Stella Pasta Bar & Bistro | Seven Points Brewery

Another perfect dinner at Stella’s. Our table had Stella’s crab cakes, the shrimp genovese, the lobster ravioli and the mushroom ravioli. I drank a pint of the Prima Vista, which was perfect with the ravioli. The crap cakes were a very generous portion of three cakes for an appetizer and delicious. All three entrees were so good we didn’t want to put our forks down!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had a fantastic meal there last night! Eggplant parm was so good and the pasta was perfectly cooked. Service was A +++ We will definitely be back. The beer from Northpoint brewery also very good. Finally Schenectady has excellent Italian food.

Vegetarian options: Pasta bar has build your own with vegetables or meat. Salads are offered as well.

Parking: Parking in the lot across the street free after 6 pm, on street parking as well if you can get it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ate at Stella Pasta Bar recently and enjoyed the experience. My server, Callie, took great care of us: friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. I ordered a beer, Prima Vista, hoping the description was accurate, as I am not a "hops person." And it was! Light, refreshing, with a bare hint of a honey note, a great accompaniment to a pasta dinner. There are about a dozen beers on offer, with a wide range of both flavor profiles and ABV numbers. Session beers, IPAs, fruits, and sours were all represented. Although the beer comes from their own brewery (on the far side of the terrace), Stella boasts a full bar. Diners are offered both wine and cocktail lists. The house pinot grigio got a big thumbs up from my dining companion.

The pasta bar portion of menu notes that the tagliatelle and linguine are hand-made in-house daily. That sounded intriguing, so I ordered the tagliatelle with basil pesto sauce (one of about eight choices) and grilled chicken (about 7 other choices available for protein available, too). A basket of warm bread was served; made with semolina flour, I think, based on the warm buttery color and the slightly grainy crumb. The bread was delicious and was served with both butter and a bottle of olive oil from the Saratoga Olive Oil company. My main came with a house salad. I chose the house vinaigrette for the dressing. This salad was perfectly dressed. Every piece of greens, every sliver of carrot, every cherry tomato, had been artfully touched by the dressing, each coated with just the right amount. On top of that, the salad was nicely composed in the bowl. To the pasta! The tagliatelle was al dente, as promised in the menu, and the slices of chicken breast were moist and tender. It was obvious from its appearance that the pasta was indeed both fresh and made on the premises. Salut, Stella! The basil pesto sauce was delicious. So delicious was it that my dining partner wanted me to box it up and bring it home! TBH the only downside was that the plating should be improved. Maybe Stella's customers like vast quantities of sauce, but I felt there was too much of it. Yes, it tasted great, but there can be too much of a good thing. If I were plating that dish at home I would probably sauce the tagliatelle very lightly, then twirl it in a big ladle, in order for it to make a pleasing looking mound on the plate; then once on the plate, knap it with a little more sauce, shingle the slices of chicken breast on top, and lay about a 1 inch wide stripe of sauce across them. The grated cheese Callie offered to sprinkle over brings a savory nuttiness and some salt to cut through the richness of the olive oil in the sauce. Toasted breadcrumbs would be a good option also.

Visually and architecturally the building is a gem. Stella's owners wisely decided not to meddle with the winning combination of vintage dark wood paneling, that beautiful long bar, and kept the main dining room open to the rooftop skylight. The interior manages to look classic, yet modern at the same time.

Restaurants with hard surfaces low overhead usually amplify the sounds in the room. Diners raise their voices to make themselves heard, which, once everyone is doing it, worsens the problem. At one dinner at a packed Del Frisco's in Manhattan, we had to shout to speak to the person sitting next to us. At Stella Pasta Bar, on the other hand, the overhead space and the generous space between tables make normal conversation easy, and private. White linen tablecloths in the dining room add just a bit of formality.

If you are in the mood for excellent Italian food and some good conversation Stella's is a great choice.

Vegetarian options: You can devise a pasta bar dish that is meatless and seafoodless very easily, plus there are other meatless entrees, and some seafood ones. Almost all the salads are vegetarian. Most of the starters are.

