Stella Blu — Restaurant in Nashua

Great atmosphere, great drinks, mediocre (at best) food... My husband I and went on a Saturday. I easily made reservations for a late table through the Open Table site, and that was great. We arrived a bit early, and they were hopping, so we did get a drink at the bar first. The bartender was knowledgeable and very friendly. We did have to wait about 10 minutes past our reservation time, but having worked in a restaurant and being a reasonable person, I know the staff can’t control when other patrons will leave.

The atmosphere was just what I was looking for, perfect for date night. The live music was good without making us have to shout to hear each other.

The food, however, was a big disappointment. We started with the charcuterie board and the Brussels sprouts. The Brussels sprouts were the best thing we had all night - tender and well flavored. The charcuterie board was just bizarre. It had only 6 small slices of meat, 3 each of prosciutto and a salami. There were two types of cheese in pretty generous portions, but then there was a heaping pile of trail mix that included chocolate and caramel chips, and then a huge pile of green cocktail olives, plus a small amount of mustard and a large portion of fig jam. It truly felt like they just piled random stuff on a board. There was a caramel chip resting on an olive, and I’m sorry, that’s just not appealing. And for the price, having only a couple of slices of meat and a pile of olives... just odd. Yes, I know these are small plates, but getting store made trail mix and green olives dominating the board was not worth the price.

I need to preface this part by saying that I love garlic. I use plenty when I cook. My husband is not quite so into it, but he never minds my cooking when I use garlic...For our second round, we ordered the white wine sauce scallops and a Margherita flatbread. The scallops were well seared, but overwhelmingly garlicky, even for me. We knew the flatbread was coming on naan, and that was ok, but for an upscale type place, they also seem to have little idea of what a Margherita pizza should be. There were heaps of shredded cheese, very little basil, whole cherry tomatoes, and the kicker - it seemed like the put a whole dense layer of jarred minced garlic over the dough. Not sprinkled, not fresh, almost like a garlic paste. It was very disappointing. And if I say that I thought it was too much, you know it’s bad. For such a nice place, the food definitely felt poorly conceived.

We do think we’ll go back if we’re ever looking for a nice place to sip a drink and hear some music, but I don’t think we’ll be eating...

Started off pretty good. My husband and I ordered the Wagyu sliders, crab dip, Arancini, prosciutto pastry, lamb lollipops, and gnocci. Some as apps, and some as the entrees. Marinara was delicious as you could ask for! Lamb perfect. Wagyu slider meat was Umami! Crab dip was trash, barely any crab, and the texture was pretty gross, didn’t finish it. Arancini balls were not anything to write home about except the barely there marinara! Gnocci was fine. Prosciutto pastry was not cooked in the middle underside, and not great.

Dessert ruined the entire meal for me. We ordered the “hot” chocolate pot de creme with toasted marshmallow on top and it came out COLD AS ICE! Like the marshmallow and the pot de creme had been toasted then refridgerated for 6 hours!!!! If you google pot de creme it’s the consistency of a mousse. And looks mouth wateringly delicious! This was cold, hard, and the marshmallow in a heart shape stuck so fast to my spoon that it wouldn’t come off. I couldn’t even eat it. So the waitress came back and I asked to make a return. I shook the spoon and said is it supposed to stick to your spoon to the point it won’t come off! And she just looks at me confused like that’s how it’s supposed to be. Apparently I got through to her because it was removed from the bill and taken away. All the while they over-served a few people at the bar, and they were SHOUTING and the ceiling is basically a wind tunnel shape so the sound was amplified in the whole place! And not one single employee asked them to keep it down on Valentine’s Day. Come on. Have some balls. I tried to shhh them, lol but one guy was just too drunk and still yelling over at another guy six bar chairs away who then started talking to his girlfriend quietly after we made eye contact during my shhh. Lol couldn’t have gotten out of there fast enough. Won’t be returning. And I’m a traveler and looked forward to coming to Stella Blu before I even got here from ATL. And at checkout the waitress asked if my husband was a “distant” relative of a celebrity because of our last name, in that special tone where if your not white, and we aren’t, it seems racist. New...

Hats off to Laurie, an amazing server/waitress.

I tarted off with the Savannah Sunshine cocktail. It was white tequila, peach liqueur, mezcal, peach nectar & lime. Yummy.. Amazing and delicious, so light and fruity but not too fruity with a hint of smoke because of the mezcal.

First appetizer was the everything salmon sushi roll. It had cream cheese, scallion, cucumber, everything bagel spice and avocado. OMG! With this somewhat spicy mayo aioli drizzle AND fresh made in house slice pickled ginger.. SOO so tasty!!!

Next up are the Aroncini balls with vegetarian broth and goat cheese and squash with fresh basil and fresh chunky marinara sauce. OMG they were just made .. AND Already gone. With sage on the inside. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS AND A MUST TRY.

Next up were the chicken dumplings and the chicken was ground with peas on the inside of the dumplings. The dumpling was fried to perfection.. It came with a spicy sweet chili Thai dipping sauce. It was perfectly balanced.

Next cocktail was the Midnight which consisted of vanilla vodka, vanilla bean, blackberry, pomegranate and cointreau. These bartenders are just amazing over here. The flavor profile was blackberry and vanilla not too sweet not too sour super delicious.

Next appetizer was the lamb chop lollipops. Holy cow if you like lamb...... Cooked medium rare to perfection with awesome grill marks.

Had to try grilled Greek Brussels with tzatziki , no bacon. Very flavorful. Finished the night with Oreo cheese cake. Sinfully delicious. An amazing dining and drink experience in the heart of Nashua. I can see why everyone keeps voting it best drinks and best small plates year after year.

Definitely coming back here.

If you haven't been. run don't walk!! Your taste buds will...