The salad with a good vinaigrette was better than average. The sweet ok. The pricing is very high. You are paying for the very attractive setting and interesting crowd. The staff and waiters were excellent. In Paris it would be a good bistro - and there are 1000s of them there. Here - you have to pay extra.
This is a great date place. Typical French fare, but well done. A good bottle of wine is only $30. In LA that is not bad.
Be careful about getting a ticket if you decide to park in the street. Play it safe and do the valet.
love this place. wonderful atmosphere. really good rose. super relaxing place to unwind. the food is very good. love the snails, burrata, mussels, etc. i'll continue to go back.
Stella is a romantic little place right at the corner of Sunset Junction. Their patio is unique, private, airy, and a great place for dinner--especially on a warm summer night. The escargot and French fries are great, as are their salmon and gnocchi. The service is always friendly and attentive, I just wish they had cocktails in addition to their beer and wine, but I wish that about everyplace including my doctor's office. Tip: pop the 5 bucks for the parking lot 50' up the hill. The surrounding streets are permit only and ticketing is aggressive.
We never really make our way out to Silverlake/Echo Park. Rare, actually. But because we were supposed to meet some friends at a local bar down the street, the Italian and I thought it would be nice to have a romantic dinner beforehand. So after some Yelp researching, I found Cafe Stella and read all of its rave reviews. It sounded just my type - small, quaint, intimate, romantic, and European, which I just love. I also thought, hey, the Italian will feel right at home. Picking restaurants for someone like him is very difficult when he grew up and travelled Europe, tasted its fine cuisines, and enjoyed the good life. So, I felt confident when I picked Cafe Stella.
Getting there was interesting and even more frustrating was the parking. It was extremely difficult to find any on a Friday night at around 8 PM. The surrounding residential side roads were only for residents and required a permit. There was no parking lot, and so driving up and down Sunset finding a leaving car was the next best option. After 20 minutes of searching, we found one four blocks away and made the chilly hike back to the cafe.
Because this was our first time, we had no idea where to find the entrance. We surrounded what looked like the restaurant and back-tracked only to realize that the entrance was a tarp-like entryway (a mini tent). We felt like we were walking into a wedding reception and the minute you moved through the tarp, the music would stop and you would pull a 'Wedding Crashers' barged-entry.
Anyway, the cute little hostess with her adorable, welcoming smile made up for it and we were sat in a very congested area of the restaurant. It was so tight and constricted that we bumped elbows with tables along either side of us. We heard their conversation and held back ours. We knew those beside us could hear anything we discussed and we were shy and cautious as to what was appropriate to say. What we really wanted to say was, "Man, we're close! And can we move please?" But we swallowed our sarcasm and glanced at the menu, hoping the food and wine would make up for the already strange start to the meal.
Well, expensive, as we expected it was going to be and we were anxious to see if the food would deliver as everyone claimed it would on its reviews -
Drinks - pink champagne (tasted old and lost its bubbly)
Appetizers - onion soup (ok, as the Italian said), and Cafe Stella Salad (delicious salad; great taste)
Dinner - Steak Frittes (delicious and flavorful steak, the fries, not so much), coq au vin (so, so, but lacked salt and was over-powered with red cooking wine, so the aftertaste didn't fare well with me; although the meat was very tender and cooked with care.)
All in all, it was an interesting experience. It wasn't fabulous and overly impressive, but it was just ok. Next time I make a reservation, I plan on asking them to place us in a more intimate corner of the tent and maybe even in the inside of the actual cafe. Best to probably call more than a few days ahead and far, far away from any special dining occasion like Valentine's Day or Mother's Day or something.
I don't go here often because they don't have a full bar, but Café Stella is great. I feel like a lot of people miss this place. It's kind of hidden in the middle of Sunset Junction. It's great to take a date, or your mom when she comes in town and thinks all you do is drink whiskey all day everyday. Parking is always a bitch in this area, but keep looking you frugal drivers, you will eventually find a spot. Don't forget to pay the meters, they're electronic now.
I loved Stella!!!! I had read lots of good reviews and felt like trying a new place so my BFF and I went to Stella one evening.
It's quaint and cute. The restrooms bug me since it shares a wall by where patrons are sitting. Other than that it's awesome. (Make sure you don't sit by the wall!)
I got the mussels in some type of broth and we shared the cheese plate. Freakin good!!!! I asked our waitress (who was very knowledgable or at least seemed to be) to pick out our cheeses and pair wines for us with the meal and cheese plate. Everything was perfect except for one of the cheeses that I was not too fond of. The cheese plate came with nuts, cheese, fruit, and marmalade. It was SO good! The mussels were a nice light entree to top off the evening. I was happy I didn't get anything heavy like pasta.
Ambiance, food, service, assistance of waitress, and knowledge of cuisine were all on par that night. It was a pricey meal but thank goodness my girlfriend was treating! :) Anyone want to take me here again? LOL
Love this place visited after returning from Paris craving steak and pommes frittes. I was not disappointed shared a great bottle of chateneuf de pap very reasonably priced. Great lounge music and after hours they move back the tables so you can dance!
Absurdly overpriced mediocre fare. Bland and conventional California cuisine. No love or imagination put into the completely forgettable presentation. I cook better at home.
The only point of this restaurant is to dial up the snoot factor in Sunset Junction. Waste of time and money.
I'm not going to dock Stella because the prices are high. When I go there I'm not looking for a "deal" or a "well priced" meal, I'm looking for the best food. Stella is consistently amazing. The food is honestly incredible. It is not cheap, true, so I don't go there as often as I would like to, but the food is bar none some of the best in LA. It's definitely one of my favorite restaurants along with Little Dom's and Boss Sushi. The food is always impecable, and even the simplest of dishes are reborn again in true quality and preparation. You've never had a simple roast chicken taste so good. The wine list is also spectacular.
