Restaurants
Midtown
Current

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Address: 1201 N. Walker
Phone: (405) 235-2200
Hours: Tue-Thu 11 am - 10 pm
Fri 11 am - 11 pm
Sat 5 pm - 11 pm
Status: Open late 2010
Links:
Official Website (http://www.stella-okc.com/)
Menu (http://www.stella-okc.com/#menu-item-416)
Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stella-OKC/160965300665614?fref=ts)
Yelp (http://www.yelp.com/biz/stella-oklahoma-city)
Urban Spoon (http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/46/1520635/restaurant/Midtown/Stella-Modern-Italian-Cuisine-Oklahoma-City)


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/stellawiki1.jpg


Information & Latest News
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Hopefully, this will be a pleasant surprise.

went for dinner on sunday .. very good food and service .. bone in osso bucco was wonderful ... should be a pretty good wine bar as well

pizza's are around 12 bucks .. entree's are 15-28

Pretty sure that they open to the public tomorrow the 21st

Sounds great ... I've been missing having an Italian restaurant near my neighborhood.

What is the street address?

I think it's 11th and walker. Should be a good joint, the owners and operators got the money and know how to have a good restaurant, and I love that building. I think I saw a tweet saying it was opening tomorrow, to back up boulders post

Looked like a soft opening this evening. Lots of nice cars in the parking lot and well dressed folks. Maybe a grand opening of sorts?

Do they have a website ? Menu online ?

I think it's 11th and walker. Should be a good joint, the owners and operators got the money and know how to have a good restaurant, and I love that building. I think I saw a tweet saying it was opening tomorrow, to back up boulders post

yes, it is on the NW corner of 11th and Walker.

I'm moving to midtown in June ... the more neighborhood restaurants, the better! Can't wait to give it a try.

glad to have you join the neighborhood. The more people we can get to move to MidTown the better.

glad to have you join the neighborhood. The more people we can get to move to MidTown the better.

Hey Metro - I'm really excited! I should be the first one to move into the Francis building. That space really spoke to me - aesthetically, and functionally - they really have a home run. It also helps that it's only 10 minutes from work, and a stone throw from everywhere I enjoy hanging out.

Anybody notice their logo is just like the Stella scooter logo?

Hey Metro - I'm really excited! I should be the first one to move into the Francis building. That space really spoke to me - aesthetically, and functionally - they really have a home run. It also helps that it's only 10 minutes from work, and a stone throw from everywhere I enjoy hanging out.

For some reason, I'm not picturing the Francis building, is that the one on 10th across from the Cline?

For some reason, I'm not picturing the Francis building, is that the one on 10th across from the Cline?

Actually, it's further west than the Cline (which appears to be coming along nicely). The Francis building is 12th and Francis, just on to the west of St. Anthony's near the old Pasteur building. There is a building right next door that they are currently renovating to use as office space exclusively - so with that, plus the law and physicians offices, it seems that it could all come together as a great mixed use neighborhood. Also 909 and 905 NW 12 are now leasing ... they're also really cool, but way more traditional in their aesthetic.

Midtown Renaissance OKC - Oklahoma City Commercial, Residential and Retail Properties (http://midtownr.com/ViewProperty.aspx?id=7)

Oh duh, I used to work across the street from there, very nice. I hope those fill up quickly, so the Renaissance Group will move on to their next properties. Yeah, I was at the grand opening tour, if I could convince my wife to rent there for a few months while we sell our DT condo, I would. Do you know how well those properties are filling up?

Yeah, I was at the grand opening tour, if I could convince my wife to rent there for a few months while we sell our DT condo, I would. Do you know how well those properties are filling up?

Do, because I need cool neighbors! I think word is finally starting to get out, but I'm the only one signed up at the Francis building so far, and 909 has two of the units leased up. That leaves 5 more units in my building to fill up, and 6 over at 909. The two units at 905 are also still available to the best of my knowledge.

..

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I have an 8x10 glossy black and white of the building when it was a service station. Would anyone be interested in me posting it?

I have an 8x10 glossy black and white of the building when it was a service station. Would anyone be interested in me posting it? Yes.

yes, please post it. No need to ask questions on this site about posting cool photos.

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp31/rondvu/PreStella.jpg

awesome picture, rondvu... thanks for posting it! -M

That's a completely awesome picture. Thanks for sharing it.

Italian restaurant Stella opens
OKC Biz
Pamela Grady
4.23.2010

Owner Lori Tyler signed a lease for the site formerly occupied by Chic Salon & Spa last fall and immediately gave the go-ahead to begin renovations on the 3,200-square-foot space just south of 1492 New World Latin Cuisine in Midtown.

