Stella Luna — Restaurant in Big Bear Lake

tldr; Enjoy good food and good service? Then avoid this spot.

Do not eat at Stella Luna.

My meal there this past Saturday is forever ingrained in my memory for all the worst reasons.

Let's start with the biggest issue - the quality of the food. -Breakfast Burger- Overcooked and chewy. The potatoes served alongside it were also unpleasant. -Eggs Benedict- The egg was hard-boiled, not poached (which is how it was described on the menu and how you would expect a benedict to be served). The house-made hollandaise was disgusting. -Chicken & pancakes- This is the kicker. Our group collectively agreed that this may have been the most unpleasant chicken we had ever tasted. It was virtually inedible. Not only did it not have a single speck of seasoning, not even salt, but it tasted like eating campfire. Hold open your mouth and let campfire smoke waft in and that will give you a taste of Stella Luna's chicken. To their credit, the focaccia was fantastic, but unsurprisingly, outsourced from a nearby bakery.

Now to the quality of service. -It seems that they force their staff to learn and recite an obscene amount of self-satisfying information about their food and how it is prepared. For a restaurant with such poor quality food, they sure do love to boast about how they make it. We spent no less than ten minutes listening only to facts about how their food is made that we did not ask for. I felt bad for our waiter. -Errors aplenty. One beverage came out wrong. One plate had potatoes when we had asked for fruit. One burger was without the added Spinach requested (which we later found out was because they didn't even have any). -They charge for extra syrup!! The massive pancakes in the chicken and pancakes dish arrives with not even enough syrup to satisfy Stuart Little. I requested additional syrup for which I was charged $1.25. Who charges for extra syrup?? -Bottomless mimosas. If you pay for bottomless mimosas, you would like to enjoy them at will. We had to request every single refill that we received, sometimes having an extended wait because the wait staff themselves were forced to wait for the bar to refill the carafes - and they don't leave carafes at your table like most restaurants. You would think they would be prepared for a Saturday brunch experience.

In summary, I urge you to avoid Stella Luna if you are seeking a pleasurable dining experience in Big Bear. After waiting over thirty minutes for our table (which was not a problem at all and expected given the volume of visitors in Big Bear this weekend and that we had a group of seven), I had hoped for an at-least palatable lunch. It was gross, it was over-priced, and (possibly worst of all) a restaurant with an egregiously misplaced sense of self-worth.

Do not eat at...

What started off as a nice brunch ended in a disappointing experience.

I ordered the grilled avocado 1/2 with butternut squash dish specifically for its ingredients. After a long wait for our drinks and food, I received my meal and it was not what I ordered. I was served a dish of a tiny avocado (smaller than the palm of my hand) topped with zucchini and squash among the other vegetables which were described on the menu. I mentioned this to our server who confirmed it was supposed to have butternut squash. I did not want to send back the dish because I do not like to waste food, so I ate my very tiny meal. However, when I was asked if I'd like to speak with one of the owners, I said sure! When she came out, she seemed annoyed that she had to come to our table. I greated her politely when she approached us but she was ready to be combative. I simply mentioned that the dish I was given was not what I ordered because it was missing the butternut squash, which was one of the main ingredients and the selling point for me. As I proceeded to mention that, she cut me off mid-sentence and said "we are a farm to table restaurant and butternut squash is not in season. This has been happening a lot lately because that is the summer menu." Then, she blamed our server! (who, I'd like to point out that David, our server, was actually really great the entire time) and then she proceeded to walk away as I was asking her a question. I dine out often to support local businesses and for her to have said that butternut squash is not in season in October was ridiculous and dismissive. This is prime butternut squash season! It's freaking fall!

I found her to be rude. She should have taken the time to listen to her customer and kindly explained that they ran out of the main ingredient to that dish and not blame her server and not make up that butternut squash is out of season. In no way did I ask or was I expecting my meal to be compensated. I have never asked that of any establishment! I simply was trying to get the point across that when someone comes to your restaurant and orders a specific dish from the menu, then that is what should be brought to the table. I would have happily ordered something different. Maybe changing your menu from summer to fall/winter would be helpful for your patrons to know what is being served?

To the owner of Stella Luna, it was not cool the way you rudely approached us today. Please consider being kinder to your customers...

4 stars for the food; 3 stars for the service; 3 stars for the atmosphere

The menu was great - lots of interesting dishes. I ordered the Bacon Benny with potatoes and a decaf coffee. They had to make the decaf, and apparently it's a drip process, so I expected it to take longer than a regular brew, but it took 40 minutes to reach the table. We watched numerous customers sit, order, eat and leave before we even got our food. My Bacon Benny came out fine, but the potatoes weren't ready so they came about ten minutes later on a separate plate. My friend's bacon was half cooked, and she didn't want to eat it, so ordered more, crispy, and she was satisfied with that. We were seated outside on a hot day and asked for more ice for the iced tea since it had all melted, and after the third time asking for it, it arrived. The restaurant was busy, so our waiter was busy as well, but he was communicative, kind, and helpful. However, somewhere in this establishment there is a disconnect between the various elements of the kitchen, the wait staff, and the management. We asked to speak to one of the owners, and she came over and was defensive and unresponsive. We were not asking for or trying to get a free meal, but maybe she thought we were, hence the defensive and cold demeanor. This was my second time here, and the wait was too long the first time as well. The food was good overall, but we were literally there for two hours. It would serve the restaurant well if the owner/manager would walk table to table and check in with the customers. We were able to catch a waitress to let her know we'd been waiting for a long time (45 minutes for our food), and she said she'd bring us a mimosa,.because that's what she was doing for the tables that had waited a long time. She brought us one mimosa in a kid's cup. This restaurant does welcome dogs, so if you're a dog lover, you'll be fine here, as long as you have the extensive amount of time it takes to wait for your food. They ended up discounting our bill, which was very kind, but we weren't looking for that. We really just wanted to communicate to management that they could really improve the quality of the experience, overall, but it was clear that management didn't want to hear it, based on the demeanor. I really like the menu and the location, and I really want to enjoy going to this restaurant, but I honestly don't know if...