Stella's

Authentic dining in Taos. The ambiance alone is worth going. Great menu including vegetarian and gluten free and surprisingly good wine list at reasonable prices. A locally owned Italian restaurant complete with antipasto plate. Even if you don’t want Italian you should go. Good portions and good prices. Not fast food and hopefully Marco will tell you a joke or two. No regrets.

Stella’s Italian Restaurant is a true hidden gem. Upon arrival, we had just 45 minutes, yet the service was impressively prompt. I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan, while my wife enjoyed the Spaghetti alla Bolognese; both dishes were exceptional and certainly worthy of five stars. For our son, we ordered the Pepperoni Pizza, and the flavor of the dough was remarkable—fresh, flavorful, and perfectly balanced. We finished the evening with a gluten-free chocolate cake that was the perfect finale to our meal. Stella’s delivers an outstanding dining experience. Given the realities of small-town staffing, service may sometimes take a bit longer, but it’s well worth the wait. Relax with a glass of wine, soak in the cozy ambiance, and prepare for an unforgettable meal.

Summary: Do not eat here if you have Celiac disease. Also, this place is run by a very rude owner. We visited this restaurant last night after researching gluten free restaurants in Taos. My wife has celiac disease so we were happy to see numerous mentions of gluten free options on the menu. We had reservations right when they open at 5:00 (our two young kids eat early). We were seated and the owner took our order. I mentioned to him that my wife has celiac to double check that they could accommodate. His response was quite strange. He kept repeating that “We are an Italian restaurant.” and “We have cheese on everything.” He does not seem to know what gluten is despite the numerous mentions on the menu. I, again, tried to explain to the owner that my wife has a disease so I needed to understand if they could accommodate. I point blank asked if we should find a different restaurant to eat. He assured me they could accommodate and brushed off his comments as “dry Italian humor.” While we waited for our food, many of the staff members arrived. If you plan on visiting this place, you probably don’t want the first reservation. The food arrived and my wife’s gluten free lemon chicken dish had a piece of bread on the plate. Anyone with celiac dreads this moment. I had to inform them that they would need to remake the dish instead of just removing the bread. The owner heard that we sent the dish back and yelled the f word, loud enough that my kids heard. A nice lady stopped by our table to assure us that they would remake the dish, that the kitchen knows what to do, and that the owner just forgot to list gluten free on the order. I ordered a piece of chocolate cake for the kids which, while it was listed as gluten free on the menu, they said was not appropriate for someone with celiac. They did end up comping the dessert.