Trattoria Stella on Colfax

Great happy hour… I’ve been here for a girls’ night
Chill neighborhood bar
Parking can be a challenge but great atmosphere and good food & wine selection

Some of my friends and I went to Trattoria Stella on Colfax for happy hour/​dinner. We got there right at 5 when it opened and were the first ones there so needless to say, we didn’t have a hard time finding a spot. Their happy hour menu consists of a handful of drink deals and some good looking snack options! We got the house wine (of course) which was delish. We also ordered some food for dinner off the regular menu. I got the primavera which was good but definitely needed some more spices and the dish seemed a little blah.
The restaurant itself was not too big, not too small and worked for larger groups as well.

While the food itself was excellent, I came to write a review purely because of how impressed I was with the incredible service. Ordered take out with a friend and showed up only to find that we had accidentally placed our order at the wrong location due to some confused web navigation on my end. Not only did they put in our order at the correct location right away while we had a drink at the bar, they also offered us a discount for the «inconvenience» and the waitress called the other location to clear up the mistake. I was truly impressed.
The pork gnocchi was good but the bison pizza knocked it out of the park. I will definitely come back again and again for the stellar customer service, and I’ll be dreaming about that pizza…

Shame on you. The entire meal was lacking from the 45 minutes to get our food, to the hostess posing as waitress, service, to refrigerated cold bread to the rotten scallops to the uncooked pastas to the… it goes on. –If you don’t have the cooks or staff, don’t torture the patrons. Yes you credited us for the appetizer — thank you. But won’t be back your location is too far off beaten path for a hit or miss.

Italian hidden gem.
Date of Visit: 8÷8÷15
Upon stepping in on a Saturday night and finding only 2 other diners, I was a bit skeptical. That said, I’m glad I gave Trattoria a chance, as it was a fantastic meal. We had the 32^nd Street Pasta (Black tiger shrimp, toasted pecans, sun-​dried cranberries spicy lemon olive oil
w/​spinach spaghetti & goat cheese), and a daily special Scallop/​risotto dish that might have been the star of the night. Add to that a pretty extensive beer list (especially for an Italian place), friendly service, and reasonable prices, and I quickly became a fan.

So my wife and I went to lunch today on the way to the zoo read about Stella stop there to have a little bite to eat I actually had to swat flies away from the table when we first sat down with the menu l ordered A corn beef Panini which came without the corn beef and then slice of tomato is pretty disgusting in itself my wife’s tomato was soup was Cold they did give me a free beer for the sandwich mess up too many other restaurants in the area probably won’t come back The staff was friendly

Came here for Sunday brunch today. My mom and I shared the shrimp & grits and cinnamon ricotta pancakes. Both were disappointingly bland. Not impressed.

Nice atmosphere, we really liked their patio. The food is good, but a little pricey for what you get.

Went for brunch and we’re really impressed by the grits with steak! Friendly staff and lively environment. My boyfriend has the fried chicken biscuit and it was a nice savory & sweet.

As a Colfax resident this is one of my SO and I’s favorite go tos. I have visited Stella over a half dozen times in the past year and have always left full and satisfied.
Stella is in spades my top pasta joint, my favorite dish being the creamy sausage rigate. For the appetizer? I must suggest going with the beef carpaccio — it is absolutely delightful.
Where I think their brunch seems a bit limited, and may leave something to be desired, if you are in the hood check it out! The dinner is top notch!

The food was so good! The 32^nd Street Pasta and the scallops with squid ink risotto were good portions and they were really quick. The ambiance was nice too. The soda tasted odd, but that’s no big deal. My only complaint is I didn’t see any hard cider on the menu, but to be fair I also didn’t ask.

This little gem on Colfax boasts a longer happy hour, a modern dinner menu plus a stellar brunch! The breakfast caprese is to die for! The melted mozzarella cheese, blistered cherry tomatoes and fresh basil complemented well with the poached eggs. The crispy polenta strips added a delectable texture to the satisfying yet healthful dish. This is definitely a winner in my book as far as breakfast goes. The 32^nd street pasta for dinner was equally delicious! The smoky flavor from the shrimp is offset by the sweetness from the cranberries and lemon olive oil. All in all, Stella is a causal restaurant with gourmet food at an affordable price!

