Café Stella

I had two brunches at Café Stella recently. It has a gorgeous patio that I can bring my dog with me. I got oatmeal and it was exactly what I expected. My friends loved their burger. They serve Intelligentsia Coffee so that can be a plus (even though you can probably walk 3 feet to Intelligentsia Coffee next door).

Had an extremely poor experience at Café stella.
I was originally referred to come here by a friend.
Staff was extremely rude. Took us over 20 minutes to be seated .
The food was merely average and definitely not work the 45 minutes we waited for it. Would not recommend this ‘café’ for your family or friends.

Trendy French spot known for great food and drinks. Bar downstairs is open weekend nights and worth a look if you’re in the mood for a well-​mixed drink and beautiful people watching. The restaurant serves really good food and offers top quality service. Bring a nice date or someone you care about. They’ll be impressed. Or come alone and have an espresso and read a book.

Pretty damn delicious, a bit expensive. Fantastic wine list, simple butter lettuce and herb salad, moules frites, etc.
Standard French fare and service, but extremely cute environment. The décor and ambience are spot on, and I love the bar. Definitely check this place out.

Came here for the first time this past Saturday. The atmosphere is great, the interior of the café is very unique. The food was a bit expensive for what it was. It does become a bit crowded as well. However, if you are looking for a unique experience than I would give this place a try.

My absolute favorite bar in silverlake. All the drinks are made with precision and care. If you frequent the establishment the bartenders will remember you and whatever you prefer to drink so tip well and visit often and you will be happy. The restaurant side is classy and the food is on point. I would definitely recommend trying their brunch it’s worth the extra few dollars!

Service and drinks we’re great. I recommend this place as a pre-​dinner stop. Wasn’t very pleased with my meal. We had the steak frites and I barely could chew through the meat even though it was cooked medium rare.

This place was really good food. A little pricey but very good. The only reason why they didn’t get 5 stars is the service is terrible! Super slow. They are very nice but they are slow as molasses!

I’d say it’s more of a 3.5 based on portion sizes. However, the space has character and I really enjoyed coming here with my friends.
They have a main dining area which is a mixture of indoor/​outdoor since the doors are open. They have an inside area to the right, but seems dark and had way too many taxidermied animals. I’m not into that. Addit madly there is a very cool bar area on the left, which would be so fun to hang out in during the evenings!
They serve intelligentsia coffee. They grab it from next door which can mean it takes a few extra minutes for them to get it to you. But oh it’s delicious.
I ended up with an avocado toast we shared, which was delicious! Additionally a salmon eggs Benedict. Instead of an English muffin, it’s a «nest» of potatoes. It’s gluten free! The salmon was lox and overall very delicious. However, also very small and I was hungry for more!
Good meal. Great space. But pricey and portions are a bit small!
Plus parking can be a pain. Be careful of the parking rules!

Very busy for a week night, but the food wasn’t delicious and worth the price. Although locals may attend, tourists come here too. I’m trying another place next time I’m in the area.

A very unassuming place from the outside, but a gem on the inside. A dark intimate setting lends it’s hand to great French cuisine. The steak was cooked perfectly in a light peppercorn sauce and the meatballs were amazing. The chocolate bread pudding dessert was decadent.

I have nothing bad to say about this place, good food, nice vibe & really nice artwork and history around this restaurant. High prices are expected, I was bummed when they stopped using real vanilla bean in their crème brûlée. Totally changed the taste. That alone for me is enough to knock off a star.
Also expect to park valet, it’s usually not too bad but the lot is fairly small. $ 5/​$ 6 for that.
They’ve changed this place up a lot but I’ll still be back here. You can tell just how good the chef’s palate is by really appreciating what you’re eating and tasting. It’s like all the French flavors they know and love made it perfectly into this kitchen lol I’m happy with Café Stella.
I don’t know, something about this place I really love. Good atmosphere and recommend :)

Met up with my friend here for lunch.
The atmosphere is very hipstery which is pretty cool.
I had the french onion soup and Salade stella.
Loved both of my items. The salad had a good amount of asparagus and beets with a mild dressing very healthy.
My friend ordered the salade nicoise with an English tea. The English tea came in a cute little English pot.
The café is very european like, I didn’t feel I was in Los Angeles.
Great place to have some healthy food and catch up with friends.

