Stella Brasserie italienne — Restaurant in Montreal

Decided to go to Italfest to check out some of the festival performances. This restaurant was adjacent to the festival so we thought it would be a good idea to check in, have a few drinks and some snacks.

First of all, we ordered 2 of the signature cocktails. The drinks were not great, but hey whatever, we’re there to have fun.

Then comes the food. The pricing of this place is absurd, but that’s not unusual in Montreal. The fish “charcuterie” plate that was literally just a small portion of smoked salmon, ground shrimp with mayo, and a small piece of mackerel, was 40$+tax. The charcuterie plate, while slightly more worthwhile, was not very awe inspiring either. Not only were the portions small, the food wasn’t very tasty either.

Service was disappointing. Bartender seemed a bit off. There were hanging glasses over the bar where we were seated. A waitress knocked one off the glass rack, sending shards of glass all over our food, which the staff made no offer to change for us.

We’re pretty easy going, and the above is not even usually enough for me to leave a negative review.

What I really did NOT appreciate is the aggressive food poisoning from either their raw “homemade” cured meat/fish. The last thing you want from homemade charcuterie or raw fish is an extended stay in the restroom.

If you want my advice, walk past the front door to Tim Horton’s next door, get a coffee, and sip it while you walk away remembering how that guy’s review on Google you read just saved you 150$ for trash food that could get you sick. In a food city like Montreal, places like this...

AMAZING!!

My colleague and friend Karen & work in the Aecon building attached to this Brasserie, we were both super tired and decided to stop over there, well this place I believe it's my favorite resto bar in the city the food is great but the drinks are outstanding and when I say that I've lived everywhere I've been to many many places but what makes this place special is that the drinks are so incredibly good and get such a happy feeling and all the ingredients are amazing at the presentation is amazing and the reason why it's stood out to you because I looked at the price and they charge the same the same price or lower then vodka cranberry across the street many of those restaurants rhat use low quality vodka and not even good cranberry either ,all in all check this place out ,the service is incredible the atmosphere of the people there's nothing wrong about this place the hostess said they didn't have any tables and she gladly saw us on the couches in the front the waiter was incredible so busy but very efficient and then the head bartender came over and explained us about the drinks and in such a friendly environment that I'll be telling everybody about this place thank you guys!

Sincerely...

The vibe and decor was fantastic! Really beautiful restaurant. Our server was absolutely hilarious, and the best part of the night! I would go back simply because of him and get a beer at the bar (I didn’t catch his name unfortunately, he had stretched ears)

The issue was the food. Very overpriced for what you get. My friend got the creamy mussels and she ate maybe 1/3 of it because the fishy smell was intense and it was not appetizing. I got 1 meatball for $12, which we can all agree is ridiculous lol it tasted good, but not $12 for 1 good. My dish said it came with a salad but it did not, and my 2 friends who got the scallop tartar were missing the balsamic glaze. Their dish was also like $35 and did not look….right.

I see the vision but they need some major reworking in the food preparation and menu creation to account...