Stella's Cucina

Very excited to finally have this Italian fine dining gem in town! Stella’s Cucina definitely exceeded our expectations. Slick contemporary setting with outstanding service and delicious authentic food. Amazing selection of Italian wines that are hard to find in the States. By far our new favorite in Boulder.

Stella’s Cucina is a very welcome and exciting fine-dining addition to Boulder, and I highly suggest residents and visitors to stop by! It’s a bit tricky to find - the only sign by the door is a big “S,” and it’s located next to Rosetta Hall, behind the Rio Grande Restaurant - but that’s part of the fun! The experience is exceptional from the moment you walk in. From the mirrors in the hallway and the wood on walls, to the elegant dining hall and mood lighting, the decor is very well put together. Even the bathroom is extremely clean and pleasant! The service was wonderful! We were kindly greeted when we came in, and the staff was very attentive, professional, and helpful. The food was incredible! We came for brunch (which is rather new), and had a bit of everything: bread, egg dishes, pasta, cocktails, and dessert. Everything was fresh and flavorful. Like with many fine-dining establishments, some of portions are on the smaller side, but if you want to go for a bigger portion, I suggest going for the egg dishes (as opposed to, say, pasta). Not surprisingly, this place isn’t cheap, but the environment, service, and food justify the check amount. It goes without saying that this place is a must-try, and I hope to be back!

Whoa!!! Absolutely exceeded my expectations. The service was fantastic and the food absolutely blew my mind, the staff was extremely courteous and friendly. I didn't have to wait at all but I did come an hour before close on a Thursday night. I had the seabass which was cooked to near perfection. The drinks served by the bartenders were on par with the best drinks I've ever had or mixed myself. The tiramisu was awesome and I highly recommend. Overall all I can say is if you have the opportunity or have anything to celebrate I can't think of a better place to have dinner or drinks than Stella's Cucina!!

Every time I visit Stella, I know the food is going to be incredible! I’ve tried a number of dishes but the ones I keep coming back to are the Cesar salad, the mushroom risotto and the fresh sea bass. Beyond the food, the restaurant has such a cool vibe- mood lighting, a big open bar that sits at the center of the restaurant and a DJ playing fun yet subtle house music. Stella is such a gem!

This is my third time at Stella’s Cucina ⭐️ I took my partner on a birthday dinner the first time and it was fabulous! I decided to make a review after trying this place for handful of times. This time we sat at the bar and had a wonderful experience. Our bar tender Derek was phenomenal! We started with their famous espresso Martinis, then decided to grab a bite and ordered the charcuterie tower :) it came with three cheeses, 3 meats, olives, mustard, nuts, and dried figs and bread of course! We loved the charcuterie a lot! We also had a complementary chef’s taste buttner nut squash soup and it was delightfully! For dessert, we had their famous tiramisu! They do such a great job with their representation! The tiramisu comes in a small pot with mint! It taste amazing! The overall experience is really awesome! Their atmosphere is very nice! I loved the decor and the live music! Two things that I dislike about this place: 1- Their AI generated art piece which I don’t think it fits the vibe 2- For first time visitors, it could be a bit confusing to find the restaurant as their sign is small and kinda hidden. Other than that, highly recommended!

If you didn’t know this restaurant was there you’d walk right past it. It’s a discreet entrance that opens up to a magical interior. Every inch of the space has been tastefully designed and it’s truly an experience. You can just hang out at the spacious bar or reserve a table. The intimate seating is thoughtfully laid out. The service was spot on, very friendly and knowledgeable. The food was delightfully curated. Although the portions might seem smaller, it is very filling. The appetizers are perfect and the entrees ignite your taste buds. We enjoyed a few different cocktails along with a tasty desert. I’m excited to go back.

Found this gem on Instagram and we’re not disappointed. Amazing food, incredible service and relaxed atmosphere. They really know how to pamper their guests. The music was a little loud and I asked to reduce the volume - no problem they ask twice! If it was better. I can recommend them more. And of course we came back for Brunch!! Highly recommend it. I love that the attention to detail. From the food presentation, to the restaurant atmosphere, the golden straws in the drink. Well done!

