"We wanted a good plate of pasta after all the Viennese food, and we wanted it close to Mariahilferstrasse as we were shopping there. And Stella Marina came up in the search and we tried it out. And it turned out to be a fantastic choice! It was rather like a ritual from beginning to end. After the freezing cold outside you go into this calm, warm, cosy place, with rustic bricks, candlesticks, and, so welcome, Pavarotti or Bocelli singing Christmas carols in the background, the volume low enough to have good conversation.The owner / patron comes out of the kitchen and calmly welcomes you and asks you to take a seat at the table. He then lights up the candles on your table and leaves you to settle down while he goes back to the kitchen. Yes, this is a one man show! After a while he returns and tells you what pasta dishes are on offer for the day - everything is freshly cooked and served by this same person. After choosing the pasta dishes we were asked to choose whether we wanted white or red wine and, having chosen red, we were then told which wines from which region of Italy were available - price was given too. The price for the pasta was not mentioned to us but I'm sure he would have told us if we had asked for it. In any case, prices turned out to be the normal ones for pasta dishes, about 15 euro. After a while, and in between seeing to others, the patron brought us the bottle of wine and proceeded to pour it into a smaller bottle and gave everyone equal portions - he did all this with a flourish. He then asked the elder of us ladies to taste. It was a very nice red from the Puglia (Italy) region, for 30 euro. When the pasta was ready he served us himself. It was piping hot and al dente and delicious! I found the funghi one the tastier though the black pasta with seafood was very good too. Throughout the meal the patron was very calm and composed which, seeing he is running the place alone, is a very necessary quality indeed! It felt quite surreal actually, the place, the facial expression of the owner, the way the lunch procedure is handled - we had a great time making up stories about it while we waited for the food! For dessert an excellent panna cotta or tiramisu. The bill came hand written and well explained on a piece of paper - jotted down by the patron there and then of course! Before we left the patron made it a point of coming out of the kitchen and shaking hands with all of us while wishing us the best for Christmas and the New Year. It was a very pleasant and satisfying meal indeed and we would return if in Vienna again."
Garnelen-Scampi
