Stellina

This is, without a doubt, the best fine dining Italian kitchen in Montreal as of the time I'm writing this review. The atmosphere was good, the service was excellent, but let's face it, you're here to learn about the food. And the food was phenomenal. We took the sharing option for 4 people and almost sampled the whole menu. Everything is done in beautiful simplicity. There aren't 72 ingredients per plate, but rather just a few flavours that shine in every bite. The raw appetizers (carpaccio and branzino) were well seasoned and garnished. The zucchini flowers were packed with flavour and the octopus was grilled just right, which is not an easy feat even for big chefs. The focaccia is in a league of its own. It was unapologetically oily. It's reminding you that you're not here to diet ; you're here to make your tastebuds feel alive! It was sublime. The pasta plates... Well, this is not a commercial kitchen trying to produce as many spaghetti bolognese per hour as they can. This is a kitchen where the chef seems to be cooking what he likes, and you can feel it in every plate. Everything was well balanced and delicious. The meat! Great cut, great meat quality. It beats most big and fancy steakhouses in town, but I wasn't here for the steak. What I'll say is if you have a celiac person in your party who can't have pasta, they will certainly enjoy the steak. If they're both celiac and vegan, well you need new friends. The desserts! They went simple. I was worried. It's a gamble, but it's a winning one. It works. The panna cotta is to die for and the torta caprese could break couples if there was only 1 slice left at the end of the night. Finally, the wine selection and recommendations were great. If you want a better Italian meal, you're going to have to book yourself a plane ticket to Italy, drive to an Italian village and try to charm an old nonna into adopting you for a day. I'll be back soon to try whatever is left on the menu!

Amazing experience at Stelina ! Our waiter Jeffrey was so helpful. Unbelievably they have home made gluten free pasta which was delicious! We will definitely come back !