New West End eatery ‘Vela’ where you don’t have to wait for a seat

For a food reviewer, there really is nothing more terrifying than what was experienced walking into this brand new, glamorous 200-seat Brisbane restaurant.

There’s nothing more terrifying as a restaurant reviewer than walking into a brand new, 200-seat eatery with a fit-out that probably cost more than your house and seeing fewer diners than staff. But this was what happened on a recent midweek lunch visit to the just-opened Vela at the popular West Village precinct in Brisbane’s West End.

The sprawling Thai restaurant, split into sections with an ultra flashy, retro-meets-pop art interior has barely six tables of diners, certainly not enough to occupy the fleet of staff who stand around aimlessly.

The dining room at Thai restaurant Vela in West Village, West End. Picture: Supplied

However, good operators will tell you it is always better to be overstaffed than understaffed when launching a restaurant, and it’s certainly not the first rodeo for the group behind Vela. The hospitality veterans are responsible for the uber popular quintet of Kinn Thai eateries that stretch from Loganholme through Brisbane to North Lakes.

While all their venues boast bold and dramatic designs, this is by far the most premium with marble table tops, upholstered booths and banquettes, lavish curved ceiling details and even a giant moon suspended over the central bar.

The rear of the dining room at Thai restaurant Vela in West Village, West End. Picture: Supplied

Reflecting this new, more up-market offering is the menu, which aims to showcase traditional Thai flavours in fresh and inventive ways. That means everything from seared scallops with a chilli jam butter, or slow-cooked ox tongue with pickled egg yolk, to garlic butter prawns and crab fried rice. While the menu leans very seafood heavy, there are plenty of pork, chicken and beef options.

There are, of course, banquets too, starting from $75 per person, while lunchtime offers up a variety of specials from cashew nut crispy chicken to pad see ew at heavily discounted prices compared to dinner, as well as a $29 set menu featuring an entree, main and side.

The front dining space at Thai restaurant Vela, West End. Picture: Supplied

We dive into lobster-topped betel leaves ($8 each). With nashi pear, mint, fried shallots and a green chilli dressing, these are like little flavour grenades exploding with sweet, sour, spicy, salty delight. Upping the heat factor is the spicy tuna starter ($8 each) featuring sesame-dotted rice crackers swaddling diced raw tuna in a mustard and chilli mayo that will open up your sinuses in the most pleasant of ways.

From the rice and noodle section of the menu, we are debating between the Aussie favourite pad Thai or pad see ew, but are leaning towards the latter because the former had rolled noodles, which aren’t my favourite.

Spicy tuna at Thai restaurant Vela. Picture: Supplied

While we decided on the pad see ew in the end, after listening to our debate our waiter actually organised for the pad Thai to come out with flat instead of rolled noodles without informing us. It was a pleasant surprise, with the noodles able to get the full caramelisation from the pan, rendering them soft, sweet and sticky against the crunch of raw bean shoots, crushed peanuts and firm tail-on prawns. The only issue was, we were charged the $34 dinner price for the dish, instead of the lunch price of $26.

But perhaps the star of the show is the trio crab curry ($48), which draws eyeballs with a tower of battered soft shell crab clawing its way out of a sweet, mild yellow curry replete with crabmeat. With a side of coconut rice ($7), it’s a showstopper.

Perturbed by the lack of patronage during my lunchtime visit, I return on a Saturday night to find the restaurant abuzz with diners and about three-quarters full – a reassuring sign of its longevity in this troubled current market.

Three crab curry at Vela in West Village.

The evening is also a perfect time to explore the inventive cocktail and mocktail menu, with Thai-influenced sips like a Bangkok sour, basil smash and tropical silk. There are classic cocktails too, alongside a global wine list with plenty of local favourites at affordable prices.

While the service team is in need of more education around dishes, they are pleasant and food certainly comes out quickly.

Vela is a restaurant from those with pedigree in the arena, and with bright and boldly flavoured dishes and a fit-out that entices, it will surely find its following.

Thai restaurant Vela at West Village in West End.

Vela

Factory 2 West Village, 97 Boundary St, West End

3071 9380

velabrisbane.com

Open
Lunch and dinner daily

Verdict – Scores out of 5

Food 3.5

Service 2.5

Ambience 4

Value 3.5

Overall 3.5

Originally published as New West End eatery ‘Vela’ where you don’t have to wait for a seat