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Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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I think opening Stella was a brilliant idea for Stephen Starr, I think he just missed on a few things, mainly the pizza. But before I write a review on the pizza, I would like to comment on the staff and atmosphere.
When walking into the newly renovated Cosi, you instantly feel as if you walked into one of your favorite low-scale restaurants when you were a kid. Not to stay the decor is bad; it's actually the opposite. For someone like myself, walking into an upscale restaurant that attempts to make you feel like you aren't dressed formal enough, can be intimidating. Walking into Stella is a breath of fresh air, nothing special about it, humble and attractive.
Each time I have been here, the staff is always ready to greet you, super friendly, but not overbearing. There has been one occasion on which our server, a male server, neglected our table for about 20 minutes, but compared to the other excellent service I have experienced, I guess everyone has their bad days, just like the rest of us.
I enjoy sitting at the bar, you get to watch the sous chefs work on each individual pizza as if it was their first day, trying to impress the chef. It's quite amazing how carefully they handle each pizza. I ordered a margarita pizza once without basil, and it came out with basil. I watched as the sous chef caught this before it was brought over to me, and instead of taking off the basil, they prepared a new pizza. The sous chef, not the server came over and apologized and within four minutes, I had my new pizza.
If you are lucky to go there without a crowd, your food comes out fast as lightning, as each pizza takes about five minutes, start to finish, due to the wood burning stove. If there is a crowd, you will wait a little longer, but if you make it known to your server that you are sharing everything that you ordered, it will come out one by one as it's done so you're not just sitting there waiting for everything.
Ok, the pizza. I have tried the margarita, the four cheese, the pistachio, the picante, the clam, the pepperoni and the tartufo (truffle). The crust is perfect and the amount of olive oil drizzled on the crust and the top of the pizza is perfect. The flavors, need some work. Painter has the four cheese and margarita down to a well executed science. I am a huge fan of clam, however, this pizza was almost inedible. The clams tasted like they came out of a spaghetti clam sauce jar - they were tuff and had a foul flavor. It seems as if the clams were baked, which leaves them pretty tough, especially sitting on the line all day. If Painter was able to figure out a way to steam the clams, maybe drizzle a spicy butter sauce of the pizza, I think it would rock my world.
The picante pizza had a great flavor, a little spicy for me, but I can never handle heat. I think one of the most exciting pizzas on the menu is the tartufo, the truffle pizza. This has obviously truffles on top, and what most people find interesting is an over easy egg cooked in the middle. The server comes to break the yolk and smear it over the pizza. I was so excited for this pizza, but I was left only tasting egg - the rest of the flavors were lost. The pepperoni was pleasant, but nothing too special about it. The pistachio had too many onions which lost the pistachio taste.
The appetizers were good, I recommend the asparagus. I also recommend the gelato.
I'd love to see Painter put out a mushroom or pineapple pizza. I'd also like to try the other 4 pizza's on the menu. Either way, I will make my way back soon! All in all, a great place to take a date or the family for a smaller budget. Hope this helps!
I am waffling between giving this three and four stars, I can't quite decide. We went for lunch today and it was pretty empty in the restaurant, so we were seated right away and the service was prompt, and our waitress was friendly. The actual restaurant space is very pretty, with roughed-up seafoam blue chairs and chalkboard-colored table tops, and the pizza oven in the center of everything: it was neat to watch the flames rushing across the top of its bricks. Unfortunately, I don't know if it was because we were seated near a window or what, but it was REALLY COLD in the restaurant--I was wearing a sweater and I wanted to put on my coat. It made it a little hard to get comfortable and really enjoy the food.
We ordered the sheep's milk ricotta and flatbread to start off. The flavors were spot on--it was salty, a little sweet, and you could even see the olive oil and little spices threaded throughout. The flatbread was also delicious. The only problem was that the amount of cheese that they gave us was way too much for the four small pieces of bread that came with it. Still, I really enjoyed the freshness of the cheese, though it would have been nice if the bread was a little warmer to contrast its coolness.
