Food was delicious, especially the appetizers! The risotto and beef was buttery heaven and the calamari wonderfully flavored. The pasta you can tell was handmade, super creamy and al dante. Keep in mind that their drinks are very strong, I felt buzzed after one cocktail. Strong but very tasty! read more

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Wonderful food, great service. This has become our go to restaurant for special occasions and guests.

Great ambiance and delicious food. You can't go work with grilled octopus and ribeye,

Delicious food, professional service, nicely decorated restaurant, large selection of liquor and wine. Dinner for three which included grilled octopus, steak tips with mushroom orzo, scallops with corn purée, linguini Alfredo, and halibut, was $150. This entree was very tasty but $38. read more

Great food and service. Best oysters I've had in a long time. Everything was great. I've visited several times and it is consistently great.

Our server was Excellent. Food was okay, but lobster bisque was very salty. Our waitress was so kind to take the lobster bisque from our bill. read more

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Great food and great atmosphere!! The Caesar salad is the bomb! One of Springfield's finest. read more

VELE - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

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This place truly exceeded any expectations I had. I'm in Springfield for a work trip and this was worth the drive across town for a nice meal. The hostess and my server were SO GREAT and made me feel so welcome. I did a bit of a menu tasting including the broccoli, filet bites, and spicy seafood spaghetti, finished with a crème brule. The broccolini was one of the best vegetable dishes I've ever had. Everything was truly fantastic, prepared so well with great complimentary flavors and served very hot. read more

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Great ambience, awesome server. Steak tartar was great. Scallops were so salty that spoiled the whole taste. Delicate flavor was lost. Grilled octopus was also so salty that all you can feel was salt and pepper. Good wine choice. Overall good time just not the food. read more

Showed up for a reservation to no one standing to greet us and sit us at our table, not a good first impression. Finally was greeted and the host wasn't the brightest because it took a long time for him to figure out how to manage the system he was using. Got sat and had a lovely server, forgot her name. Ordered a bottle of wine, that was overpriced and not special. Ordered the arancini's and a traditional one is rice. Not sure if they even had rice in it because it was all mush inside. Taste of bad ricotta cheese was all it was. The bolognese wasn't special either, grease and an off taste to it. Next came out the terrible entrees that the server didn't get to check on us until we were almost done with them because it was too busy because how many tables they sat in a short period of time for her to really give good service. The ribeye is super small and wasn't even trimmed of the tail fat (Maldaner's will at least trim the excess fat off and give you a good portion) and wasn't cooked properly, but was never checked in during the meal until I was almost done with it. The sherry mushrooms weren't worth the price of admission. The asparagus(not in season) shouldn't have made the cut either because how small they were. Any good chef would know not to use something on a dish that isn't in season, but my guess the chef that puts his name on these dishes isn't even at this restaurant and dealing with his mishaps of a soon to be failing pizza place. Twice baked potatoes was a joke too. Not a good dish at all for $45. The short rib taliatelle wasn't special either. Pasta wasn't even cooked properly. Was a lot harder than al dente and again had a strange off putting flavor to it. Odd bad flavors seem to be a regular at this restaurant... All in all, not a good restaurant at all and way over priced for the poor quality of food I received. Definitely won't be returning and recommending you look elsewhere for a meal at that price. read more

Yummy food, great atmosphere! Went for a bday celebration and was very pleased with the service and food choices. Nice wine selection, as well. read more

I just sat at the bar. I had three variations of seafood dishes all which were great. And the was good to talk to you at the bar.

Exceptional experience...well done Vele!! We had a party of 6 to cautiously celebrate a Bday during COVID. Our wonderful waitress Morgan remained respectfully masked and was friendly and efficient. I was pleasantly surprised to have the owner Justin stop by our table to give his regards as well as the executive chef Connor who prepared our 5* meal. Two of us ordered the melt in your mouth Sea Bass (pictured). The others had steaks that looked huge and they could not stop talking about. The grilled Caesar salad was great as was the Crab Cakes and the Lobster Bisque. I enjoyed a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir and they brought a complimentary dessert for the Bday "boy". Can't wait to go back! read more

When Vele originally opened downtown I was not a fan. However, since moving to the west side of town the restaurant has improved dramatically. There is better more professional service and the food is consistent. I would definitely recommend coming here for a nice dinner with friends or family and a definite stop if you are just passing through. read more

