The food is all you would want it to be and the staff is very kind and helpful. It does come at a price but if you don't care it is good for another star. Small platers of amazing food so try a few. read more

I love this place! My husband and I really enjoy the ambiance and the food and the service! We will definitely have another date night here!

First time to this restaurant and it was fantastic. Steak fillet melted in my mouth and the garlic mashed potatoes were excellent 5 stars in my book. read more

We went there for lunch today. It was their first day, so we did not expect perfection. The food was great, however, I would like to make a few suggestions: Lunch crowds consist on mainly State/Government employees who only have an hour at best to eat lunch, pay and leave. We waited for nearly 30 minutes for paninis. It should not take this long for a sandwich. There were only a few other tables as well so it wasn't busy. We waited an additional 10 minutes from the time we requested the check to when we actually were able to pay and leave. We understand completely that this is new for you. We also understand that the dinner crowds are not as eager to leave as the lunch crowds. I am just making a suggestion to speed up the process. If it looks like we are nearly finished for our food, please make sure to ask how we are doing. We WILL tell you we are ready for our tickets. But to wait for a server to come our way and have to request for our tab after we have been finished eating for some time is frustrating. Especially when we have to leave within 45 minutes to arrive on time to work again. 3 stars- The food was GREAT! The service? Just speed it up a bit and you will be great. read more

Great atmosphere, relaxing environment. The ribeye was incredible. The staff was friendly helpful. Highly recommend.

I visited Vele for the first time with a group of friends last weekend. I loved their small plates. It was a great way for us to sample a little bit of everything that the restaurant had to offer. My personal favorites were the olive oil sampler, the steak skewers, the lamb lollipops and the goat cheese croquettes. Service was slow which was okay because we were having a leisurely dinner but the waiter seemed annoyed that we were only getting appetizers. read more

VELE is a top notch environment! Food was off the charts! Service is well beyond exceptional! If there is only one restaurant you eat at all year make it VELE in Springfield, IL!! Ellyn is amazing she kept our 15-20 person party happy, drinks full, and entertained! Get this woman on the webpage!! She could be the face of any brand and only do right by it! Will absolutely be back! read more

I would recommend reservations for larger groups for the fantastic restaurant. With my larger group we tested several of the crafted drinks and loved them all. Our group of 6 shared several small plates. Everyone loved had a favorite but everyone enjoyed them all. Probably not the most child friendly menu but a couple of small plates could work for your little one. read more

This place has some of the freshest food in Springfield. Their menu is different among other restaurants. If you want to treat yourself, go to VELE! Amazing drinks, appetizers, and entrees. Dessert is awesome too! You're missing out if you don't try this place! Location and decorations are really cool too! read more

What a fabulous experience. Plan 2+ hours of enjoyment with amazing food choices and magical smoke filed bourbon drinks. Wonderful mixture of staff and ambience makes this place a fantastic fun filled evening with friends. read more

I tried Vele for the first time on their opening night. I was impressed with how smooth everything went. Our server was extremely knowledgeable of the entire menu, including the wine list and cocktail menu. I tried the tuna crudo which was so fresh and delicious. The filet was also amazing. It was cooked to perfection. I'll be back very soon!! read more

We were a party of 7 that had made reservations. We did get seated on time. It is an upscale place with a good menu not like anyplace in town. The food we were served was delicious! However, one person was never served her dish! Everything was coming at different times which was acceptable but after a while hers never came. Finally we were able to catch the waiter. He apologized but by then most of us were ready to get on with the evening so she cancelled her order. I felt they could have not charged her for her glass of wine at least! But no concessions were made. So bottom line food was great but service was bad! read more

Vele was a great experience. For those who prefer a short review- I highly recommend and I will be back, many times. It's a level of dining that is not the norm for Springfield. For those who like details- here are specifics: We were immediately greeted with a smile by the hostess. We started our meal with a drink at the bar- the bartenders were fun and had great recommendations. The wine pairing was a great fit for all the dishes we tried. Our server was knowledgeable of the menu and able to answer our questions. We had a large table and tried a ton of different plates- here are our faves: tuna crudo was great- it was finished with a flavorful oil; raw oysters were awesome (my girlfriend who had never had them before ate 2!!); clam strips were the perfect crunchy appetizer; bruschetta was a nice mix of sweet & savory; grilled octopus was well cooked and not too chewy; and the pork belly might have started a fight at the table. We ran out too fast. Delish. Cioppino was FULL of seafood and very flavorful. Entrees we enjoyed were: the filet- so tender and nicely cooked; scallops were sooo good- we ordered two orders and just passed them around. My two memorable takeaways- the rack of lamb is so tasty, perfectly med rare, & quite generous and the King Crab Spaghetti gets capital letters because it is seriously good food. Spice, crab, tender spaghetti, good. You won't be disappointed. read more