Good menu basic French food done very well.
I made a reservation online a week ahead and it was pretty easy, I brought my girlfriend here for a quiet romantic night out.
First off the bread and butter delivered to the table was perfect and quintessentially French, crusty on the outside, light and chewy on the inside.
The ambiance was relaxing and just the right noise level, the drinks were delicious and the food was just right. We had the gnocchi, spicy cauliflower, steak frites and profiteroles. The steak was good as were the frites but the highlights were the gnocchi and spicy cauliflower I could have just had a double order of both and would have been satisfied. Overall I will recommend this restaurant to my friends and will come back again.

I’ve given Café Stella two chances now and it appears both times they’ve been consistent with their failures. The service here is very bad. Their servers only visit the table to take the initial drink order and after you have received your food. Forget about refills on your cocktails and expect to wait over 40 minutes for dinner to get to your table. Our food took almost 45 minutes to get to us (restaurant had empty tables so they were not overly busy) and our server did not come once to check on us, keep us informed of a delay, or at least take second round drink orders. We were four people at our table all with cocktails and all four of us were ready to leave before food even arrived.
Is the food good? Yes. Is the atmosphere cute/​romantic? Yes. However, there are a million other places in Los Angeles that would welcome your business and have better service. Don’t bother coming here for dinner, just stop by for a drink at their bar if you must. Two stars for the food and ambiance.

The waiter reprimanded us for adding a chair to our table for a friend that joined us. It was so condescending! We were then reluctant to pay the demanded $ 70 tip due to the b.s. scolding we got for spending more money at their restaurant, and THE WAITER THREATENED TO KILL US. He was a horrible waiter all night, totally unresponsive, and then THREATENED TO KILL US. Seriously. We were in shock at the threat and the unprofessionalism. What kind of world are we living in where this is permissible, even just as a verbal threat? We were your customers, trying to spend more money by adding a member to our party, and you reprimanded us for it, then got hostile AND THREATENED TO KILL US when we voiced our objection to the treatment. Honestly, it was shocking and horrifying and inexplicable that the management allowed this.

love this place. Great atmosphere and great food! The bar is always lively and the drinks are delicious. Casual or dressy, can go either way.

Café Stella is one of my favorite restaurants in LA, and I’m a regular. I’m writing this to respond to the one-​star review from January 24, 2016 about an incident with the manager (link at the bottom).
We got to Stella for dinner at around 10 and it was fairly empty, except for a large group at the next table. The previous reviewer (and would be chair thief) was with the group, and apparently didn’t have a chair. Instead of walking across the restaurant to grab one from an empty table, she grabbed one from our table when someone got up to go to the bathroom. It was obvious that someone had been sitting in the chair, but she took it without asking or even acknowledging that people were at the table.
When the manager, Martin, told her that she couldn’t take the chair because someone was sitting there, she got very upset. He did not «berate» her, but calmly told her not to take chairs from other tables because it was rude to other guests. The previous reviewer and her friends would not let it go, and spent the next 20 minutes standing at the hostess station complaining very loudly to the manager, the server, the hostess, and anyone within earshot about how rude this was when they were «spending a lot of money.»
Martin kept his composure the entire time and was very polite given the circumstances, as he is every time I’ve seen him.
(

Have been wanting to go here for years and the wait was worth it. The little side bar in the back is a charming start to the visit. Quaint, low lighting, very French. Then moving into the restaurant (which seems to have many rooms and side spaces), we enjoyed dinner. The steak frites are to die for! Best I’ve had. With the truffle fries — and who would have thought fries could be so good? The asparagus on the side was simple, but a perfect match to the very flavorful meal I enjoyed. Didn’t try the mussels had by my date but the broth and fresh bread were delicious! The meal was solid and good, simple, French food that speaks for itself. I’ll be back in the summertime when all the doors will be open and we can enjoy the evening air. Only complaint is the drink pours. the wine was missing an ounce or two and the gimlet was very quaint! Maybe we’ll bring a bottle and pay the corkage next time.

