Estelle — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Almost everything was, unfortunately, way too salty, ranging from the tapas to the rigatoni, which was the only main course my friends and I have ordered. I was hoping to have an experience that reflected majority of the reviews but unfortunately I wasn't able to receive such just based on the food taste alone. I must say that the service was amazing and the atmosphere was everything I could ask for when I wanted to have a good time with my friends. My constructive feedback is related to food only.

The chicken liver mousse had a nice mixture of flavors combining sweet and savory tastes into one when I started spreading the pepper jelly, the mousse, and the mustard on top of the focaccia, which tasted very nice. That was probably my favorite dish out of everything I had tasted. For the bacalao, I could not tell that it was salt cod in the potato fritters mixture. When dipping it into the tartar sauce, I could not tell that this was a form of tapas and I wasn't sure if the sauce elevated the flavor or moved the flavor to a more "typical" direction of just "fish and tartar sauce" which to me is one of the most basic ways of eating fish products. I think changing a sauce might be able to showcase the bacalao's unique identity, or even consider changing the way it's cooked without deep frying. The shrimp was overcooked and too salty in the shrimp al ajillo tapas, and even the garlic butter sauce couldn't neutralize the salty taste. But together with the baguette it became a little bit better. I think reducing the salt level would help, along with being more vigilant on how the shrimp tail got easily overcooked while the rest of the shrimp was more or less okay. The rigatoni was also very salty, and the flavors from different ingredients, ranging from the fennel sausage to the roasted red pepper, didn't completely mesh with the pasta's flavor profile. One bite of a piece of rigatoni, one would still get the pasta and cheese flavor without much flavor from the other ingredients. The pasta was freshly made and the basil on top was surely a nice touch, though. Overall I would highly recommend decreasing the salt level on everything as there was a lot of it.

The pasteis de nata was pretty good. However, honestly it tasted more like a tiny piece of sweet potato pie, as the egg mixture in the egg tart really lost its egg taste and had a good amount of sweet potato taste. It could be the cinnamon that did the work. The churros were pretty good, and tasted like the standard churros I have had everywhere else.

While I am definitely that happy that other customers enjoy the food from Estelle, I found it underwhelming, unfortunately, and I felt like maybe ordering more dishes from the plates section would help, but since it is so hard to find a place in the Twin Cities that had emphasis on Spanish and Portuguese flavors, I would love to see more of that incorporated rather than Italian, or American like a cheeseburger.

With all that said, I will still say that this is a solid place for a date night due to service and atmosphere! It is also located in a very nice and cozy...

6/24/25: we went back with our cousins visiting from San Diego. Brenna provided fantastic service. The foods quality remains top notch and still a bit noisy to have a conversation. The Service Charge was removed. We were very happy with our selections: Patatas Bravas, Chicken Liver Mousse, Shrimp al Ajillo, Arugula Salad, Piri Piri Chicken, Spaghetti Pomodoro, and Rigatonis.

1/12/24: met with friends over dinner here. The service (Rico) and foods remain top notch. It's get a bit noisy to have a conversation. Still, I'd cross the river to dine at this fine restaurant. The 20% Service Charge is reasonable as it is shared between the kitchen staff and servers.

4/12/22: we went back to dine with friends. The menu has scaled down a little. However, the line up is still impressive. Our server, Emily, was fantastic! We sampled the small plates Espeto de Pollo, Shrimp al Ajillo, Beets, and Patatas Bravas. They were all terrific (albeit a bit salty). My wife and I split the Porchetta, which in my opinion was delicious. Our friends split the Rigatoni which was just as good. We skipped the dessert and the house surprised us with a small plate of Chocolate Covered Churros. A nice touch! I also had a chance to say hello to Seth who happens to dine at the counter. Estelle is a gem in this St Paul neighborhood.

I made a reservation for 4 about a month ago for patio seating. On 6/4/21, the temp was above 90s and the patio was directly under the sun which would have made the dinner miserable. The staff suggested to look at the bar area for seating and we lucked out! Our "personal" bartender/server Seth provided a perfect experience and we will seek him out again when we come back! We sampled Gilda and Salt Cod Fritter (from the bar menu), the Apple+Manchego salad, Chicken Croquetas, Arancini, and Grilled Sardines (from the Small Plates menu), Radiatore Pasta, Fideua Pasta, Chitarra Pasta - everything was done perfectly and tasted very good. We accidentally somehow received a Shrimp al Ajillo plate (which we did not order) and Seth told us that it was a mistake and the dish was complimentary to our group (we did not expect that and I would be happy to pay for that delicious dish). My wife loves her Cool James cocktail while I sipped the refresh taste of my The Door into Summer drink. We wrapped the meal with Pasteis de Nata and the first bite brought me back to the Belem (Portugal) where I had my very first one. We will definitely be back with other friends. My rating: prices is very reasonable, service is top notch, and food was 5 out of 5 stars.

We went back again with friends and the only thing that changes is the menu! Everything else remains top notch! Hats...

Hands down one of the best pasta dinners in the Twin Cities, giving other well-known establishments a run for their money.

Estelle represents a solid mix of Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese cuisine. Something pleasantly different from your average Italian restaurant, conveniently located in the quiet Mac-Grove neighborhood of St. Paul.

I was celebrating an occasion with three family members and was sure to book a reservation a couple days in advance. The restaurant was in full swing without a free table in sight but never seemed chaotic or too loud. Nothing beats an open-face kitchen to watch the chefs do what they do best.

Started with a few cocktails: a strong Old Fashioned and Cold in the Summertime. I thoroughly enjoyed both while splitting apps with everyone.

Shrimp Al ajillo - garlic butter sauce, pimenton, dill, cilantro, baguette -- The shrimp was cooked perfectly and the sauce was delicious.

Paptatas Bravas - picante tomato sauce, duke's mayo, lemon, parsley -- blinked twice and everyone scarfed them down.

Although my family tends to share everything, I personally ordered the Radiatore - jalapeño pesto, smoked almonds, lemon zest, parsley. SMACKIN GOOD. The smoked almonds elevated the pasta further than any typical pine nut pesto. Also enjoyed the little zip from the jalapeno and overall freshness in its' entirety.

My girlfriend ordered the Rigatoni - fennel sausage, onion, roasted red pepper, calabrian chili. Perfectly seasoned & flavorful sausage.

Everything else was absolutely phenomenal with the Ravioli Fiore stealing the show - roasted yams, Fresno chili's, breadcrumbs, chives, oregano.

Cheeseburger -- peterson craft meats, bacon, american, animal sauce, char-broiled tomatoes on a wicked good bun!

Roasted Piri Piri Chicken - warm potato salad, buttermilk dressing, scallions -- chicken was prepared with excellence and the sauce was packed with flavor.

We got the opportunity to try the whole spread of desserts:  Pasteis de nata - portugeuse egg tart, cinnamon, powdered sugar. The softest churros ever. Fortunately, we caught their Star Bar while still on the menu - caramel, peanuts, maple, nougat, coffee, almond breton, and incased in dark chocolate -- beats the brakes off a Snickers bar!

The service, ambiance, and food/drinks were immaculate. Kudos to Chef Joel Hanson & crew for delivering on a culinary experience and a meal to be remembered. 5 ⭐ from all of us and highly recommended for your...