La Stella Trattoria in Nanaimo

Absolutely one of the loveliest dinner spots I have been to in Nanaimo. The service was fantastic, very warm and accommodating. The pizza was perfect, and a really wonderful selection of wines to pair with your food. Perfect spot for a beautiful and intimate dinner

A must in Nanaimo, if you havent been here your missing out and are not a food lover!!

My boyfriend works here and eating here has great service and delicious food I love how they make there pizza here

Just amazing, It s mine and my partners favourite place in town and we have a had a very hard time finding a pizza spot that beats this place!

We went out for dinner with another couple tonight and WOW. I appreciate good quality food. This place is my new favourite. I had the gnocchi and braised beef. Omg. I ll be having this every time. Can t wait to go back.

Nice little spot with good people. I had a pasta dish, it was okay, but not the best Ive ever had. Good portions for the price though.

Great food, good location. When we made a online reservation well in advance we had got the confirmation but somehow the email got lost when we told to show it and our table wasn t available but they made accommodation for us at the bar which was great! Food

Amazing little spot, fantastic atmosphere is matched by the food. Every single staff member was friendly and efficient. Despite it being very busy, I felt very well attended to. Definitely recommend.

The food here is great!

Excellent restaurant. Very tasty food

Long time La Stella customer and last night we ordered takeout. I paid the bill adding tip as usual only to wait another 10 minutes for gnocchi to be ready. Meanwhile the pizza sat under warming lights getting colder and less appetizing. When the order was finally ready the pizza box was luke warm at best. When I raised this with the server she agreed with a shrug that it was warm. To spend over $70 bucks for two people on take out and the pizza isnt even hot, and gnocchi portion is tiny is super disappointing. They refunded cost of pizza (didnt comp it) but not the tip! Trying to support local businesses and getting crappy, overpriced service is lame. We will not be back.

The food was really good. Everything we ordered came out really good. We ordered ham and mushrooms pizza, mortadella. For dessert tiramisu is a must have. P.S. Linnaea was an amazing server. Food

Don t want your time here they put you in line and then after waiting they send you home. Not cool.

Everything was delicious. But I do wish they offered more non alcoholic drinks. No ice tea etc. Basically only Coke and water.

Excellent service, FRESH food, and atmosphere. Plenty of vegetarian options.

Stopped in for pizza and a salad. They were both great. Service and atmosphere are very nice. Go early the place fills up fast. They also take reservations

The restaurant has a great atmosphere, ideal for a romantic dinner. Food was delicious and the service was great! Highly recommend checking it out

First time there! The pizza was amazing!! The service was awesome!! But its a little loud in there!! No worries, though. We will definitely be back !!

I ve only spent a day or two in Italy but I remember it like this. Excellent.

Simply one of the best Italian pasta Ive had in a long time!

One of my favourite places in Nanaimo! Love every dish I ve tried! Arancini, meatballs, gnocchi, tortelli, & prosciutto + funghi pizza. Food

I went to La Stella Trattoria with friends (group of 6) on Saturday, June 29. We arrived at 5:30 pm, and since we did not have a reservation, we signed up on a waitlist. They said we could get a table at 8 pm. We killed time around downtown Nanaimo for 2.5 hours. Just before 8 pm, we went back and were told that our table was unavailable. The hostess told us we would have to wait 30 more minutes, and there was nothing she could do. She did not offer an apology. The restaurant s patio area was closed for service, but since it was raining heavily and there was no room inside to wait, we pulled some chairs to have a seat while we waited for a table to become available. Shortly after we sat in the patio the chef came out and told us the patio was closed. We told him we had been waiting since 5:30 pm to get a table. We were about to explain that we would rearrange the chairs once we were ready to be seated inside, but he stormed off, visibly frustrated. After waiting for another 30 minutes, we arranged the patio chairs and went in to check on the status of our table. The hostess told us that the chef felt disrespected and would not serve us that night. We asked to speak to the chef to clarify any possible misunderstanding, but the hostess told us the chef would not be talking to us and that we should leave a message with her instead. I understand the restaurant was busy, and the staff were probably having a stressful time. However, these issues could have been avoided with a bit more communication and a bit more attention to customer service. I won t be returning, and I do not recommend this restaurant since their staff was rude and wasted 3 hours of my time. If the restaurant manager or staff reads this, I hope they will take this feedback constructively and do better with their future customers.

Incredible homemade pasta and lovely atmosphere and service!

Great Italian spot in the Old City Quarter. Everything we had was great, but the pizzas and arancini were particular standouts. The Calabrese Pizza was my personal favorite. Friendly service and a good wine menu as well

The hoster was super rude and the pizza was nothing spectacular

This is the first time dining at this establishment and the reason I decided to pick this place for a family birthday dinner was the positive reviews and menu options. I love the idea of sharing plates especially when you have picky eaters in the group. The Antipasti s - arancini, meatballs and crostone - were a hit. The pizzas didn t disappoint. And we were challenged by the selection of desserts to choose from - we opted for cannoli s, tiramisu, panna cotta, and gelato - delicious! No one left hungry. The environment is friendly and the service was very good. We will definitely be back to try the other dishes on the menu, they all looked yummy. Grazie per il pasto delizioso!