Stella’s offers outstanding Italian cuisine without letting you forget that you’re in Colorado. Ingredients don’t feel too foreign, while still bringing true Italian charm. Highlights were the whole roasted sea bass, ravioli, and baked eggplant. But the showstopper for me was the pistachio crème brûlée, which maintained an incredible balance of textures and flavors. Service was attentive, the ambiance and music were great, and the decor inside was stylish. 10/10 recommend, and will gladly come back.

The place is not appreciated from the outside, but as soon as you open the door you feel that you are entering a wonderful world!! The elegance of the place is incredible, they welcome you in the triad in a very friendly way and take you to your table, I went for my anniversary and I made the reservation online, I asked for a table that felt romantic and they took into account all my requests, I was really happy, they made us have a very special night, if you speak S spanish there is no problem because there are people who speak spanish, It is incredible how the waiters know the entire menu! (in our case Pedro) And the recommendations he make are perfect, the food is delicious, there are dishes that adapt to the place in ways I have never seen before, they try to put their signature on each dish to make it unique, the desserts surprised in the best way! we will definitely go again, a wonderful evening.

This was the most outstanding meal. I work in fine dining in Denver, so I focus a ton on service and atmosphere, since I know the food will be good. Stella's had my jaw on the floor!! The most beautiful interior of a restaurant I've ever seen, such a fantastic ambiance. The food was mouth-wateringly good and the beverages were too!! I will be returning, probably many times.

The entrance flies a bit under the radar (hint: look for the "S" on the door), but once inside this Italian gem, nothing is held back. This Michelin restaurant is utterly stunning with a very cool speakeasy ambience. With a main focused menu of Italian dishes. A great experience all across the board, starting off with a welcoming atmosphere. From the greeters, hosts, our gregarious server Margaret, bussers, and the managers Alex and Henry. All made you feel like a highly valued customer. Delicious food, simple but sophisticated. Loved, loved the Insalta A La Mano and Poipoe Patate octopus. All the pasta dishes, including the ravioli special, were really good! The desserts were tasty too. Overall, both food and service were excellent. Something to consider is that you have to order all of the courses at the same time, which would explain the excellent timing. Will definitely be visiting again.

What a find! Beautifully appointed, delicious food, excellent service. The door was a trick to find - we walked right past it the first time. Look for a white door with a letter “S.”

A sumptuous meal served by attentive staff in a slightly hidden location. The ambience is excellent and feels novel for Boulder. What really impressed me is that we didn't give all positive feedback to the wait staff and they were quick to make amends and seemed to genuinely want to improve. Rarely is a meal perfect but when the staff is attentive to make it better over time, that is quality that I value highly and makes me want to return. The front of house was professional and exceptional in their care. The cocktails were excellent. I particularly liked the whiskey sour.. The salad was modestly decent. The shrimp in the saffron shrimp dish were a bit overcooked but the handmade pasta excellent. The lamb Bolognese was ok but the pasta overcooked. The beef tenderloin was the hands down winner of the evening and the reconstituted porcini and wine reduction a favorite of the night. The sea bass was excellent but the potato accompaniment was a bit lukewarm and flat. The tiramisu in a flower pot was cute but didn't meet expectations. Overly sugary, no taste of espresso in the lady fingers and covered with a pile of chocolate powder. I'm a bit picky about tiramisu and some folks who like a nontraditional tiramisu that is really sweet may disagree. Overall, though a bit critical of the execution, I loved my time there and will eat there again.

I could not have been more impressed with Stella's and can't wait to go back. The atmosphere was unlike anywhere I've been and I appreciated the subtle live music. Their servers were unbelievably attentive without being overbearing (special shout out to Florin, he was great). The cocktails were unique twists on classic favorites and the food was better than most high end "traditional" Italian places I've been. I would seriously come back for the bread alone. I most appreciated the unique plating for all three courses, especially the dessert (definitely get the tiramisu).