Best meal I have had in Springfield - recommend seafood spaghetti. Rivals Chicago restaurants. Homemade pasta, spicy, quality seafood. Kind, warm, attentive service. My new favorite. read more

The food, for the most part, made up for the ridiculous amount of time we waited for everything. Waited for about 15 minutes to get water and order drinks after being seated, waited another 15 for those drinks, and then ordered an appetizer (we got a small plate of grilled oysters, it was two oysters--the only other option was 12, I wish there had been a medium option with 4 or 6) and our food at the same time. We waited about 45 minutes to receive any food, the first thing brought to us was my boyfriend's meal, and then about 10 minutes later they brought mine, and then finally the oysters. All of the food was truly amazing, boyfriend had crab and I had the seafood spaghetti and the oysters tasted great. The place seemed very surprisingly busy for a Wednesday night and there were a lot of large groups, so I hope that was the cause of the wait because I would like to return and see if it was an exceptionally busy night. read more

Food was ok, the lamb lollipops were decent, bruschetta was ok, gnocchi was ok and oysters were good, nothing memorable. The menu already had changes (that weren't explained until trying to order something) and it appeared half their wine list was unavailable despite it being an early Saturday evening. The ambiance left a lot to be desired as it was freezing cold throughout the whole restaurant and the very cheap tables and chairs were unappealing both physically and visually. The prices were meh, I think if you pay those prices you should have proper heat and not lawn chair quality furniture. I really want to like it more. read more

This was a tough night. The service was bad and the food was mediocre. After we made our order our waiter went AWOL. We noticed people that arrived after us were being served their food. We still had not been served our salads. I finally got the attention of our waiter and his quizzical look let us know immediately he forgot our order. The main entrees arrived before the salads and my Scallops were under cooked and lukewarm. Not a good combination. After our entrees were served we did not see our waiter until I requested the check. Overall the dinner was read more

The food is by far some of the best in town. The filet is amazing and the fact that they change their menu monthly, keeps us coming back. The price is high, but worth it for the ambiance and food quality. Definitely recommend for business dinners, date nights or just dining by yourself. Hoping it continues to be successful, it's nice to have a quality choice for downtown dining. read more

Exquisite food, both in taste and presentation. I order scallops everywhere I go, theirs was by far the best I ever tried. A big room without any dividers, so it was quite a bit louder than I would like. Service was friendly, but a bit slow to get going. Will most definitely come back. Highly recommended! read more

A friend gave us a gift certificate for Vele's. We had never heard of Vele so we went to try it out ! My meal arrived before my wife's meal and I tried to not eat it before my wife's meal arrived but my food was starting to cool off so she told me to go ahead and eat it ! I did and I even though I ate slow I was finished before her food was served !! Food was so-so minus ! Way over priced and I would not go back ! Many, many other dining places to go in Springfield that serve much better food at much less expensive prices ! read more

We visited last night, and were VERY impressed. They've refurbished the look of the old cafe Brio, and have done pretty well with what they have to work with there. Ambiance is part of a great meal (and the reason I stay away from Augie's). They have an attractive drink list, and a nice wine list to choose from. To explore the talent, we ordered 9 dishes for the two of us, including every small plate on the menu. In short, the chef has a unique talent, the best in the city in my opinion. The gnocchi were pillowy soft, outstanding. The fig/onion/goat cheese flatbread was great, as were the delicate flavors of the fried eggplant. The octopus was very tender, requires a real touch to get right. Oysters went quick, but had a great charred flavor. I was truly impressed with each and every dish, no letdowns at all. We'll surely be back, several times! This place is here to stay... for as long as the chef remains a local talent and not drawn to a larger market (he'd have no trouble succeeding). read more