We split the margherita pizza and the taste was spot on, as was the crispy thinness of the crust. The bits that tasted the best were the charred crust: I found myself wishing for a higher char ratio! The sauce of San Marzano tomatoes (a smart choice) was simple but flavorful, though a little thin. Still, it was tasty enough that we wolfed down the smallish pizza in a few minutes. I could see Stella getting a little expensive if you were really trying to leave stuffed, since the pizzas ranged from $13 - $17 and I could easily have eaten one on my own. Probably not a place I will frequent often, but a mostly enjoyable experience this time.
Just off of Headhouse Square and away from the touristy part of South Street lies Stephen Starrs newest addition -- Pizzeria Stella. I met up with friends here on a Friday night, thinking we would have to wait more than 30 minutes for a table since we arrived at the prime dining hour. Much to my surprise, my friends were already seated. Tables on the perimeter of the restaurant are good for parties of up to four whereas the tables in the center of the restaurant are long like in a family dining room. As such, our party of three sat at the end of one of these long tables where we could rub shoulders with another party and take surreptitious glances of what they ordered. Depending on where you are seated, you can also get a nice view of the open kitchen.
Pizzas are delivered to the table as soon as they come out of the oven, as such, it goes well for staggering a shared meal.
Service was fine: I didnt even notice that my water glass was full every time I took a sip. As soon as I finished my beer, our waitress was quick to ask if I desired another.
Our eyes made a bee line to the pizzas, skipping over the appetizers. We each ordered a pie: pistachio, spinach, and tartufo (black truffles and a cracked runny egg on top). The pistachio was the best of the three we ordered. While we decided to change venue for dessert, the gelato flavors that evening rivaled that of Capogiro: olive oil gelato? Wow.
Oh did I mention that its apparently a very baby-friendly place? Patrons that evening were not reluctant to bring in their infants and toddlers.
Service was top-notch that evening.... I wonder if it had anything to do with the proprietor himself -- Mr. Starr -- being there schmoozing at the bar.
I was reluctant to try this place given the mixed reviews, but I had a great time here.
We arrived at 7pm on a Friday and had no more than a 10 minute wait for a party of 3. We ordered three pies: the pistachio, the spinach and the tarufo. The pistachio pizza was remarkably good.
The service was friendly and excellent.
An in all, it was pretty great.
Good pizza but maybe still working out some kinks? Went for a late Thursday night dinner. Maybe we came a bit too late but the service was definitely rushed throughout the entire meal. The pizzas were delicious but I've seen better portions.
Ambiance: Nice open space and great for groups. The setup and decor is very simple and ties along with an "upscale pizzeria".
Service: Not the best. Perhaps we were late coming in but we felt the entire meal was being pushed along. Between being asked if we wanted more drinks when we were barely a few sips into our first glass of beer and having to play tug of war with our plates that had the last few bites of the otherwise delicious pizza, we were all relatively confused with the service and the rush to finish our meal. Probably the worst highlight was having to grab back my plate twice from the waitress so that I could enjoy my last pizza slice. To put the cherry on top of a somewhat anxious finish to my meal.. while the last bite of crust was en route to my awaiting my mouth - my hawk-eyed waitress descended to whisk away my finally finished plate. I was still chewing as she began to describe dessert.
Food: Their truffle parmesan pizza (Tartufo) was absolutely delicious. I would definitely come here again to enjoy this delight. It comes topped with a well placed sunny side up egg which is then broken to allow the yolk to spread its rich goodness onto an even more rich landscape of flavor. Their crust is remarkably thin but still chewy. The portion was a bit small but expected as it is a Starr. However aside from the Tartufo, I think Slice would be a better value option. Their olives were a good value and a great way to begin the meal. As for dessert, skip the gelato. We found the texture to be grainy and icy.
Drinks: Decent beer & wine offerings. Nice that they offer many types of wine on the glass. We enjoyed the Dogfish Head Brown Ale with our meal.
Overall, I'm coming again to eat the Tartufo and maybe a foray into another one of their more unique pizzas (clams?)... I'll also try coming at a different hour too ...
I would rate Stella's as, "What's your hurry? Here's your hat."
Our experience last Friday was made unpleasant because of extreme up-selling and pressure to turn tables. Our server (and her team) made repeated queries if we wanted more wine while we still had wine in our glasses; she interrupted conversation mid-meal (we were half-way through our pizzas) to recite the dessert menu; and then (just bizarre), as I was cutting a slice from the last of three pizzas, with the two empty trays stacked beneath, she reached under my hand to remove the trays, suggesting it would make it easier to cut the pie. As I was still chewing my last bite, she cleared the table, inquired about dessert again, placed the check on the table and offered the requisite, "No rush; any time you're ready."