Stellas Cucina was a great time. The waiters were very enthusiastic about the food and drinks being served there. The restaurant was very aesthetically pleasing and they even had a DJ playing some low key music during dinner

This restaurant has the best food and that is not an exaggeration ! Every dish is made with so much love, appreciation, and creativity that you end up enjoying the entire experience ❤️ We loved the bread (literally the best bread ever!), appetizers and had three different kinds of risotto for the Primi followed by Secondi and every bite was mesmerizingly beautiful and super delicious ❤️❤️ The staff is super hospitable, nice, and always on their feet in ensuring you have the best time ever! The desserts were just as incredible ❤️❤️ Would highly recommend this place for date nights, friends and family get together as this 11/10 restaurant will ensure you are taken very good care of and have the best culinary experience 🥰🥰

Such an incredible dining experience, start to finish. From food to service, art to ambiance, they truly delivered an impeccable experience throughout. Chef Filippo had me grinning like a child on Christmas morning, his dishes are superb. Please try as much of the menu as possible, every element of every bite is perfectly constructed. Our excellent server, Clay, took the most care to ensure our wine, food, and general experience were above and beyond expectation. Live music from a the talented pianist / dj (I sincerely regret not catching their name but they are there often I am told) carried us through the evening, seamlessly transitioning us through the gentle shifts in atmosphere - beginning with solo piano and layering in other elements as the night progressed. And above all, the atmosphere was beautiful, warm and welcoming. I will never forget this experience and can’t wait to visit again when I return to Colorado.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superb meal. The best I’ve had in all 4 years of living here.

Wonderful dinner here! The decor/vibe of this place is really welcoming and modern. Our hostess asked upon arrival if we were here for a special occasion (we were--birthday) which was a nice touch. Our server, Clayton was really helpful re: navigating the menu because 3 out of 4 of us were first time diners and was happy to point out his favorite dishes on the menu. Everything we ordered was fantastic--a fun take on a Caesar salad, cacio e pepe risotto, wild mushroom risotto, braised short ribs and crispy cauliflower. How they got cauliflower to taste like fried chicken is beyond me, but it was amazing! Cocktail program is solid and there are many non-alcoholic options, which is appreciated. A special birthday dessert was sent to the table gratis, and we ordered an additional dessert of pistachio panna cotta which was fabulous. Highly recommend this restaurant for a special night out.

I was surprised that I have never been to this location before, as I have lived in Boulder for the last 16 years. They don't have much of a presence on Walnut Street. Just a very tall stainless steel single door with the letter S on it. Once you go in, the decor is very nice and you walk down a long hallway to the host station. We made reservations for a Tuesday evening, but it wasn't full. The restaurant space surrounds a circular bar and the coved ceilings have interesting LED detailing. The food comes in traditional courses. My lady and I are both small eaters, so split an anti pasto plate and each had a second course of pasta (no third course for either of us). They surprised me with a desert for my birthday, which was lovely and delicious. All the food was great, but the first course of beats with La Tur foam stood out. I would recommend this place for a date night.

Great food and overall atmosphere. Desert was absolutely killer. Expect to be there a while (we were there for 2h30min) but it felt like less. Overall great experience. Eric our waiter was an awesome dude and really took care of us. 100% would go again.

We were celebrating my wife's bonus and thought we would try a Michelin starred restaurant. We were so fortunate to have chosen Stella's Cucina. It was a phenomenal dining experience! Aldo was our wait person and was warm, genuine, and attentive. We also feel honored that we got to talk with Devin, the sommelier. We learned so much about digestifs. I am normally a Grand Marnier drinker, but Devin opened our eyes to the amazing number of fine after dinner cordials. It was like a 3 hour class in 15 minutes or so. To top it off, we had a lively conversation with Stella herself. We will always remember to reserve Table 407. Thank you so much. And we encouraged them to watch the movie, Big Night with Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci. Addendum- my lovely wife of 36 years noticed that I didn’t talk about the food. We ordered the beet salad. It was delicious. The beets were sliced so thin that I thought it was a sauce on the plate. My wife had the short ribs which was so tender you could have cut it with a feather. I couldn’t resist ordering the spaghetti with pomodoro sauce from an old family recipe…delicious!

