Stayed at Yotel and had to try out their two restaurants as well. We got a brunch dish from Vela in the morning and also reserved dinner for one of the nights. For dinner, we got the lasagna, whole fish, steak tartare, and cherry cheesecake. All of the food was solid and the cheesecake was my favorite! It wasn't too dense and had a strong cherry flavor. Service was good. The restaurant was pretty empty when we came, the server checked in and always made sure everything was good.
G
Just went for drinks and
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Emilia R.
I've had two lovely experiences at Vela. I'm staying at the hotel that Vela is located in so it was a no brainer when I was ready for a cocktail my first evening. Bartender was a little standoffish at first but started to warm up to me and my boyfriend. The bar was able to make our classic cocktails with the liquor of our choice. Drinks were expensive. 4 drinks cost us about $100 with tip. The next day I came back down to try the breakfast. Service was VERY speedy. I had the eggs Benedict- my favorite. I also ordered a tea and they served me Tazo black tea, which I was very excited about. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and instead of Canadian bacon, there was ham. My biggest complaint was that the English muffin was too thick. Other than that, breakfast was fantastic. I'm very shocked by the other reviews. Maybe I need to try a dinner here but I was very impressed after reading the reviews and trying it anyway.
Cruz Vargas
Good plating / presentation and very friendly staff. Medium to low quality foodHalibut was unreasonably spicy (I love spicy food), bison was majorly underseasoned, fries weren’t cooked through somehow, duck and noodles were OK. Caesar salad was drenched in dressing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Michael C.
This place is new and inside the Yotel in Seaport. The food is excellent, and the bar is a great place for grabbing excellent Coffee in the morning!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John Williamson
We're in town from Alaska and happen to come across Vela Seaport. It was an unassuming place that provided huge flavors and a magnificent dining experience. The seer on the scallops, in duck fat, was one of the best my wife ever had. My Bison was superbly cooked, with flavors to savor. It was outstanding. Thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
JoeB
Ordered the scallops, and due to the marmalade it is served with the dish was inedible. The scallops were also not cleaned properly. No apologies given from either the wait staff or manager. Poor value overall even with the decent appetizers and desserts. They were also out of 1 dish when we arrived, a second one (the scallops ironically) after we arrived, and they were also out of 1 dessert. Possibly not their fault, possibly poor planning by whoever orders supplies.
Noni Rose
Amazing customer service and accommodations for a large group on short notice. They also made it super easy when someone in our group had a dietary restriction. Will definitely be recommending this spot to everyone coming into the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
PhilipQ
Nice little spot. We really enjoyed our food. Services was also quite nice. We had a slight mishap where one of our dishes was forgotten by staff, and we didn't notice we were still charged for it. Oh well.
Jfhhi
The food was wonderful, my wife and I had the Salmon which was great. Overall the menu is really well thought out, we have eaten there several times and have always been impressed. It was clear the staff truly cares about your experience as the server was incredibly attentive and the manager even stopped by to make sure all was well.
There wasn't a power outage, but I think the chef may have been working in the dark. First, my salad greens were rotten. You know, that blackened goopy way leafy vegetables get? Not one or two small pieces, but over HALF of the salad. How does this even make it out of the kitchen? I also ordered steak frites. The serving standard for a dish like this is beef thinly crosscut, along side shoestring fries. But at Vela, it was served in three large chunks, along side "fries" that looked like French toast sticks, and served over asparagus. I'm all for a twist on things, but just like with the salad, the asparagus was yellowed and mushy halfway up the stems. At home, many people regularly clean their fridges of vegetables that have become inedible. At a restaurant, this should never happen and at the very least, the rotting vegetables should never be served. It's careless. It's amateur. And for the owner, for the head chef, it's an indicator of bad management. I informed the server about the salad. It's always awkward, but they didn't charge for it. But when the asparagus was served, I just stopped eating altogether. There's nothing worse than not trusting what comes out of a kitchen. We just asked for the bill and left our uneaten food at the table. So be warned and don't waste your time or money at Vela. There are better restaurants in the neighborhood.
ChristineL
Great addition to the Seaport. Management on site was very gracious and welcoming. Staff excellent. Food was very inventive & good, adding nice variety to the array of Seaport restaurants. Food was a little slow coming out. Wine selection very limited, but we were informed that there were bottles not on the list and they did a great job helping to get us a couple of good bottles of wine.
ValerieW
The salmon and peaches were phenomenal as was the key lime pie in a jar! The GM, Cheyenne and our waiter, Mohammed went over and above to make sure our dining experience was exceptional.
Ziad Moukheiber
Had the pleasure of dining at Vela. A real delight. The fried oysters as well as the hamachi were delicious. Really enjoyed the dessert, sticky toffee pudding with ice cream, and the hello at the end from Chef Guara was the cherry on top. Chef Guara is one of Boston’s best. Will go back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robert F
Wonderfully comfortable and beautifully decorated. Each course was creative, attractive, and, more to the point, delicious. The service was attentive and engaging. Just a first-rate experience.