Like most of the Stephen Starr restaurants, this place is heavy on style but not much on substance.
They've chosen a great location, right in Headhouse square, in the former Cosi corner spot - it has a fun Stephen Starr-ish interior design (a whole wall splattered in with a repeat of a Tower of Pisa vintage postcard, a whole wall with cords of wood logs to stoke the open pizza wood-burning oven, etc) and plenty of outdoor seating (cute Italian metal tables and metal/leather café chairs)
The appeal kind of ends there. Menu is limited with its focus, rightfully so, centering on pizza (offering only a couple of appetizers + three salads) Those few starters were nothing to write home about, with the portions being very small and ingredients uninspired.
As for their namesake pizza, there are are over ten options (your typical, margherita, marinara, pepperoni, sausage, etc... with a few notables Tartufo, Vongole) priced from $12 to $17. The pizza is medium sized and comes cut in six medium slices. Enough to split for two - but only if you have a starter to split first. if you're really hungry, you might have to order two (but it's almost too much?)
The crust is really good, but nothing groundbreaking. The crust is actually the best part of their pizza, thin, smoky, crunchy and tasty - just right - everything else is rather unimpressive (aside from the few higher priced notable pizzas mentioned above) - and a bit overpriced. You can get an equally good, but bigger and less price-y pizza at Lazaro's or Pietro's (whose second location is nearby) - however, if you care more about being seen eating pizza than eating good pizza, this place is for you.
This place got popular fast. Went for an early dinner on Sunday, was told there was a forty minute wait for a table inside. We opted for the shorter wait outside. It was cool out but they have those industrial blast furnace-type heaters and I dig the outdoors in the fall. Plus Headhouse Square's a nice spot to be.
The pizza was good. Crust had the right taste and texture: a little bit chewy, with a good dough flavor. The toppings were all tasty and plentiful. The clam and pistachio pizzas were both more creative than something you'd get at a place like Pietro's. But these pies are just too damn small. Seems like a normal-sized dinner is about one pie and appetizer per person, so the prices start to add up. As others have written elsewhere, there's a difference between expensive and overpriced. Stella isn't expensive, but it's a bit overpriced for what you get.
Gotta give it to Stephen Starr, this former Cosi has potential. It will be a mix, attracting people from Society Hill towers, and those on South Street who want a nicer place to get pizza.
It's not in competition with Osteria restaurant, but Starr isn't trying to go high end here either. Lots of wine selection, and even offers home made lemonade and sasperilla.
I split a margarita pizza with my niece and good thing she's small and only had two slices because the pizza is SO thin and not very filling. But it was good. I would probably suggest having one pizza per person if you're hungry and go home with a slice or two. Price was good, had a pizza and a soda for 17 dollars. (Could be an excellent cheaper date location.)
Since it's only been open a few weeks, staff is still in training mode. ANd I've worked for Starr, so I know what it's like. Neverless, they were attentive and friendly, and true to Starr form, pushed the dessert heavily.
In my opinion, it's a close competitor to Osteria's pizza, but I still prefer Slice over both.
So it's probably unfair to review a restaurant on it's soft opening. But here I go: Woohoooo! I was anticipating the opening of Pizzeria Stella and was not disappointed. I like the casual setting with plenty of tables and dog/stroller friendly outdoor tables.
We started with the Balsamic Onion starter and shared two pizzas (about 12 inches):
Tartufo: black truffle, fontina, egg, parmesan $17.
Sausage: sweet fennel sausage, hot pepper, tomato, basil $15
Tartufo should be eaten right away, as the egg is sunny side up and smeared around the pizza for equal coverage. Don't be intimidated by the raw egg, it's divine! If you aren't a truffle fan, steer clear as the truffle oil is quite powerful.
The sausage pizza was well balanced and not too spicy or heavy on the meat.
All in all, the thin crust held up against the wet ingredients without getting soggy right away. There are other vegetarian options and lower priced pizzas, ranging from $12-17.