This is a wonderful restaurant. Our entire experience was excellent - friendly service, delicious food, and great ambiance. A special shout out to our server, Chris! Chris was superb in every way. He’s an excellent asset to your team! Thanks, Chris!

I struggle to find anything to give as even the mildest criticism. Everything about it was amazing. The atmosphere and vibe were fantastic. I love the almost hidden, nondescript entrance. The food was absolutely delicious. The presentation was perfect. Everyone there was so friendly and inviting. This place has a Michelin recommended, but really deserves a Michelin star. Anyone needing a valentines day recommendation, this is your spot. It is worth the price.

We just had the most incredible & romantic date night at Stella’s Cucina and would highly recommend this spot for its ambiance, service, food and fun. When you go, request Clayton as your server! He was super knowledgeable about the menu and ingredients and made the perfect recommendations from start to finish. We also absolutely loved the general manager who came by several times to check on us. We will definitely be back! Bobby & Christina

Tucked away behind an unsuspecting doorway is a beautiful and delicious fine dining speakeasy. The moment you walk in the door you are greeted with friendly faces and excellent service. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a fantastic old fashioned and a delicious wine list. The food was amazing, particularly the cacio e pepe risotto and the eggplant special. Highly recommend for a date night or a celebration dinner!

We have been a few times, and would have given it 5 stars without the short ribs. Everything else we had was delicious, and the drinks were good. Really like the pastas, as well as the fried egg appetizer. However, for the price, the short rib was a miss. It was a dry, bland puck. For being around a similar price if you have multiple courses, I do think it is a step below Frasca a few blocks away.

Overall, it's a nice, fun atmosphere. We came here for our 1-year wedding anniversary and probably won't be back The food was interesting, but nothing left us feeling particularly satisfied. Also, when they ask for your allergies, list ALL of them. Because they leave some pretty key ingredients off their menu... I can't have cured ham because I will have an allergic reaction, so I don't order things with ham in them, no big deal. The braised short rib apparently has some kind of cured ham in it, which was not at all what I would have thought. It was also covered in such a sweet, sticky BBQ sauce you couldn't really taste the meat... The fresh pasta was the standout. Truly well made and tasy. Excellent flavors without being overwhelming. Cocktails were all very good and felt unique in a way that feels like you can't replicate it at home Also, this sounds kind of silly, but this is the first place we have been to for a very special occasion that didn't provide even a small little complimentary dessert or even a tiny thimble of champagne. The audience of this restaurant is.. interesting. Started off with a mix of business folks and others out for a late night fancy meal, and then transitioned to a bunch of well-off college students in sweatshirts. They were well-behaved enough, just an odd shift to watch!

Nice venue hidden from Walnut street in Boulder, CO. Good ambience helped by live music. Our minestrone soup, lamb chops, octopus and creme brulee were very nice, but the pasta dish was bland. Definitely worth the try, but would recommend skipping the pasta. Service was attentive.

1. See photo for door/entrance. It’s not clearly labelled. 2. Definitely have a reservation 3. Don’t come here hungry without expecting to easily drop $70 per person (without drinks). After sharing the cheese/meat appetizer and ordering an entree each, we ended up splitting a meal elsewhere afterward. To be fair, the meals were tasty, just not enough. Also THE FOAM. I didn’t want foamy essence of mashed potatoes. I wanted MASHED POTATOES. 4. Really lovely atmosphere. Modern and warm. Very friendly and polite waitstaff. Even provided hooks for handbags at the table. Weird art (displayed on screen). Lads, do your partners a favor and put on nicer shoes than worn out tennis shoes. Great bathrooms! Offer feminine hygiene products, mints, lotion, etc. Smelled great.

Lovely space for an anniversary dinner. The food is tasty with small but elegant portions, the staff is very nice, the wine selection is great and the space is modern and warm. The front door was a little difficult to notice at first, but not hard to find.

