Velvet belly is one of those rare restaurants in which you can order any item on the menu and know it will be good. Never had a bad experience there. Their service is impeccable as well. My favorite dish is by far the beef tartar, it's one of the best foods I've ever had. Their oysters are always very fresh and all the appetizers are great. Their sushi is not my favorite in the area, it's not bad at all, but isn't the best, which is understandable since they're not a sushi restaurant per se. I would avoid the sushi and go with the other dishes in their menu. Their drinks are also amazing, my favorite is fuzzy momo.Always a good idea to make a reservation first since it can be pretty busy, especially around the weekend.
Great sea food restaurant- there’s a variety of dishes from makis to grilled food. Our favorite was the salmon pastrami. The grilled octopus was really good, too.
Amazing experience all the way around. To friendly staff and awesome atmosphere to the incredible sushi and entrees. We’ll have to go back again to try all we couldn’t on our first visit.!!
This is the number 1 must try for anyone in Rochester. This is the perfect place to feel pampered with incredible service and amazing food. Their drink menu is very creative and something for everyone. The small plates have a great selection to get things started. We actually jumped on the raw oysters of the day from Prone Edward Island. We also ordered the Waygu beef special, which we had higher hopes for but fell short of expectations. We felt that putting our appetite trust to the Chef with a couple of Omakase’s would be fun. OMG, it was an amazing spread of the freshest and most delicious sushi. Perfect cuts, perfect temperature and fresh as can be. The omakase does start off the courses with a fresh miso soup with the tastiest mushrooms and the ginger vinaigrette cucumber salad got our tastebuds going! Of course we had to have dessert with the ice cream sorbet combo and their flourless chocolate cake. Nothing like the ginger ice cream By the way. The service was excellent. Thank you Emily!You have to try Velvet Belly!
Actually was here both Friday and Saturday nights this weekend. Both nights, the food, drinks, and service were spectacular. However, this evening we were approached at our table by a woman who I would assume is some sort of manager. She asked how everything was to which we gave glowing compliments. We were then told that our table had another reservation at 9 and that the party was in the restaurant. We were told that we would have to move to the sushi table to finish our drinks. We politely declined as the drinks we were finishing were our desert drinks. We were not finished with our meal. I realize times are hard for the food and beverage industry. Being an avid foodie, I never stopped ordering from my favorite places and/or visiting them during the pandemic. I also understand the need to usher people along to make way for another reservation. However, if I haven’t finished I do not feel this practice is appropriate. Offer your new reservation a complimentary drink at the bar while they wait. There are always things that can be done to accommodate. And perhaps I would have been more accommodating if this scenario was approached differently and/or we hadn’t spent over $1000 at this establishment over the last two days.
My wife and I went for a dinner date night and were not disappointed. She had one of the signature drinks before dinner and was pleased for sure. The menu is not to big where you have to go back and fourth which was nice. Oysters were good but the scallops were excellent. Sushi was on point as well.
We had an amazing experience all around — Troy was a wonderful waiter and everything we ordered was delicious. Favorites were the SFG roll and the cauliflower entree.
Staff was extremely tentative and friendly. The atmosphere is really relaxed and enjoyable. The food was good. Not great but good. Glad we went to try a new Rochester place!
Thank you Velvet Belly for providing me with a lovely date experience. This was my first time dining here and I just had a lovely time. The staff was very interactive and friendly. The food was perfect for sharing and made the date very intimate. I thoroughly enjoyed the drinks I had the shark bait and the Palomar (the shark bait was my favorite). I also had a change to try the nutcracker and all I will say is…. you only need one. My favorite dish was the off the menu tuna with the negi hamachi roll in a close second. My only issue with the dish was the calamari, for some reason the chewy texture was a lot of too chewy and made it difficult to swallow. It was like it was nearly impossible for tear apart with your own teeth. However, it was still very tasty. The roasted oysters was very savory but what made me really like the dish was the hints of bacon. I would definitely return here, hopefully on another date.
In short, the hottest restaurant in Rochester. Elevated cuisine, delicious cocktails, and awesome people; it's hard to go wrong here. Regardless of your tastes, the expert team behind the bar can find something for every palate. As for food, I tried about half the menu. My favorites were the crab cakes, the duck, and the stuffed calamari, but everything was perfectly made. I'd trust that if they put it on the menu, it'll be of the highest quality and utterly delectable. I'm out of adjectives; try it and you will not be disappointed.