Stayed at Yotel and had to try out their two restaurants as well. We got a brunch dish from Vela in the morning and also reserved dinner for one of the nights. For dinner, we got the lasagna, whole fish, steak tartare, and cherry cheesecake. All of the food was solid and the cheesecake was my favorite! It wasn't too dense and had a strong cherry flavor. Service was good. The restaurant was pretty empty when we came, the server checked in and always made sure everything was good.
Just went for drinks and
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
I've had two lovely experiences at Vela. I'm staying at the hotel that Vela is located in so it was a no brainer when I was ready for a cocktail my first evening. Bartender was a little standoffish at first but started to warm up to me and my boyfriend. The bar was able to make our classic cocktails with the liquor of our choice. Drinks were expensive. 4 drinks cost us about $100 with tip. The next day I came back down to try the breakfast. Service was VERY speedy. I had the eggs Benedict- my favorite. I also ordered a tea and they served me Tazo black tea, which I was very excited about. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and instead of Canadian bacon, there was ham. My biggest complaint was that the English muffin was too thick. Other than that, breakfast was fantastic. I'm very shocked by the other reviews. Maybe I need to try a dinner here but I was very impressed after reading the reviews and trying it anyway.
Good plating / presentation and very friendly staff. Medium to low quality foodHalibut was unreasonably spicy (I love spicy food), bison was majorly underseasoned, fries weren’t cooked through somehow, duck and noodles were OK. Caesar salad was drenched in dressing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
This place is new and inside the Yotel in Seaport. The food is excellent, and the bar is a great place for grabbing excellent Coffee in the morning!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We're in town from Alaska and happen to come across Vela Seaport. It was an unassuming place that provided huge flavors and a magnificent dining experience. The seer on the scallops, in duck fat, was one of the best my wife ever had. My Bison was superbly cooked, with flavors to savor. It was outstanding. Thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ordered the scallops, and due to the marmalade it is served with the dish was inedible. The scallops were also not cleaned properly. No apologies given from either the wait staff or manager. Poor value overall even with the decent appetizers and desserts. They were also out of 1 dish when we arrived, a second one (the scallops ironically) after we arrived, and they were also out of 1 dessert. Possibly not their fault, possibly poor planning by whoever orders supplies.
Amazing customer service and accommodations for a large group on short notice. They also made it super easy when someone in our group had a dietary restriction. Will definitely be recommending this spot to everyone coming into the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice little spot. We really enjoyed our food. Services was also quite nice. We had a slight mishap where one of our dishes was forgotten by staff, and we didn't notice we were still charged for it. Oh well.
The food was wonderful, my wife and I had the Salmon which was great. Overall the menu is really well thought out, we have eaten there several times and have always been impressed. It was clear the staff truly cares about your experience as the server was incredibly attentive and the manager even stopped by to make sure all was well.
Restaurantji Recommends
There wasn't a power outage, but I think the chef may have been working in the dark. First, my salad greens were rotten. You know, that blackened goopy way leafy vegetables get? Not one or two small pieces, but over HALF of the salad. How does this even make it out of the kitchen? I also ordered steak frites. The serving standard for a dish like this is beef thinly crosscut, along side shoestring fries. But at Vela, it was served in three large chunks, along side "fries" that looked like French toast sticks, and served over asparagus. I'm all for a twist on things, but just like with the salad, the asparagus was yellowed and mushy halfway up the stems. At home, many people regularly clean their fridges of vegetables that have become inedible. At a restaurant, this should never happen and at the very least, the rotting vegetables should never be served. It's careless. It's amateur. And for the owner, for the head chef, it's an indicator of bad management. I informed the server about the salad. It's always awkward, but they didn't charge for it. But when the asparagus was served, I just stopped eating altogether. There's nothing worse than not trusting what comes out of a kitchen. We just asked for the bill and left our uneaten food at the table. So be warned and don't waste your time or money at Vela. There are better restaurants in the neighborhood.
Great addition to the Seaport. Management on site was very gracious and welcoming. Staff excellent. Food was very inventive & good, adding nice variety to the array of Seaport restaurants. Food was a little slow coming out. Wine selection very limited, but we were informed that there were bottles not on the list and they did a great job helping to get us a couple of good bottles of wine.
The salmon and peaches were phenomenal as was the key lime pie in a jar! The GM, Cheyenne and our waiter, Mohammed went over and above to make sure our dining experience was exceptional.
Had the pleasure of dining at Vela. A real delight. The fried oysters as well as the hamachi were delicious. Really enjoyed the dessert, sticky toffee pudding with ice cream, and the hello at the end from Chef Guara was the cherry on top. Chef Guara is one of Boston’s best. Will go back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderfully comfortable and beautifully decorated. Each course was creative, attractive, and, more to the point, delicious. The service was attentive and engaging. Just a first-rate experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5