Velma — Restaurant in New York

Walked in with a friend on Friday night for dinner. It was busy but they were able to seat us quickly.

Beautiful space. A lot of thought and intentionality was put into the flow of the space, with different types of seating and an “m” shaped bar which is a welcome alternative that allows the flow of people to be uninterrupted when people gather, and gives good visual space markers between the bar area and table area. Decor is cute, and with old italian style red checkered table clothes with paper on tol, lots of deep greens and great use of texture in the space. Behind the bar is reminiscent of scorpion records but organized, with old license plates, trucker hats and electicisms.

Good wine list, and drinks are appropriately priced for the neighborhood.

My friend and I ordered meatballs, the velma salad, and the vodka lumache. Meatballs were excellent, exactly what we were looking for- great texture, excellent slightly spicy and appropriately salted meat, and classic red sauce that makes you want to lick the dish. Bread with meatballs was perfect for the dish. The velma salad was ok- it could have been either better dressed or just salted before tossing for better flavor. The spicy vodka lumache was good- but not a pasta I would order again. It wasn’t particularly spicy nor did it have the creamy classic vodka sauce taste. Still, the flavor was good, just not what we expected. Pasta was cooked perfectly al-dente. I would definitely order the meatballs again.

Overall, great atmosphere and good experience. Will be back to try their...

Space nice. Staff friendly and helpful. Service quick. Drinks yum. Food mid.

Good portions for the price, but I honestly could've made a better bolognese from a jar. Severely underseasoned. Also tried my friend's parm, which was slightly better, but not $30 good (not that I'm complaining about the prices, cause you do get a decent amount of food).

Also a little heavy handed with the parmesan. I tasted nothing but that across the 3 dishes I tried. Should be optional.

I really really wanted to love Velma. It's conveniently located, and I do like everything else about it, but I don't think I would return for the food. There are better options.

3-star, but +1 for the...

UPDATE- I gave this place five stars last year. It was so good but I don’t know what happened. The chicken parm isn’t the same, the pasta is flavorless, even the specials are just not good. They said they didn’t change chef’s but then they must gave changed recipes or are doing cost cutting because it is not the same and the food has gone downhill big time. Such a shame and bummer. Went from awesome neighborhood gem to basic pizzeria takeout food.

Original review- now the chicken parm stinks.

A nice neighborhood gem. Friendly staff, good food. I really enjoyed their chicken parm special with hot cherry peppers. Low key, tasty, welcoming. I...