Stella Italianfare

An unexpected place found in cozy cliff of La Jolla, small entrance but roomy inside. We sat on an outdoor table looking over the street and cloudy sky. Foods were very Italian, and dish size was decent. Crews were kind and cheering with all the customers happy. Why don’t you try this place yourself?

Can’t say enough about this place. Great food. Great servce. Lasagna is a new favorite and the cioppino was delicious. Highly recommend.

Delicious dinner here last weekend. The chicken with bell pepper spread was fantastic! We ordered the tuna (which was slightly over cooked but quickly replaced with the advertised medium rare finish) and the fish of the day which was a fantastic grilled halibut with roasted potatoes. Overall a great meal and would definitely return!

Stella Italianfare… yummy yum-​o in my solo tum-​o!
This place is pretty great, so great that I even ate alone on the top deck patio. It’s gorgeous. I said it was for 3… me, myself and I. And well. and pasta. If you guy’s didn’t know already, I love me some pasta!
It’s right on top of Taste of the Himilayas, so head up stairs and you’ll find Stella. There is outside deck seating that overlooks the ocean, and then also indoor seating with glassview of the ocean in some areas as well.
The service was a bit slow, but it wasn’t horrible. Took about 10 minutes to get my water poured (I think they forgot about me). And took an awful while to get my bill after I was clearly done. Other than that, my server was really nice and made suggestions when I asked.
The complimentary sourdough bread and dip was simplistic but really tasty. Bread was crunchy and soft in the right areas and the dip– balsamic with olive oil was highly addictive. I ordered the home made pasta with truffle brown butter and mushrooms. Oh. My. Pasta. It was delicious. Noodles were like a chewy linguine (can totally tell it was house made), and the mushroom was mixed with a truffle brown butter sauce. It was tasty and I tore it up! It is a BIT on the heavy side, so clean it off with the complimentary bread and dip, a cocktail, wine or some dessert.
The view was spectacular from the patio, and I really could not complain.
Pricing was expected… $$ — $$$. My pasta lunch was $ 18. Portions were good. not small and not ginormous. I was fully satisfied.
Until next time…

Great date spot!
The mushroom truffle spread is one of my all time favorite appetizers
Sister had the daily special — a pesto pappardelle with shrimp; very good
I ordered the tagliolini ai tre crostacei and enjoyed it
Our server was humorous and attentive
Gotta hand it to them, they proved my worries wrong when I entered an empty restaurant on an early Friday evening

Real Italians. These guys cooked like my grandma, delicious! Chicken Parm not on the menu, but the chef made me some and it was 100% perfect! Best Italian in La Jolla so far :) also it was nice to hear the entire staff talking to each other in Italian, this place is the real deal.

The dips are very good, they come very large with lots and lots of bread. We had the mushroom dip, which was the right amount of truffle aroma and thickness. The pasta was heavily sauced but it’s very tasty. The portions are large. The fish was good.
The service was a bit strange and not very professional. Instead of taking the plate away, they just stack the new plate on top of the old one.
The food was good but overall presentation was not good.

Great restaurant with a great location. We got on during lunch time with no wait but the place did start to fill up. You can sit inside, outside or at the bar. The outside seating is fully covered with great views of the Pacific. The waiter was attentive, the food delicious and the drinks perfect. Our server recommended the special bruschetta and it was some of the best I have ever had. The mozzarella was soft, the peppers were expertly prepared and the bread was exactly the way it was supposed to be crusty yet soft. I had the turkey and avocado sandwich and it was delivered with so much meat I couldn’t believe the value. My wife had the eggplant spaghetti and while it was a very flavorful the egg plant was cut up a bit too small for our liking. One thing that really bothered us was the condition of the restrooms. They were very dimly lit, dirty and the trash cans were overflowing. This is definitely a place for a great meal while enjoying La Jolla.

Delicious!!! The bread is fresh and very Italian. The main courses are like a tango on your tongue… Lol Very full of flavor, but also just the right movement. Not too heavy, not too light. The view is impeccable.

We were debating between this place & Piatti, but since we were feeling adventurous (and we also went to Piatti’s the previous week: p), we decided on this place!
Has a very romantic ambiance, and it’s located right next to the cove! Perfect area for date night ;) You can do like we did, grab some gelato next door, and take a walk by the beach! Sit down & enjoy the breeze~
Staff was very friendly when we first arrived but was nowhere to be found when we were ready to order. Finally, when the server came around, we were disappointed with news that our first order of the pollo alla diavola was out :(decided to go with her recommendation of the tuna instead.
Ordered the:
Tagliolini al Funghi (mushroom pasta)
–highly highly recommend. The pasta is freshly made here and you could really tell the difference! It wasn’t too mushroom-​y, which I was a bit concerned about but was creamy yet light. So delicious. I would maybe try the seafood tagliolini next time though, just for the sake of trying new things.
Tonno Rosso alla Nocciole (Yellowfin tuna on Bell peppers)
–highly highly DO NOT recommend. This tuna was very bland, the fish itself was not very soft but felt more like it was thawed from the freezer. The bell peppers were overwhelming and I seriously regretted getting this dish (was a little peeved @ the server for recommending this too lol). Especially for $ 31!!! And the pasta was wayyy better than this fish.
All in all, I’m still irked about the disappointing tuna! But I’m willing to try this place once more because of the fresh pasta. It’d have to be extra special to make up for the last food experience! Lol next time I’ll remember not to order seafood at a non-​seafood joint. ^^

