stella luna gelato café

chose this particular gelato over others purely based off its award and online following. i had absolutely no clue of the price (found it relatively pricey), so was quite surprised upon arrival. we lined up for a few minutes, and thank god we came earlier, for any later and we would have lined up out the door.

the four of us ordered two large gelatos to share; one had the flavours rich chocolate, hazelnut, and tiramisu, while the other was madagascar vanilla, rich chocolate, and grapefruit guava. thechocolategelato was indeed rich, bitter in flavour at first and then progressively sweeter. my absolute favourite was the hazelnut - it was absolutely delicious and addictive! i kind of regret not ordering more of the nut flavours (which i knew was good and popular) such as ferrero rocher, pistachio, almond, etc. my sister ordered the tiramisu, but also found it overly sweet. she also decided on the grapefruit guava, which was very interesting... it was both bitter (due to the grapefruit) and tangy. though none of us were great fans of it, we found it a good palette cleanser (like ginger for smoothie) to use when switching between flavours, or when you find something too sweet! finally, the vanilla kind of fell flat.

as this was our first time eating gelato, we had no clue that it's such a filling substance. consequently, we couldn't even finish the two large sizes (leaving some the chocolate, guava, and tiramisu behind).

when we walked passed the store at about 9:00p.m. later that day, to watch the fireworks on the bridge, we were astonished to find that the line had now extended to be almost a block along the street! this truly is a popular place, and for good reason. :)

perfect gelato. hands down the best gelato i've ever eaten. it can seem a bit pricey, but when you compare to say the dq it is worth every penny. three small cups will run you close to $15. because the gelato is so rich a small is more than enough to satisfy any sweet tooth.

agree with other reviewers that it is nice to be able to have more than one flavour in your cup. i like the pistachio and richchocolatecombo.

delicious gelato that lives up to the hype

i don't have much of a sweet tooth, but i love my sugar now and then. i tend to get my desserts from the the bakery aisle from loblaws or metro (which are a lot better than people give them credit for) but decided to check this place out. i was skeptical of all the hype, so i went on a sunday night for their 40% discount. the line reached the door but i managed to get the register within 7 minutes. service is surprisingly fast for a dessert/cafe. perhaps because it was a chilly october night as opposed to a heating july may explain that. there wasn't as many selections as i saw on other review boards (there were perhaps 10).

i asked for a large cup, where i got half madagascar vanilla and half rich chocolate. i then got half-a-litre to go, which consisted of hazelnut, my all time favourite flavour for anything (lattes, cakes, cream, syrup, etc. i put that sh*t on everything), ferror roche, and anotherchocolateflavour. it all came down to $12.50 and for those who complain about price, this is amazingly good, even without the discount. most specialty bake stores are quite expensive and they don't give you as much as stella luna. they really gobbed on as much as they could. price wise, i feel it is worth it and it tastes amazing, all five flavours i tried. i recommend getting vastly different flavours and trying them together.

the gelato was rich without the heavy taste you get from a lot of other gelato and was extremely fresh and flavourful. will definitely come back.

seriously the best gelato i've ever had. i had thechocolategelato affogato withchocolatesauce. the portion was huge and just amazingly decadent.

best by far. this gelato house is miles ahead of the competition. thechocolatecherry is the 4th best in north america so.... honestly every flavor is just awesome. the owner is super friendly and so is the staff. this is the spot to go when you need to take it to the next level.

the chef/owner was trained under the finest gelato masters in italy before opening stella luna gelato. the making of the gelato starts with fresh and premium ingredients without resorting to powder mixes. in addition, they have the artisan's palette menu. each item is a sample of a few gelato and sorbets on a plate served on a tall glass in which the flavours complement each other. when ordering the donatello, it comes with a warm mixed berry coulis likely to prevent brain freeze. their selection of flavours change regularly, it is definitely worth a revisit. donatello artist's palette - mango and raspberry sorbet,chocolategelato with forest berry coulis stella luna gelato cafe 1103 bank st. ottawa, on k1s 3x4 613-523-1116 wild oat bakery cafe is a cozy cafe focusing on top quality, fresh and organic ingredients. the sandwiches are all vegetarian and packed with flavours. the bread comes from the bakery attached to the cafe, it can be requested gluten-free. i ordered the el oaxaca which consists of a puréed of black beans, sun-dried tomatoes, olive tapenade, alfalfa sprouts and melted old cheddar. the bread has a good bite to it, not at all crunchy and the filling was light and refreshing. el oaxaca - black bean spread, sun-dried tomato, tapenade, avocado, old cheddar wild oat bakery cafe and restaurant 817 bank st. ottawa, on k1s 3v7 613-232-6232

best ever.. i love their smoked salmon paninis and hope they never stop serving them. i will go out of my way to get them as long as they keep serving them. take my money, please.

their gelato is second to none in ottawa. you can tell that they really care about quality and they have an excellent variety of flavors. it's so good that i will probably make the trek out there even in winter to get these treats. like all gelato places i've been they allow you to sample the flavors before picking which ones you'd like. i love their hazelnut and amaretto. they also had achocolatecherry one for a while that was amazing. it seems expensive but i feel it's worth the money as they don't skimp on the portions you get.

the employees all seem really friendly and seem to like working there, which in turn makes me feel comfortable being there.

it can get quite busy at this place and there's limited seating. it's also hard to find a parking spot within reasonable walking distance. despite all this i love coming here. feels so cozy and the food is great.

i went to this cafe for the first time after hearing great things. i ordered the iced cafe moca which unfortunately tasted like cold coffee. it cost almost $5 for a regular size which seems quite expensive. i would recommend an emphasis on keeping it like the traditionalchocolatedrink with a shot of espresso as it was intended! otherwise it won't differ from the iced coffee. i will try this cafe again but maybe something else next time.

ive never had the gelato but the hotchocolateis delicious!

oh, my! pistachio heaven,chocolatebliss, mojito sparkle...i could go on, but i would have to jump in my car and go there right now. best gelati since italy...smooth, fresh, full of flavour, and served in truly pleasing fashion in a warm, homey space. perfect!

stella luna is a real treat!. i fell in love with stella luna from the moment i walked in. the cafe is bigger than i expected and tastefully decorated with cozy seating. the ambiance is warm and comfortable. the selection of gelato was great, with about 20 different flavours, including a few fruit sorbets. my partner ordered a large cup of thechocolatepeanut butter flavour and the richchocolate(he likes chocolate!) and i had a large cup of the madagascar vanilla and lemon sorbet. i was instantly impressed with the flavours and the texture of the gelato and sorbet. both were smooth and incredibly creamy and intensely flavourful. the large cup was probably more than we both needed but i found it well priced at $5.25. the addition of the large slice of waffle cone adorning the gelato was an added yummy bonus.

we also purchased a litre of the ferraro rocher gelato as a gift for friends. this cost about $15 which was well worth it once we saw their expressions upon tasting the delicious gelato.

i look forward to visiting stella luna again to try different flavours of the gelato and buying a gelato cake!

using the freshest ingredients, and made in house, stella serves one of the best gelatos in ottawa. over 20 flavors are served daily, and my favorite flavors so far are sicilian pistachio,chocolateamaretto, ricotta and caramelized figs, and roasted almond.