Finish off with the "secret recipe" homemade gelato. I recommend you try the olive oil flavor. Creamy, sweet and full of flavor.
Between my husband and I, we split an appetizer, two pizzas, a gelato, and each had a drink for about $70.
Hours: Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-midnight.
So as a Starr fan and a Pizza fan, I was pretty excited to check out Stella...its got a rockin location right off South Street thats easy to get too, and a cozy little atmosphere...I also found myself glad I didn't read the Yelp reviews until after I went as I thought it was better than a lot of my fellow yelpers did!
We went for a late weekday lunch and it was nearly empty, so the service was quick and really efficient (constant water refills rock!)
Anywho my friend and I split the simple yet awesome Asparagus appetizer....I never in a million years would have thought to put a Sunny Side Up Egg on Asparagus, but guess what...it WORKS. Hints of Olive Oil and Lemon just tied it all together beautifully.
For our Pizza we chose the San Daniele (Smoked Mozzarella, Prosciutto, and Arugula)....the wood burning stove hit the thin crust with just the right flavor...The crust was thick enough that it was slightly doughy inside the crispy outer layer...The Prosciutto was also great and I would consider getting the Prosciutto meat appetizer alone next time.
For dessert we had the slammin' House made Gelatos (Pistachio and Blackberry). The Pistachio came with fresh Pistachio crumbs on top along with one of the BEST pieces of Biscotti I've ever had...hell I would just order Biscotti from there next time without the Gelato if they just had a platter of those!
Anyways I'd definitely try another Pie down at Stella, so you should probably go try one too.
Stella pizza is pretty darn good. I struggled with choosing 3 or 4 stars for this restaurant, but their pizza topping creativity(pistachio, specifically) earned them the 4.
The pizza crust is thin, with a relatively soft texture.
The margherita pie was above average(but still doesn't hold a candle to Tacconelli's). It was light on the cheese and topped with whole basil leaves, just how I like it.
The pistachio pie was surprisingly good, as the pistachio and sweet onions complimented each other very well. It was a unique pizza and I would get it again.
The vongole pie is very good.
Their service was attentive and friendly.
On a negative note, the pizzas are small. My group was 3 people and 3 pies was just a tiiiiiny bit under what would've been satisfactory portions for all involved(and we're not exceptionally gluttonous).
ya mon.
Me and the babe ordered two pies and devoured them as if it were a contest. Actually, I think the restaurant is running some kind of contest for churning out the pizzas as fast as possible. It literally took about 3 minutes for each pie to come out. Regardless feeling rushed, the place has fresh ingredients, awesome dough and Moretti beer. I will return.
As far as pizza in phila, this has to be up there as the best. I split 2 pies with my friend. The arugula and ham pizza was perfectly cooked except for the one burnt edge. The sausage pizza was a little soggy but still tasty. I think it is the second best pizza I have had in the city though La Fourna on South St might edge them out as the best I've had. I would go back for sure. The pricing is probably a little bit on the higher side.
stella, stella. i wanted to be able to scream it from rooftops... but sadly, i cannot.
in the stephen starr vein, this place is grand...grand in the way a pseudo rustic type place can be. to give it even more of a homey feel, there are long tables that you have to share with other folk.
in all, it's a-ok. there are some original ingredients on the pizzas. the crusts are decent (and to be honest, i'm a chicago deep dish pizza girl myself)... our server was probably the best part of the place, as she was super friendly and knowledgeable.
so if i were around the block, and had a pizza craving, i may stop here. but would i make an extra long trip out here for the pizza again? most prob not.
OK, look.. my standards for pizza are higher than my expectations for the Phillies this year. But when I discovered that Stephen Starr had turned the old Cosi on 2nd and Lombard into a gourmet pizzeria, my stomach began to rumble a bit. As any slightly neurotic foodie will tell you, always listen to your stomach. After arguing with my friend for 20 minutes over who the bigger Stephen Starr fanboy is (neither of us wanted to begrudgingly admit to it), I indulged my slightly malnourished appetite, ignored my skinny jeans and proceeded to 2nd street until I reached the old Cosi dive. Lacking was the typical grandiose Stephen Starr decor; only a rustic looking entrance and an elbow-to-elbow restaurant of Society Hill yuppies eating some overpriced pizza and drinking mediocre wine by the glass.
