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Stella Osteria
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 9 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
10 reviews for Stella Osteria
10 reviews in English
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Review from Allen S.
5/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
Several of us went to Stella Osteria. We sat outside and enjoyed various entrées including pizza and the nice chicken spinach fettuccine that I had. The fettuccine was excellent. Our server was friendly and made us feel at home.
After dinner I asked others about Stella Osteria. Everybody I asked knew and liked Stella Osteria.
Give Stella Osteria a try. -
Review from Chloe P.
Ottawa, ON
5/21/2012
Catering to the tourists with mediocre food, this is the last time I'll ever go here.
-
Review from Danielle F.
Toronto, ON
8/16/2011
Stella is a gorgeous restaurant that works for both business and pleasure. I've lunched here a couple times now, the first time with a group of co-workers and the second with my sister. It seems that they would have no problems seating any number of people. They've got these great circular, leather booths that keep everyone close despite fitting around 6-7 people.
Every table gets some bread. Yes, this is worth it's own paragraph. Half a loaf for a small table, whole loaf for a big one. It's warm and drizzled with their spiced olive oil. There's rock salt on top, making it impossible to stop eating.
The food otherwise has been good, not amazing. I got the Stella pizza at first, with half cesar salad. The pizza was solid; I really liked the toppings of confit chicken, grilled leeks, goats cheese and carmelized onions and how they all went together. The crust was pretty chewy though and not what I was expecting given the menu's description. As for the salad, not that impressive but a very sizeable portion even if it doesn't look that way. Try as I might, I could not make a dent.
My Tagliatelli gamberi was a bigger hit with me. It came with four enormous and succulent shrimps, braised leeks, roasted red peppers and perectly al dente pasta. It could have used a lot more sauce though! Come on, that's what the bread is for- dipping.
The service is very professional, kind of stiff though. Also, and maybe it's just because I don't like sparkling water but to me, it's kind of gimmicky how they offer you still and sparkling with a huge production and out of Stella monogrammed bottles. At least they're both free!
A solid meal in the market! It happened to be raining both times I went but the patio looks like a great time everytime I pass by! -
Review from Robert B.
1/17/2012
We just got back from Ottawa, Canada. My fiancee lived there many year and bragged about how great this place was so of course I was very excited to try it. Upon Arrival service was horrible and the host was extremely rude as she looked stressed out from the huge line waiting for tables. We finally got seated upstairs and ordered mint Mojitos which were crap (very weak and tasted like water with lime and mint). Next we all ordered salads which were fair. I did like the free bread they served to us. Our main dish was the pizza's, they were actually disgusting! I ordered the Margarita Pizza which was so tasteless I sent it back and the waitress didn't charge us for it. Our group ordered every pizza that they offered and nobody liked any of them. Hope this help someone save there money before heading here! Personally I fell in love with the Poutine and Beavertails at the market!
-
Review from Coy W.
8/11/2011 7 Check-ins Here
Stella is my favourite place in the market to have a drink and people watch in the summer. The ambiance inside is very nice but the second floor is so much nicer.
The staff are usually very friendly, though we have had 1 incident with one of the hostesses over the years but she's not around anymore.
We normally only grab appetizers here and they're pretty good. The food isn't bad though a tad pricey. I think Stella might have the best food on Clarence St that I've tried with the exception of Empire Grill since I haven't eaten there.
This is the place to come people watch the night away!!! -
Review from Andrew M.
Kanata, ON
11/29/2011
The Byward Market in Ottawa is the obvious tourist hot spot in the city, boasting the latest and arguably, greatest restaurants. Stella Osteria has been around for a few years, affiliated with Luxe Bistro and the Blue Cactus.
Rated highly by the local paper and magazines, we had high hopes. The hostess at the front was wonderful and attentive - if she was the standard for their service, the evening would have been wonderful. Sadly, she wasn't.
From Wikipedia, "Osteria" in Italian literally means a place where the owner "hosts" people.
Food is generally regional and prepared with local recipes, and often served at shared tables.
I'm not sure if the owners of Stella truly have that in mind, because the experience didn't hit that tone at all.
Food
First off, the portions are very large. It would be enough to only have three appetizers for a table of four. It was impossible to put all four plates on the table and still eat comfortably. We started with appetizers. The Caesar salad was over-acidic and served in the equivalent of a kitchen bowl. The "Stella special" fried zucchini is an interesting spin on an old roadhouse classic, using wide thin slices rather than sticks but otherwise was nothing new. The seafood platter wasn't very good - with the batter appearing sickly white instead of a golden brown. One exception was the prosciutto di parma platter which was wonderful. It combined aged prosciutto with fig, pecans and parmigiana.
