Stella's Serious Italian Is Seriously Good

Tucked way back in the corner of Monarch Beach Plaza is a fabulous spot called Stella’s Serious Italian.

Upon entering, you forget you are in a shopping plaza because of the comfortable elegance of the room. There are high ceilings, polished wood floors and a gleaming dark wood bar with mirrored glass shelves. The night we visited, there was not an empty seat at the bar. Some of the patrons were chatting and watching sports on the two televisions while others were couples enjoying appetizers, cocktails and wine.

We were seated in one of the small, upholstered booths in the main dining room. We had a great view of the bar and the rest of the restaurant. There are two beautiful paintings of a woman in the room that I can only assume are of Stella. We looked over the wine list, which was quite impressive. They offer a large number of Italian wines and list them by region, as well as some high-end California wines, champagne and sparkling wines. My husband selected a glass of the Conn Creek, Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon and I chose a glass of Louis Martini Cabernet.

The menu is vast and is divided into primo or first course options, such as zuppa and insalate, pizza, serious Italian pasta and secondi. Starters include fresh jumbo scallops, lemongrass skewered shrimp, fried calamari, garlic shrimp over polenta and more. We skipped over this section, because we knew we had to pace ourselves. I decided to start with the lobster bisque, which was being featured that evening and my husband opted for his favorite, the Caesar salad with anchovies. The salad was delicious with crisp greens, lots of shaved parmesean and anchovies. The bisque was served in a soup plate and so was not quite as hot as I would have liked, but it was flavorful and had large bits of lobster, which was a nice surprise.

Choosing an entrée was tough given the many wonderful-sounding options. After some deliberation, Jim chose the pollo calabria, which is sautéed boneless breast of chicken topped with imported prosciutto, broccoli rapini, garlic and spicy marinara. I decided on the ravioli di morano. This dish is made of shallots sautéed in olive oil, fresh basil and spinach blended in a reduction sauce of vodka and light tomato cream sauce poured over cheese ravioli.

Both dishes arrived quickly and were beautiful. Mine was served with an orchid blossom on top. The ravioli with the tomato cream sauce mixed with lots and lots of fresh basil was unbelievably good.

In addition to our great meal, a saxophone player entertained us with live music, which was very enjoyable and added to the ambiance.

If we could possibly have eaten it, we would have ordered something for dessert. The choices include: tartufo, tiramisu, cannoli, chocolate raspberry flourless cake, crème brulee, and spumoni wedge. We decided to come back just for dessert sometime after a movie or something.

We were very pleased with our evening at Stella’s Serious Italian. The food was fantastic, the restaurant is beautiful and the staff is sophisticated without being too formal. Although we did not see it, there is a covered patio dining area, which features a large fireplace and an ocean view. Stella’s offers happy hour with half- priced appetizers daily.

Dinner is served every day from 5-10 p.m. and lunch is available Tuesday through Friday.  Visit stellasitalian.com.

I give 4 ½ out of 5 Patches