Luna Stella — Restaurant in Maplewood

I had very high expectations because of the Lorena’s pedigree. The only part of the experience that met my expectations was the wait person. Perhaps I didn’t have the proper mindset before eating at this restaurant. I thought it was good but not great. My spouse and I had crostini and it was good (mushroom). We also had the octopus appetizer which was very good. She had some soup (with kale?) and it was very good and a big portion. Drinks and wine list were good. Bread with olive oil was good. However, I had the eggplant parm as an entree and it was - to quote my wife: “underwhelming”. Not sure why, but the flavor was lacking. Maybe I expect too much from eggplant parm? This place reminded me of Fox and Falcon when it opened, in terms of hearing feedback about the entrees coming without a side. I ordered the Brussels sprouts and pancetta as a side ($6) and it was good. But I looked at my meal and those around me and noticed plates with entree but not much else. It was like a tapas scenario, in terms of small portions. For example, the $18 eggplant parm is about the size of a Big Mac. Note: I don’t actually eat Big Macs (just a size reference). Perhaps I only saw the exception, rather than the norm in terms of minimally endowed entrees. The space is lovely. It has only been open a week. I am sure it will improve. I will absolutely try again in a few months once this place has matured. I wanted to give this a 5 star review. I think my expectations were too high because of the Lorena’s experiences that I have had. In summary: Definitely worth giving a try. But go with an open mindset and don’t expect Lorena’s level of cuisine (it’s an Italian restaurant, for example). Welcome addition to Maplewood. Good luck! Ps: I added an extra star strictly on the merits of my wait person (Shamara)....

First of all, the food was excellent. My 3-star rating is more around the various mistakes and just kind of disjointed service. I know they just opened, so we took that into consideration, but we had one thing after another go wrong. Maybe we were "that table" for the evening....

1. We waited 30 minutes for 3 cocktails. T
2. A martini that was ordered "dry", came out tasting just of vermouth. Apparently the bartender thought "dry" meant to use a lot of dry vermouth...?? That started the evening.
3. The other two cocktails were watered down (probably from sitting for 20 minutes)
4. Two out of the five entrees arrived almost 10 minutes after the first three
5. When food came out, the runners had no idea who ordered what (to me, this is pretty basic in a nice restaurant)
6. Had to ask for a steak knife with the NY Strip (after asking, waited several minutes for it)
7. Also, it was super noisy, to the point that you couldn't hear the other person at the table. It seems they had someone in at the time looking at that issue, so maybe this is something being worked out....

I know most of this is pretty minor, and the food really was good (AND our server was trying...), it was just a combination of the issues that kind of put a damper on the night. I will say they did a great job with the Birthday cookies for my husband at the end, so we really appreciated that! We will definitely be back as it's a great space and a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. But I think we'll wait for the kinks to be...

New addition to Maplewood that we were looking forward to trying. Went with another couple and had drink at bar before sitting. Nice ambience and friendly staff. We were seated promptly at our reservation time which was no problem since place was only half filled. They have a very limited menu and offered no main dish specials. When asking about menu waiter informed us they were out of 2 of the fish choices. How is that possible at 7PM on a Saturday night? He also informed us that another 2 choices were on the small side( octopus and short rib). That left us 4 main dishes to choose from. Two of ordered the double thick Berkshire pork chops. My wife the sirloin steak, and my buddy the salmon. We ordered meatball appetizers to share. Meatballs were small and ordinary. Our mains did arrive for over 1 hour and 20 minutes. When we would ask , they just kept saying they are on their way. They finally arrived and my pork chop for one was not a double thickness and two it was overcooked and dry. My wife said the steak was good, but it’s served with nothing on side. My buddy was disappointed in the small portion of salmon served and said it was very bland. We won’t be returning to this place and would...