REVIEW FOR BAR ONLY:
Came after a hot afternoon walking along the beach in La Jolla cove. We wanted something refreshing from the bar, but were a bit let down.
Mojito was diluted and lacked flavor. Could not distinctly detect rum or mint. I saw the bartender make it– only put in 4 little mint leaves, probably why. It tasted just like a sparkling water with a hint of lime.
Vodka pineapple fizz tasted more like a pineapple fizz– close to zero alcohol and had a strong canned pineapple taste. We saw him pour the pineapple juice from the giant already open can. :/​
Ended up paying $ 22 for those two cocktails. This place seems to have good review for food, but make a pass on drinks!

Love the layout of the place. 3 levels, with indoors and one outdoor patio. Patio seating has great ocean view, but we sat indoors for the AC. Dark casual cool ambiance. Bold contrast between black table linen and red/​blue table cloth.
We ordered the patate rape rosse e arance salad. It contained potato, red beet, sliced orange, goat cheese, and argula. I would say it was a bit heavy on the dressing. But other than that it was a great salad.
For the past, we had the penne pollo broccoli & pomodori secchi, a penne pasta with chicken, broccoli, and sun-​dried tomatoes. Add some Parmesan on top of that and you have a good pasta. I would say it’s a good balance to the flavors of the salad.
I decided to also try the salmone al limone. The spinach that came with it worked well with the sauce and was a great pairing for the fish.
Street parking only, difficult considering location.

I had the Branzini Fish with marina sauce which was good, except the fish was a little dry. I love fish but not overcooked.
The wait staff was a bit slow and seemed a bit confused. I do’t know that I would really recommend this restaurant. The glass of presecco I had was awful.
I went for lunch and sat outside, but the inside seemed a bit tatty. It’s an okay Italian restaurant. You do get a view of the ocean so that was nice.

After a long day of swimming with sea lions and wave jumping, this is a great place to catch a break and grab a drink. The staff are amazing (and cute), very knowledgeable with dishes on the menu and they have great chef specials.
Do it! Grab a drink and stay for the sunset.

Terrible service, sub par food. There are too many good places in San Diego to waste your time and money here!
We almost got up and left after not being greeted by server for 15 minutes, and it wasn’t even that crowded. Our server wasn’t attentive at all, there was rowdiness in the kitchen and we could hear people cursing. The food was ok, the environment and service was baad.

Let me start by saying Jasmine the waitress is the best.
We had the lasagne and Caesar Salad to share.
The food was enough for two and it was tasty.
The atmosphere was really nice overlooking palm trees.
I recommend stopping here for a bite if you are passing by la jolla cove

Stellar experience at stella italianfare.
Stella Italianfare is located in the busy downtown la jolla area close to the beach. This area is busy so parking is very hard to find. The restaurant has an outside covered patio area for dining and views of the beach from the second floor. There’s also musicians singing and playing the guitar live which makes the dining experience much more memorable.
I had the ravioli di aragosta which is lobster ravioli and the lasagna romana. Both dishes tasted great. They had good flavor without being overly salty which many italian dishes are known for. Quantity was small though. Perhaps a couple more ounces of food would be nice.
The prices are great considering this is downtown la jolla with a nice view and live music. Can’t ask them to lower the price any. We even used a groupon so the price was much more affordable.

This restaurant is cool. Good food, good prices, EXCELLENT service! I was on my italian fix again and wanted to try somewhere new. I saw this place on the way to go shopping in DT La Jolla. This place also has a killer ocean view from the deck! Loved it!!!
I was blessed to get an italian server named Emanuele. HE WAS THE BEST! Very attentive and friendly, and he recommended the best dishes. We got a few different things to try and everything was good.
Honestly I’ve had italian food at other places that was even better, but I will still be back bc of the super duper service. Thanks Emanuele!!!

Stopped here for dinner after walking the beach. Great view from the upper ocean deck. We had lasagna, gnocchi and bruschetta.
Excellent service. Would definitely return, especially if seated on outdoor deck.

I think 2 stars is generous for this place, at least for lunch. I would understand if they put the rookies on staff for the lunch shift, but we asked our waiter if he was new and he said he was there for years.
The food was okay but nothing special. The service was nearly embarrassing for the waiter to be honest. I hope they were just having a bad day. Sure we are four, friendly, well dressed, gay tourists — but it IS San Diego! :).
They were very friendly though. I’ll give them that. It has a great view and location. I would give them another chance if we were back in town.