I wouldn't recommend Stella for the finicky eater. Our waiter informed us that they were unable to add, mix and/or match any pizza or salad ingredients in the dish we chose, which seemed rather unaccommodating for a Starr establishment. I also began to assume that all of the ingredients to the items on the menu were not prepared fresh. Slightly perplexed, we managed to settle on a starter and entree that came out relatively quick considering how crowded it was on a Friday night.
The pizza had the consistency of a crust slightly thicker than a typical thin crust pie and the salad was just adequate. I was just expecting something a bit more unconventional or innovative. It's so difficult to find restaurants in Philadelphia that are willing to take risks with their menus. Stella plays it relatively safe and therefore doesn't alienate the average customer. All in all, the establishment was more of a casual bistro than the typical Stephen Starr restaurant you're used to experiencing. If you're anticipating a unique take on a traditional pizza dish then you're going to have to look elsewhere. A small personal pizza, average salad and two glasses of house wine will run you $40 easily. Initially, if you weren't aware that Stephen Starr owned this restaurant, you'd probably think it was a step or two above Cosi. I'm not saying I wouldn't go back, as it is potentially a great first date spot.. I'm just not making it a priority. For fellow pizza aficionados, there's really nothing here to convince you that it's better than Lorenzo's when you want a quick fix.
Just went to Stella's...on a Friday afternoon. No crowds. No pressure. We had the Pistachio pizza...a white pizza with red onion slices and chopped pistachio's. I never had the combination and it was delicious! The crust was superb...thin, crispy, and folded well. The pizza is a bit pricey at $14 for a pie that would be a small or medium at most other pizzeria's. Next time, I plan to try the margerita...so I can sample the tomato sauce. I'd go back anytime.
They do have takeout...no delivery.
We had no pressure from the server...but then again, there were probably no more than 10 other people in the shop .
a welcome addition to the neighborhood, this place feels as fun as any of starr's restaurants. we arrived on a busy friday night and they took my phone number and said it'd be about 20 minutes...they ended up calling back in two, as i was walking across the street to dark horse...no biggie.
the arancini (risotto balls) were interesting and at $5, a good vegetarian appetizer. the margherita pizza we ordered was a little underwhelming. it was smaller than expected, and, i don't know maybe i need to come in on a slow night, but seemed a tad overcooked. there was a puddle of grease in the middle, and the small amount of basil seemed added as an afterthought.
i feel like a whiny bitch writing all that about pizza, but from what i've read about this place, this should come out served on a golden tabernacle by starr himself, or, in his absence, jesus or one of the apostles. so i felt a little slighted, but it was fine after i got all the grease off. oh, and the beer list sucks and is at least $1 overpriced. you have lagunitas (good), lager, a couple pretentious beers that nobody in philadelphia eating pizza should be drinking, and a $6 heineken light.
so overall...good. go check it out. the two drinks, app, and pizza came to $41 after tax and tip...not bad at all by most standards.
Stella, Stella... no I don't say that with all the drama of streetcar named desire but more a tsk, tsk head shaking way.
After a movie last night I finally tried this place with 3 friends. Initially the atmosphere was attractive but it took a few short minutes to realize it was too damn loud in there. I understand that open kitchens often cause noise you want to cover over, however, the music blaring in there made me feel like Noriega. I want to talk to my friends at a pizza joint, not pretend it's the brightest lit club in the city. And really, who needs to hear Fleetwood mac that loud!? Most restaurants have noise problems, but when the music stalled for a moment between songs, it was not at all that loud. It was heavenly, compared.
The Pizza, yeah, very good. My one friend was a bit bothered that they over did one of our pizzas since there were way too many black spots on the crust. If the crust was not good, I'm sure she wouldn't have harped on it to the extent of declaring there were way too many cooks back there and apparently none of them were watching the pizza close enough.
I loved the pizza. The Tartoufo, with black truffle and an egg on top, was rich and wonderful. The Pistachio was good. My big complaint though was the SUPER CRAPPY BEER LIST! C'mon, really? Steven Starr could not find a way to offer at least one local beer? The beers are offered in bottles, most costing $6 and very uninteresting. I went with the $5 Yuengling.
