Introduction to La Stella Italian Steakhouse and Music Lounge
A big, bold eatery called La Stella Italian Steakhouse and Music Lounge opens on Black Friday 2025 at one of Addison’s most significant restaurant addresses.
Lawry’s The Prime Rib served steak dinners here, on the edge of the Dallas North Tollway, for 40 years before it closed in 2024. In four quick months, La Stella’s owner turned the 11,000-square-foot restaurant into a throwback Hollywood mansion studded with Italian porcelain and a collection of decades-old Italian china.
La Stella in Addison is intended to be the “flagship” restaurant under that name, said owner Giuseppe “JP” Piccinini. An existing La Stella is open in the Dallas Arts District, and that restaurant — across the street from the Meyerson Symphony Center — will continue to serve Italian classics.
The new Addison restaurant is bigger, beefier and a little less concerned with breaking the rules of Italian cooking.
Menu and Dining Experience
For instance, dinner in Addison could start with with tartare cannoli ($32), a crunchy appetizer stuffed with avocado-mascarpone mousse and tuna, a heap of caviar on top. “The only Italian thing there is the word ‘cannoli,’” Piccinini said.
But it fits in with La Stella’s new identity as a steakhouse.
“We want to push the envelope a little bit,” he said.
Tartare Cannoli are a crispy, creamy, salty appetizer.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
And, anyway, the menu features tons of Italian dishes. Piccinini was born and raised in Naples, Italy, and emigrated at age 13 to Wichita Falls, Texas, where his dad was assigned to the Air Force base.
Customers should consider Nonna’s meatballs ($21), his mother’s recipe. She makes them herself. She also serves as “quality control” for the many Italian dishes, Piccinini said.
The bar and lounge area at La Stella in Addison will have live music.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Pillows of agnolotti filled with veal ($38) are a rich, salty treat. Customers will be tempted by plenty of other pastas, like the ravioli with butternut squash ($26); saffron-infused egg fettuccini with porcini mushrooms and truffle ($48); spaghetti Alessandra ($29), named for Piccinini’s wife; and several others.
The restaurant also offers more than 10 cuts of steak or lamb, including a Wagyu filet ($73) and a shareable 40-ounce Tuscan porterhouse ($180).
It’s heartwarming to see a prime rib roast on the menu ($45), a nod to Lawry’s. It’s available on weekends only.
Live Music and Ambiance
To the right of the hostess stand is a bar, live music area and two private dining rooms.