Dallas interior designer Alice Cottrell was charged with design concept for the new restaurant. Cottrell, who specializes in commercial and residential design, began her career working for Donald Trump's casino hotels, and later designed Dallas’s historic Boyd Hotel’s in-house eatery, Local, in Deep Ellum.

Tyler says Cottrell’s eclectic design for Stella will set a casual tone with an upscale look for patrons to come as they in blue jeans, business casual or after hours attire.

“The building had been vacant for some time, and one thing I loved about Alice’s suggestions was to keep the brick and stucco the way it is and just seal it to keep the old raw building there,” Tyler said. “Also, Alice emphasizes using fabrics that are very kid-proof and wearable…so her idea is that hopefully any fabric in here can be cleaned with Windex.”

But, patrons will be surprised to find many rich and beautiful fabrics, woods and stone set throughout the eatery surrounded by a mix of mid-century and modern furniture complimented by artistically designed flooring including cork, tile and concrete.

Furthermore, as patrons walk into the restaurant, the building’s main focus is on the wood burning oven where 40%-50% of the menu’s entrée selections will be prepared and baked.

Chef Brian McGrew designed the restaurant’s menu, which will offer modern Italian cuisine including a variety of salads made with fresh organic greens, soups, individual hand-tossed and oblong-shaped wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches, pastas, and more.

The restaurant offers a total of 73 wines by the bottle and 23 wines by the glass consisting mostly of Italian and American wines.

Restaurant hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

I went there last night. To me, it was a so-so experience. Definitely the atmosphere and service are very nice. However, the food was over-sold on the menu. IMHO, the organic greens salad was not leafy enough, and the "golden balsamic" dressing was neither golden, nor balsamic... it was oily. Also, the veal osso bucco was very bland, and the menu described it coming with vegetables... the only vegetables were three small pieces of carrot, and that's not acceptable. However, it was cooked right and fell right off the bone, fork tender. The winning item was the tiramisu I had for dessert. It was delicious, and different, being much denser than a typical tiramisu elsewhere. I would return another time or two, and order some different items, but they need to improve their flavors if they intend to keep my business. If they have a problem with over-promising to their guests, and they cannot deliver on that, then that is going to be a big issue with me.

I also found these pics on their twitter feed, doesn't show much, but gives you a taste of the finishes that will be inside.http://img36.yfrog.com/img36/8827/b3b.jpg

They get props from me for the Eames DAX chairs. :cheersmf:

Tried it Saturday night. A very cool place. Great atmosphere at the bar. The menu is small and offers three or four starters, a few salad options and soup. The entrees are pizza, a steak option three or four seafood choices and four or five pasta dishes. The pasta dishes are very different options(don't expect lasagne or spaghetti) . Overall I would say I enjoyed the experience. Should be a great date night destination.

http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp31/rondvu/PreStella.jpg

I always knew APCO stood for Anderson-Pritchard but I was never aware that they had ever used the whole double name on the stations. Great pic. The cars look '52 or '53.

Had a chance to try it Saturday night. A great atmosphere. Excellent bar that has a very classy feel about it. The menu has four or five starters. There are a few salad and soup options and a group of brick oven pizzas. There are also i believe one steak option, two or three seafood choices and maybe five or six pasta options. The menu is very modern italian (don't expect lasagne or spaghetti). Overall it was a positive experience.

Sounds great ... I've been missing having an Italian restaurant near my neighborhood.

Try Italianio's just south of 50th on Lincoln. .

Visited Stella's and was underwhelmed on multiple levels. My organic greens salad looked like it came out of a bag of greens from walmart (this is literally the worst 6$ salad in the city). I ordered the ribeye steak along with one of my dinner guests and came to the mutual agreement that this must have been prepared in the microwave (chewy, spongy and cold). I'll have to stop at that because this could keep going. This is a new restaurant and I think they will need some time to gain their mojo. I will be willing to give them another try in a few months or so though.

Just came back here to check on reviews of Stella, which I've not yet tried. Pretty mixed reviews here so far.

I was disappointed to read your comment, Edmond Earl ... "The menu is very modern Italian (don't expect lasagna or spaghetti)" ... since I am basically a spaghetti kind of guy. Heck, I though that the now-closed Tony's on N. Penn. was great, and that will tell you where I'm coming from. Conceptually, an Italian restaurant without spaghetti strikes me as a contradiction in terms.