Our server was friendly. She was apparently being watched, literally over her shoulder in training. I liked her despite how nervous the other waiter made her feel. Maybe that was because she was the only server that didn't have that hipster skinny tattooed look. Maybe she was the token minority that Starr likes to hire. She suggested some gelato and our interests piqued by the concept of the olive oil gelato. It was so good. I highly recommend this one.
I will likely come back to this place eventually if friends insist, but honestly, I think the nearby Pietro's has some better beer selections, though it's been a while and I need to find out now. And, it's quieter at Pietro's.
This pizza is better than most other pies in town, but that is not saying much. Before we talk about food, let's talk about the pregame festivities, since you will inevitably encounter a wait at this restaurant. We went a few weeks ago on a Friday night. Upon arriving, we were promptly told that the wait would be forty-five minutes - clearly a canned wait time, but we expected it. Fine, no problem, it gave us an opportunity to hit the Artful Dodger for the first time in years and enjoy a few pints. Incidentally, most of the patrons at AD were waiting for a table at Stella, so its business may have improved after Stella opened. The hostess called my cell phone about thirty minutes later to tell us our table was ready. Wow, that was fast. We took all of about three minutes to settle our bar tab at AD and walk a half block back to Stella, only to be told when we arrived that our table was gone. The hostess knew that she botched that one, so she gave us the next available table two minutes later. Now, let's talk about the food. We intended to order two pies, so we started with the grilled radicchio salad. We asked the server if the salad was suitable for two, and she confirmed that it was. She must have misheard us, because what arrived was a salad suitable for a two-year old. No appetizer plates, either, so we placed the salad in the center of the table, took three bites each, and waited for our pies. Nothing special with the salad and we regretted not ordering another appetizer. For pizza, we ordered the infamous tartufo, which has black truffle and egg. The presentation, which includes the server breaking the egg on the pizza before our eyes and exclaiming "ladies and gentlemen, the tartufo!", was pretty amusing. I like a good laugh. The tartufo itself was enjoyable, too. The San Daniele with prosciutto and baby arugula, however, was entirely average. There are a few decent beers in bottle, such as the Lagunitas IPA, but they could benefit from installing a few taps. Like all Starr restaurants, which somehow keeping suck you back in, I'm sure we will back.
Let me start by saying that I am a big Starr supporter and i frequent most of his establishments as often as I can. That being said, I was very excited for Pizzeria Stella to open.
Two of us went to Stella on Saturday night at approx. 9:30 - the place was about half full. Atmosphere wasn't typical over-the-top Starr, which was kind of refreshing actually. After chatting it up with a close-by table we settled on the Sausage pizza and one beer and one wine. I won't make this story any longer than it has to be so here goes. Our waiter, Brandon, took about 7 minutes to come to the table after we sat down, is this being picky - maybe, but, c'mon 7 minutes with a half full place?? Pizza arrives at table by a manager, drinks still not there. We casually mention to the manger that we hadn't received our beverages. Call me critical, but from 4 years of being a waiter in college, if food would happen to get to a table before drinks I would have gone crazy and made sure the drinks got there asap - not Brandon. Even after I watched the manager tell him about us not getting the drinks it took another 4-5 minutes for them to arrive...wow.
One bright note - the pizza was amazing, hence the one star, if the pizza was bad I would implement a new zero star system on yelp specifically for this review.
So at this point, Stella has about a 3 star rating - then the check comes - and we were charged for double the drinks. Yes, you read right. After bringing this to Brandon's attention, he said that those were the 2nd round of drinks we ordered through the manager....aaaand we had to inform them that those drinks "ordered" through the manager were the first round we never got. Of course there was no apology, just some unfunny joke trying to brush it off.