Because the platters are so large, it would have been enough to stop there. Instead we opted for something a little smaller, some light pasta.
The pasta isn't fresh or home-made - which for an Italian restaurant should be considered a crime. The spaghetti bolognese comes with a single large meatball, made with breadcrumbs and extremely dry. The carbonara was very heavy with garlic, to the point where one of our companions felt it was burnt. The egg on top was done well but when placed in the large bowl, it was lost. The vegetable ziti featured a whipped goat cheese which brought a unique taste, although not quite becoming to the dish. Both the bolognese and ziti had a layer of oil at the bottom of the bowl. I didn't have the black cod but it wasn't received with great enthusiasm.
Service
The service was pretty poor. The waiter was indifferent and inattentive. He was somewhat friendly when he was there but didn't make us feel welcome. Initial drink orders took forever to arrive and when they did, they were wrong (gin and soda, really?!?!?). The selection of beers on top isn't huge but not impressive. With two choices of Nero d'Avola, the waiter didn't offer the choice but immediately assumed the most expensive. If the basic service to that point had been great, I could have appreciated it - but it wasn't. At times, I felt they wanted to rush us out of the restaurant because they were getting busier, but the slowness of the actual service contradicted that impression. Even getting the bill was a chore.
Dinner for four with two bottles of wine came to $269.
Overall
In your own city, heading into the Byward Market should be a special occasion, coming away with the feeling of getting away from your regular day with an exceptional evening. Stella's didn't hit that mark; in fact, it fell way off the mark. -
Review from Darren M.
Ottawa, ON
11/22/2010
I really like the ambiance of this place.
The patio in the summertime is very relaxing and although you're still in the bustling and sometimes obnoxious Byward Market, you can really enjoy a relaxing evening on their patio.
The food at Stella also gets my approval. I had delicious gnocci with fresh mushrooms and my friends ordered flat bread pizza and they all raved about it.
Our server, Michael, was very attentive and knowledgeable.
The hostess who greeted us wasn't as friendly. We walked in and she seemed to think we were in her way although the door area was very hard to navigate as it's close to the patio entrance as well.
Overall that didn't spoil our experience and I'd highly recommend Stella for those looking for good food and a relaxing evening in the Market area. -
Review from Lea G.
2/11/2010
We had a company group dinner here and it's a fantastic looking venue. It's very modern and warm with tones of red and brown. Very stylish decor....so thumbs up on atmosphere. We got there right before 6:30 PM and the place was empty but by 7 PM the place was packed. We made use of the bar prior to the rest of our party arriving and they make some killer cocktails.
Now on to the important part: The food. For appetizers we shared the crispy fried zucchini, fritto misto di mare (fried shrimp, calamari and clams) and artichoke spinach and cheese dip. Safe choices for a large group. The standout star was the fried zucchini which was cut long (by the length) and thin. It was breaded and served with a nice red chili aioli. For the main course I had the baked ziti...I know I know as I type this I am kicking myself ...why didn't I try the lobster or the veal or even the steak. But if you travel for business you understand that these rich food items get tiring very quickly and sometimes all you want is some comfort food. And to me cheese and pasta is always comfort food. To Stella's credit that did it well. My collegues all had some thing different from the menu and it all looked and smelled very good.
The customer service was excellent and they catered to our large party (which had a large table and two separate booth tables in the same area) with grace and coordination. Highly recommend! -
Review from Jonathan W.
Calgary, AB
6/12/2010
One of the huge stack of fancy patio restaurants in the heart of the market on Clarence. The front is very attractive and the atmosphere is upscale. During good weather, you're gonna need reservations during peaking hours.
With so many options, where does Stella rank? At best, middle of the road. The menu is a mix of Italian fare with a modern twist that is so uninspired. The ingredients and flavours were bland, unripened or just mismatched. The death sentence of a good Italian restaurant. Maybe their local sources just had a bad day.
The menu started poorly with a mistaken order of a caesar which was replaced by a limp garden salad. The minestrone was thick and bland with texturally unappealing lumps of meat. The chicken wings were fried, lacking flavour and tossed with limp onions.
A friend had the flat bread pizza which is nothing more than warmed flat bread covered with a meager salad. Truly disappointing. However, the one redemption was a perfectly seared filet mignon, medium-rare, juicy and at least one bright spot.
The service was slow and non-responsive at times. Overall, for this price-point and location, you could do much better (go to Murray street).
The view is nice but the meal leaves you wanting. -
Review from Dmitry N.
Ottawa, ON
6/13/2009
One of my favourite restaurants in Ottawa. Great food (the sparerib gnocchi are my favourite), gorgeous decor and ambiance, good prices and service. Highly recommended.
