La Vela Dining & Bar

Best Italian food I’ve had thus far. Service is impeccable the staff goes above and beyond for you!. the owner Antonio is a great guy, hi take care our table, he order for us the most famous dishes.
i really really recommend to go there!!!

Very pleasant experience here.
The amatriciana pasta was absolutely delicious — highly recommend. Good texture and flavorful sauce. Perfect on a cold day. Large portion so keep that in mind.
Classy and modern décor.
Friendly service which I also highly appreciate!

This little restaurant, tucked on 11^th Ave just around the corner from 42^nd Street, was a great find for a Sunday brunch. Coming in around 1pm, there was no wait (only a handful of tables were taken) and were seated in the main dining area. There’s a large bar in another section with plenty of seating.
For brunch, they had a great menu with a few items for all taste buds, and I opted for the Pizza Bianca, with two types of cheese, an eggs, and prosciutto. The coffee we ordered was delicious (perhaps Italian?) and the food arrived in good time. The pizza dough was pillowy with plenty of cheese and a perfectly fried egg on top with the yolk just slightly runny. While I was excited for prosciutto, it looked like the pizza came with bacon instead. The bacon, however, was cooked perfectly and it didn’t disappoint.
Overall, I enjoyed this quiet little brunch place with quick, attentive service and even better prices (the pizza was $ 13!). I assume once the Sky building across the street (and several other buildings in the works in the area) are fully operational, this place might get more crowded, but I’m definitely coming back for pizza (and maybe happy hour).

My girlfriend and I have been going to La Vela on a weekly basis ever since they opened. She did a review after our first few visits and gave it 5 stars. It used to have a real neighborhood Italian feel and we loved going. Sandro, one of the co-​owners was always there to welcome people in to his restaurant in his genuine and flamboyant Italian manner and the food was always excellent. Exactly what you would want from a local Italian place.
Unfortunately this has all changed and out visit last night was a complete disaster.
We ordered our usual spinach salad which we asked to be delivered first. We also ordered a well done crispy pizza and pasta which we asked to be delivered after the salad. It took ages for the bread to arrive during which time we again confirmed our order with the girl behind the bar who seemed to be the manager on the night. To our surprise, the pizza arrived first and we then waited what seemed like 10 mins for the salad to arrive with another wait for the pasta. The pizza which was still good was unfortunately not crispy as we had requested. The pasta was completely overcooked (a first as they are always excellent at serving it al dente) and the meatballs were hard and tasteless. The meatballs were on the bar menu for $ 10 and we asked for some fettuccini to go with it which they charged $ 10 for. $ 20 for a pasta in a local Italian!!! At east cook the pasta right!
It’s been very disappointing to see the decline in La Vela as we used to love walking across the street to experience some true Italian ambiance and cooking. I guess that’s what happens when owners open up a new restaurant and quietly disappear.

Good not great food. Attentive service, but need to learn more about fine dining, for example waiter did not provide anything to help us share salad other than plates. Utensils would have been appropriate. Octopus appetizer was good, but there is no need for honey. Caesar salad was mostly the white ends of the romaine lettuce. Dressing was mediocre. Main courses were good and good sized portions. Dessert pastry was too cold. Also the front door needs to be modified to prevent cold air from blowing into entire restaurant when opened and we were not at the door. I would not go there again with so many other restaurants to try.

Came here right after finishing working a trade show at the Javits center. Great close location~~let the crowds die down and come here after a convention! The arugula salad is something I will dream about. So fresh, in the middle of December! Pizza was amazing. Everyone loved the pasta they ordered. Service was excellent. Nice cozy place, definitely will return.

We had Christmas Eve dinner at La Vela and it was a great experience! Fantastic service, and the La Vela Calamari was amazing! We’ll definitely come back when we are back in town.

Best service. Excellent food. Very personable staff. Great experience. Our waiter was there to make our experience a good one and had great recommendations on food. He takes care of his staff and you can tell he’s passionate about the restaurant. I would definitely go there again and highly recommend it to anyone who wants great Italian food and great service.