Parking: Street parking is available, but Stella i

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Salad

Wild mushroom ravioli. Pasta. Caccio y peppe. All 5 star choices. Pasta is cooked perfectly every time with a doughey texture that surpasses al dente. Wine and cocktail selections are stellar. Desert options all incredible. Price is EXTREMELY fair given quality of food. It's a must.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A wonderful location for a bridal shower! General manager and day of staff were friendly and attentive. Reasonable food and drink packages for an event and our brunch menu was delicious. We would absolutely recommend!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was good. Service was good.

Oh man, where to begin. Went here with a friend for happy hour on the patio - we have been before and have had good meals both as carry out and in-house. We had a round of beers that were solid and ordered fried raviolis and a pizza. Food took about 50 minutes to come out after ordering. It was hardly busy but we didn't make a stink about waiting because it was a nice evening to sit outside and we were enjoying our beverages.

However, the real reason for writing this review is because of the pizza. We were literally stunned by it and you could tell from the second that it was placed on the table that it was not going to be good. I'm writing this a few days later and am still shocked that that was served to us. We each took a slice because we didn't want to judge a book by it's cover but wow - it was practically inedible. We ordered the Pesto Chicken pizza. It was drenched in oil, the ricotta was overcooked and placed on the pizza way too early, there were a few shreds of other cheese that wasn't melted, and the chicken was overcooked and dry (with one small strip on each slice).

I cook pizza pretty frequently and this crust had all the markings of crust that was frozen and then not given enough time to thaw and rise before cooking. It was dense, chewy and gray. The dough was also undercooked (and soggy because of the amount of oil) and there was a ton of char on the pizza pan?

We were stunned and so disappointed. We let the waitress know and told her we'd pay for it (of course it wasn't her fault!) but wanted to give her a heads up to check in with the kitchen about it. No way they were ok with sending something like that out. Looked for management staff on the way out to give a heads up too but didn't see anyone. We don't plan on coming back which is such a bummer because the patio (and the beer!) is so solid.

P.S. One other thing that my friend noticed (as a former server) was the waitress bring someone else's food out with the plate tucked into her neck and her face in the food....

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 2

This is a gem in the Stockade section of Schenectady. The building is beautiful inside and out. The service was good although we never got the specials read to us. Didn’t matter since we were there for the lobster ravioli, and it was excellent.

The veggie sides of sugar snap peas and broccoli rabe were a bit tough though. It was hard to get past the stems on both the pea pods and rabe. Always hate to be critical, and hoping it helps, but it made the sides a waste and left you hungry for something to fill the void.

That said, the berry tiramisu and creme brûlée was 5 star!

We will definitely be back to sample the menu more - it all looks delicious!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad

Everything was excellent!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

By far the best food you’ll get in the area with incredible prices. Every item on the menu is a 10/10

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My family went here before a show at Proctors. We were very disappointed. Half out orders were incorrect. Despite having reservations, there was reluctance to seat us even though the table was open. Service was crazy slow. My signature drink which was pricey was all of 1/4 cup. Absolutely not worth the money.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Waited an hour to receive bread and a soda.
Soda was flat, bread was very good.
Meal came, and I was very unimpressed.
Chicken parm was ultra thin, pasta portion was small at best. It came with a salad. Basically, all dressing options were a form of vinaigrette.
Honestly, it's not worth coming at all.
Burger Kings chicken sandwiches are bigger.
The wife got a whooping 6 raviolis.
SMH......

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmesan, Stella Salad with White Balsamic, Salad

The food is fabulous! Wait staff very good. We don’t care for jazz, but we just overlook that. Chicken and eggplant parm are delicious. Caesar salad is delicious. Bar only has local liquor, so that was the only negative for us. Will be going back soon.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Vodka Sauce

We hosted a family reunion in the private upstairs that was a fantastic party. I was a regular at the Van Dyck and Stella's owners have done a great job maintaining and extending the classic space- the vintage bar, French doors, and clean decor set a warm, inviting atmosphere. The open ceiling with exposed timbers takes the character to the next level. And the chef(s) are amazing- our guests raved about the food (the wild mushroom ravioli and meat sauce were mouth-wateringly good). The service was great too, topping off an all around fantastic evening. I highly recommend it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

First and last time patron. Service was way to slow. 20 minutes for our salads to arrive. 50 minutes for a plate of pasta is ridiculous! Too many other issues to list.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 2