As far as I can determine, Stella doesn't have it's own website but I did find a good description, and menu at UrbanSpoon.com (http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/46/1520635/restaurant/Midtown/Stella-Oklahoma-City). It shows the menu ... I'd call it rather abbreviated ... perhaps there is another menu page that UrbanSpoon.com did not show, I don't know ...

http://assets.urbanspoon.com/w/s/0R/2bD5duMasnuBm5.jpg

There are 2 other menu pages but they are wine, and not food, lists. Quite a number of reviews are there ... some who liked it a lot but just as many who did not.

Also, Southside Girl, thank's for the recommendation ... "Try Italianio's just south of 50th on Lincoln" ... not really that close to my neighborhood but not too far, either. I'll check it out.

But, as much as I like to support local restaurants near where I live, I'll probably not be checking this out unless I start hearing things which are more along the lines of my Italian preferences. I do hope that it succeeds, though, because it certainly has "good looks" ... and thanks for that great photo, rondvu.

Is that the lunch menu? I heard the dinner was much more expensive and more dinner type entres. That looks more like an upscale lunch menu to me, I don't think it's too abbreviated considering the nicer concept. Keep in mind, "Spaghetti and Meatballs" is more of an American Italian thing, as many Italian restaurants don't venture out too much into everyday italian cooking, they eat a lot of seafood such as squid, calimari, clams, and the food is VERY regional.

I don't know the answer to your question, Metro ... it was just what was located at the UrbanSpoon.com link in my message. I wouldn't be surprised if you are correct, though, because some have commented on their beef entree and it doesn't appear in the above.

that is that lunch menu

I had the fresh mozzarella, roasted tomato and fresh basil pizza, and it was excellent. My friend had the meatball sandwich, which I thought needed a bit more sauce, but the flavor was very good. I saw a couple of the pastas at tables near me and they smelled and looked delicious, but I haven't had a chance to try them.

I can't believe I've never seen that building before. How cool.

Visited Stella's and was underwhelmed on multiple levels. My organic greens salad looked like it came out of a bag of greens from walmart (this is literally the worst 6$ salad in the city). I ordered the ribeye steak along with one of my dinner guests and came to the mutual agreement that this must have been prepared in the microwave (chewy, spongy and cold). I'll have to stop at that because this could keep going. This is a new restaurant and I think they will need some time to gain their mojo. I will be willing to give them another try in a few months or so though. It sounds like "Stella needs to get her groove back", lol.

I went for dinner and that was the same menu.

Boulder, can you share more about your experiences and the food there?

Why does that menu need to be any bigger? Is it any less extensive than say, Cheever's, for instance?

Went there for lunch. You all are right, it is not a typical Italian food menu. If you are looking for Spaghetti and Lasagna then your best bet is elsewhere. The building and decor is very unique and trendy. Great atmosphere! I had the seasonal mushrooms with fresh sausage pasta and it was pretty good, but a little bland. I was also a little disappointed in the wood fired pizzas. They were pretty bland as well. I know they are a new restaurant, but I think they have some kinks to iron out. Their dishes need just a little more flavor, and their sandwiches are very small. I am not writing them off however because all new restaurants need to find their niche. The service was really slow during lunch, but they were also bombarded and apologized tremendously and provided us free desert. The deserts are absolutely excellent. The raspberry gelato with biscotti, the tiramisu, or the chocolate bread pudding were all great!

Will probably go back, but this is a wait and see in my book.. Not really too impressed.

Maybe it's more "typical Italian" of what you'd see in Italy not American Italian.

That is an amazing photo!

Ate there the other day with some friends who office downtown. While I've always loved the building and their new decor is great, the service, quality and prices were very lacking.

We went at lunch and it literally took 50 minutes to get our food ~ not a word of apology from the staff.

The presentation was nice.

I shared a meatball sandwich and a pizza.

The sandwich was tiny, had no sides and wasn't even close to being worth $11. The flavor was okay, but the meatballs were nothing special and did not taste like they were made from scratch.

The pizza was all bread and very little toppings.

All-in-all our table of 5 was not impressed at all. The waitress even admitted they were rethinking the lunch menu because people had complained it was too expensive for the portion sizes.

I might try it again, but certainly not anytime soon.

Unfortunately I know a few people that know the owner from her neighborhood association and they tell me she doesn't take criticism of her place well at all ~ so change may be slow coming if at all.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

So my wife's birthday is today and she suggested we go somewhere we haven't been before. A few names were tossed out for consideration, including 1492 (the place that failed to realize the dream of opening a branch in Cassidy Square). The mention of that place reminded me of Stella. Probably because it is one of the few advertisers on the Comedy Radio Network. She thought Stella sounded good--even without a feeble, Marlon "Streetcar Named Desire" Brando impression on my part. Long story short: We have reservations.