So in conclusion, if you want to try Stella, get it to-go - I know I will.
a friend was visiting one lovely fall saturday and requested pizza and beer for a meal. for a few minutes i racked my brain trying to come up with a pizza place that had beer, or a bar that served pizza.
then i remembered stella had opened! problem solved.
we sat outside on the lombard side. this works well for afternoon sun, but the 40 bus is not very peaceful. conversations was often interrupted by buses and motorcycles. nothing to be done about that, just fair warning.
inside, the decor is interesting enough, including a "wood wall" that looks like a firewood stack. the trendy white subway tile makes an appearances as well, along with a white tiled wood burning pizza churning oven.
our server was most excellent. everything i've come to expect from a starr restaurant, and more. she gave us recommendations, let us have a nice break between pizza and gelato, and generally showed a great deal of patience and competence.
of course, stella had just recently opened, so she had to double check on a few things like a beer and if a soda had corn syrup in it. note: the kutztown sodas use cane sugar only and are light and delicious!
the beer and wine lists are short, but provide something for everyone. the pizza choices, on the other hand, are torturous. what to choose?! after much hemming and hawing, we finally settled on a classic pepperoni and the vognole (clam) varieties.
both were delicious, but the vognole really stood out. it is absolutely loaded with clams and garlic. take your favorite linguine with white clam sauce, substitute a thin crust for the linguine and that gives you an idea of the deliciousness.
my friend's only other request for her phila day trip was gelato. we thought we might have to go to capogiro, but lo and behold: stella has house made gelato too! we had the olive oil and the ricotta. both flavors were delicious, though i will warn that the house made gelato is a little less consistent in texture than capogiro.
i already plan to return to try more pizza varieties. this is definitely a step up for the south street area and i am happy to see it.
stella is accessible by the 40 bus which both begins and ends right outside. the 12 bus is only a few blocks away as well.
Pizzeria Stella makes for the perfect addition to Philly's food scene. The pizza style is a nice mix of New York wood oven fired (think Grimaldi's in Brooklyn), Napoletana (Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix), and CT style pizza (Pepe's in New Haven). If you're a fan of any of those about mentioned pizza palaces, you'll probably be a fan of Stella.
The setting is probably the most casual and kid-friendly of Starr's restaurants, yet has the same attention to detail in a more down to earth way. I had the chance to try four different pizzas that day: Pepperoni, Sausage, Picante, and Pistachio. The Pepperoni and Sausage were the favorites but all were very good. The interesting thing about Stella is that the different between the pizza flavors isn't just a matter of a change in the main topping (pepperoni, sausage, etc). They use different cheeses depending on the combination of flavors being highlighted. The crust is EXCELLENT and consists of the perfect balance of chewy and crispy. The antipasti dishes are also very good especially the balsamic onion and broccoli rabe. My only complaint is that the service was a bit slow - pizza took over 30-45 mins to come out after ordering. So you have to go there for the quality of pizza, not for a quick slice.
Final thoughts...
A much welcomed addition to Philly especially if you like wood fired oven style pizza. The pizzas are small, so best to go and get a few kinds and share with company.
I have eaten at Stella twice for lunch. I have been very happy with the food..both the salads and pizzas, and I have tried several. They change up the menu frequently it seems. I think the prices are pretty high. Expect to spend about $15 minimum for lunch. I have actually spent 30, but I had salad, wine and a pizza. The pizzas are Italian style...the same size you would get in Italy. You can share, but one is not enough for two people unless you order something else. They are baked in a wood-fired oven, so sometimes the crust bottoms can be a little too well done, but otherwise, delicious. I have to agree with some other reviewers that at least once the servers were in a rush to clear the table. They took my co-worker's plate away while she was still eating, which is pretty ridiculous. I think it just depends on which server you get. Despite some of the drawbacks, I still enjoyed my meals and will likely go again.
This restaurant is exactly what the neighborhood needs. Simple, fresh food with down-to-earth service that truly feels like an Italian experience. Having eaten pizza in Rome and Tuscany, I can tell you that the art is in the sublime- fresh, local ingredients prepared with love. My husband and I tried the place on the first Friday opening night. We had about a 25 minute wait, and when we were called (on our cell phone - brilliant!) to the restaurant to be seated, we had to wait for about 20 minutes as there was a table mix up. However, the head hostess graciously offered us a drink while we waited. No big deal whatsoever. We then sat at the counter and enjoyed the show that is the assembly line of pizza making. My husband and i split the grilled radicchio salad and white bean dish - simple, uncomplicated and yummy. We then split the arugula and prosciutto pizze which was delicious. I was extremely impressed by the service and front of the house staff here - simply unpretentious and enjoyable - just like the pizza itself. If you want to experience a truly authentic version of dining in Italy - Stella is it. Prego, prego.
