La Vela Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Solomons

I preface this review with the caveat that I lived in Italy for several years, therefore my expectations for Italian cuisine and what I actually get in the States has probably ruined me forever when it comes to most American Italian restaurants.

My husband and I dined at La Vela last night. We’d heard a lot of positive things about the restaurant and were excited to try it. He made reservations (a $20 charge) and we arrived on time. As expected for a Friday night the restaurant was full and there was a line going up the stairs.

Yes. You read that right. There is no waiting area. So we stood in line on the stairs. (I’m noting this for anyone who has mobility issues.)

Despite having made a reservation we still had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated, which we did not mind.

First impressions, the restaurant itself is tastefully decorated, the vibe is upscale relaxed. Dress up or dress down, you’ll be right at home.

Our meal: Moments after being seated our server brought us some warm bread with oil and vinegar which included a roasted garlic clove for dipping, and ice water. The bread was lovely. We ordered the “Italian Boat” for our appetizer. This Salumi dish was a meal in itself. I wish they had listed what types of cheese they served or we had thought to ask. Only because one of the options was a Gorgonzola or perhaps a Murianego blue cheese. Both my husband and I aren’t the biggest fans of these cheeses so we would have likely asked to swap those options for the other hard cheeses or advised our server to ask those not to be plated, so the cheese wouldn’t have been wasted on us. (No one wants to waste good cheese!) The meats on offer were a few slices each of Prosciutto, what I think was Coppa, and perhaps Mortadella. The meat and cheese were accompanied by a few slices of perfectly grilled eggplant, dried apricots, cranberries, pistachios, a jam, and toasty bread. I would have loved to see some olives on this dish, and perhaps some cantaloupe chunks in lieu of the dried cranberries to make it more authentically Italian, but I didn’t miss them.

For our main course my husband ordered the Fettucine Bolognese. I sampled the sauce and thought it was quite good. He cleaned his plate.

I ordered the Penne Caprese. I felt right off the bat that it included too much sauce, even for southern Italian cuisine, but I actually love a lot of sauce so I was excited. My excitement quickly died when I tried it though. The penne itself was slightly overcooked and the sauce, though flavorful, was a tad too salty. The meal included mozzarella which was described on the menu as being fresh. Truly fresh Mozzarella is hard to find in southern Maryland, and it as the reason why I ordered this dish. When I bit into the cheese it was cold, and was quickly chilling my pasta dish and therefor did not melt at all. Considering it had been mixed into the pasta and not served on the side or even on top like a Caprese salad it was totally off putting and ruined this dish for me. I didn’t eat it. Mozzarella when used in pastas (or pizza) is baked typically or served cold on a salad so biting into cold cheese ruined the experience for me.

Prosecco is my wine of choice when I enjoy a meatless pasta but their offering is at best a $13 bottle, and for $9 a glass I skipped that and went with a Peroni beer (a favorite of ours) which was served in the bottle with a cold glass (chef’s kiss!). I also ordered a shot of their limoncello as it was listed in a cocktail on the menu as made in house. It was smooth, and easy to drink. I definitely recommend.

Overall we’d definitely return, we’d skip making the reservation and use the $20 to dive into desert or perhaps another appetizer.

Giving this experience 3 stars only because I had no desire to eat my main after a few bites. It does not reflect their great wait staff or the quality of the food or the...

When we try a new restaurant, we usually arrive at happy hour and have apps. It's a great way of auditioning a chef's work without committing a week's salary. We are staying in the attached marina for a month or so, and the restaurant is at the end of the dock, so we decided to give it a try in the "usual way."

As we arrived, and sat down at the bar, a disgruntled patron was giving the chef a piece of his mind in front of the entire dining room. We didn't let that dissuade us from our mission, but we did note it.

We each ordered apps and I ordered a beer. The bottle was served beside a chilled glass (+points!). I ordered the meatball appetizer, and my girlfriend ordered the mussels & clams app. Bread with an EVOO/balsamic/roasted garlic dip came fast, and both apps came out in about 15 minutes. The shellfish were very nicely done, delicious, and piping hot. The meatball app was one large and lonely meatball served in a pool of marinara alongside two grilled points of garlic bread. The meatball app was lukewarm (at best) but tasted quite good. Pro tip to the chef: do the math. One BIG meatball divided into two smaller (more shareable) meatballs uses about the same amount of meat, reheats faster (and hopefully better than mine was reheated), and seems like far more food on the plate. πR^2 is your friend. We did complain about the cold food, and they offered to replace it, but I didn't want to wait for it, it tasted OK cool, and we wanted to get something else. Like I said, we're trying to get a feel for the restaurant before we come in and drop real money on entrees.