Excellent food! Far exceeded expectations.Authentic restaurants in Italy would be hard pressed to compete!

Another great meal, always a favorite

Friendly service, fantastic menu (could have eaten everything on it), and delicious food. They even accommodated a special request for our young daughter.

This restaurant was a pleasant surprise. We had intended to go to a different restaurant but found it closed so this was the next closest. We were lucky they were able to find us a table, I would recommend making reservations if you plan to go. This food and service were outstanding and the atmosphere was calm and pleasant even though the restaurant was at capacity. The menu is small but dedicated to authentic Italian cuisine. It was really a very pleasant dining experience.

Love it here. Great variety in the menu. Cater to allergies.

Best pizza in Nanaimo. Always great service. And Tarrell is always a real gentleman

Outstanding Tiramisu. I was craving for Tiramisu since a long time and the Tiramisu they served made my day. Just perfect and a must try!

So delicious, kind service, and an overall great vibe. Our new favourite spot in Nanaimo hands down. They even have a really amazing gluten free pasta and dairy free pesto!

Always a great experience, the pizza and pasta is top notch.

Wood fire pizza is the must here. Crispy and fluffy and not soggy. I would recommend to reserve the seat in advance even in the weekday.

Great pizza! Sitting up at the bar and seeing the pizzas made in front of you was also very fun. The chef was talented and spoke with us even if he was pretty busy. Prices were very fair and the quality and service were top notch.

Wow!!! We dropped in for a snack due to delayed ferry, just incredible food and service. Oven roasted beets with slight smoky notes and Funghi pizza we will be back!!

By far, best pizza I ve had in the NW! Friend had the pistachio pesto pasta excellent!!!

The service here is always great however, my friend and I recently went for a belated birthday dinner as, it s usually our favourite place to go but, I m sad to say that it s no longer the same as it once was. Everything tasted and looked pre-made or pre-packaged. We ordered many of the same dishes we normally do but, it wasn t very good. The kale Caesar was very stem-y and missing prosciutto, the garlic bread was missing the whole roasted garlic cloves, the meatballs were flavourless and compressed (like they came from a package) and the gnocchi was complete mush. I m sad to say that I don t think we ll be back. Curious to know if anyone else feels the same.

Tried gnocchi with beef ragu. Tasted pretty good. Liked the atmosphere pretty much as well. I came super early but in the busier times you better make a reservation

Im a pasta snob and La Stella is the best! Amazing desserts too. Good value for the price, appie, drinks, dinner, dessert all amazing

Favorite pizza place in town! I personally love ordering their takeout as the service can be a little bit slow for my preference! However, grabbing a couple of zas and going to the beach to catch a sunset makes for an amazing west coast night :) I am also routinely impressed with the prices, when you pay the same price at any pizza chain for a fraction of the quality it makes it a no brainer to support a local business!

Hands down the best Margherita pizza I have ever had! Service is super friendly and the atmosphere is fantastic. And again, that tomato sauce is really something else!

Amazing pizza, very nice atmosphere, this place is great for dates, friends and family ! And the service was quick and friendly Vegetarian options: Lots of vegetarian options on the menu for pasta, pizza and appys

A Google search suggested La Stella Trattoria. It was a great recommendation and did not disappoint! The portion size was reasonable for the price. As we had a late lunch but needed to catch the last ferry, we only ordered the kale salad and the pepperoni pizza to share. The salad was flavorful, topped with lots of parm, and had crisp, house-made croutons. It was a thin crust pizza with a soft, chewy dough. It was not greasy at all! Well be back to try some of the pastas.

This place has the delightful feeling of a restaurant-kitchen where folks are always genuinely happy to see you, and the bustle never feels hectic, but rather warm and inviting. Ive not been enough times to have established favourites, but you really cant go wrong, and these folks have the best pizza in town, by far. I do love the kale cesar and the garlic bread is phenomenal - they also have a fun cocktails list and desserts are amazing (e.g. ice cream pistachio carrot cake, or some such sorcery), so really from start to finish, whats not to love? They seem to do a quarterly/seasonal menu switch up, though a number of dishes are continued throughout the year. Run dont walk if you are craving Italian food in Nanaimo.

Everything I tried was amazing! Cant wait to go back! Service was great, food was fabulous.

Says open till 9 on Sunday and they place is locked up lights off its 7:55

One of the best restaurants in Nanaimo. Their pizza is great; their pastas are excellent. Dietary restrictions: The offer gluten free pasta

The food is amazing IF they actually answer the phone.

Margharita is quite good. Can be recommended. Pepperoni is too much American. Personally I m not a big fan of this kind of recipe.

Ive been here many times since they opened, generally good consistent food and service, my only complaint , if you want to call it one, is that the pizza crust often seems a little under cooked and very soggy in the middle, still very tasty though!!!!

Food was great (we didnt love the cannoli), and the service was excellent. We will love to visit again. Food

Came here for a birthday dinner, and they were fantastic. I have a garlic intolerance and they went above and beyond - providing me with what I could have and even offering to make some substitutions to a couple dishes to make them garlic free. I will definitely come back!

