VELE

Fantastic! The location, being in a strip mall setting, kind of threw me off and lowered my expectations for a "fancy" joint. The service, food quality, food timing, and everything else with the experience far exceeded any kind of expectations. I was on a 1-day work trip at work paid, so I bought extra just to try it out. However, I did have to pay for the smoked old fashioned out of pocket. The presentation and mixture of the old fashion were perfect. Never had a smoked old fashioned but it's made for a cool picture.Haaa. Appetizer- Shrimp & Crab cakes - Amazing Eggplant bruschetta - Good quality, but I'll stick to a traditional bruschetta. Entree- Ribeye, Med-rare. Wow, 6/5 stars. I'm a steak snob and rarely order a steak from a restaurant these days as I hate paying for disappointment and mediocracy. I grill steak pretty much weekly all year round, and my preferred method is reverse Sear. The cook on this steak was beyond what I can do. Kudos, Mr. Grillmaster. The french fries that come with it or excellent french fries. However, on my next trip back, I will substitute those for mashed. Dessert- I typically don't order desserts, but hey, not on my dime, so I ordered two! -Blooming tiramisu- Again, quality was there, but as for a Tiramisu, I would stick with a traditional. The presentation was awesome, but I didn't know I was getting ice cream. -Cheesecake- That was amazing! Overall, 112 out of 5 stars!

Let me just say why, as soon as you walk in? You're indulged in elegance. The staff is extremely friendly. They're very knowledgeable about their dishes and drinks. Drinks was a smoked glass of Rye and Espresso mixed drink. For the Entrée I ordered the seared Halibut, served over a bed of coosgoos, sun-dried tomatoes, and sautéed asparagus. The wife had the seafood spaghetti with squid ink noodles. Both dishes were absolutely Devine. Our server went above and beyond he was absolutely amazing.

My partner and I were really looking forward to trying VELE for the first time, especially because we were celebrating a special day. Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing. We checked online before going, and the restaurant showed that it closed at 10:00 PM. We arrived at 9:00 PM, so we believed we had plenty of time for a normal dinner service. When we walked in, there was no host at the stand for about two minutes. Once someone finally came, we asked for a table for two. She left, and when she returned, she informed us that there were no tables available. The only seating available was at the bar, as the servers had already “closed out” for the night. This was confusing and frustrating - if the restaurant is listed as open until 10:00 PM, guests arriving at 9:00 PM should still be seated normally, especially in a fine-dining establishment. It felt like the staff simply didn't want to take new tables anymore, even though the restaurant was technically open. For a place with such great reviews and a beautiful ambience, we expected a much better welcome, especially on a day that was meaningful to us. Sadly, our first impression was not positive.

Our server was very knowledgeable of the menu and gave great recommendations. I had a tequila cocktail that was Amazing. The oysters were succulent, shrimp/ crab cake was amazing and the salmon was cooked to perfection. I highly recommend this place.

VELE gave everything it was supposed to give elegant, flavorful, and peaceful. From the moment you walk in, the atmosphere sets the tone. Every plate was crafted like art, and the service matched the energy perfectly. It’s the type of place where conversation flows, the food speaks for itself, and you leave full not just in your stomach, but in spirit. Louie K’s Up for the moments that taste like purpose. 🍷✨🔥

The food was top notch. The appetizer were filet bites on Bleu cheese and marscapone orzo pasta with a cherry balsamic reduction. The meat was so tender and flavorful and the pasta added a creamy component to it. It was delightful. I had a wild mushroom campanelle pasta with truffle mushroom cream sauce. It was a rich and decadent pasta. We shared the tiramisu for dessert. The lady fingers were nice and crunchy and the tiramisu was awesome. Our waiter was super friendly and attentive. The restaurant was very cozy and romantic. You do need reservations. The price was a little on the high side but well worth our meal. I really really enjoyed Vele and there aren't many places like it in Springfield.

The place was packed and parking lot out side was busy too. We had reservation, so we were OK. the pictures are of what we ordered. I dont remember the names of most of it, so I go by pictures. Mozzarella Salad was OK, but few of the tomatoes were rotten- dont recommend. the dish with steak pieces was very good, boys said the rice was too cheesy, but I liked-recommend. The dish with eggplant and stuff on top was a little dry- dont recommend. Mushroom Ravioli was OK, but a little under-cook- recommend?!!. Chicken Parmesan was a disaster- no taste, no salt- do not recommend. We didnt see the waiter after the food was served to ask for anything (salt, pepper, or Parmesan)- dont recommend at all. I loved my coffee ice cream- highly recommend. Stay away from the Pistachio cheese cake. Nothing Pistachio about it except the green color. There was a flavor of almond there, but no pistachio. To top it off was the siding of Cool whip, and not the real cream. do not recommend. All together, I do NOT recommend this place. May be the $$40 steak, or sea foods would have been better. But our dinner was not good and we will not go back. They really need to shake up if they want to keep the place going. The service was OK for so many people they have to serve. But the staff seemed worried and over worked. we paid close to $180 for 3 of us and expected a little better.

This is another restaurant we opted to try for the first time. We had not visited them when they were downtown, but glad we gave them a shot. They have a good whiskey selection and plenty of wine to pick from. We ordered the caprese and Caesar salads. Both were well put together and very flavorful. 2025 update: while I thought we would be back sooner than four years we made it back. It was a great time again. Our waiter Nick took fabulous care of us and showed us the new reservation only speakeasy themed joint. My wife’s filet was cooked to order and my salmon was delicious with the pesto orzo. If you like special goat cheese and crackers give the goat cheese appetizer a shot. The goat cheese is flavored in such a way and the pistachios are seasoned so that you could order this app as a dessert if you wanted. After a little suggestion, Nick convinced us to try the cannoli cheesecake, and it was worth the price of admission. Ideally we will return in fewer than the last time it took us to get here, but we will be back. Thank you. Our entree was the 8oz filet. I ordered mine medium rare and it was cooked perfectly. At some places you ask for med rare and it's ok on the inside, but it's mushy and soft on the outside. Here the steak was plenty warm, and had the perfect level of crispness on the outside. We'll definitely be back.