Stella Van Buren

We recently ate at Stella for an anniversary/birthday dinner. We enjoyed the atmosphere - cool bar area with high shelves stocked with high end liquor. High ceilings and a well designed space throughout creates a high end feel. Lighting and furniture are on point which helps create a fantastic ambience. There are great outdoor seating options with views of the city. Our waiter, Mike, was outstanding throughout the night and provided some great recommendations. Micky, the manager, checked in with us to ensure we were having a great experience, which we appreciated. Some highlights from our meal as we tried many of the items on the menu: Drinks: Strawberry Mint Mule - very refreshing and flavors worked together perfectly without being too sweet. Outstanding and one of our favorite drinks we’ve had at any restaurant. Paloma - another outstanding drink with fun garnishes. I coulda ordered a couple more of these but wanted to try other drinks on the menu. Highly recommend this if you are into Paloma’s. Appetizers: Crab cake - good size portion of delicious crab with an outstanding tartar sauce. One of my favorite items all night. Hot stone Wagyu - worth it for the experience alone. This was a fun appetizer where we cooked our own Wagyu strips on a hot stone brought to the table. Not something we have ever seen at a restaurant. The Wagyu was delicious. Tips for this one - salt the meat first before searing. The spicy chili dipping sauce was good but a bit overpowering for such delicious meat. I preferred eating the meat without the sauce though might change my mind if there was a different sauce. Overall I highly recommend this unique appetizer for the experience and meat quality. Entrees Wagyu Bolognese - very tasty pasta with tender cuts of wagyu bolognese. Well cooked, flavorful. Highly recommended! Italian Oscar - a delicious filet topped with crab meat and a delicious white sauce. Probably the best cut of meat I’ve had at a restaurant which paired well with the crab. The sauce was so good I just wish there was a bit more. Glad I ordered this one! Dessert: Bread pudding - very good bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream. Would definitely order again. I highly recommend Stella for both locals and tourists staying at the hotel. The ambience is outstanding, the food was excellent, and service provided throughout the hotel and restaurant are the best I’ve experienced in Milwaukee. We will be back soon!

We were here 5 or 6 years ago. Stayed at hotel and had dinner and breakfast at Stella. Back today for breakfast and it was great! Almost as great as our server Morgan!

First of all, Kate is an excellent server! She is knowledgeable about the menu, personable and efficient. The food is wonderful. My husband had the special which was sea bass, and claims that it was the best he’s ever had. I had the scallops, and have to say that they were better than mine… and mine are quite good! Only criticism is very expensive valet parking ($20) for dinner, and there was a tear in the curtain right in front of me! Very minor compared to the very enjoyable time we had at Stella Van Buren!

The food was exquisite. Perfect place for a fancy date or special occasion. I had the filet with mash potatoes and a side of risotto and it was all delicious. Our waitress was also very friendly and attentive. Overall, highly recommended!

The service was nothing short of amazing . Our server was Mike, and he made sure that we were well accommodated and answered any questions we had. Also the food was phenomenal!