stella luna gelato café

when they opened i came all the time for the tiramisu. it was fabulous! the recipe has changed (not for the better) and the size cut in half so it's no longer the best tiramisu but still prettygoodespecially if you don't have a reference, try it. the gelato is wonderful and consistent. it is obvious that the ingredients are high quality and it comes through in the taste

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. the chocolate gelato 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 wasgoodand 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 agoodpalette 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 forgoodreason. :)

went in on a wednesday at 11:30 am for lunch and almost every seat was already taken!! it didn't help that a group on glebe moms were in there with their newborns.
blt panini was excellent, loved the crispy bacon. and as usual the gelato is asgoodas you'll get in italy.
very friendly staff.

great italian style ice cream, but grossly overpriced at more than $7 for a small cup. i just returned from europe where the "gelato" was every bit asgoodand the price for a small cup never exceeded 3 euros which is about $4.50 cdn.

edit: down to a 2 (can’t seem to rate in halves, might have gone to 2.5) have been several times to wellington early for coffee/bite and apres work. baked goods are ok, certainly not quality you would expect from baked in house baker and for, again, very high prices. their egg breakfast sandwich at $6.50 is outshone by a mcdonalds egg mcmuffin, yes it was that bad considering the ridiculous price. espresso coffees are also ok, but sub-par.

old review:
3.5 only because prices are outrageously high even by high custom gelato shop standards. simply not agoodvalue. to note also my last visit was at the wellington location. and at this location the layout is ridiculous lines crisscrossing and inconvenient [you have to pay before you can even see/decide if you want how many scoops]. and finally selection of flavours is quite limited with some great standards missed.

visit #1: the gelato was very good. i was expecting that because of all the hype i had heard about them winning some important prize. not sure i'd line up for it, but the lemon was tart and refreshing. visit #2: i found the lineup for lunch fare confusing and did not feel comfortable at their tables. the wait would have been too long for take out with a time constraint. the sandwich was nice, not great. it hadgoodbread with a relatively sparse filling for the price. i'd go back for a treat gelato once in a while but only if they weren't busy!

staff are all friendly and the service is fast. don't be tempted to turn away if there is a line-up out the door; it moves quickly. the gelato is pretty good, over all. the pistachio and the cuban are amazing. everything is made in-house. it is a definite go-to for dessert; agoodgelato never disappoints.

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, chocolate gelato 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 agoodbite 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

great spot for gelato. nice clean gelateria. prompt service,goodlattes, great gelato.
definitely a go-to spot for gelato.

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 sogoodthat 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 a chocolate cherry 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.

lovely shop, popular spot, with amicable, well-dressed staffs. very welcoming vibe. gelato tasted great. nanaimo bar was lookinggoodbut unfortunately dry and hard.

yup, growing discontent among "regulars". not surprised to see complaints about bad service/attitude. reading the passive agressive response from owner to somebody who had mistakenly ordered an alcohol laced gelato shows where this behavoir comes from. just take the mistakenly ordered gelato exchange the flavour for another, smileand look forward to their return. skip the sermon about how customers can avoid their mistakes and not annoy the perfect people of stella luna.! so pathetic. i am just waiting for competition to realize there is plenty of room in old ottawa south for nicer cafes and more gelato/ice cream! stella luna is not thatgoodand i am hearing from others who used to go there and recommend it to others say "yeah, stella luna's, i'm really womdered about that place now".

terrific, as always!. i've been enjoying stella luna since it opened, and it's every bit asgoodnow as it was the first day. the gelato is absolutely divine, and the baked goods excellent. over the winter, when i was not eating much gelato, but couldn't bear not to keep visiting my favourite cafe, i discovered that stella luna makes the best lattes in ottawa. soooo creamy good!

the ice cream wasgoodbut i couldn't get passed the hostile atmosphere. all the servers seemed like they were walking on egg shells. the owners seemed to intimidate their employees. a very uncomftorable experience. won't go back again.

fabulous gelato - probably the best in the city. but please improve the service.. fabulous gelato with interesting flavours. probably the best in the city. large servings, too. verygoodpanini (interesting fillings! order ahead by phone if you want one after lunch, as they usually run out),goodwaffles for brunch, baked goods, coffees, smoothies, etc. very pleasant ambiance.

kids love this place, but it's also ideal for meeting friends, hanging out with a book, and just generally enjoying yourself.

the only thing that needs improvement is the service - it's terribly slow and uncoordinated. for the gelato, you must pay first (this isn't obvious) then go to another person to get your treat. when you order something else, e.g., waffles, it's not clear when you pay or what your bill is. tables take far too long to be cleared of dirty dishes, and even something like the request for a glass of water usually takes a long time to be filled. i don't think it's a shortage of staff - i think it's a combination of poor training and poor co-ordination of duties.