Stella's Restaurant

never heard of it.

Was there in late February or early March on a Friday night. The portions were generous and the food was fair to excellent, depending on the item, but definitely not good enough to justify how long it took to get attention from our poor overworked waitress, who was very friendly but just having to really hustle her butt off in a packed-to-the-gills dining room with hardly any help (it seemed). We were there a REALLY long time, like, approaching the 3-hour mark!

Prices were fair. If I recall correctly I had lobster bisque, a (huge) Cobb salad, creme brulee and a mixed drink and I spent around $35 including tip. The salad was amazing and I had tons left to take home, but the bisque was nothing special, sort of bland and runny, actually. The creme brulee was made ahead of time and not freshly crusted, which is OK and maybe it's even industry standard, I dunno, but I soooooo love a creme brulee that has just been prepared so that the hard sugar topping is still warm from the torch, and the custard is cool.

They have a neat wine sampler of five kinds for a good price, with more generous portions than you'd expect, which might be of interest to someone who enjoys wine but isn't really a connoisseur and wants to give themselves a self-taught mini-lesson. A friend ordered it and seemed to really enjoy it. Another friend raved about the mashed potatoes but I didn't have any. I did sample her fish and gave it a "meh."

So! Go in the middle of the week and avoid the bisque.

Or hmmmm, maybe their wine sampler was only 3 kinds, I might have forgotten. I helped finish everybody else's drinks so excuse me if my memory's a bit foggy on a few of the details. ;)

Oh! And one other thing: Parking was kind of a hassle, I did have to walk about 3 blocks to my car. Another reason to go in the middle of the week instead of a Friday night, although this wouldn't have been so bad had it not been the during the armpit of winter, heh.

Awesome - thanks for the suggestions, jmleong! I'll be sure to report back if anything has changed there, esp the service :)

I've eaten very well at Stella - solid service and good food for a fair price. I would be happy to go back anytime. The whitefish, potato encrusted, was a treat; normally I'd only go for whitefish someplace up north. The use of Maytag Blue as an option on the steaks shows a commitment to quality provisions that is not always apparent in these parts. Nice topper on the value priced Flat Iron steak.

It can be a tad crowded on a Friday or Saturday night, but most places are, I do like Thursday night outings for that reason!

Bonus points for not being a chain or part of some restaurant development group!

I have never been, but just check their website and the menu looks great. I wonder how Zingos is next door.

stella's service is pretty terrible.
zingo's next store is fantastic.

Good to know, Bam2 -- much appreciated!

It makes me feel better whenever I choose locals over chains :)

Never been to Stella's, but did just experience Skis polish fare...not so good-ski

ha ha. yeah. skis is pretty god awful

I stopped by Stella's last Saturday for lunch. It was fine. Good food and attentive service. I had the vegie club.

Anyone been to Stella's recently...as in the past 24 months since this post?

nope

I was there in October, my only experience. It was for my fiancee's birthday and there were six of us there. I think all of us were very satisfied. It's a little pricey, but it's fine dining - you'd be paying a lot more for these dishes in most cities not named Toledo (or a suburb thereof).

I had the duck, and it was prepared perfectly. I've found people are often afraid to cook duck correctly (or just don't know how I suppose), so it's extra satisfying when you cut into it and see that beautiful red meat.

I know two other dishes ordered around the table were the ribeye (mid-rare) and ahi tuna, and both received excellent reviews from the eaters. I can't remember what else was ordered, but then again, it was half a year ago.

To speak to the service - they screwed up the birthday girl's order, and they left the faux pas at the table for all of us to eat and prepared a new one. I don't know if that's how they'd normally handle that situation, or the fact that it was a birthday, but either way - score!

I am there for lunch a couple times a year - the last time was about 3 months ago - and the food is always very good. Sometimes the service is pretty slow, but I have never been treated badly. On the whole, I would recommend Stella's, but prefer the Rose and Thistle for both food and service.

I need to add that I do not believe the Rose and Thistle is open for lunch.

My family goes on a monthly basis. We love the place.

To be fair, it does happen to be owned by a family friend.

As a Perrysburg resident I know both of these places as well as their owners. Having said that, I will say that Stella’s is very good but not “Oh-my-god” good.

The Rose and Thistle (known to locals, much to the chagrin of the owner, as The RAT) has elicited such a response on many occasions.
The Rose is not open for lunch, in fact; it had been open only whenever the hell the owner wanted to open. But, recently he has taken on a partner who, by coincidence, was formally with Stella’s. The new chef adds new energy to the place as well as regular hours.

I've been to both Stella's and the Rose and Thistle. Stella's is above average, but it has difficulty clearing the bar for fine dining. I think Stella's is a little pricey for the quality of the food, the service can be spotty, the kitchen is generally slow and I'm ambivalent about the ambiance.

For a real fine dining experience, go to the Rose and Thistle. Main Lady and I stumbled in there by mistake, as the sign outside advertises a pub and restaurant. We were underdressed, but were invited to stay anyway. The food and service were five star quality; the ambiance was four and a half.

There is no meaningful comparison to be made between Stella's and Rose and Thistle; one tries to be, the other exceeds.

Up until a few months ago I worked around the corner from Stella's for several years.

The food is consistently above average and some of the menu selections could be considered gourmet for the Toledo area, although in most larger cities it probably wouldn't be. It's a great spot for lunch in Perrysburg but I'd usually end up eating at Zingo's next door for a few dollars less and equally good food.

Service has been hit or miss over the years but overall my experience had been that it was decent.

More on the Rose

http://www.toledoblade.com/Restaurant-Reviews/2012/04/19/Rose-and-Thistle-Pub-and-Restaurant-review.html