We sat at the bar because the restaurant was full, this was a fun experience watching the pizzas and dishes being made! Boy those staff are busy! We split pizza and pasta .both dishes were fantastic but the pizza wow! We also had the Arancini to start which were amazing. The serving sizes were so big we had tons of yummy leftovers to take home and the price of our meal for what we got wasn t bad at all .

Great service and lovely atmosphere. We had the pasta which was fresh and delicious. Tiramisu was one of the best I ve ever had.

Incredibly delicious! We had a great time sitting at the bar watching the chef make pizza. Had the arancini, cavatelli pasta and squash and bacon pizza and it was un-freaking-believable. Friendly staff and very cozy atmosphere. Absolutely loved it.

Mmmm! The pizza and gnocchi were amazing. So fun sitting at the bar watching all the appies and pizza be made. Hidden gem!

Great food, great service!

Unfortunately couldnt even get seated or greeted by the staff when we arrived. Literally entered and stood at the front of the restaurant waiting to be addressed or seated (or offered to be put on the waiting list for a table) for five minutes without so much as a glance from the wait staff. Once we finally got the attention of the staff, we ultimately decided to leave due to the complete lack of attentive service.

La Stella was my weekly dinner place when I worked in Nanaimo every weekend last summer. They makes the BEST pizza on the island and pepperoni pizza is die for. If you are not into pizza, their short rib gnocchi is my top recommendation but the pasta with nori seaweed was just as good when I tried my buddys. When I dined in solo, I usually sat on a bar seat watching them making pizzas which is very impressive. Im sad I dont go to Nanaimo often but Ill surely go there when I have any opportunities to go to Nanaimo!

Excellent food and service !

The pizza was excellent and we had great service!

Great food and service

I would choose this as my last meal.

Omg, where to start, excellent staff, friendly just really well done Ladies. Food super,, kale salad fabulous, enough for 4. Gnocchi for stellar, just right, . A new experience for us who has dined all over Nanaimo, but you guys are are lovely to dine at. Thannkyoi

Meh. We came here with our kids in a desperate attempt to break free of the typical type restaurants we take our kids to (montanas and white spot) we just wanted something a bit more grown up that my husband and I could enjoy and still had options the kids would like, but the kids pasta wasn t very good and mine was good but nothing to write home about. My hubby had gnocchi which he said was so salty. Also, I m not sure if the waitress didn t feel we would drink alcohol because we were with our kids but the only beverage she outright offered us was water. Then it was nearly impossible for us to flag her down to pay the bill. Eventually I chased her into the bar area to pay her. All in all I was a bit disappointed and am not likely to return.

It was not my first time in La Stella but I m not sure if I ll be back. Gnocchi was not just overcooked, it was mushy. Risotto was watery. Both ok taste wise. Meatballs were good. Waitress offered fresh decaf coffee for the complimentary bd desert and it sounded like complimentary coffee too because she said she has fresh pot made just now and we can have it so we said ok , we will have it. Then coffee showed on the bill it was taken off after we told them how it sounded when she offered. Nice little restaurant but far away from Italian trattoria

Incredible gluten free pasta, and amazing service! The ideal spot for a great date night.

We ve stopped here a few times on our way to the ferry back to the mainland and we re always blown away by how delicious the food is, not to mention the excellent service! The pepperoni miso pizza is incredible from the house made pepperoni to the fire oven crust. The pasta is also amazing! I highly recommend this place! Next time we are in Nanaimo we will definitely be back.

Good food, great wine, wonderful service, nice ambience. We ordered the gaspacho , prosciutto, mixed olives, gnocchi, and linguine. The waitress made sure it was gluten free. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening out. Thank you.

My favourite part of this visit was the appies! Sooooooo good! We had the rissotto balls, wonderful, if you order them, be sure to scoop all that wonderful garlicky sauce from the bottom onto them! The beet thingy was so darn good! The fusilli was very, very yummy. The chocolate wafer with the matching ice-cream was heavenly, such a pleasant evening. Now I want to paint my ceiling blood red too!

We love this restaurant. Great food and service. I am trying to sample every appetizer on the menu - especially love the carpaccio and wood-fired beets.

Loved everything about this Italian restaurant. I havent had good Italian food in a very long time this over met my expectations. Service was excellent, food was delicious, price was reasonable. Definitely going back. Ordered *Potatoe pizza (has some sort of blue cheese on it, forgot the name of the cheese, which I am NOT a fan off however, it worked with al lthe flavors) was very good. (Must try) *Carpaccio (must try) *Baked beets *Meat balls *My friends got *Ricotta ravioli *And gluten-free pasta (tomatoes base suace)

Best neopolitan wood fired style pizza Ive had outside Italy! Ive spent the past two years making pizza in my ooni and perfecting what I like best in a Naples pizza, just got back from Italy and Naples last month, and this is up there with what I like in a pizza! Nice crust colour, small blisters on the crust, super thin centre, great sauce and cheese portion! Only critique is the dough could have used more ferment and flavour (for me).