VELE - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Such good food, drinks, service & atmosphere. Pricey, but worth it. I started with an 1840 sour, which I enjoyed. Loved the tomato basil soup, and I felt the scallops were perfect. Crème brûlée was delicious. I will definitely return. read more

Me and my husband are from central IL but moved to Florida 8 years ago. We come back to visit family. We're always on the hunt for nice restaurants for a date night when we have free babysitting. We stumbled upon Vele.. it was one of the best meals we've ever had! We're big foodies and live in SWFL with a huge variety of local upscale restaurants. Vele would fit right in there so I was thrilled it was right by my in laws house here. We got the raw oysters, grilled caeser salad, scallops and steak. All amazing. Me and my husband both agreed the filet was the best filet we've EVER had. The service was awesome as well. A must visit!! We will be back for sure. read more

A lot bigger on the inside than i was expecting. Crabcakes were decent. Mussels were ok too - surprised they dont bring an extra bowl to discard the shells. Scallops were ok - all 4 of them were well cooked. The berry cobbler for was disappointing - 99% sure it was just smuckers strawberry jelly/jam (not preserves) with 4 blueberries and 2 raspberries + a dollop of whip cream + scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with honey + oatmeal cookie. Definitely dont get berry cobbler unless you bring wonderbread and a jar of jif or peter pan. If i go back, i would not get any of the above again and hope for better taste on other menu items. Nice atmosphere. read more

Absolutely delicious! Can cut the steak with a butter knife and the lobster linguine was breathtaking. My fiancé and I will definitely be back! read more

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I've had a lot of great salmon before, but this one was the best so far. I loved how it was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It paired beautifully with the toasted pine nut jasmine rice, sautéed spinach and mildly spicy red pepper sugo. What a delightful composition. Every flavor and texture made for one happy marriage in my mouth. Great service as well! read more

Incredible dining experience - top to bottom. Good waiter Great food Classy dining it it's best Great ambience read more

Great food, great service, great drinks! You really can't go wrong eating here as the owners and chefs have knocked it out of the park with this one! I have been many times and the service along with food have always been consistently amazing! Keep it up Vele! read more

Great food. Amazing service and vibe. Perfect for a dinner date. Im a big fan of their mashed potatoes and the seafood. You cant leave without some dessert, whad their amazing cheesecake! The best part is that is close to everything around the mall and all. Free parking is a plus too read more

Upscale, in both price and quality of food and service! Definitely a place you could go for a special occasion, or to take someone to impress! Servers friendly and efficient! read more

Great place for a date night. We ordered the wild mushroom ravioli to start off with then had the scallops and ribeye for our entrees. We were very pleased with not only the food, but also the service and the whole ambience of the dining room. Be sure to try their Blooming Tiramisu for dessert; it will not disappoint! read more

VELE - Blooming Tiramisu - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

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Elegant place to go for a date or out with friends. I've enjoyed every dish I've tried there thus far. Drinks are good as well if you're wanting to indulge. Servers are nice and are very helpful if you're indecisive on what to eat for the night. Enjoy going every time I visit. read more

Atmosphere gets a star, it's a beautiful place. However, our service was incredibly slow. It took 10 minutes to get our drink. Server forgot to put in the other drink we ordered. Told us a drink was made a certain way and then it wasn't. Bread took 20-25 minutes to come out. I tried to order grilled vegetables and the chef said he didn't have any vegetables. I asked if I could get a side of broc or asparagus and they said no, they have no vegetables. No soup. Server recommended the Cesar salad and it was mediocre at best. Service is everything and we were left wanting in every way. Also incredibly expensive for not getting good service. Husband liked the filet but we won't be back. read more

VELE - Menu - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

There is truly nothing like Vele in Springfield. It's a hip new Italian restaurant that offers a small menu packed with incredible dishes. We started with the olive oil and bread tasting. It wins my award for best bread on Springfield. It was a rustic bread with crisp crust and soft warm interior. Amazing! The focaccia flatbread with burrata and pesto was equally incredible. The calamari were fried in a spicy mixture served with a buttermilk dill aioli. So good. For my entree I ordered the halibut served over a lobster creme risotto. Wow. I don't even like halibut and this dish knocked my socks off. The lamb pappardelle pasta was also very good. I tasted my friend's shrimp and sausage gnocchi. Hands down best quality gnocchi I've ever had. It was so light, and packed full of flavor. We had a great evening, service was great. I'd highly recommend reservations, which you can conveniently make on their website. read more

