Kimberly H.
Yelp
I heard a lot of good things about this place for several months: good seafood, great cocktails, trendy interior, and I would confirm those are all accurate descriptions.
For a comfortable weekday dinner night out for two coastal seafood-eating people, we had the wood grilled calamari, livorno fish and shellfish stew, tanuki roll, a-mei-zing roll, roc n roll, and an opera cake for dessert. The seafood was all very well cooked, the one exception being the shrimp in the seafood stew that was overcooked. The calamari had a nice mild smoky taste with good rings of squid that were not at all rubbery. The clams and mussels in the fish stew were cooked perfectly (not an easy task). The sushi rolls had good amounts of fish and good texture (crunchy cucumbers). The opera cake was amazing - beautiful layers, rich chocolatey, but not overly sweet - I had an accompanying dessert cocktail to get my sweet tooth fixe.
For drinks we had the shark bait, captain kidd, nutcracker, crow's nest, and one of the dessert cocktails that had kahlua. The shark bait is tasty, but it has more in common with a breakfast juice than a cocktail - it's very sweet. The captain kidd had a nice smoky mezcal that came through. The nutcracker was very smooth, and the crow's nest was fun and interesting with a wine float.
And to top it all off, we had a fantastic service experience with just the right number of check ins, water/drink refills, and knowledge of the menu.
Overall for what it is, Velvet Belly is a trendy seafood addition to the Rochester food scene; however it has a NYC high price tag in the middle of the Rochester Public Market. For a seafood fixe and atmospheric city vibes I might go again with friends, but it's too pricy for more than a trip or two.