I then ordered another beer and we opted to order the margherita flatbread app. The flatbread took a long time to come out of the kitchen, but it arrived piping hot! It was a solid B+ dish. It would've benefitted from a bit more cheese at the edges, and a bit more fresh basil, but those are minor quibbles.

We then asked for the check, which came without the happy hour deal being applied to the beers, and nothing was comped for the cold appetizer. Another pro tip for the chef/management. If a customer declines a replacement dish when you serve something cold that should be warm and says, "it tastes OK, it's just cold," he is saving you the cost of firing a whole other dish and throwing the cold one away. Comp the cold one. That's just good customer service (not to mention: a small investment in repeat business with a customer who is spending a month 50 yards from your door). We did not ask that the meatball be comped. We did not expect it to be comped. We hoped it would be comped, because that would bring us back for the entrees we were eyeballing on the menu on another night.

It was not a great first impression. We will have to decide if there will be a second chance on this one. The food tasted good. The customer service was the iffy spot. It also seemed to take a long time for the bar staff to clear empty plates as people finished their meals (not just us). Every joint sets out a cold/mistimed dish from time to time. Owning the error and compensating for it adequately is where things fell down on this culinary audition/visit.

Did we like the appetizers? Yup. Would we return for the same treatment we just enjoyed? Nope. Would we return and drop $25-30 per plate on entrees, based on our recent experience? Probably not…and that is why we always audition a restaurant with apps...

I absolutely loved the ambience at LA Vela Italian Restaurant. The vibe was warm, intimate, and mellow. My friends invited my hubby and I out to dinner at LA Vela and I was excited to try this establishment. I already new I wanted to try the Grilled Octopus and was leaning towards the Lobster Ravioli...and so I did.

The Grilled Octopus was my choice of an appetizer and it was okay. The Octopus was too charred in areas and other areas were just which leads me to believe the Octopus was once frozen and then thawed. I found a stringing like slim consistency that made we belive it wasn't properly prepared before cooking. And the flavor was lacking, bland more so. I've had Octopus at another restaurant and it was superb. Eating it here made me rethink my love of Octopus and surfaced doubts about my entree. However, the sweet potato hash was the highlight of the dish.

The Lobster Ravioli was plated beautifully and I was so looking forward to taking a bite. Regrettably, the first bite instantly triggered my gag reflex. I had to try very hard to hold in and chew the piece of ravioli I had placed in my mouth. The ravioli wasn't fishy or putrid however, there was this strange offputting essence from the flavor of the lobster filling existing in my mouth, all the way to the back of my throat. I couldn't describe it; my friend tried it and even she noticed aomething was off. She described the flavor as if the lobster came out of a dirty canal. It wasn't the cook's fault; maybe it was the supplier choice of vendors? Who knows.

I returned my plate to our wonderful waitress and was given the option to choose something else. I tried my a muscle from my friend's Linguini 7 Fishes entree and it tasted really good, but after experiencing two failed dishes, I chose not to order anything else off the dinner menu. My hubby ordered the Chicken Parmesan and that too was bland - his experience and mine too as I tried a small peice of his food. My friend's husband had the Veal Parmesan and that too was bland to me as he offered and I tired a piece of his veal.

My palate is different; I am use to flavor and seasoning (not salt alone). I am starting to realize what one group/restaurant believes to be perfectly seasoned is a completely different from another's version. I have constantly been disappointed I most if not all restaurants in St. Mary's County and it's because of our different upbringing and what we've been groomed to believe as tasteful. Taste is everything and one must find the balance between spices, herbs, and salt. I can appreciate various cuisines, but regardless of the cooking style, it must be executed well.

I appreciate the establishment attempts to make my experience right. I eventually ordered dessert, the Crème Brûlée and I thought it was an 8 out 10. The filling was done well and the fresh fruit were fresh.

My opinion, this is not the restaurant for me. But if you're looking for a great location, excellent customer service, and good vibes for dinner then, you'll find it...