Francesca's La Vela Cucina Italiana

Bad food, worse service, terrible management. Party of 8, Saturday night (including 3 fairly well-behaved young kids). Ordered fried calamari as appetizers for the kids, and 30 minutes later we were told it was coming soon. After 1 hours 45 minutes, they admitted defeat at the hands of the batter and their inability to operate a deep fryer. They waited all that time to finally tell us there was a problem, leaving the kids and adults sitting without food or drink. Supposedly, the chef was out sick, so maybe that explains the bland dishes we all received about 2 hours into the night. Incredibly, the kids didn't melt down, but the adults were close to it! They served pasta that was so hot that it burnt my daughter's lip leaving a small blister; there's no doubt the sauce was microwaved. They took a bowl of cheese directly from our table, after we all used it, and gave it directly to other patrons unbeknownst to them. They charged a standard 20% gratuity for a party of 6+, despite the waitress failing to do her job. We actually wanted to order drinks at a couple of points during the night, but the one waitress on duty was so overwhelmed (and uncaring) she never noticed. Topped it all of with a disingenuous apology by the owner that "this never happens; want a free salad". 0 stars.

ONLINE PRICES ARE NOT WHAT THEY ARE IN THE RESTAURANT. I don't know how Google is supplied with menu prices but as of Aug 2018 the menu is much more expensive than what is listed. I was disappointed in the lack menu options, but I understand this is a smaller place. Once we were seated we were all but forgotten after our water was delivered. It was quite awhile before our order was taken. My husband and I ended up ordering the same meal and when they came out the cream sauces were two different colors. His actually tasted different than mine, but they were still good. After we finished we waited a very long time for the check. Our 2 year old was getting restless and since we didn't want her disturbing the only other table, I took her next door to a playground while my husband waited for them to clear plates and bring the check. No one said a word to me as we left and we played outside for more than 10 minutes before he finally walked out of the restaurant. The meal was good, but nothing spectacular l, and the staff was nice when they interacted with us, just don't expect timely service even on a slow night.

I decided to go to la vela for the first time on Father's Day. One of the most unpleasant dining experiences I've ever had. I walked in, keep in mind it was 80 degrees outside and what do you know the place isn't air conditioned. I got seated inside where there were a few useless sealing fans and I proceeded to sweat a lot. I ordered and the food took over an hour to come, when I asked my waitress where the food was she said that she didn't work in the kitchen in a rude tone. Soon after the food arrived. I ordered portabello mushrooms and a Cesar salad. The mushrooms were totally under seasoned. I rush ate and ran out as soon as I payed because I couldn't stand one minute longer in the hot humid heat. My advice is look at the ratings, they are here for a reason.

If you’ve ever watched Kitchen Nightmares, you’ll recognize all of the signs of a bad restaurant. Looks nice. The waiters work hard and are filling in for where the boss is screwing up. Food takes for ever. Bad ingredients. Filled with oil. And the owner prances around talking to customers as if she’s doing a good job. Only go if you want to confirm what I just wrote. Otherwise, there are a million other place to spend your money.

How does a NYC restaurant this bad stay in business? In my 40+ years of NYC dining experience this was hands down once of the worst restaurant meals ever. Even worse, I had the misfortune of being subjected to it on New Years' Eve when they had the audacity to increase their prices by 50% to 100% I guess because they figured other places would be full. This was the first and only time I have ever sent back a salad (and not for brown lettuce or such, but because it was so bitter as to be inedible). The pastas were watery and tasteless, not to mention having a mushy and unappealing texture. How does an Italian restaurant do 1 star pasta dishes? You have to work at that. The only thing fresh here is the owner (snide, sarcastic and greedy). The pastas are obviously from a box and low quality. One dish had flavorless pre-frozen scallops and shrimp in an excessively garlic sauce that was hard to distinguish from broth. The replacement salad had canned beats and goat cheese that could have been creamed cheese. I would have been appalled at the salad dressing if it came from a packet on a coach airline flight. Even the bread was disappointing. The only good thing I can say about this meal was that I earned enough points on my credit card charge for it before year end that I reached the next premium tier in their frequent flyer program. As another reviewer said, don't go here. There are so many good options, you would be hard pressed to do worse.

On the evening we went, the restaurant had no heat. No one from the restaurant forewarned us when we came in or when we sat down. We had spent most of the day out of doors on a frigid day (~27 deg) and we were looking forward to warming up. After about 30-40 minutes we asked why it was so cold and it was then they told us the heat was out in the building. So I asked if they could turn up a space heater that was not too far away and in response they brought in another one and put it closer to us, BUT then soon thereafter moved it away. I assume they moved it to be near to another patron who complained about the cold. One of the staff said to us "we are cold too" and while I could sympathize to a certain extent, they were not paying customers. I realize that they probably could not have afforded to lose all their business that night by telling them as they came in the door about the predicament, but they could have mentioned it when we sat down and offered something in compensation like complimentary warm drinks and free bread. That would not have cost them so much and would have gone a long way in making us feel like valued customers. Overall the food was good, but given the poor treatment we received, we will not go back.

Poor service & bad food - after reading the other reviews it seems the woman who was behind the bar and also our waitress was the owner? She and a woman sitting at the bar drinking were swearing away very loudly throughout our entire dinner and there was only one other family in the restaurant with children. Yikes. Sangria was a glass of cheap whiskey with a splash of red wine and my boyfriend ended up sick after eating the salmon. I had a few bites of pasta and we had to wait 10-15 minutes for our check before my boyfriend decided to go to the bar and just pay the bill. Will not return and do not recommend.

Authentic! Amazing olive oil and bread. The best in NYC. Great Italian vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options. The best part is the owner Francesca makes you feel like you’re home. Don’t forget to ask her about her special Hungarian dishes prepared daily. I always eat here whenever I’m in town and you should too!