La Stella Trattoria - Nanaimo

We had high hopes for this place. My mother and I, both Italian, heard great things about this “authentic” Italian restaurant. But unfortunately it does not meet authentic Italian standards. The prosciutto was cooked?! On the burnt pizza. We ordered a salad that was basically just a bowl of sliced apples with some cheese and walnuts on top. Italians don’t make food this way. The taste of Italian food is fresh in my mind as I just returned home from a trip to italy to visit family. Others around us also experienced problems with their food that we noticed while dining. We knew this place could not have been run by Italians. We were correct in learning that it is run by Croatians. It meets Nanaimo standards, but thats not saying much. Our server was very nice and I appreciate that nanaimo is trying to create an authentic Italian experience for its residents, but they should consider to study further Italian cooking to improve the dining experience. We did complain about our food to our server, by the way, and received a discount on our bill, which was nice. Thank you for that. But again, to make real long lasting change, fixing mistakes as they happen is not the way to do that. La Stella should be learning from mistakes and making sure they don’t happen again. I have read a few reviews of too much salt in the food, ours was also too salty. This should now be fixed. Just reduce the salt. I have read other reviews that their prosciutto was cooked. Now you should know not to continue cooking it, unless specified. It’s not normally how it’s done. As Italians, we won’t be back as we expect different, but I’m glad that many in nanaimo are able to attend and enjoy, thinking they are eating real Italian food. I don’t live in nanaimo, I live on the mainland. There is a great AUTHENTIC Italian restaurant in port moody called Spacca Napoli. Check it out if you are on the mainland for a more authentic experience! Then you’ll know more the difference. Or go to Italy. Until next time, grazie, arrivederci e buona serata!

La Stella is becoming our go to restaurant. Great food, great service and chill atmosphere. Highly recommend! Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $40–50

We ate for the first time in La Stella Trattoria on Wesley St. and they were incredibly involved with the many anaphylactic allergies of my son and the allergies of my husband. We contacted them before the time and the cook marked a menu for our table with items we could order safely. The food was incredible and the service was even better. Such a beautiful ambience too. Will definitely go back! Nutrition restrictions: Very good with many allergies. Service: Dine in Meal Type: Dinner

Dessert is very delicious food: 4 Service: 3 atmosphere: 3

Everything was excellent. Go there if you can. Service: Dine in Meal Type: Dinner Price per person: CA$100 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5.