I looked over the menu online and thought the [seafood linguini] looked pretty good. Here's the question: Having never been to Stella--and having read a few "mixed reviews" on the cost/value aspects of the place--is there anything we should steer clear of on the menu (specifically anything involving "green tip mussels")? One of the reasons "special restaurants" are "special" to me is the fact that they use ingredients that I don't want to take the time to search out and purchase. (plus there is no cleanup with which to deal).

Anyway . . . What about Stella? Suggestions and cautions . . .
I suppose there is already a Stella thread in here, but it's buried so far back in the Archives I couldn't find it. =)

you might find some reviews here: Stella - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Stella&page=1)

-M

Just FYI 1492 Cassidy square is still going to open. (In the near future). It was just delayed for a few reason that were out of the owners control

The only Stella I know of is a dive convenience store just down the road. No way would I ever eat there again or gas there. I might drop a deuce in a pinch but that's about it.

Happy birthday to the misses!

you might find some reviews here: Stella - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Stella&page=1)

-M

Thank you, Martin.

The only Stella I know of is a dive convenience store just down the road. No way would I ever eat there again or gas there. I might drop a deuce in a pinch but that's about it.

Happy birthday to the misses!

You must live in Choctaw. I know (or knew) the Stella Store well . . . (and Stella Road).
I've just never been able to figure out 'zackly where "Stella" Proper is (or was =).
(did some carpentry work down 'round them parts back in the day).

Ironically . . . The "Stella" we are going to used to be a full-service gasoline station!

The lamb and veal and Stella are great. The Tyler's weren't going for traditional American Italian when they opened it and most of the complaints I hear about Stella are from people who don't realize there are other Italian dishes than spaghetti and eggplant parmesan.

The lamb and veal and Stella are great. The Tyler's weren't going for traditional American Italian when they opened it and most of the complaints I hear about Stella are from people who don't realize there are other Italian dishes than spaghetti and eggplant parmesan.

As I said, (after reviewing the menu, in advance, so as not to appear to be a total "dumbass hick hankerin' fer some spaghetti and meatballs"--which is, in reality, for me, "the acid test" of whether or not to try anything else at an "Italian" restaurant [if they can't do THAT right fuggedaboudit]) . . . The "Calamari/Mussels/etc." thing looks good to me. Yet, having read Bro. Bourdain's book, "Kitchen Confidential" I have that nagging question about anything involving "mussels" especially on certain days of the week ...=)

I'm certainly not expecting "Traditional Okie-I-Tie". I'm anticipating something much better than that. I hope we won't be disappointed.

No . . . I trust we won't be disappointed.

(btw: the lamb and or veal selections were picks 2 and 3. It just isn't that often I can get squid (calamari) with pasta. The cooking of squid is an art: too short=raw, too long=rubbery, back to tender=a long, long cooking time. It's a sort of cook compared to chef's test . . . and I ain't no chef. just a good cook. and only as "picky" as required. It's related to the concept of being able to play the guitar a little bit and listening to a master of the instrument. It gives you a deeper appreciation of what is involved. =)

Makes me wanna throw on an a-shirt and go out and scream the name. Drunkenly. I got 2 of those already covered.

I've eaten at Stella twice and it was fantastic both times. Looking forward to making it over there again.

To say that Stella was batting 1000 last night would be an awkward metaphor so I'll just say that they hit it out of the park. Every aspect of our visit was perfect and I only had to drop a Franklin (plus a Jackson and a Lincoln for a tip). This place now ranks right up there, in my opinion, with a select group of restaurants (including places like the old Nick's at the Top and Deep Fork) that are worth that kind of money for the dining experience.

We started with the "Artisan Cheeses" Appetizer, plus a cocktail for my wife and a glass of Chianti for me. Actually, that was preceded by some of the best bread I have ever tasted. I had the Calamari and Mussels with Linguini and my wife ordered the Crab Pasta. We each had a glass of the house Pinot Grigio to accompany the entrée. The only thing wrong with any of this was that I didn't save a little of the bread to sop up the heavenly broth that was left in the bottom of my plate and I wasn't going to slurp it up like an ill-mannered lout. Although I wanted to. The chocolate-based dessert that my wife wanted was comped because it was her birthday.

From the drive downtown, via historic Oklahoma City neighborhoods, to the ease of actually finding convenient parking--even at a cost of $5.00--to enjoying some of the best food, service and ambiance around, to savoring the Midtown atmosphere after dinner, this was a truly memorable experience that should not be missed. We will definitely be going back for another special occasion.

That's it, I've got to give this place another shot. I've had a couple of bad experiences there, but, those were quite some time ago. Seems I may be missing something......

They are adding a patio on the south side of the building.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/stella090716.jpg