Al & Stella

Absolutely loved this place! We were greeted very warmly and our waitress was very sweet. The food was some of the best Italian we’ve ever had. There were 7 in our party and our plates were empty at the end of the meal. Such a great place!

Food was good and service above average.
Nothing really spectacular but better than most of the Italian restaurants on the Beach.
Prices might be a little higher but worth it. I will be back on my next trip here.

Fantastic Sunday evening dinner with my family. Everyone loved their dinner from Ravioli, Salmon, Shrimp and Gnocchi. Great service as well. We’ll be back!

Great service, ambiance, and food. What more can I ask for?

We went there for dinner while on vacation. We have some severe food allergies and had asked about the pizza crust having egg, and were told yes, which is unusual. The chef actually came out to explain how she makes the pizza dough and pasta dough and that she couldn’t guarantee there would be no cross contamination and she wanted us to know that. Based on this they basically made a custom dish for my wife subbing ingredients into an existing salad to work around her allergies. our other pasta and pizza dishes for the rest of the party were good as well. The attention of the chef was what you expect to get at home, not in a touristy strip a block from the beach during spring break week on vacation.

Over priced for what portions u get. Charges for pop refills cause they serve softdrink from a can. The quality of food was a 3 of 5. Been to too many other Italian restaurants that tasted much better at a much more reasonable price.

Felt rushed. Had 3 different servers. Food came out one after the other. sausage and meatballs came out looked like it was missing a meatball. Very little balsamic on caprese salad. Asked for more. Took forever to come. Oh wait. It didn’t come because she dropped it. Instead of just broke being another one she came to table and told us she dropped it. Had to send salad back since it came same time as entrees. Food was ok. Had chicken parm. Not breaded. Looked all thrown together. Sauce was very spicy. Nothing on table. No salt, pepper or cheese like in the tables on the inside. Felt so rushed as we are. Servers were cleaning to leave for the night. Trash can rolled by to dumpster and every tine we asked for something, a different person brought it out. Sorry to have bothered then. Should have gone someplace else.

The gnocchi is unbelievable. Portions are great. Goat cheese ravioli was awesome. We took the deserts to go because they looked too good and we were too full!

I think this easily could have been a 4 star if it weren’t for the waiter… He was incredibly rude to us right off the bat. If you’re bad New York attitude can’t handle tourists on vacation, Clearwater is not where you should be working. The restaurant only had a few tables seated (slow night) and this was actually before spring break season so in general the beach was slow. The waiter went over the specials and I asked what the best dish was on the menu and he abruptly said «whole fish» and walked away. I immediately wrote it off as New York humor to be a bit rude. He came back and the four of us ordered appetizers and entrees. I asked for chicken parm and he immediately told me it wasn’t breaded. So in turn I asked him if the chicken parm or salmon special was better and he said, «whichever one you want to eat.» Okay could be another rude but funny thing. Fine. Salmon it is. The apps arrived along with bread. The ahi tuna was piss pore. Really bad presentation and nothing at all to crust it, sesame, pepper anything. One friend that was with us that night happens to be a chef and he noticed right off the bat that this wasn’t up to par. He asked our server if it was frozen and he just stated yes. Our friend mentioned that usually you put a little something on the crust and he stated (and this is where I could tell he was getting nasty) «it’s exactly like you read it on the menu,». So my friend (who also happens to be a New Yorker) replied «well it’s not good.» The server literally just walked away. Don’t worry, we still got charged for it. Now for the food, honestly everything was pretty delicious except for the bread and the ahi tuna. We ordered, bruschetta, the eggplant app, crab and lobster ravioli, the salmon special and a Gorgonzola pasta. Everyone loved their entrees. We also ordered espressos and tiramisu which was made in house and delicious! Clearly having started with a bottle of wine and three apps for only 4 people, we were going to be a table where this guy was going to make a big tip. Didn’t care, was rude right off the bat and the entire way through. Never refilled wine, had to ask twice for a soft drink and each interaction was short and rude like we were a bother to him. We didn’t deserve it. I walked to the bathroom and because he was chaining up all of the chairs outside where we were sitting (it was only about 8:30) I told him on my way in we were ready for our check. He did not even acknowledge me. The last thing that really irked us all, he holds an iPad in front of you to sign your check and is obviously standing right there while you tip (not appropriate for a classy restaurant where you’re dropping a couple hundred). In retrospect, I Wish I would have right in front of his face tipped poorly. I would actually go back because the food was good– the chef even came out to deliver food and chat. But that guy… He’s gotta go, he ruined our experience and made it feel like a waste of money.

