Vespa Ristorante

I love the ambience here, they've got an adorable Italian theme with bright colors -- especially Carolina Blue -- and really cute patio dining with a dedicated lot! (Unheard of on Franklin St). The service also is exemplary. I've been here with a large group and just as a couple, both times the service was incredibly attentive, professional, and helpful. There were a few expertly couched warnings in the waiter's description which I appreciated; very very classy (he had a very polite way of saying the Gnocchi might not be filling enough).

However, the food here is very good, classic, and well-presented Italian food -- I just can't see why it costs $15 - $30. Was it good? --Yes it was. Was it great or outstanding? --Not really. The flavors didn't knock me over and nothing was incredibly original.

I will probably come back here for fun outdoor dining with the girls on Half-Price Wednesday nights, but otherwise I'm headed to 411 West for expertly-crafted Italian food at a great value, and more romantic cheesy ambience.

I came here after buying a Groupon, and was impressed! I had low expectations after reading other people's reviews, but my experience was a good one. We were seated immediately (had reservations made via Open Table), and our server was very attentive and quick in taking our order. The food (crab ravioli) didn't take too long to come out either, and was delicious. The restaurant is small and cozy, and decorated in a way that's both home-like and romantic. They also have a small parking lot, which was very convenient!

Very yummy and nice ambiance. Very friendly. But hard to find a parking spot.
Omg! Their marinara is homemade and so fresh tasting. I have never had calamari this fresh tasting.

This place is definitely a-ok! The lunch specials are reasonable (main, side salad or soup, and bread) and I had a few things that I liked and some that I didn't so like. The chicken panini was probably one of the best I've had in years. The ciabatta bread was fresh and toasted just right. The soup of the day, some kind of veggie,was pretty weak though. The broth wasn't very hardy and very few veggies other than carrots to be seen. The salads were very good though so I would get that before I got soup again as a side. The bread is bread-not worth the additional carbs for me. The gluten free pasta dish was funky. Not because it was gluten free but I expected it to have fresh tomatoes and not stewed like. I really wish they would add an Alfredo or pesto sauce to the lunch line up.

I would like to go back and try dinner since their menu is more diverse then. On Wednesday nights entrees are 1/2 off and you can get an early bird 3 course meal between 5 and 6 for about $20. The cocktails looked promising but I didn't try.

I'd probably bump it up to five stars if they had a self serve ICEE MACHINE.

Good deal on Wednesday, half off all entree. (Totally didn't know that till we got there) Only downside: there is few entrees left when we arrived. When we got there, there was no more pork osso bucu, beef, salmon or asparagus...

We end up with the veal and chicken parmigiana. Slightly under-seasoned but the pasta was expertly cooked.

The service is okay, and the maitre d was very courteous and professional. Overall, pretty good experience but I wished I had the other dishes we heard so much about... we will be back though.

They need some work. My hubby and I went on a dead Friday night and the service was slow and server not so friendly. We ordered the lasagna which was delicious but extremely small (literally 3"x3"). We complained to the manager and she made it right and said they're not normally that small (why would the kitchen even send it out then??). The Chicken Parm was literally baked chicken with a slab of cheese on it. Meh.
The drinks were delicious and priced right. For our first time, not overly impressed with all of the other great choices on Franklin Street.

I really don't understand the negative reviews here. We have had a great dinner in the past here. We don't get to Chapel Hill as often as we'd like, but if we did, we'd be back here more often.

This weekend, we ended up spending a night in Chapel Hill, and found ourselves near Vespa in between meal times. (around 3pm). They had an Open sign though so we went in, and said we just wanted drinks and an appetizer, was that possible?

What proceeded was a very pleasant time that included a glass of wine for me, a drink for Husband, and a nice platter of calamari and zucchini with marinara to dip in. We really enjoyed talking to Gabby and Kyle, who both seem so proud and passionate about where they are working and the quality of the food and drinks they get to serve.
Kyle had us drooling with his description of their pork loin stuffed with apricots in a fig port sauce

. Too bad we had other dinner plans! We'll be back though!

This place was recommended by my hotel. I almost didn't go after looking at reviews. I did, and I'm glad.

Several of the poor reviews are based on service. Mine was great, but I was one of 3 tables (actually, I sat at the bar) on a Thur night during summer break.

The enthusiastic server, Savannah, I think, referred to several items as the best ever. The tomato cream soup was one of them, and it was pretty good. The calamari appetizer was just average, maybe slightly below. They came out really quickly, so I suspect they were not freshly prepared. But the "beat lasagna I'll ever have" was exactly that. The pasta was clearly made from scratch, thin, and delicious.

Overall, it was a fantastic $40ish meal (including 2 glasses of wine and tip).

Vespa offers a delicious Italian dinner in a unique atmosphere - narrow, intimate spaces with warm orangey-pink walls, decorated with movie posters. It would be a good place to bring a date, since it's not your usual loud, crowded college-town dining establishment.

The menu is small, but the food is fresh and tasty. They have excellent specials, too. I really enjoy their gnocchi, when it's available - it tastes more potato-y than any I've found in any other area restaurant. Also, they're very amenable to substitutions, if you want your pasta in a different sauce from the one they put it in on the menu - I like to put the pink sauce on everything.

My wife and I came in for dinner last night. Food was really excellent! We ordered Caesar salad, gnocchi, lamb shank and ricotta cheesecake.

Caesar salad was pretty good with the right amount of dressing. Gnocchi would be good if the prosciutto pieces weren't burnt. The lamb shank was great! Meat was tender and flavorful and the risotto was goopy. Cheesecake was meh. I'd give the the food four stars. Wasn't perfect but good enough!

Had to shave off one star for service. Why would they let someone work the first time on big nights such as New Year's Eve? Two separate tables got impatient and walked out. My wife was getting close to have me do the same but I asked her to be patient. In the past I've had my share of being ignored at places where Asians don't belong but I understood that wasn't the case last night. Finally the waitress came to us apologizing and explained that it's her first night working. She did ok for the rest of our meal.