Vela — Restaurant in Doylestown

The bartenders at this place are POMPUS! Their "specialty" drinks are the worse.. and most of all- their service is TERRIBLE- RUDE and FULL OF THEMSELVES!!! P.S. THEY HAVE 8 HEALTH VIOLATIONS AGAINST THEM INCLUDING KITCHEN CONTAMINATION AND SANITATION ISSUES:

1 No bare hand contact with RTE foods or approved alternate method properly followed Inspector Comments Food workers observed using bare hands for preparing ready to eat food. Disposable gloves, deli tissue, tongs or similar utensils must be used to prevent bare hand contact with ready to eat food.

2 Adequate handwashing facilities supplied & accessible Inspector Comments Hand sink in the pizza prep area is not supplied with soap and paper towels. Provide.

3 Food separated & protected Inspector Comments Facility is using paper towels to line pasta in the prep unit. All food contact surfaces must be smooth, easily cleanable and non-porous. Paper towels are not permitted as a food contact surface. Must remove all paper towels and replace with wax paper, plastic wrap or other cleanable material.

4 Food-contact surfaces: cleaned & sanitized Inspector Comments The peeler and can opener have food debris buildup. All food contact surfaces must be washed and sanitized at regular intervals.

5 Proper cold holding temperature Inspector Comments Food is being stored above the prep unit outside of the refrigeration limits. Time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food must be cold held at or below 41ºF. Store all foods within refrigeration limits or provide a monitored ice bath where the ice is to the top of the product and food remains at 41°F or below.

6 Contamination prevented during food preparation, storage & display Inspector Comments Bulk products are being scooped with soup containers. Provide a utensil or scoop with a handle to prevent contamination.

7 In-use utensils: properly stored Inspector Comments Spoons at the cook line are being stored in standing water. Utensils must be stored in water above 135°F or on a dry cleanable surface. Ice scoop is being stored on top of the ice machine. The top of the ice machine is not cleaned and sanitized every 4 hours, as required for a contact surface, therefore the ice scoop may not be stored on the top of the machine. Must either keep the scoop in the ice with the handle up and away from the ice, or in a container that is easily cleanable.

8 Food & non-food contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed, & used Inspector Comments Breville, Cuisinart, and Kitchenaid pieces of equipment in the prep room are Household pieces of equipment. All items in a food facility must be commercially graded for ANSI certifications. Must start replacing these items with commercial pieces of equipment and remove the...

Such a mixed bag! Three and a half stars is probably more fair but four would be too many. The ambience is fine but not great. It is clean and modern but no textiles to speak of and with a vaulted ceiling it was too noisy, and this was on a tame Tuesday night. We were seated promptly and offered a menu. She had the Malbec which got positive reviews and I ordered the Pinot noir but they were out of it. Bummer. I went with the cote de Rhône instead and it was very good. We then were brought bread and olive oil with herbs which was very tasty. Nice California oil with a bit of a bite. We ordered the oysters to start and they were absolutely stunning. Better than the Acme oyster house good. Next to arrive were the beet salad with blue cheese and the mesclun greens with sour cherries, goat cheese and walnuts. Both salads were wonderful with fresh greens, quality cheeses and expertly prepared beets. To this point the server is very attentive and the food great. Modest ambience and lack of Pinot were my only gripes but a five star experience so far. We both order specials. I had the beef rib and she the petite filet with prosciutto wrapped shrimp. The server has now been to our table about ten times and is getting annoying. My rib was delish and side veg were excellent. Her steak was not prepared correctly and very bland and yes I know it was a filet. When we mention that it's fine but not great the server shrugs and offers salt. We don't believe in wasting food and certainly wouldn't have sent it back, but something other than 'yeah sorry. Anyway want some salt?" would have been better. She had another Malbec and I switched to a cab and again both were good. We finished with the mouse cake and some coffee, both of which were okay. The cake was tasty but seemed a day or two old. It was rich but all one consistency which was a let down. By the end of the meal the server interrupted us so many times I wanted to offer him a chair and phone mom to introduce him. Five stars was probably not realistic but this meal could have easily been four or even four and a half. Some wonderful food was dulled by a pretty terrible steak and a definite lack of attention to detail. A good experience but I won't rush back. Total price without tip was $177. You can get better food...

Where do I even begin? This was one of the absolute WORST dining experiences I have ever had. We made reservations ahead of time since we had a larger party of 12. For that size group, we received two measly bread baskets and two glass bottles of water for refills. When the water was depleted, there was no effort from the wait staff to bring more water. When more bread was offered, we accepted, but it never showed up. Then came the appetizers. They were mediocre AT BEST and took forever to be delivered. The wait between the appetizers and the entrees was ridiculously long to the point where we were wondering if they forgot about us. To really make matters worse, the entrees started rolling out, ONE AT A TIME. For a party of 12, for the entrees to come out slowly one by one is unacceptable. Some people's food either got cold or was practically finished by the time the final entrees were served. Someone requested a second cocktail. It was never brought. The entrees themselves were not great. Some people enjoyed their dishes more than others. The halibut special had next to no flavor. For dessert, we had brought a cake since we were celebrating a birthday. Between the main course and dessert, we, again, had to wait an unacceptable amount of time. The cake was then hacked into, not cut normally, the slices were the size of an index card (and that's being generous). Then we had to flag the waiter down to request the check. We also had to flag them down so they could take our payment and we could get out of there after 2 and a half hours. Words can't even do it justice how terrible the experience was. By the end of the meal, we began laughing at how ridiculous and unbelievable it was. Do not come here unless you want to have subpar food, heinous service and a painfully slow meal. Would NOT recommend to anyone, especially not...