I came to Café Stella to celebrate my friend’s birthday. The reservation was made for 8 but was confirmed we could add an additional chair if needed. Upon arrival I took a chair from one of the multiple empty tables nearby when the general manager literally grabbed it from my hands and asked «who do you think you are?». Obviously in shock my response was, «excuse me?». He proceeded to berate me in the middle of the restaurant repeatedly asking me ‘who do you think you are’ and stating how rude I was taking someone else’s chair. I was completely shocked by his behavior but assured him my intention was not to be rude; there were multiple empty tables. His response: «your intention was not to be rude but mine is. What you did is rude and I will be rude to you.» I told the GM his behavior was innapropriate and I asked him not to speak to me that way. He responded with «I speak to people however I want to» while tapping his chest like a complete degenerate. The waitress standing beside him was extremely apologetic and told our entire party she was mortified by his behavior. He left the area and did not return during our meal and never made any attempt to apologize for his offensive behavior. It is completely unacceptable to speak that way to a patron and I obviously will not support a restaurant with such poorly behaved management.

I took my girlfriend here for a birthday dinner on a Saturday night.
I will admit we were a bit confused about the entrance– it didn’t seem to be clearly marked, but that’s a minor detail.
Overall this place is amazing. The décor is quaint, the lighting is nice and cozy. The variety of rooms and areas, created by the joining of different buildings gives you a variety of features, area, and atmosphere to sit in.
We both ordered a cocktail and a steak– filet for her, entrecôte for me. Both were incredible cuts of meat, prepared expertly. The cocktails were also a treat. Oh yeah, the escargot appetizers are delicious!
Just to keep things balanced, the menu is a bit limited, but I think that’s an advantage to the kitchen. Also the price range is a bit steep– granted birthdays are once a year so it was worth it, but $ 45 for a steak is a bit rich for my budget.
All in all, this is a great place to save for special occasions; a beautiful experience for sure.

Can’t believe I’ve lived in LA nearly 10 years and hadn’t visited Café Stella/​Bar Stella until last night. Absolutely love this place. Great crowd, wonderful atmosphere & décor. Had a few old fashioned’s and enjoyed the perfect Sunday evening with a friend. Would come back again and again. Solid LA spot for great drinks and good company!

LOVED this place. Was thrown off by the 3.5 but I really dont get why. My boyfriend and I went in late night. We didnt have reservations but they were kind enough to seat us. We ordered steak, because at that late hour the mussels were sold out. The steak au poivre tastes just as good as it looks. It was cooked to perfection and seasoned like no other. I always crave that steak and will definitely be back. My boyfriend also loved his steak too. Just wow! Also, such a cute romantic place.

The charm of this place is eradicated by the arrogant and pretentious servers.
Eat here if you are a complete tool.

Dined here last night, ¹¹⁄₇ around 6pm. Sat in a booth in the bar. Great location and atmosphere! Our server and the bartender were lovely and very very attentive. My steak was perfect and the asparagus appetizer was delicious.
Why only 3 stars, then, you ask? My husband’s gnnoci nicoise was very small and there was no tuna to be found but, that paled in comparison to the attitude from the male maitre’d He barely acknowledged us and acted like we were unwanted. Very very rude and condescending in the perhaps 3 words he spoke to us. The female hostess with the long dark hair was very sweet though.
I would love to go back for the bartender and our server but, the attitude of the guy at the door just made us feel annoyed and insulted.

I love the ambiance, but my food experience wasn’t good… we ordered the gnocchi with peas and I love me some peas, but they were hard and the dish was absolutely tasteless. No seasoning, barely-​there sauce. We got some mussels as well and it was underwhelming. So disappointed! Maybe just an off night cuz I’ve heard good things, but the food just wasn’t good. Service was, however.

This is one of my favorite spots in silverlake, we go on a very regular basis. Very lively, trendy crowd, beautiful people, super stereotypical Los Angeles spot so it’s great if you are young and visiting looking to meet lovely boys and girls on your trip. The bar attached is so much fun with great drinks but on weekends it’s too crowded to walk.
Things to love:
Great crowd
Extremely good food (all the steaks are dreamy, brunch is amazing, awesome chef)
Beautiful location, best part of silverlake
Fun
Watch out, they don’t have enough servers working there so the service can be extremely bad. Go there without expecting to be done quickly, if you have a huge window of time this place is great.