A real Italian restaurant, with a real Italian waiter. You know when you’re in a great place when the waiter doesn’t let you custom order something that is WRONG! The ambiance is warm and inviting. The food is AMAZING! Everything we ordered was top notch.
The only negative was the bar girl. She doesn’t know how to be nice. Got angry and grabby with my daughter for touching the heater.
I recommend everyone to try this restaurant. There is not a single bad item on the menu.

La Vela… Wonderful find!
Grilled Octopus w/​Balsamic reduction, yum!
Seafood Rice Balls… Crispy, Hot, absolutely delicious!
Linguini with white clam sauce. Tiny pearl clams. Sweet & delish!
Hot steamy pizza bread from their brick oven from Naples… A real treat!
Wonderful Staff
Wonderful Cocktails
Wonderful place!

All I can say is, please go right now before everyone knows about it and queue up.
Absolutely recommended.

Today, I was meeting up with a group of friends in the city for lunch, and we were all hungry after ice skating at Bryant Park. Being the foodie in the group, I was tasked with finding us a restaurant. I called Carmines, Junior Restaurant, and like 4 others, but they were all full for lunch. I finally decided to call some place farther away from Bryant Park. La Vela answered that call! Yes! Finally a restaurant with seats available right away!
This restaurant is a little outta the way. on 11^th Ave. It was a good 20min walk from Bryant Park. VERY long avenues. LOL Good thing I skipped leg day yesterday! Inside, it was very modern, clean décor. Seats were comfortable. High ceilings, well lit, tables weren’t right next to each other. The waiters immediately put together 4 tables side-​by-​side for us.
Lunch menu is double sided. Very easy to understand the dishes they offer. Thin-​crust pizza, salads, apps, pasta (Gluten-​free & Whole wheat available), panini, fish, meats. They have a wine menu by the bottle; they also offer wine by the glass, but strangely, they don’t have a menu with prices for that (Don’t really understand why not).
Our group all ordered relatively the same dishes: 2 Prosciutto pizzas, 3 chicken Parm panini, 2 Fettuccine Carbonara, and 1 Gnocchi. While we waited, waiters brought us some bread baskets with a pesto & olive oil dip.
This should be a 5 star review. But the one main problem we experienced today. From the time we gave our order to the waiter, to the time our food arrived, we waited at least 40mins. That’s a long ass time for food. Some of my friends were getting quite irritated. loll Delicious smell of pizza from nearby tables didn’t help either.
However, after what seemed like an eternity. Food finally arrived. And boy, was it worth it! Delicious pizza, very fresh ingredients. Prosciutto and arugula pizza was very tasty! Tried my friend’s Fettuccine Carbonara. Pasta was cooked al dente! Seasoned well too. Our water glasses were filled promptly.
Despite the location, La Vela is a great spot for affordable fine dining Italian/​Pizza. For 7 people, the damage came out to only $ 130. And we left full and quite satisfied. I’ll be back for sure!

Had a great dinner and the owner was very nice. Unfortunately, it was very cold because there is no curtain in front of the door, so every entrance brings another waft of winter in with it. We also ordered the Santa Sofia Valpolicella, which has to be one of the worst wines I have ever tasted and was very close to sending it back for its gasoline after-​taste. If it wasn’t recommended by the waiter, I would have. When you only pay $ 40 for a bottle, you get what you pay for, but in this case it was not.
Otherwise, the place has a lot of potential. The food was good, but probably not at a quality level that is appropriate for their prices. I had the chicken, which was good and ordered a side of the asparagus. The cost was $ 9 and I got 7 stalks. One of these days, this place will get their quality level up, and be a good spot. Now they are just a good spot.

Delish!!! Amazing food! Great atmosphere! Must go!!! Cavatelli was amazing so was the gnocchi and the lady next to us ordered the lasagna which we were salivating over!!! About to have dessert and we are super excited!

Absolutely wonderful. Best brick oven pizza in the area. The restaurant is new to the area and surprisingly large. They have done a really nice job separating the bar and the restaurant without making anything feel sectioned off.
We sat at the bar next to the oven and had a front row show how everything was prepared. We had two of the brick oven pizzas — margarita and the chefs special. They were amazing, some of the best that I’ve had in years. The dough is cooked to perfection and all ingredients are fresh.
The service was also great. They were attentive and gracious.
Now that the diner is gone, this will be my new go to place for a quick bite or sit down dinner. Oh, how could I forget — the zeppols. AMAZING!
In all this was a wonderful experience. The prices are more than reasonable and the food is excellent, I look forward to the next time.

