Bustling bar (with excellent people-watching) plus glowing dining room equals South End's Italian staple, with luscious pastas, antipasti and modern classics.

Evan Deluty, the chef/owner of Charles Street's now-closed Torch, has gone the Italian route with Stella. Serving food nightly until the wee hours, Stella aims to provide area residents and scenesters with reasonably priced comfort fare (thin-crust pizzas, roasts and homemade pastas). Generous plates of impeccable food--homemade gnocchi, pork Milanese--adhere to the concept of accessible, everyday sophistication. Libation lovers sample from an extensive assortment of grappas and Italian cocktails. When the weather allows, patrons can eschew the modern, starkly white dining room in favor of one of the South End's largest patios.