Pros: The interior is gorgeous, servers very attentive and friendly, presentation of both food and drinks is A+ Cons: For the large amount of $ you pay, the flavors and food in general should “wow” way more than they do. It tastes good, but for the price point, I should be in love. I wasn’t in absolute love with anything, but really enjoyed the ravioli, veggies that came with the pork, and panna cotta. If I come back it’ll be to try brunch. Also, the only reservation we could get was when they opened at 4pm, and they were still rearranging tables, organizing, etc. which took away from the swanky experience. I’d rec they don’t allow reservations until maybe a little after they open so that they’re not still shuffling. Overall a positive experience, but the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, so to speak.

This new restaurant in Boulder has an absolute ton of potential. To start off the atmosphere and the vibe is something closer to a big city or even Vegas. Very trendy, Very chic and very cool. The service is absolute top notch and not only our waiter but all employees were very attentive to all tables. Where I think it falls off a little bit is with the food. While the presentations are excellent for the price the flavors fall a bit flat. For example, the oysters were $45 as an appetizer and yes they came with caviar. However, these may be the smallest oysters I've seen and even with the caviar they are very one note. I know these are small things, but as a new restaurant I'm sure they'll get into their groove. Definitely worth trying but for the prices I expect a bit more.

The space, ambiance and cocktails are definitely a 10 - Great Gatsby, stylish feel around the bar and the drinks were spot on. That, in itself was an experience. The courses, however were another story. We started with the Burrata Special (a little bland in flavor, it needed a little tart, maybe) and Steak Tartare (very nice) for the antipasti. For the primi piatti, we had the special pasta of the evening which was a mixture of local fungi and the gnocchi off the menu, both were very nice. For our secondi piatti, we received recommendations to order the seabass, eggplant and side of beans. We were definitely disappointed with the overcook seabass (although nicely butterflied) and the cannellini beans in sauce (something we could have made at home). The eggplant was nice and the tomato sauce was a nice compliment. I was definitely looking forward to an exceptional meal here, especially being noted as a Michelin recommended restaurant, but the experience fell short.

Stella's has a wonderful ambiance and beautiful decor. The food is absolutely delicious and so creative. Stuffed pesto gnocci and the carrot risotto were standouts. Some of the dishes are small, but that works out great if you are wanting to try a lot of different items. The lavender panna cotta my mother in law was given for her birthday treat was out of this world!

We had a wonderful time at Stella's! We were 2 couples out for a taste of something new and fun in Boulder. The ambiance really makes this place special, time just flew by! It's a bit expensive and somewhat inconsistent (we had 2 of the same short rib dish, one was significantly better than the other), but very good. Our server Katie was knowledgeable and very much a part of our experience. She had lot's of fun Italian tidbits of information about the menu and made a bunch of local hiking recommendations. Wines by the glass were decent, but the bottle list was way better. My friend who is a bit of a wino had perhaps too high of expectations? Will definitely be back, but maybe sit at the bar for the happy hour

Unique experience for sure. The entrance is fun and hard to find. The hall you walk down to the restaurant is really cool! Inside it’s light, which is cool since there aren’t any windows, just mirrors. My friend and I thought the AI art wall could have been better, the colors were dark and honestly reminded us of a tool album cover not a dining experience. The food, honestly we expected much better food for the price. I will say they will replace a meal or fix something if told. Their salads were delicious, the mock tails unique and fun, the bread was awesome! I do wish they had salt and pepper as the ravioli was bland and could have used that as well as more Parmesan. Their dessert was small but the lemon tart was sooo good!!