Stella is an amazing little gem in Silverlake.
So far, this is my fav French restaurant in LA.
For me, their french onion soup is #1, if you like the kind that's a bit sweet. But don't come here to make it your entire meal (like at my 2nd fav, Doughboys). In 2 spoonfuls, you'll be staring at the bottom of your skillet wondering where your $11 went. But those 2 spoonfuls are worth it. (I promise...)
Everything else we ate that night was delicious, including dessert. You really can't go wrong with good food, and really cute seating areas. Defintely a great place to have a date...or a dinner to celebrate..!
Total last minuet Saturday dinner plans found this place on Yelp of course. Called in to see if they had room, they did. Walked in the restaurant without high expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. The décor was that of a French café (yes I've been there) mixed match art on the walls and other funky knick knacks. The menu was traditional French fare, my wife had Steak Frit, I had Braised Short rib, and a killer bottle of Mourvedre. I am a die hard California wine drinker and stay away from French wine but I stand corrected this night. Service was friendly and attentive, and the overall price of the meal was easy on the wallet, app, two entrée, wine and dessert. Fun evening thanks Stella.
This place is everything i hate about Silverlake.
With that said....i love it here. I've been here twice. Once for dinner and as of today once for the recently added Friday brunch. When i went for dinner it was a date. He paid, so i was left to wonder at the prices of the amazing dishes and wine we had that night. Today i got it....yeah i'm an expensive date. That night we had coq a vin(amazing, i can't stress that enough AMAZING), beet salad w/ goat cheese, tuna tartar and a plethora of wines. I was impressed. Half because i could never rationalize shelling out so much money and half cause the food was stunning. I didn't remember much about the service but it didn't really matter much to me that night. Either way the bill was paid and i left drunk and happy. It was a good night,
Today was a little less of an event. I met up with a "friend" earlier this morning and left a few hours after hungry and feeling kinda fancy. I remembered from some mailing list that cafe stella had started serving brunch fridays so i decided to check it out. When i got there it was a little after noon so it was kinda empty. I'm not sue if they have a bigger crowd earlier but the seating options open were fine by me. I got a place half in the sun and half in the shade. Perfect.
I was seated by a super friendly waitress (maybe she was so easy going cause aside from me there were only 3 tables occupied). She kinda reminded me of Dominique swain...i liked her instantly. She handed me the menu and some water then ran back to the kitchen. At first glance i was a little put off by the menu. I mean 14$ for eggs benedict was more than i bargained for. I opted for a frittata with lardons and escarole and a mimosa. When it was brought to me i tried the mimosa first...so worth the 10$. Next the frittata. It was small but served in a small cast iron skillet. Points for cuteness there. The dish itself was amazing. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the lardons were like the best bacon I've never had. They were thick and crunchy enough to offset the eggs. Amazingly i left kinda full. That was the biggest surprise. Second biggest surprise was that i got cruised by another patron. Oh yeah and i overheard the cook say how much he hates english muffins so the eggs benedict are served on a bed of potatoes.....ZOMG. The check came to 28$. Not too shabby for 2 mimosas, a frittata and an ego boost. Next time i come i an gonna shell out for the eggs benedict cause the bed of potatoes sounds amazing.
When my sis was in town I wanted to show her Silverlake and take her to a good place, and I knew I could count on Cafe Stella. It's a pretty solid place -- pricey though. Yes it's true people smoke while they eat there --but it's a French restaurant! I think there's indoor seating for those who strongly opposed it....
Anyway, this is what we ordered:
Sis: Braised Red Wine Shortribs baby turnips, carrots and pearl onion, hand mashed potato. (delicious! )
Me: Beet salad (yum!) and Pommes Frites Truffees french fries with truffle oil (tasty, but I can't really tast the truffle oil...)
Bf: Coq Au Vin (rooster with wine sauce) Bf was suprised that it came with pasta (he's not a fan of pasta) and the sauce was not thick enough. Well that's what he gets ordering CAV (I'm not a rooster fan).
I will be back!
After living in Los Angeles on and off 8 years, I finally went to Cafe Stella a month ago, and I… Read more »
nothing makes me happier than a summer night drinking wine under the patio lights at cafe stella.
the food is french--good but not my favorite, kind of like the country.
the wine list is extensive and i have had some of my favorite glasses here.
not that I did this, but if I ever DID go on a date with someone that maybe owns this place, I would have warned him that no matter what happened between us and how awkward it got, he could expect me to come back. That's how much I love this place.
Gorgeous. Café Stella has this warm glow that usually only exists in old movies, and makes everyone you're with seem more sparkling. The staff is the cheeky type who've been around long enough to know what they're talking about. Our server raised his eyebrow when my friend ordered a pasta and good-naturedly joked, "You're ordering pasta in a French restaurant? Alright..." And just as he warned, the pasta wasn't the best thing. The coq au vin was savory and moist. I still think about it sometimes. The wine list and dessert menu was wonderful, too.
Sometimes I suspect that the Sunset Junction location and the name Café Stella lead people to feel like this is a casual spot. But it's full-on traditional French dining, and imho the prices are appropriate.
Ok...first off...I'm not really into French food so thats why the 3-stars. With that said, let me go on with the review. This place is quite cute. Small, and cozy yet has a young and trendy feel to it. The butter and bread were very good. I ordered the grilled artichoke for an appetizer. It was a bit greasy but oh so yummy. For my entree I had the Coq au Vin. It was a blend of chicken, pork and some veggies. It was good. As one who loves bacon, the smoked pork was very delicious and hearty. No desert. I was stuffed. The staff was very friendly and "kick back" but without slacking. I would go back again definitely.
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