stella's

great late mother's day dinner. my bf and i took his mom here for a later mother's day dinner. she had already been here before a couple of weeks prior and told us about the food and wanted us to take her day for her mother's day. for an app we got the flaming cheese which was good. for my entree, i got the crabcakes. these were the largest crabcakes i have ever ordered. i could only eat just one. the side of the day was the baked orzo with marinara sauce was excellent. will definately come back to try something different.

definitely go!. after a day of visiting battlefields, we were starving and wanted to go out and relax. we knew if we went back to our hotel first, we'd never get back out because we were so tired. so we opted for dinner first. driving up, we loved that it was in a neighborhood in an old building. when we walked in, it was packed, but we were greeted promptly and told that the bar would probably be our quickest option. even though we were in jeans (and everyone else was super dressed up) we were still treated nicely. we ended up at a table, by a stroke of luck and we were treated to not only great food but we got to watch old greek movies that they projected on the wall. the decor was not the typical blue and white but decidedly upscale with mood lighting and modern tables. we ordered a few meze dishes, like tapas- tatziki, taramosalata, and yia yia's skillet, a combination of garlic, tomatoes, gigantes and other vegetarian items with pita bread. they were fantastic. then we had souvlaki with spinach and cheese in phyllo dough and i had the potatoes, baby endive greens, and horta. the souvlaki and spinach was very tasty. the potatoes were crisp, warm and good. the greens were a new thing for me. the endive was too bitter for me (my bad, not theirs) and the horta was good. the portions were huge. go here if you have time and a huge appetite- we had plenty of left overs!

amazing brunch. all the brunch options are exceptional. the dinner menu doesn't disappoint either. i'm always recommending it to friends who haven't gone and are asking about good places to eat.

very nice place. better to book it earlier for sunday brunch's . it has a good atmosphere. generally place is small so you might end up sitting with other people.

good but slightly expensive food - can be a "west end mom" place at times.

very nice, cool place with rva locals. great food and upper class atmosphere. had the twice baked cauliflower and fried calamari. both were cooked perfectly. great service and selection.

best greek food i've had since leaving chicago. amazing service, beautiful atmosphere, delicious food. highly recommended. nothing on the menu disappoints.

just moved to richmond recently, and have already visited this restaurant, in addition to their grocery store across the street, four times. the best greek food i have ever had. their sautéed calamari comes in a heaping portion and is super delicious, even eaten the next day as leftovers. their olive oil is superb. their greek salads are massive and delicious. the grilled octopus is to die for, super tender and marinated to perfection. to top it all off, they have a deliciously unique chocolate baklava.

great brunch!. i'm not kidding when i say the worst part of brunch was having to narrow down a choice from all the great options. i wish they had a sampler plate of the meze so i didn't have to pick! anyhow, we had a reservation and i agree with others it seems a little silly to have everyone crowding the front until the whole party is there.. just have the hostess say your server will be by when your group is complete and have water on the tables and let people get situated.

drinks: the bloody mary was good, the traditional mimosas were good, bellini was good but the star of the drinks show was the pomegranate mimosa! so good everyone switched over to that drink because it was so tasty.

apps: we got the spanakopita and the tiropita both very good- it came with taziki on the side that was sooo good!

entrees: greek toast was amazing, i think the vyssino version was the way to go the whipped greek yogurt seemed more like a whipped cream and the sour cherries were amazing but not too tart. we had a couple of people order the skillets they were definitely tasty i thought mine needed a bit more cheese. the star of the show here was the crab benedict the sundried
tomato hollandaise was to die for and was really unique to anything i've had at brunches.

don't forget to share an order of loukoumades to round out your visit!!

stella's is a++ for food (kale salad, lamb meatballs, stella's calamari) and atmosphere but why why why do they take reservations?! every time i go, several of the tables sit empty for 30+ minutes, being held for reservations. these people need to a) learn how to manage reservations or b) stop taking them all together.

first time for my wife and i, the ambiance was really nice. we did not have a reservation, however, we arrived just after 6pm and were seated promptly. the hostess was very courteous, and our table was very nice. the restaurant was busy for a monday, but it is the holiday dinner season. ben was our waiter and he was attentive, yet unobtrusive, and didn't make a scene when i butchered the menu pronunciations. we ordered several small plates (oyster special, lamb frites, and dolmades) and were delighted by all. my wife had the mousaka and i had the grouper entree for dinner, both were excellent. we finished with some gelato and coffee and could not be happier with our dinner experience. we will recommend and return!

hidden gem. they have this awesome community table so you get to know new folks which is so fun!! the small plates are perfectly portioned. so many amazing flavors in every bite. the calamari stella is oh so tasty!!! definitely a close runner up for my top restaurants in rva.

nasty staff and manager. one a scale from 1-5 (5 being the best) here are my thoughts from this weekend's reservation.
1. ( rating 1) our party arrived at 5:00 p.m. at varying times. only by 5-10 minutes. there were 6 of us...and only 1 was left. they would not seat us until the 6th had arrived and the manager knew the 6th was on the way and running a couple of minutes late. rude!
2. (rating 1) the waiter (who we later found out was the manager) was unfriendly, pissy and condescending - oh and did i mention "humorless?" (he was going to have an attitude with a table full of nice customers over 50 when he had to read his notes?)
3. (food 4.5) all of the food was really good, except a bowl of soup (which was one of the party's main dish; was an unappetizing size of a pig's trough, not what was described on the menu; lukewarm; and looked like gloppy rice pudding).
4. (rating 1) when the party politely and unobtrusively tried to mention that the soup was not up to par, the waiter, said "it was" and "did she want it boxed up?" when she said "no thank you" he asked anyone at the table if they would like it boxed up to which all parties (who had tried the soup and hated it) said "no thank you, we didn't care for it either." the waiter did not try to make the situation right. he did not say he was sorry, could he get her something else, nothing!!!
5. (rating 1) when the bill came, the woman had been charged for the $8.00 soup. she politely told the waiter she thought there had been an error because the soup was still on the bill, to which he replied "no that is right. it was exactly what was on the menu. he said they couldn't serve it to anyone else, and that was their policy. there was nothing he could do." when asked if maybe she could speak to the manager, the waiter replied with a condescending tone "i am the manager." he then proceeded to tell her that the soup is wonderful and in his condescending tone, made her feel embarrassed and spoiled. the table was embarrassed for his behavior.

okay...the soup was $8.00. the woman had ordered other food for herself and the table. going to stella's was her idea for her out of town guests, and money was not the problem. $8.00 was fine. she paid it. however, the lack of an attempt to make the situation right. the lack of personality, care and attention to keeping the customer happy were not present. what should have been a fun evening - was soured by this one waiter/manager. he was nasty and should not be a waiter, let alone a manager.

suffice it to say, no one from the table will ever go back to stella's. overall rating = 2

there's a reason!. not having any other restaurants nearby stella's is reliant on a clientele that lives within a few blocks. can you get a good meal there? yes. but much of it is mediocre. because they don't have local competition they don't strive like other establishments to stay on top of their game it's a noisy place making it difficult to have a conversation and the waitstaff don't put themselves out much unless its tip time!

oh.my.goodness. the moussaka was one of the best dishes i have ordered in a looooong time. the layers of artichoke hearts, potatoes, fennel, caramelized onion and sauteed eggplant were perfectly baked with bechamel (white sauce) and topped with cheese. i didn't feel like i was eating vegetables- it was an indulgent dish that i savored until the last bite. yum.