" Candlelit French restaurant with red banquettes, teeny tiny pepper mills, and expensive steak frites? It’s a little “on the nose,” but to hell with it, this sultry Silver Lake bistro has been an it-spot on the Eastside for two decades plus because it’s romantic as hell. Even if you’re just gabbing with a friend, or looking for answers in a bowl of french onion soup alone at the bar, dining at Cafe Stella feels like a date night—you could even fall in love with yourself here. With jazz on the speakers, servers who know what they’re doing, classic moules frites for dinner, and profiteroles for dessert, even those people who claim to not care for French food will want to come back. " - brant cox