romatic, good food, great service

The food, the service, the overall experience and attention we received were impeccable from start to finish. Even the salad, aptly named Holy Greens because the salad greens are blessed by the nuns who grows them, is great. We loved all our food and highly recommend ending with the Bananas Foster. While dining at Stella is a splurge, it was worth every penny to us--all we are normally fairly frugal. Every bite we had pleased us. And the staff are eager to please. Even the chef/owner gives special attention to all diners, inquiring after everyone's food. He even sent a few free extras for tasting. We were very impressed with the whole experience. A stark contrast to the other chef-owner restaurant we ate at (Rio Mar). We would definitely want to return to Stella! even if returning to New Orleans for just one day.

I just returned from Stella. TripAdvisor has never steered me wrong for vacations, so I figuired I'd try going off the restaurant reviews this time.

The restaurant decor' was wonderful...very traditional and elegant, with the exception of a few mixes of trendier wall art (cheaply looking wrought iron branches/leaves) and such. The flower arrangements on the tables were very sweet and fresh, and the tabletop candle added a romantic flare. The silverware was a little heavy, and the knives tend to slide off the plate if not placed more toward the center. Glasses were standard issue 2-star restaurant selections, and I felt that an upgraded and lighter glass would have added to the elegance of the restaurant.

The service was fantastic and flawless. I was actually able to get a last-minute reservation a half hour prior to arrival, and was surprised to see that the dining area was only 40% in peak time.

The food portions a la carte were simply too small, although wonderful. Apparently you must get the $85+ 7-course meal in order to feel satisfied. On the way back to my hotel, there were a few places I was tempted to walk into because I was still hungry. I ordered the scallops/shrimp a la carte. The four scallops were absolutely perfect...I don't believe I've had better. The two shrimp which garnished the dish had much to be desired...quite fishy. The dish was also served with a hash brown vegetable with fresh crisp carrots and beans, both also very small servings. This particular dish costs $31 at the time of this review, and does not come with salad or soup. It does however come with that infamous awful bread served half-way through the meal.

The chef also sent out a sample complimentary dessert of a single strawberry marshmellow and chocolate truffle. The truffle was your everyday truffle, but the marshmellow was simply delicious.

Overall, this restaurant is above average in my experience. I would not include it in one of the best I've visited, but certainly in the top 50. If you aren't hungry, but would like an elegant non-touristy New Orleans experience this may be one to consider.

Let me first say, this is one of the best meals I have ever had. The hour wait we had for our food at Bayona – I wouldn’t have cared at this place. Luckily, the service was very fast here. The service was great, the wine was spectacular, the setting was very nice, and the food was amazing. While the menu is small, I believe it changes on a regular basis but everything we ate was awesome. I should have asked what the house cabernet was, because it was outstanding for a house wine. Décor was very nice. I would go back here in a heartbeat. The food was just amazing. We were full but still ordered dessert just to see if it was also as good – it was.