This place is charming but I agree with some of the previous reviews — the service is pretty terrible. This WAS my husband’s favorite restaurant and I can see why. Ambiance is romantic and the food is pretty good. But the service! I’d only come here again if I had a ton of time to waste.
We had reservations for a Friday night and were seated pretty quickly but then it took at least a good 20 to 30 minutes before someone came over and took our order. We ordered our drinks and food all at once because we were afraid our server would never come back. The weird thing was the food was served fast so that was nice. Although they did take our silverware when they cleared the plates for the starters so by the time our entrées came, we had no silverware. We had to flag someone down for silverware and that took a few minutes. When we were done eating, after waiting at least 20 minutes, we tried to flag down our waitress for the check but she was no where to be found so we asked someone else go grab our check. Apparently the check has to be printed by your specific server so we waited an additional 15 minutes for her before we became really irritated. At this point someone from our table had to get up and physically find our waitress and ask her to bring the check. This was not the service I expected from a popular/​busy restaurant. I can’t tell if they don’t have enough servers or what.
As for the food, I had the Dover sole and it was pretty good. It’s served with little potatoes. Two other people at my table had the steak and they both said it was cooked perfectly. As for the scene, it’s young and hipster — at least on a Friday night. Like I said, I’d eat here again, but only if I had a ton of time on my hands.

Avocado toast. Awesome. They could use a couple more fans on the patio though on hot days.

3.5 stars is what they deserve. I like their breakfast and most of their lunch menu items. But the service is just horrible. I like the place so i put up with it and I expect it. Their bacon is really good.

I go here regularly with my friends. When we’re out at other places we all say,“Should we do Stella?” It is usually the last bar on our trek back home to Echo Park. I wish it was open a little bit later, but I understand the hours as they are. I only have a couple of drinks here, because the bill tallies up fast. $$
Also, the bar/​patio is very crowded — elbow to elbow. But if you like to be social and meet new people, it won’t bother you much. Smoking is also permitted outside on the patio, and there is a lot of seating, but it’s first dibs!
My birthday was also celebrated in the café/​restaurant for brunch in February. I really enjoyed the food and service. There is always a wait if you don’t make a reservation, so be forewarned!

WARNING! Do not expect reservations to be honored! Ruined a birthday dinner! They took absolutely no responsibility for it and did nothing to repair the situation.
It was too late to make other plans! An unhappy birthday girl! AVOID!

Very quaint, scene-​y place in the heart of hipsterville. I went for a group dinner… prices are steep and the menu is kind of small. Great quality food. The steak was amazing. Beet salad needed more greens, though. Just a pile of cut beets and like, 1 tiny clump of cheese. I’ve definitely had better. The wine pour was solid at least.
Service is very snooty. Not overly smiley or friendly wait staff and they make you feel like they are doing you a favor by being there. All in all, a good place to dress up and feel cool, but not my go to for a good french meal.

I came here after a hike. ;)
The wait was about 20 minutes.
I really was looking forward to the eggs Benedict with the salmon. The server said they were all out but would ask the kitchen just to make sure. She came back and said they had enough for one more plate! Yay!!! So I ordered the eggs Benedict with salmon and wow! The salmon mixed with the sauce and eggs **mouth watering**
The picture speaks for it self.
I also ordered their fresh squeezed orange juice, Which was refreshing :)

First of all, I had a bad first impression of Café Stella a few weeks prior as I made a reservation through opentable, turned up and the place was closed for renovation! Definitely a bummer but it was so highly recommended by all my friends in LA I persisted and made another reservation.
This time we were met with lovely food and great service. For a quiet, late dinner my friend and I shared the charcuterie platter which was delicious. I had the house gnocchi which was the perfect portion size and a French 77. I also snuck a few truffle fries from my friends order, they were soooooooooo good! This lovely experience definitely erased the not so great previous visit.

Wonderful ambiance. Ok food. Poor service.
Great, speakeasy type atmosphere with dim lighting and cool jazz.
The service was altogether, lackluster. Our drinks came one at a time (four of us). We waited on one for over ten minutes without exaggeration. When our drinks emptied, they remained so, without being asked for refills.
The food was ok.
The frisée salad was loaded with smokey chunks of bacon — pretty amazing.
The filet was cook and seasoned nicely. I thought the truffle fries were a little greasy, undercooked and soggy.
The halibut was so overly cooked it was like chewing rubber. Furthermore, it was poorly plated. It was pretty much was just a piece of fish on a white plate with a tiny bit of leaks, that the server lead us to believe was a side.
I wouldn’t recommend coming here for dinner, but I would recommend stopping in for a drink.

