Stellar 66 Chinese restaurant and bar — Restaurant in Gilbert

I recently visited Stellar 66 Chinese Restaurant for lunch with three friends, excited to try their all-you-can-eat dumpling experience. Unfortunately, while the aesthetic of the restaurant was inviting, our experience left much to be desired.

Service and Ordering Issues When we arrived, the staff quickly seated us and briefly explained that we would order through the tablet on the table. However, when I asked about gluten-free options due to my allergy, I was told the dumplings contained gluten but that I could order anything on the menu for all-you-can-eat. What they failed to clarify was that not everything was included—items not covered in the deal showed a price, but this wasn’t explained clearly, leaving us to figure it out on our own.

We placed an ambitious order of 17 items between the four of us, excited for a feast. Before our order was even processed, a random plate of dumplings appeared on our table—delicious but confusing. Things went downhill from there. Out of the 17 items, only 4 ever made it to our table. Servers walked around with carts of food, often passing by our table even with food we believed we had ordered. Many dishes we requested never arrived, and tables around us left visibly upset for similar reasons.

We raised these concerns with staff, and though they tried to rectify the situation, the same problems persisted—full carts bypassing our table and returning to the kitchen. This broken system significantly detracted from the experience.

Drink Confusion The drink menu under the all-you-can-eat section added to the confusion. A “monthly drink” showed a price of $0, leading us to believe it was included. All four of us ordered this drink, plus one additional for a total of five. At one point, the staff told us we had reached our limit of included drinks, which seemed fine until the bill arrived, charging us for every drink we’d ordered. When we raised the issue with the owner, they insisted drinks weren’t included and that we should have ordered them through a server. This made no sense because no server ever came to take our drink orders—water was provided once, and we never saw a traditional server again. The “servers” we did see were those managing the carts of food, who offered little assistance.

Food Quality and Cleanliness The food quality varied. The dumplings were enjoyable, but the entrees were overly salty and drowned in sauce. Strangely, the entrees didn’t come out as full portions but as tiny all-you-can-eat-sized servings, which was unexpected. Additionally, the bathrooms were poorly maintained, which clashed with the effort put into making the dining area aesthetically pleasing.

Overall Impression Stellar 66 has potential, but their service and operations need a complete overhaul. The lack of clear communication about drinks, poorly functioning food delivery system, and unsatisfactory responses from staff made for a frustrating dining experience. I hope the management seriously considers feedback and implements improvements, as the current system doesn’t work.

2/5 stars—there’s a lot of...

My son and I visited this past Thursday. The restaurant had a very modern feel to it. From the pics on Google, they serve a variety of foods but we came for one thing, the AYCE dim sum. I don't know if it's because of our timing or their dim sum is just that bad. The reviews on Google were very good but we did not find that to be the case. OK, there was one guy who gave their dim sum a bad review but I always kick out the one bad one. Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong.

We visited around 1:30pm. They close at 3pm so their staff can eat lunch and they can prepare for the dinner menu. Our focus was on the dim sum. Maybe we missed the lunch rush and got the left overs that's been steaming away but everything seemed flavorless, or dried, or just not the flavors typically found on dim sum foods. With everything looking/tasting like it was in "steam hell", the rice skin of the Haw Gow was surprisingly dried out. I can't comprehend that? There was some good dum sum that was not on a typical dim sum menu, though.

The Shui Mai was good and lots of their buns were good. They even had buns that I've never seen at typical dim sum restaurants like a Mango Pomelo Sago Bun. The most disappointing was the Haw Gow, Beef Rice Roll, Mapo Tofu, and Spare Rib with Black Bean Sauce. It would seem the main seasoning was garlic. I love garlic, but it was in overdrive. Even the Edamame was covered in garlic. The steamed chicken feet was primarily garlic flavored. I don't know what was going on.

You order from a tablet and there is a "call wait staff" button. I didn't see it and kept trying to flag down a waiter and their eyes just never looked at me or any other customer. They responded to the call button very well. I'm guessing this is how they are trained. Along with the tablet, they also gave me a paper computer printout of the menu. Because I'm Asian, may be they thought I could benefit with a menu that also had Chinese writing. The paper menu was soy sauce stained... not real attractive. The food came out fast. Maybe because it's been sitting out waiting for someone to eat it. I don't know. Man, I feel like I'm bashing on them now...

As disappointing as this visit was, I am willing to give it a 2nd chance. I live on the other side of town and don't get to Gilbert much. If I am back in this area, I'll visit again. I hate leaving bad reviews so I'll give it another shot. Maybe catch them at noon for dim sum when everything is fresh, or in the evening and try their...

First time in. It was about 5:30pm on a Friday. We had the Pepper Steak platter, served in a cast iron skillet, with Chow Mein. Also the Mongolian Beef with while rice. My wife's food came about 5 minutes before my Pepper Steak came out. No big problem. I still had mine within 20 min. of ordering. My wife had the Under Mt. Fuji cocktail. It looked fantastic, but I think they forgot the pineapple & coconut puree. I tried it, and all you could taste was the gin. My soda came in a can. We also ordered crab puffs, but they never came, which ended up being ok, because the portions were very filling. It was on our bill, but when we pointed that out, they apologized profusely, and immediately removed it from the bill. Two times, different members of the staff asked how our food was, and they also brought extra napkins about halfway through our meal, without being asked. Overall, we were very pleased with our visit. Food came pretty quick, was very hot, and had good flavor & textures & freshness. Also, we understand they are new, and are still going through growing pains. It seems like they have been addressing the issues that I've read on some of the reviews. We live right next to the plaza, and we will be back again. The decoration was nice, kind of modern style, the place settings were traditional style, nice plastic chop sticks, on a fancy rest, and nice dishes. We enjoyed watching the other diners get their Peking duck, and the drinks being lit on fire. Drinks are pricey, but the prices are listed on the menu, so if it's too much, that's on you. I thought their prices, listed on the menus, were fair for a sit down restaurant. It's not priced like a little take out joint that has a few hard-seated booths whereyou order at a counter with a big menu board hung over it. It's a dine-in establishment. We paid, dinner for 2, with an expensive cocktail, (no sides or extras) just under $50, before tip. Didn't pay attention to a credit card fee. Becoming more common now days. We have been to a few restaurants that are doing it, or giving a...