New local fine dining- we were soooo excited.
Berks County starves for an occasion, elevated meal and experience in fine dining.
We were soooo eager to try Velvet. Through their social media we were enamored and couldn't wait to see the transformation & have a fancy meal.
We made a reservation for 4, for the main dining room a weekend after their opening. It was July 25th, for 6:15pm.
We parked, walked through the velvet ropes and past the ornate gold door.
What a change from the old pizza shop!
The decor is cool, modern, soft, inviting.
There's a beautiful large tree in the middle of the dining room- what a feature!
Decor and vibe are highlights.
Our server definitely seemed new to the game, but we were patient as she was attentive and polite.
We ordered drinks- signature dirty, gin martinis and old fashioneds. These were fine, nothing to rave over (no blue cheese olives though). The alcohol selection is limited.
We pondered over the menu. It's identity is confusing. I went in blind on the menu- no preview. There's elements of asian cuisine with burgers, fine plates. Read a bit of "if you pick your favorite foods", menu selection.
We ordered- appetizers including Oysters, Tuna Tartare and Lobster Dip.
The oysters were clean and fresh, however we did not have a selection of nor did the server know what type they were.
The tuna tartare was run of the mill.
Ripe avocado stack, the tuna was fresh but flavorless, the toast was bleh. The bread was just there. This dish needed salt and citrus.
The lobster "soup" arrived with 6 pita slivers.
We had asked for more pita that didn't arrive until our entrees were almost there.
So this lobster dip was very thin. And I would bet this meal- all it was, was the béchamel starter sauce to the lobster mac that they served as dip. It tasted exactly of that.
For entrees for ordered 2 plates of the Grilled Octopus, a Velvet Burger and the Pasta Wheel Alfredo.
The Alfredo comes with a show. The server arrived with a saucepan of pasta alfredo already cooked with sauce and awkwardly tossed the noodles in the parm wheel.
This strange wood cabinet was used that the wheel was on top of. There was a drawer that had the dish of chicken in, to top the pasta.
After the plate was assembled the utensils were placed and closed in this cabinet's wooden drawer. IDK, but sanitary design of this dish (and wear over time) was all that was going through my head.
This dish was just fair. The pasta cooked well and cheesy, but the chicken was crazy dry.
My husband's burger was not prepared appropriately. He asked for super rare and it came medium well. The meat needed seasoning and the fries cried for salt.
Now to the finer dining part, right- the octopus.
Mind you- my sister and I love octopus. It is an art to cook properly. And when done well, it's a kitchen's kudos. But when done poorly, it appears alike this dish at Velvet.
Chew on chew on chew on chew.
Only the smallest tentacles were edible and cooked through. The char was unremarkable. The potatoes and sauce gave some life to this. But this poor octopus died in vain. This dish was just bad- both of our plates. We didn't eat it.
Velvet did not meet the expectation they hyped.
Hoping they improve with time, thought and careful cooking.
But for now-
The smoothest thing about Velvet is their Instagram reels. read more