This neighborhood is really lucky that Antonio and his partner Sandro have brought their talents, and charm, and their chef Joe, to a part of town that has very little to offer for folks needing a delicious Italian meal, a wonderful warm welcome and some sweet on the palate wines. With the recent loss of the Market Diner, there are few dining choices at the windy Western end of 42^nd street.
La Vela, just opened, has answered that need in a spacious and comfortable restaurant. Serving wonderful thin crust pizza from a wood fired oven, behind the generous bar. The food choices continue with delightful dishes, fresh ingredients, all prepared with a light touch that embellishes the flavors. This a friendly neighborhood joint that you’ll want to visit often, for it’s foodie worthy fare, and reasonable price point. BRILLIANT!

Thoroughly enjoyed 2 nights eating at the bar. Antonio is the perfect host, plus he’s a car guy.
Wood burning oven, amazing pizzas.
Don’t stop there, pastas are to die for.
I’ll return over and over again.

I was really not happy with their delivery service and was thinking writing a very negative review 2 stars. However, after just one bite of a pizza slice, I couldn’t refuse to admit that this was one of the best pizzas that I’ve had in the city for the past 4 years.
I saw a gigantic brick oven from the outside of the restaurant few months ago and wanted to try their brick oven pizza. I’ve tried 3 types so far and hit 100% success rate — can’t go wrong with any choice! Cheese is really delish and oven-​baked dough is very chewy.
— Ripieno: calzone style pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, sopressata and tomato sauce sauce inside. My favorite so far.
— Chef: With ham, prosciutto, mozzarella and mushrooms. It looks mediocre, but it’s really good. At a first glance, I thought this was daily chef recommended pizza, but it’s not. It’s an actual name.
— Prosciutto di Parma: no further explanation needed. thumb up.
La Vela opened only few months ago and haven’t been widely known yet in this area, so the place is usually not busy. Though I live in the same building where La Vela is located, I’ve always ordered delivery partly because I’m lazy to go down to the 1^st floor of my apt building and partly because the restaurant’s interior doesn’t seem great and cozy as much as I feel for dining in. This place is definitely not a upscale romantic Italian restaurant (FYI, for those who are looking for dating places).

I live upstairs from this place so my fiancée and I thought we’d check it out as it just opened. We were not disappointed. In fact its up there as the best Italian either of us have ever had in a combined 14 years in the city! Yes, its that good.
We would not have changed a single thing about our experience. We were warmly greeted when we walked in, got to pick where we sat, the décor is great and our waiter, who we think was also the owner, was amazing.
The Montepulciano wine is excellent and they give a generous pour. Even the Italian bread with pesto dipping sauce is phenomenal.
My only regret is that we weren’t overly hungry so did not have an appetizer as I’m sure it would have blown our minds!
For entrée’s my fiancée had the buccatini with crispy bacon in a tomato sauce which was delicious and I went with the gnocchi which had one of the best tomato sauces I’ve ever had, period.
Its unfortunate that we are leaving the city in a couple of weeks as this would definitely have been a regular dinner spot for us. As it is we’ll definitely try and head back at least one more time as the pizzas and other pasta dishes that were coming out of the kitchen all looked equally amazing.
There are some pretty decent Italian restaurants on 9^th but trust me, its worth the walk, or the trip from anywhere in the city, to come to La Vela and while its relatively quiet now, when word gets out and when the new residential buildings nearby start to fill up, this place will be rockin’.

So glad we FINALLY got a great restaurant in no mans land of 11^th avenue! We stopped in last Sunday and had an amazing meal! The service is super friendly and cheery. We split the spicy soppresata pizza and the garganelli with sausage and broccoli rabe. The pasta was perfectly cooked al dante and taste super fresh and the pizza had a generous amount of sauce, super tasty mozzarella and perfect crust. We also had a great Montepulciano D’Abruzzi. This is our new fav local spot!