Food and our server Nigel was amazing. Great prices

We recently moved out of Nanaimo, but I wanted to give a positive shout out to a business we love. We ate at La Stellas prior to covid and had a great experience. The restaurant was clean, we had great service, the food is delicious, and we especially love that much of the food is locally sourced, home-made, and cultured (sourdough, creams, etc). During COVID, we were fairly pleased with how they navigated the provinces requirements. Of course, food is always best fresh, at the table, but we continued to order take-out throughout the pandemic and be very pleased with the service and quality. There was a mixup on one of our orders at one point, and the staff were very gracious and quick to remedy the issue. Im glad their business is thriving and have a new location! We especially love the pizzas and salads. We highly recommend La Stellas for locals and visitors!

This restaurant, Bistro Taiyo, Nori, and Gabriels are objectively the best restaurants in Nanaimo, and it is not even close. La stella serves high-quality italian food, and you can really taste the difference in texture and flavor. Overall a well deserved 5 stars.

Good atmosphere, great food, but welcome to the salt lick. If I come back it will be without salt added. 3 cheese pizza was almost not edible due to salt. Crust was great! My gnocchi was over cooked and soft, but sausage raghu was nice.

Love this place. I brought my husband here for an anniversary dinner and we both had delicious meals! The beef carpaccio (raw thinly sliced beef with sweet potato crisps) was out of this world! The roasted beets were also amazing. I had the bacon gnocchi which was delicious (but have to say the beef gnocchi was my favorite #bringitbackplease). Hubby had the Parma ham and arugula pizza which is his favorite. The atmosphere is nice, quaint little restaurant in the old city. Its worth a try.

Awesome wood fired pizza in Nanaimo BC! Really enjoyed our meal and the pizzas are very reasonably priced. We ordered the bacon pizza and prosciutto arugula pizza. The bacon pizza is very SALTY, very good if you are a fan of salt but be weary of this. Otherwise meal was awesome!

Everything was excellent. Go there if you can.

Very good experience ~ Dessert is very delicious ~ Food

We ate at La Stella Trattoria on Wesley St. for the first time tonight and they were incredible dealing with my son s multiple anaphylactic allergies and my husband s allergies. We contacted them ahead of time and the chef marked a menu for our table with items we could safely order. The food was incredible and the service even better. Such a nice ambiance too. Will definitely be going back! Dietary restrictions: Very good with accommodating multiple allergies.

We had dinner on Sunday night.We ordered cucumber salat and Agnolotti.Cucumber salat was that good.I like Agnolotti dish, it was so testy! I recommended this place for everyone who likes a loud atmosphere and perfect service.

Meh, overall not so great, had pizza, spaghetti with meatballs, bread with oil and balsamic, and a sangria, not a bad meal, but not a great one either.

Best food I had on my entire 10 day trip. Was delicious and flavorsome! 10/10

First time at this restaurant for all of us. Food was AMAZING, hot, fresh and incredibly flavourful. 3 had pasta dishes and 3 had pizzas, all were super happy with our choices and thoroughly enjoyed our food. Service was great too, super friendly and knowledgeable. We will all come back for sure .just wish we lived closer so we could make it a weekly treat.

My wife has spent months trying to convince me that La Stella is the best restaurant in Nanaimo. She was proven right tonight . We sat at the bar and shared three dishes which were all exquisitely prepared and presented . It was only public embarrassment and decorum that prevented me from licking my plate . Take my wife s advice and experience La Stella for yourself and try a seat at the bar , where you experience first hand the ingenuity and efficiency that makes this place special .

What a shame the service is so bad here, desperately slow and generally disorganised with nobody evident in charge. Seated but no drinks order taken, eventually someone took the order, 30 minutes wait for mains with no appitizers and the restaurant was only half full! The food when it eventually arrived was good and we were fortunate to get both our meals at the same time which was not the case on other tables meals arriving individually over 5 to 10 mins on a table of 4! The atmosphere was tense among diners and arriving guests, waiting for a long time to be seated, for tables to be cleared and re-laid which made for an uncomfortable atmosphere being watched by the people standing around. No apparent shortage of staff but I really think they need to be managed a lot better if they hope to compete in such a competitive market.

Best pizza in Nanaimo

We loved loved loved this little gem of a restaurant. It was fully booked when we arrived but we loitered for a little while and the friendly staff were able to bag us a table on the terrace outside, under a beautiful tree. The pasta was EXCELLENT, really, cannot recommend highly enough, and the wine was also good. Only wish we lived nearer so we could go back. Would recommend you reserve a table to be sure you get to eat here. Vegetarian options: The asparagus was DELICIOUS

Asked for a table for 5. Looked at my 2 teens and she said that they had No tables for that many people!! Told us to try another place. We did..Greek restaurant 1 block over and it was superb!!

So good! So tasty! Large size portions , delicious food , attentive gals around - will certainly be back ! P.s. There were three caniollis on the plate , but we have got so excited to try them on so that I completely forgot to take a picture of them! And they were simply divine! Parking: You need to be one of the early customers in order to park near the front of the restaurant . But there are other parking options in the neighborhood, all good!

