Stella

Stella opened in March 2025 at 9049 Sonoma Highway in Kenwood. It is the second restaurant from chef Ari Weiswasser and his team, following Glen Ellen Star one town over, and it keeps that room's open-kitchen spirit with about three times the space. Weiswasser describes the idea as open-fire cooking meets fine dining, and a gleaming Argentine-style grill and plancha sit at the center of the kitchen. Managing partner Spencer Waite runs operations, and around 15 percent of the produce comes from nearby Glentucky Farm, grown by Mike Benziger, father of Weiswasser's wife, Erinn Benziger, who also works with the restaurants. Still a young kitchen, it is already finding its following along Highway 12, a dining room with family roots and a confident Italian point of view.