After eating at Dinette a handful of times, I’ve been meaning to check out this place since it’s the same owner. I’m glad I chose a gorgeous 80 degree weather Sunday to do so!
Found street parking and walked through the side opening next to Intelligentsia. Confused of where to find the hostess, we went inside and one of the servers directed us to the corner right side of the restaurant. While there were plenty of open tables, we still had to wait about 5 – 10 minutes for a table for 2, which is fine bc I get they were busy anyway. We got seated inside (which I sorta wished it was outside instead bc it’s pretty dark inside).
I ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes and bf ordered oatmeal and their salmon eggs Benedict. All I can say is wow. The food came out in a decent time and the flavors were phenomenal. The salmon was fresh and eggs perfectly poached with not so much hollandaise sauce. The potato fritter things it sat on were delicious and fried to perfection. The pancakes were smaller than what I expected but they were boasting in flavor so I didn’t mind at all. My bf loathes pancakes and actually had a bite and thought they were tasty as well! Our bill was not expensive at all and we were in and out in 30 minutes. Server was quick and attentive given the number of other tables she had to serve.
I’m already eager to come back and try the rest of the menu offerings — for both brunch and dinner!

I don’t get why people are hating on Café Stella so much. My experience with my boyfriend last Friday was stella®! *Sorry for the lame pun attempt.* It might have helped that we arrived at 10 am, when they usually open. We were seated right away and our waitress was really sweet. I agree that the place is on the pricier side, but what do you expect? You’re in hipster town: you should’ve accepted that you are going to eat everything overpriced. You drink overpriced Intelligentsia coffee, right? it should be expected that Café Stella is also riding the same trend.
Besides the price, I actually enjoyed our small brunch. My boyfriend ordered their Eggs Benedict with Salmon while I ordered their Croque Monsieur with fried egg. My boyfriend was very impressed about their salmon — it was moist and not flaky! It was seasoned well, and the smokiness is not overpowering. They gave him two servings in one plate. Although this might sounds small for a $ 13 dish, he was happy with his order. Two eggs is the maximum number of eggs a person should consume in one day, and I think Café Stella knew that (well I hope they did). My sandwich was very cheesy, and the ham provided the adequate level of saltiness to my relatively sweet croissant bread. The salad was well-​dressed as well. All in all, I say my $ 12 was worth it.
For those who are complaining about the serving size, you should remember that America serves BIG portions. Other cultures are not as greedy with food (just saying).
I ended up giving this place a four stars because I know that I’ll be back, and I’m going to try other things in their menu. My review is open to revisions, but for now, I am happily giving it a four stars.

Honestly,
they have a very boring lunch menu. You get the usual stuff, eggs. Things with eggs. People with computers eating their eggs. Paying over $ 10 for eggs. I had their baked eggs and they’re just eggs baked, nothing much special was added with the dish. The salmon benedict was good but that’s a default any brunch places should put up to.
Perks of being here?
Intelligentsia coffee without the wait. Think that’s about it. Oh, and maybe good for people watching.

Imagine that it’s around 9am on a Sunday; for most of you, that means you’re still sleeping, watching the news, or whatever. For those that live near Sunset Junction it means it’s the only time you’ll ever find a parking spot in front of Intelligentsia.
Café Stella is hidden in the shadow of Intelligentsia. A lot of people show up to wait in line and don’t realize the amazing cheese store or the even more amazing French bistro. Luckily, when my friends and I showed up we actually did snag the very first spot on Sunset and Sanborn. We walked in just a few minutes after they opened and the dining area was already busy but the nice patio was pretty empty. We sat in the corner against the sidewalk on Sanborn (near the second entrance). We had a nice cross breeze coming through and great people watching just outside.
The interior dining space is intimate, the walls are proudly presenting quirky artwork, and there’s somehow just enough natural light while still feeling somewhat dark and romantic. The patio is more straight forward with lots of small tables with lights strung above you. If you happen to stop by around dinner time, the separate bar is great and always has a fun crowd of people.
When we were seated I immediately ordered a cappuccino, which is made fresh at Intelligentsia and brought straight to your table. I’ve been told by many, many people to try Stella’s salmon eggs benedict. While my friends took what seemed like hours to decided, we finally put in our orders and I went for this highly regarded dish. The two perfectly poached eggs came covered in rich hollandaise sauce and the salmon was incredibly fresh and flaky and practically melts in your mouth. To top everything off, there’s a small sprinkle of herbs to make all the flavors really pop. Incredible!
Next time you’re in the area, don’t waste your time waiting in that infamous never-​ending line next door. Instead, grab a table at Stella, order your caffeine without the line, and have a delicious brunch or dinner!