Really delicious dinner spot in a cute area of Nanaimo. We enjoyed dinner and some wine on the patio area on a lovely summer afternoon. The merlot and sangria were great, and we enjoyed the kale caesar salad and several pizzas. We recommend the fungi pizza, since the lemon olive oil was really delicious. Grab a reservation beforehand, as it gets busy on the weekends!

we went there coz of the reviews I haven t had bad food in long time first the bread was almost completely burnt ok we didn t have to pay for it they call this gnocchi !!! so spicy the pizza were burnt, to salty and spicy we waited almost 1 hour for our food sorry not again

We came here after having arrived fairly late in Nanaimo. The hostess/waitress was very hesitant to seat us as I guess they were near closing the kitchen but decided to make an exception and we sat outside. We just got the tomato mozzarella salad at the Argentinian shrimp (special) pasta. Apparently the pasta is made in house and the sauces certainly taste extremely fresh. We were so pleasantly surprised by the flavours and deliciousness. Can t say we got the best service outside at that hour but we were still happy to be fed before bed in a foreign city.

I couldnt believe after spending $25 dollars not including tip, such a meager amount of food for the price. Its pasta... it should be loaded not micro amount. Extremely disappointed and dissatisfied.

Wonderful date night spot! Had the gnocchi, was a bit rich but oh so good. Also had a pizza, spicy (we were told when ordering) and it was fantastic!!! House bread was wonderful. Our server was super nice and booking a reservation online was easy! Can not wait to return!

Pasta and pizza delicious but bit too salty for my taste.

Possibly the best Italian food Ive ever had! The meatballs were excellent and the real white Bolognese rigatoni was unreal! You gotta eat here if youre in Nanaimo.

The food was amazing, there was a girl with long dark curly hair who was so so lovely. The hostess was so so so rude though. It felt that she was talking about me to the other waitresses. I don t know, everything was great but the girls did seem judgmental and not the warmest especially for the hostess

Absolutely love this place! Great food great service top notch!

The food is not bad, but just that the service is too too slow. I walked in and waited 10 minutes for someone just to see me and help me seated, and took a long time to give me a menu. Also took a very long time to wait to order and the server just walk pass many time and ignored me. After ordering, it took 30-45 minutes just to get 2 fish to my table, which is pizza and the spaghetti served with beef to my table, which is very very slow. As I said the food is not bad but just their service and the speed is very very slow, not to suggest you to come here if you are in a rush.

Best italian food I ve eaten in YEARS (and I live in France)

Delicious food, excellent service, so fun to watch the pizzas being made!

Great food . Make sure you reserve.

I found this one on Google maps and visited on Sept 1 2023 at 630 p.m. It was a full house and a few people waiting to get in on a beautiful evening. They have some seating outside and the majority is inside. For a space at the bar for one where I could watch the food being made (great!) there was no wait and I got right in. Very cute spot. Perfect for a couples night and I saw small groups as well. They form up the pizza dough by hand and its cooked in a wood fire oven. The two pizza guys never ever stop moving. Wow! These guys really hustle. Clearly very practiced at their trade. Great serving staff. Very professional while working with a full house. A very friendly greeting right from the outset and prompt service provided throughout. I saw one waiter addressing a small error in an order and he too was very professional. This is not a competitor to dominos. Not one bit! They have a number of other items on their menu that are not pizza, they serve wine, and .... are you kidding me this is a completely different product! I had the Calabrese pizza. I believe it was 23$ for about a 10 or 12 inch pizza. It was amazing. Really excellent. Some if the best pizza I have had in my life. Im 56 and I like pizza so thats saying something. Excellent service, great food and great value for money at a cool and cute place. What else do you want? If youre looking for pizza/Italian youre not going wrong at La Stella.

My daughter and I visited, busy little place, so I suggest to make a reservation. It looked like a great spot so we waited and ended up sitting at the bar. The food was great. We each had pizza, hands down the best I ve had in a while. Service was good, atmosphere was nice as well. Was clean and the noise level was not too high. Some entertainment as well watching them make pizzas. I recommend it.

Simple ingredients, well executed. Both our pizza and pasta were great at what could be a tourist trap! Wish we were staying longer to try more of the menu.

The smell of pizza was so attractive that we sat down, but unfortunately we had a ferry soon and we already had lunch so we got sweets. The sweets were panna cotta and chocolate tart. Panna cotta was ultimately the best one, it s much lighter than chocolate tart. While chocolate tart was good, the salt on it was too salty and I was having chills down my spine because it was too sweet and salty at the same time. If you are looking for the sweetest dessert, this is it. It s not for me but the texture was good. Also a special creme and ice cream next to it. The coffee had a different aroma than what you usually get as filtered coffee, it was close the red wine but oddly addicting. Our waitress was the nicest waitress I have ever met in BC. Thank you!

Excellent Italian restaurant, truly one of the best I have tried. The pizzas are succulent, hearty and very generous (cooked over a wood fire) and the ravioli are to die for. Very wide choice of pizzas and other Italian dishes, its copious and very tasty. Beautiful decoration and above all superb service, fast, efficient and smiling, a nice surprise.