Went here during our short 2 night stay on our shell collecting trip. Delicious. Bruschetta excellent. Gnocchi excellent. Chicken Parm dinner excellent.

Happened upon this great Italian restaurant. I always judge a new Italian restaurant by its marinara. .good stuff… my wife had the chix gorganzola linguini… outstanding

I am a genuine foodie… Have eaten at the best and the worst., $ to $$$$$… But Al & Stella’s is truly one of the best restaurants in the US. You will feel like you ate eating in Stella’s home!!! It is a bit pricy… esp for kids… But the quality of every ingredient is impeccable & service is excellent. When we vacation for 10 days, we eat here at least 6 nights. Incredible!!! Go go go!!!

Love the food and atmosphere! Visited twice during our trip. Great music playing along with the theme!

Rich sauces and comfortable atmosphere are the best way to describe it. Food was tasty and service was attentive. The gorgonzola sauce was flavorful, red sauce was just the right amount of sweet. Most certainly worth a try.

The Goat Cheese Ravioli, Gorgonzola Gnocchi and Pepperoni Pizza were all amazing.
Our server, Mike, was gracious and generous, even while they were slammed.
Great food and great wine!

This was walking distance from the beach. A nice place with upscale food that was really good. They had an outdoor seating area which we sat on and they made sure we always had everything we needed we were not forgotten out there. There were so many pasta dishes I had a hard time narrowing it down. I decided on the chicken fettuccine with Gorgonzola cream sauce. It was so creamy and smooth and the chicken melted in your mouth. The veal parm had a huge piece of veal and the sauce was perfect. They gave you bread with olive oil and cut up olives while you waited for your food. The price wasn’t bad for the big portions and for the service you received. I would go back in a heartbeat for more of that Gorganzola cream sauce!

Brought the family for dinner. Well served plates. Kids da had pizza and fettuccini Alfredo. I had the snapper. It was very fresh and excellent taste.

Very disappointed with this restaurant.
We arrived at 7 pm on a Friday night to an empty restaurant, that should have been the first clue that something was wrong.
It was warmer inside than outside, we asked if they could turn the air down and they complied.
I was going to order red wine but I was told that none was at the proper temperature since it is not stored in a wine cooler and it was so hot in the restaurant.
Next we where informed that they where out of Marsala sauce.
The bread was poor quality, I could have gotten better bread at Publix.
The entrées were pretty good nothing really stood out though it was a pretty average experience.
And finally at the end we asked about dessert we were told they had Tiramisu, chocolate cake, and cheesecake.
So we placed our order and shortly thereafter were informed that they were out of Tiramisu.

Pizza was great. Salad was warm. No bread. We came with a hungry 5 yr old and had to wait 30 minutes for pizza.
Salad came and we had no silver wear
All said and done, 4 for pizza 2.5 for service. 3.0 average.

Ambiance: 4 stars
Food: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
For an Italian restaurant near the beach (across the street actually), this place is remarkably cute inside and provides a welcoming change from the flip flop joints. The has hard darkwood tables and chairs to lend a slight sophistication to the dining experience.
As for food, they boast their pasta is homemade. yes, good. However, they have very weak sauces, at least the one that was presented to me was tasteless and unappealing. I thought I ordered marinara and I got some thin brownish red mystery with an unidentifiable flavor to it.
They seem to specialize in a ‘white sauce.’ I’m serious — they just call it ‘white sauce.’ Care to elaborate? No they don’t. And white sauce is on most of the entrée items. Your other option? ‘Red sauce.’ I’m so serious too. For the love of Mario Batali, You’re an Italian place! Have some respect for the sauce.
Well my boyfriend tried the ‘red sauce’ and it was actually pretty good; still too thin for my taste but light years better than the italian slurry that was dumped on my plate.
Service was annoying. I had not sat down for 5 minutes and he had been by twice to see if we’re ready to order. I had to go back to my car for something and I kid you not, as soon as my fanny hit the chair he came back and asked if I decided yet. DUDE CHILL– there is one other table here on a Friday night at 6:15, you’re gonna be here a while so WHY are you rushing me!
Me, for Italian restaurant in Clearwater beach, I prefer Caesar’s down on the other end of Clearwater.