Stella's Brunch: When Mixed Greens Go Bad.

Sunday Brunch is a sacred meal. Each week, I set out to find a new menu that represents the importance of eggs and toast. This Sunday, I explored new terrain at Stella's Tap and Tapas Bar. While the name may not suggest an appropriate brunch setting, the customer traffic suggested I had stumbled across a hidden gem.

Entering the restaurant, I was greeted by a casual setting, dominated by tastefully worn wood decor, and large landscape paintings. The atmosphere immediately set the tone for a pleasant morning, while the menu gave me much to consider. The food choices were well balanced and diverse, offering a dish for every palette. Our knowledgeable sever was able to guide me towards a meal selection of steak and eggs, while my guest chose a three sausage benedict.

Our meals arrived in excellent time, but a regrettable lack of attention to detail soured the experience.
A side note here: serving salads with brunch is an excellent way to provide a light and fresh addition to a meal that is often heavy. However, so many restaurants fail to pay attention to the quality of the vegetables they use. This was true for my mixed greens at Stella's. I implore the chefs of Vancouver: if your case of greens arrives rotten, send your dishwasher to the market for the DIY ingredients. Do not serve me wilted, rotting baby greens. It makes me angry and ruins my meal.
Back to the plate: My steak was a perfect, tender, medium-rare. However, I was disappointed that the bacon it was supposed to be wrapped in was simply tucked underneath it. A similar lack of quality control resulted in my mate's eggs coming out soft poached, instead of the requested hard.

I'm torn on my experience at Stella's. What I saw was a menu that was well constructed, and a dining atmosphere that matched. My experience, however, suggests that there is not a similar level of care in the back of house. Regrettably, if the kitchen can't improve its lacking attention to detail, the strengths of the menu are lost in a bed of wilted greens.

Stella's Tap and Tapas Bar
1191 Commercial Drive
(604) 254-2437
info@stellasbeer.com

Monday to Friday: 11:00 am - 11:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10:30 am - 11:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday Brunch: 10:30 am - 3:30pm