In a quaint area of old Nanaimo. Great casual atmosphere . Food, wine and service all fantastic. Dishes came out super hot and pasta was very fresh and delicious. Our server was wonderful. Overall excellent experience

There were 5 of us there last evening. We managed to get place to sit outside. We shared four different options including beets, pasta, pizza and risotto. Each dish was more delicious than the other! Very fresh, very smooth, very easy on the palate; and, I dont know if youll get me, the food had .... feel! It was made with some delicate ingredients of human sentiment... Late evening, a full house; yet excellent service, clean and inviting environs. Thank you, people at La Stella. And yes, we all had the vegetarian options for all 4 orders; surprised to get them, and bowled over by their deliciousness!

Pasta was amaz.

The tomato salad with fresh mozzarella was seasoned just right and the tomatoes were so sweet. The pizza and risotto were great. The tiramisu was just a tad too sweet and heavy. Would definitely come back! Prices were reasonable too. Thank you!

We had dinner here and were surprised. There were a number of original dishes on the menu as can be seen in one of the photos. The food was also very tasty, the service did its best to take care of your table and there was a nice atmosphere in the building. This pepperoni pizza is one of the better pizzas I have eaten. This place is definitely recommended if you fancy Italian food!

We shared the butter lettuce pear and pistachio salad with the most delicious creamy Gorgonzola cheese dressing. I had the Mortadella pizza and my partner had pepperoni. Both fabulous. Our server was lovely, attentive without us feeling rushed in any way. All round excellent experience!

We went there because of the reviews, but honestly, I dont know how this place got so many good reviews. Out of the three pizzas that we ordered, two were burnt, and all of them were over-salted. Its important to mention that they DONT offer stuffed pizza crust and have a VERY limited choice of pizzas. We didnt expect this from an Italian PIZZERIA restaurant. We also ordered Gnocchi with braised beef, and it was also over-salted. The only good thing was the dessert (cannoli), BUT they brought the coffee like 10 minutes before dessert, even though we ordered coffee WITH the desert and wanted to have it together, so the dessert part was a disappointment as well. Oh, and it was much pricier than Italian places in Vancouver. Do not recommend this place

Such a Treat!! Fabulous food and staff . and FUN atmosphere!!

Hands down worth the price tag. Food and staff were outstanding.

We had the loveliest server who did a great job serving our group of seven. Food was yummy and ambience was great!

We were a party of three, and we indulged in the celery salad, roasted beet salad and kale Caesar, followed by three pasta dishes: gnocchi with braised beef, rigatoni and cavatelli. The rigatoni had a generous amount of prawns and the squid ink bread crumbs were a nice touch, the gnocchi were soft but not doughy and the cavatelli a creamy, tasty homemade sausage dish. All were delicious. Portions were generous, we could easily have shared a pasta dish between two people, but that didnt stop us from ordering cannoli for dessert which we shared, and it was worth it. Best cannoli Ive had. Our server was delightful, a total professional with a friendly manner. We sat close to the pizza oven and enjoyed the view, not too noisy for an older crowd like us.

Twas bomb.

We loved dining at La Stella. We shared a fungi risotto followed by a squash and bacon pizza. Both were fantastic. Highly Recommended

Always fresh and delicious, with fabulous service.

Looked like amazing food with a great menu. We got our appy and the waitress continued to ask us if we needed any more drinks etc... Our food never showed up. So i called her over and said we did order food didnt we? She said nope, i only got your appetizer We waited 40 min. And she totally forgot our order. Tried to put it on us, but we 100% both know we ordered off the menu. Hopefully a better experience next time.

Cracking pizza and good service.

La Stella Trattoria is... otherworldly. The rabbit pâte and arancini were unbelievable. Italian food better than Ive ever had. Where have you been all my life???

Very good pizzas, quality and service in Nanaimo. Good price. Recommendable!

The best Italian place on the whole island in my opinion. Super tasty authentic pizza and pasta. Very sweet staff as well! 10/10 will visit again. Amazing!!

Ryan is by far one of the most talented chefs we know a n d La Stella has remained one of our favourite restaurants on the Island!

Fabulous place....Amazing food...great Staff...a must if in Nanaimo. Any restaurant that has a wood fired oven is seriously committed to quality. Not an easy task.

Chill Italian place is a groovy neighborhood. Absolutely loved the arancini! Definitely try that and the sausage and pepper pizza. So good ^_^ the shushito can get a little spicy. Staff were friendly and the service was quick.

Had the pleasure of dining here May 28,2022. Fabulous service. Excellent food. Properly seasoned, spicy where appropriate, hubby LOVED the arancini (hint: ask for a small bowl of heated marinara sauce for dipping), great Caesar salad. Pizzas were to die for..Excellent crusts, loved the light honey drizzle on the pepperoni! And then the canoli for dessert...omg. Yup..Definitely going here again next time were in town!

The menu was good! But the food was salty!! And We would like to eat italian food but We couldn t! Desserts were tasty and we were happy with dessert !

My partner took me here last night for a date. Our server ( Madison) was very kind and fun, and our food was perfect. This was my second time here, and both experiences were wonderful. Thank you

The best pizza in Nanaimo, hands down!