This place is always hit or miss, but after my most recent experience I had to write a review. The 3 stars is based on the average score of about 4 – 5 visits. Service has been great, however my most recent visit they had 2 servers working the entire place. Taking orders, filling drinks, seating guests, delivering food etc was all handled by 2 people in a relatively packed dining room. Get a clue. I had the prosciutto pizza my most recent visit. It was burnt and the prosciutto was baked to a crisp. It lost all its taste and all I could taste was the salt. I’ve had brunch here before and it was great. Each experience is a coin flip

The best combo of casual yet creative and incredible Italian food. I have had many dishes here and it doesn’t disappoint. Staff is awesome, very friendly and knowledgable about what new dish the kitchen is whipping out. Specials like Beet Risotto w Tiger Shrimp, Pickled Cauliflower and Cherry Tomato Salad, and Zucchini Pasta substitute for the glutton haters were all perfect. Cheers!

The Friday evening that Denver was bracing for Snowpocalypse 2015, we decided to brave the snow (three or four flakes) and do dinner.
I had forgotten it was Restaurant Week.
SCORE!
Gone are the days of the $ 52.80/couple Restaurant Week price, but $ 60/​couple ain’t so bad.
First, the salads.
He had the Tom’s Basil Salad:
*Baby spinach, fresh basil, tomatom, mozzarella, red onions and Kalamata olives with mustard balsamic.
I had the Cranberry House Salad:
*Mixed greens, Gorgonzola cheese and sun-​dried tomatoes with red wine vinaigrette dressing.
We couldn’t come to a consensus on the app, so we got two:
1) Apple & Taleggio Cheese Bruschetta:
*Homemade bread, Granny Smith apples, melted Taleggio cheese, candied walnuts and balsamic glaze (DIIIVINE!)
2) P.E.I. Mussels:
*White wine, butter, fresh lemon juice, organic baby spinach and cherry tomatoes.
It was also amazing, perfect amount of heat and awesome broth perfect for SOPPING!
For entrées, I ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese:
*Italian sausage, ground beef and pork simmered with carrots, sweet onion, plum tomatoes and white wine, tossed with spaghetti.
I totally forgot to snap the pic before digging in, and the presentation was lovely. The flavor was amazing, rich and meaty, and the pasta was perfectly al dente. My only problem was that the dish must have been prepared using beef stock or beef base, or the Italian sausage had MSG in it, because I had a wicked migraine the next day (certainly not the restaurant’s fault, but I wish I’d thought to ask).
He ordered the Creamy Sausage Tomato Rigate:
*House pork sausage cooked with cream and a touch of tomato sauce, tossed with fresh beet Rigate.
I tasted it, and it was as scrumptious as it looked! Rich and creamy and perfectly seasoned.
I’m not a dessert girl, but we were permitted two desserts on the RW menu. I was so stuffed by this point that I couldn’t even consider taking one home, but he got the key lime pie which was very good.
I’ve always loved the warm and cozy, local and neighborhoody atmosphere of Stella’s. Parking is kind of a bitch; there was a ticket on our windshield for parking in a permit-​only area. But, that’s not Stella’s fault either, so I certainly won’t count it against them.
The staff are warm and friendly, and pretty tolerant of our weirdness. They should actually get a bonus star for that.

So disappointed. I was excited and waiting to visit this place. My husband and I have lived in the neighborhood a year and half, however we don’t get out much with a young child. I had been wanting to eat here for a long time and my husband surprised me with a date night. We started at Stella intending on eating dinner there. The server was terrible. Some youngish white guy with an attitude of indifference and seemed to keep forgetting about us. It took forever to get drinks and so we only ordered an appetizer. Again it took forever. The calamari was ok but it might have been better with better service.