I chose this restaurant when we were visiting Boulder because it looked like it had a really cool room and bar, And good reviews…. The room is really beautiful and upscale. I appreciate that because there are a lot of highly rated restaurants in Boulder that look like you’re eating in a barn. So I was very excited to go to this restaurant. The bar and room are super upscale and very cool. They also had an awesome lounge type vibe DJ which I really liked. His info is on the special menu. See the photo. We sat at the bar as usual, and there were two bartenders. The bartender that addressed us initially was standoffish and curt at best. The other bartender was delightful but did not end up serving us so we were relegated to the curt Bartender. We asked for Shaker ice on the side of our martinis, which didn’t come. We had to ask multiple times for that. We told the bartender that we wanted to course our meal as we like to slowly enjoy our courses and have cocktails. We ordered the meat and cheese Appetizer, which was amazing but immediately our Cesar came at the same time. We sent it back because we had told the bartender that we wanted to have time in between. The meat and cheese appetizer was delicious. ….Really high-quality meat and absolutely delicious cheese. We got our Cesar re-delivered after we finished the meat and cheese appetizer and it was good but not perfect. There was something a little bit missing in the flavor. The presentation was beautiful though. We ordered the short rib special and the pappardelle peach and pork ragu. The bartender made a point of telling us that we were lucky because our order was put in so that we were certain to be able to get the entrees because they ran out of the pasta right after we ordered. When we got our entrées, we got the short rib and some other meat entrée that we did not order. The bartender said oh I must’ve put in the wrong entrée. And then came back and said they were out of pappardelle entrée…. After making a point to tell us that we were lucky to get it. The short rib special was only OK because they put a load of cheese on top and short rib is already so rich…. It does not need that much cheese so I only had one bite of that. They substituted the pasta entrée that they ran out of with some sort of made on the fly pappardelle with red sauce, and it was awful. It had a canned tomato soup flavor with mint, …not good. I had one bite and said nope. We ordered the special peach goat cheese gelato dessert which was tiny and only OK. The saving grace was that I guess the bar manager comped our entrées which I didn’t eat any of except for one taste of each. They also gave us a gift card for future meal. I have no idea how much it is for… but since we don’t live in Boulder, we will give it away. I can usually forgive mistakes like this, especially when they try to make it up to you. But I have to say that it almost seems like the bartender with the terrible attitude and un attentive service almost did that on purpose. It was as if from the get-go, the bartender didn’t like us. Maybe it was because we appeared to be from out of town and we’re not the traditional college crowd… Who knows. We are fine dining aficionados, and we appreciate and reward excellent service, excellent food, and a beautiful room. I was personally sorely disappointed. I won’t go back.🤨

To qualify this review, we're vegan, and whole we normally enjoy the options Stella's has, their recent valentine's day set course was a massive disappointment. Charging $150 a head for a meal that very much sounded like it was thrown together at the last moment is just not acceptable. Especially since it filled neither of us up and we had to go eat something at home after. The portions were tiny and while the dishes tasted decent, they weren't $150 plus tip good. We'll probably not come back here again. It's a pity since the ambiance is amazing. I wish they paid more attention to their vegan and vegetarian clients.

Tonight had me mentally performing an encore of Marlon Brando, yelling “Stella” as I sat in frustration. A party of five on a Tuesday, reservations and all, seemed like a great idea. But after being seated and waiting an unreasonable amount of time to be attended to, the words “ we are trying an experiment tonight” did not bode well. The experiment? The bar staff also had a section of tables… sigh. Yep, we waited forever for drinks and then waited forever for others to get their drinks, and then longer for orders to be taken. The food however? Stellar as always :) - the butternut squash ravioli? Delicate and light yet the ravioli perfectly al dente. Steak tartare deliciously accompanied with a delectable potato underneath. The Colorado bass the star of the night, flavorful and so well prepared, the crispy skin a wonderful contrast to the flake of the fish. How I wish I could say the service matched the food; plates not cleared before next course presented, silverware forgotten, drinks not refreshed, wine not poured, waitstaff MIA. Oh STELLA, what a disappointing night with our guests. Instead of leaving with memories of the melt-in- your-mouth short ribs, they left annoyed that the level of service was not on par with the food or the pricing. Rather than sit and relish the ambience and food, we sat annoyed and lost as your servers seemed to be. Not stellar , Stella’s, not Stellar at all.