Incredible food, incredible service, incredible experience all around. We started with the wood fired beets, which, on the face of it doesnt sound all that spectacular, but holy cow. Ridiculously flavourful! We had the prawn pasta and the beef ragu gnocchi, and both were exceptional. Super friendly service, excellent recommendations, and an altogether fantastic evening out!

Nice amount of Cheeeeeese!! (I love it)

Best pizza in Nanaimo. Always fresh tasty plus super easy take out!! Try the risotto balls you won t be disappointed

Good pizza but left me very very thirsty. Potato and Fughi were best. The argula and mariana were salty.

Id make the drive from Victoria to Nanaimo specifically for the pizza here.

Absolutely lovely atmosphere with a menu just the right size. If you are any larger than 2 or during hilidays/events reservations are a must. Service was consistent and the food (Margarita Pizza) was stone oven baked to perfection. Their les Jamelles Clair de Rose was slightly dry to my taste for the margarita puzza but would pair well with a sweet light pasta/salad and you could easily choose one of the sweeter reds to pair better.

I didnt even have the chance to try the food as the staff were so rude telling me that they couldnt accommodate my family of 5, I even pointed 3 available tables for 4 and again they said ...we cant accommodate you. Definitely not coming back! Answer to the owner: at any moment no one mentioned that the place was fully booked, neither I did or the staff, they,just said we cant accommodate you and left! When we asked again ok ..how long? They just again replied you are too many ..., instead of trying to make that you were right, because you were not there, try to make it right, try to do business right! And the place was far from fully booked! You were looking for orders numbers. Close this place and open a 7 eleven ..you will do better.

Visit 2: Im convinced theyve abducted an extra terrestrial and using its advanced knowledge of taste and food from around the galaxy to enhance their food. I will have to visit again. Visit 1: I dont know where they get the magic from, unicorns, dragons or mermaids, but every bite of every dish had something amazing in it. I absolutely will go back to try everything on the menu. Reservations recommended. Vegetarian options: My wife is a pescatarian and she was super happy to see more options for her.

Travelled to Nanaimo, BC and went to this nice place. The gluten free pasta was very well made (a couldnt really tell the difference from the wheat version), the risotto was okay, and the gnocchi had a nice fresh ragu.

Wonderful. Great Italian food good size portions. The ravioli was delicious and the cannoli was to die for. Will definitely go back Lets not forget the service they are very attentive. Parking: Parking on the street

First time visiting Nanaimo and absaloutely loved this place! Great atmosphere, great service, and the best gnocchi Ive ever had!

This place is always incredible. Ive been here at least half a dozen times and it will always be the place I take out-of-towners when they come to visit Nanaimo. Every single person Ive brought here loves it as much as I do. I love that their menu changes with the season, and the portions are more than fair for the price. It baffles me that some of the reviews say that the portions are small - its not Olive Garden! Also the prices are incredibly reasonable for authentic Italian food - the same thing on the mainland would be at least 25% higher in price. Keep doing what youre doing La Stella!

Its better than WestJet frozen ravioli at least

Oversalted. Staff were friendly, but that does not change how bad the pizza was.

Try the roasted beets and zucchini dish. You won t be disappointed. We also had the prawn calamaretti which tasted like being in Nona s kitchen. A special warm summer night eating at an outside table brought back memories of trips to Italy. The service welcoming and outstanding. Highly recommended.

On our family vacation we stopped in at La Stella Trattoria and we re BEYOND impressed!! We all LOVED our meals so much we keep on talking about how much we loved them and how we want to go out of the way to go back before we head back home 100/10 recommend *edit* We did go back! Had the pizza it was delicious as well

So good. Definitely my favourite restaurant in Nanaimo. The arancini balls and miso chilli honey glaze are amazing

Good food and service. Try the pizza and ravioli!

Oh for

We arrived one hour prior to closing, the restaurant wasnt full yet we were denied seating because we had a group of seven people. We dont live in Nanaimo and wanted to try out this restaurant, unfortunately we werent greeting in a welcoming way. We all left feeling as though we werent seated either because the color of our skin or size of our group. Also, Id like to mention there were several tables still available!

I was surprised how good the food was here. Very fresh and packed with flavor. Make sure you order a pizza to share with the table since they have a wood fire oven. We had pizza and pasta and both were amazing. My fave was the fungi pizza.

Amazing braised short rib gnocchi, very nice patio, great service!!

La Stella Trattoria has a unique take on all their dishes. It s a fine blend of light and flavourful on the cusp of brilliance, simply lacking balance. There was a heavy lean on sweetness and fennel. One learns to appreciate it with little bit of table seasoning. We tried the vegetarian menu of the beet salad, potato pizza, fusilli and ravioli. The first two were quite rich and would have benefited from a cut of citrus and chilli. The last two were amazing together, but only together! Where one gained in salt, the other was provided pepper. Overall delighted and greatly appreciated the accommodating service - hoping for more on our next visit.

Excellent service and the food was amazing

Prosciutto is really solid. Pasta is very fresh and flavourful. The sangria is decent. Would visit La Stella Trattoria again.