We took a day trip to Springfield last weekend and VELE was a great find. Make a reservation if you go on Saturday because they were very busy. The service was excellent, with even the hostess checking in with us and fixing our wobbly table, unprompted! My boyfriend had the filet mignon, and the steak looked to be a perfect medium-rare. I snuck a bite of his mashed potatoes and they were heavenly. I had spicy seafood pasta and loved it. The sauce was creamy with just the right amount of heat, and I could tell that the squid ink pasta was made in-house. Additionally, we had crab cakes, and they were incredibly good. The accompanying aioli was phenomenal! The only part of our meal that was a little superfluous was the olive oil flight. The olive oils were unremarkable and not even locally made. If anything, this should have been a free bread course. VELE is going to be one of the best restaurants I go to this year, for sure. I loved this memorable, delicious experience! read more

Rather high end (expensive), but excellent food, very good service. The chicken Alfredo was wonderful--a little bit spicy!

Great food and outstanding service. One of the best restaurants in Springfield in my opinion. Don't miss it if you are in the capital city. read more

Best Caesar salad I have ever had but I was not fond of my seafood linguine! So disappointed.

We are food & beverage enthusiasts so we often keep up with local restaurant openings and menu changes. When we heard this restaurant had opened, we had to try it, hoping to get another dinner spot in our limited local rotation. It completely blew the top off our expectations! The food was exceptional for Springfield or anywhere. Actually, we used to love to visit Modesto in STL for tapas, but this is better to the point where I wouldn't miss Modesto or Chicago tapas restaurants at all. The service was great, despite the restaurant only recently opening and the place hopping with business. Someone is obviously taking the service as seriously as he should. We didn't go a moment without refilled water. Our server Sarah was professional and conscientious. She offered to move us to a bigger table to accommodate our large food order (we were trying to sample various small plates). She was informed about wines, which helped us feel confident in the serious foodie atmosphere at VELE. Most important, the food was absolutely amazing. We tried tender/ fatty/ authentic porchetta with intense flavor. The hot food was served piping hot (shrimp fritters, fried eggplant, grilled oysters, grilled octopus). The breaded items were delicate and had not absorbed excess oil. I love eggplant but my husband doesn't, yet we both scarfed down fried eggplant. Honestly, every single thing we tried, I would not only order again, but will be craving. This may be the most emphatic restaurant review I've written. Cannot be more excited to have this restaurant in Springfield. Bravo, chef. read more

VELE - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Hands down one of the best places in Springfield. The staff was very friendly and attentive. Apps and Steak were on the spot.

Delicious food, good service. Expensive, but we had a good experience, no issues. Not somewhere we'd go every day but perfect for a special occasion. read more

O M G. Everything was good! Down to the soup! The ambiance is perfect and we had such a wonderful experience. Highly recommend.

This place is amazing! The food is delicious and the presentation of the food is so pretty. You should definitely try this place if you are in Springfield. read more

VELE - Dessert - Seafood Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

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The ambiance is near perfect. You can dress up if you want or come in with casual clothes. Servers are outstanding. You have your primary server then other servers assist you too! I ordered the scallops for my main meal and when they came, I thought it was an appetizer. I was fortunate that my wife couldn't finish her meal so I was able to fill up on that. read more

We found this restaurant on Yelp after trying to no avail to find a restaurant "downtown" Springfield... we we were just in for one night and really hungry after driving all day... we were treated wonderfully from the phone call for "walk ins" to our fabulous waiter, Nick...food was delicious...Tirameseu dessert bomb was a treat (although we would have loved a video of the presentation!) This would be a weekly go to if we lived here! Wish I had a photo read more

Amazing meal. We've never been to Springfield and picked this spot based on Yelp for our first meal in town. Wow!! This place set the bar high for our four days in town. Before dessert arrived we were already talking about what evening we'd return before we left town!! Everything was amazing, including my coconut mojito the bartender made for me. Service was great and fast. Either we picked the best of the best dishes here, or, this place just rocks in general - in any case, highly recommend when visiting Springfield if you want a delicious meal! read more

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We recently visited Vele. Excellent experience all around. We ordered the steak medallions and crab cakes for appetizers and they were excellent. We then ordered four different entrees (seafood spaghetti, lobster linguine, halibut and lamb lollipops). Everyone was extremely pleased with their meal. The Lamb and halibut were both cooked to perfection. We capped off the night with tiramisu and drinkable desserts. Outstanding. Finally, the server was knowledgeable and very pleasant. We will be back. read more