Oh, Unilocal,WHY will you not allow us to give ½ stars? I debated between 4 and 5 stars, and I round down when I have that debate (despite rounding up if it’s a debate between 3 and 4 stars). But I digress.
I’ve been to Stella’s several times now. For happy hour over at R bar, for brunch, and now for dinner. I have savored every bite of food, every sip of my drinks, and enjoyed every second.
Brunch: savory and sweets are done right. Not an hugely extensive menu, but every dish is prepared carefully and exquisitely. I can personally vouch for both the avocado and polenta specialty and the shrimp and grits.
Dinner: I ate every strand of my tomato spaghetti arrabbiata (with crispy pancetta and smoked bacon). I love arrabbiata sauce and this one did not disappoint. noodles were nice and toothsome, sauce left my lips tingling (and I love me some spice). We followed our dinners with desserts, all of which tasted housemade. I had the blackberry cheesecake, which is served with fresh cream and fresh strawberries. No disgustingly sweet gloopy syrup! Friends ordered tiramisu and the pumpkin and white chocolate rum bread pudding. We all traded bites, and i would’ve been happy with any of those hand crafted desserts.
I know I’ll have to count my calories for the rest of the week and work extra hard at the gym this week, but it was worth it. Yes, it was.

My favorite restaurant this year. (Because who can have the same one every year?)
But seriously, guys. Everything on this menu is wonderful. The staff (it seems like there must be only like 10 of them that rotate) are all so sweet and accommodating. One time my drink took a normal amount of time to get to me, and my waiter comp’d it because he said it took too long. (Nice tip that night! Probably in his bag of tricks but worked like a charm on me!)
Quarterly or seasonally they host a night where they try new things for a new menu. A 3 course meal is FREE. No strings attached. Only paid for my wine. I highly recommend being on the lookout for this night!
Best customer service in Denver, and that is saying something.
Food is absolutely delicious.
Drinks are mixed so well its almost shocking! As in, what is this? A whiskey coke? Tastes like magic!
My review is specifically for the City Park location and I can’t speak to the Highlands one because I can’t seem to leave this one.
Its never packed too. Just an amazing neighborhood place with an incredibly priced happy hour and seriously well prepared food.

Last night I was debating whether to write a four or five star review. I thought the food was pretty great, although my husband disagreed. Stella was by no means in danger of being my favorite Italian place, but since we’ll be moving to the neighborhood soon I was hoping to have found a new regular spot.
I really like the restaurant itself, there’s a nice outdoor patio with large yellow umbrellas and the interior was spacious, cool, and uniquely appointed. The menu had plenty of options without being overwhelming, and the service was adequate, though not spectacular. I’m much more forgiving on that point than my husband, as there’s few things I hate more than overbearing, ever-​present waitstaff, but I digress.
The menus advertise the bread basket, and spell out that refills are at additional cost. With that one would think these things were to die for, but the most remarkable thing about them is how overly salty they are. I saw aranchini on the happy hour menu and had to try them. They were very large, and smothered in sauce. Don’t get me wrong, they tasted good, but I’ve had much better aranchini that didn’t need the artifice in Boulder of all places.
My husband and step-​son both ordered pizzas. They looked fantastic! I couldn’t help but notice the crust, albeit super thin, looked and tasted like it was whole grain. That wouldn’t be an issue for me, although it detracted from the taste for my husband (step-​son had no comment). I think that had the menu specified the dough was whole wheat (or whatever it is) it wouldn’t have been such a surprise but there was no mention of this anywhere.
What my step-​son did have to say, was that he found a large end of sausage casing on his pizza! Not like it was a band-​aid, but still had no place being there. I ordered a lamb and kale salad. The lamb chops were small, but perfectly cooked, and the salad overall was very nice.
This morning my husband found out Stella helped itself to almost DOUBLE the tip! Nowhere on the receipt or anywhere that I saw did the restaurant specify a set gratuity. If it weren’t for that I’d say they deserved another shot, and now? Not
**********
Update: Stella has fixed the over-​tip issue! Thank God, because they also do brunch on weekends :), Game on!

Great staff. Excellent food. Fun location, too! We were seeing a show at The Bluebird Theater which is just half a block down the street. Couldn’t have worked out better.
They were having Happy Hour shortly after we arrived so we were able to enjoy a couple glasses of discounted house wines. We tried a couple of the happy hour food items as well: the bruschetta and the pesto dip — both fabulous and cheap!
For dinner my friend got the fig pizza, of which she let me take a bite, and it was fabulous. I got the the Spaghetti Arrabiata (which admittedly is the same thing I had at the Highlands location, oops!)…it was just so damn good! Next time, I promise I’ll try something different.
This is quickly becoming one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Denver. YES!