OMG we may have found a new home in Nanaimo!! We love good food and will travel all the way to Courtenay for a good meal. After three attempts with restaurants last night, we stumbled upon La Stella and what a treat. We read the menu and found they made their own in house bread! And pasta as well?? The sauce was homemade, the meatballs were in house. The entire meal was home-cooked. It was all delicious and we want to thank the staff and owner for taking the time, energy and cost in preparing a home-cooked meal! Oh wait, WAIT!! THE TIRAMISU!! To die for. This is real, not like store bought. This is Nonnas very own straight from her kitchen Im sure. So good, what a treat!

Fantastic! Salad, pizza, draught beer, dessert, service.

The pepperoni pizza was amazing service was fast and risotto balls were perfectly cooked. Updated had garlic bread pizza and partner had the prawn pasta everything was amazing favorite pizza place in nanaimo hands down

My first experience exceeded my expectations. It was a full house and the servers did an adequate job keeping up . Our food was served hot and fresh, portions were generous .I look fwd to exploring more of their menu.

Incredible authentic Italian with great portions. Weve loved everything weve tried on the menu! Having been 3 times in 2 weeks for friends birthdays, there is always something different to try!

Favourite restaurant to go to for pasta, pizza and drinks. Highly recommend.

Amazing authentic Italian food.

That gnocchi was the best Ive ever had!! Tres bien

Incredible pizza dough, we chose the spicy one, delicious. Pasta is amazing too, had the fussili and spaguetti with meatballs and flavours feel authentic italian. Would go back if ever go back to Nanaimo

Best staff and service we have received in Nanaimo. Our waitress Maddie was attentive, kind, knowledgeable and just a pleasure to interact with. We sat out at this beautiful table in the road. It truly felt like we were in Italy. My fiancé and I were out for a walk and we are so happy we came across this lovely place at dinner time. This place is an example of how every restaurant should run. Absolutely beautiful and amazing service. A definite must try!! Thanks La Stella we will be back.

If you are in Nanaimo, you have to take time to be here. The menu is perfectly curated. We had the days special rose sauce pasta, which turned out to be one of the best we ever had. Wood oven pizza were very different from what you generally get at the restaurants. Red wine sangria was refreshing and a must try.

Amazing food! Only issue is knowing what to order because it all sounds so good.

Extremely disappointed. I made a reservation for my girlfriends 20th birthday as she loved the food here. Her grandparents and her mother came to town as well. We arrive and are denied seating as they have no room and apparently never reserved it for us even though I phoned far in advance to secure a table. They couldn t do anything to accommodate us nor were they helpful at all even though this was entirely their fault. Safe to say it ruined her birthday and we won t be coming back.

This is my new favourite restaurant in town. The food and service was all so good! Definitely will be back.

It was a very nice experience! The antipasti platter with the home made bread was a nice beginning of the main courses! Like that it had some pickled items. Loved that you have oven baked pizza the sauce was delightful. The risotto was good ! The rigatoni house made pasta id put some more eggs into it! The tiramisu was dry but the panna cotta was a great light ending. We had a good service also, please work on the terrace heating! Thank you for having us

Wesley Street is a great little gem of a street off the beaten path in historic Nanaimo. La Stella has a varied menu and theres something for everyone. Huge line up for take out so that was a good sign. We were told that it is the best pizza anywhere so thats what we ordered. It was fabulous. Really nice atmosphere here too and terrific service. Very friendly and helpful.

Best pizza we have ever had. Great atmosphere and staff. Thank you!

Best pizza in Nanaimo, hands down

We had high hopes for this place. My mother and I, both Italian, heard great things about this authentic Italian restaurant. But unfortunately it does not meet authentic Italian standards. The prosciutto was cooked?! On the burnt pizza. We ordered a salad that was basically just a bowl of sliced apples with some cheese and walnuts on top. Italians don t make food this way. The taste of Italian food is fresh in my mind as I just returned home from a trip to italy to visit family. Others around us also experienced problems with their food that we noticed while dining. We knew this place could not have been run by Italians. We were correct in learning that it is run by Croatians. It meets Nanaimo standards, but thats not saying much. Our server was very nice and I appreciate that nanaimo is trying to create an authentic Italian experience for its residents, but they should consider to study further Italian cooking to improve the dining experience. We did complain about our food to our server, by the way, and received a discount on our bill, which was nice. Thank you for that. But again, to make real long lasting change, fixing mistakes as they happen is not the way to do that. La Stella should be learning from mistakes and making sure they don t happen again. I have read a few reviews of too much salt in the food, ours was also too salty. This should now be fixed. Just reduce the salt. I have read other reviews that their prosciutto was cooked. Now you should know not to continue cooking it, unless specified. It s not normally how it s done. As Italians, we won t be back as we expect different, but I m glad that many in nanaimo are able to attend and enjoy, thinking they are eating real Italian food. I don t live in nanaimo, I live on the mainland. There is a great AUTHENTIC Italian restaurant in port moody called Spacca Napoli. Check it out if you are on the mainland for a more authentic experience! Then you ll know more the difference. Or go to Italy. Until next time, grazie, arrivederci e buona serata!

La Stella is becoming our go to restaurant. Great food, great service and chill atmosphere. Highly recommend!