Vlora

by Tiffany Z.

Trendy vibe (but not sterile!) and really comfortable chairs.  The service was friendly and professional.  I would highly recommend the watermelon and feta and grilled octopus appetizers -- make sure to ask for bread as it goes very well with the grilled octopus.  In combination with a glass of wine, this makes for a tasty, light lunch.

by Jen T.

This review is for brunch! Went on Sunday, not crowded, not too loud. My friend was running a little late, but they offered me something to drink immediately, and kept the coffee coming the whole time. I even asked them for some toast while I waited (I had quite a hangover on this particular morning), and they were prompt. I had, for my main meal, the french toast. It was thick, and there was a ton of it. DELICIOUS! My friend had the pancakes, and they were slightly gourmet somehow, and huge and fluffy. They also served both with a small tub of what seemed to be home made fresh whipped cream of some kind. Also amazing. I love this place every time and no matter what I am doing there! This is by far one of my favorite restaurants in Boston. I just wish it was busier, because I really…

by Nicole M.

Today I went to a Wellness Networking Luncheon at Vlora. I have to say the food was so amazingly fresh and delicious. I had a greek salad with chicken. It came in a deep white bowl and was filled with dark green crunchy lettuce and an array of colors; peppers, onions, feta cheese, and black olives. Yum! Yum!I love ordering salads at restaurants just for the fact that I don't have to cut everything up! I often hestitate to order them though because I find a lot of restaurants either don't put much in or the produce usually has seen better days. A lot of restaurants are also using pre-mixed bagged salads, which in my opinion taste horrible and are full of bacteria. But not at Vlora, everything was FRESH and I heard nothing, but positive comments on the food. The staff was very friendly also!

by Morgan F.

545 Boylston? Where is that? Did we pass it? Oh wait, there is a sign, ahhhh its downstairs!!After seeing ads for this place ALL over I headed here for a "Cage Couture" event throw by Emma March and several fashionable Boston ladies last night. Its an awesome space for an event because they clear out the entire space next to the bar for anything you need to bring in.Once downstairs, the cool white walls, white leather chairs and modern bar decor transport you outside of Boston. Twinkling star lights dazzled above our heads as we looked over the wine list at the bar. I met both of the owners who were ever so nice and helped me pick out a great bottle of Torrontes, a white wine from Argentina. They talked to Tyler B and I about how important it was to have a affordable wine list that helped people get more into wine, and I was happy to hear they really cared about such things! After chatting and loving my new found Torrontes, I sipped my wine as I mingled and looked at clothing. Before I left I checked the menu, and while being a vegetarian will limit my options here, (because the main courses are mostly meat) I was excited at all the veggie friendly pastas and appetizers. When I returned home and looked over the other yelp reviews, I remembered the controversy with this place, BUT it seems like they are working REALLY hard to make-up for a past mistake. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Well, I am willing to give it to them.

by DiDi V.

I like my Mediterranean subterranean. SCENE:  Basement restaurant with trendy white leather dinning chairs, sleek black marble, and sparkling, twinkling built in ceiling lights above bar.  Sitting at a long table are 6 guests, all in their twenties and early thirties.  It is one girl's 30th birthday.Act 1:  A warm, sincere, friendly waitress named Karla.  Warm crusty bread is delivered right to our bread plates with simple, light olive oil dip. One bottle of white.  One bottle of red.  Act 2:   The dish is called Saropita?  Something like that.  Fish baked into flaky phyllo with lemon potatoes and couscous pasta.  Also, spicy (!) shrimp.  And dill mashed potatoes... The customers LOVE everything.Act 3:  A cake from Rosie's in Inman Sq.  A check with 15% off food because we mentioned YELP!The End.

by Joanne L.

We came here based on the Yelp reviews.  We were definitely not disappointed. The service was excellent - always filling water, wiping the table down after eating bread and appetizer, giving us new dishes for the appetizer, attentive, and friendly! They were great, and we never had to wonder where our waitress was.  The food was excellent.  We started with the watermelon and feta tidbit.  Whoever knew that watermelon and feta could taste so good together? The combination of the different textures and tastes were yummy! The watermelon was quite juicy too! We also ordered the Arncini Siciliani for appetizer.  The dish consisted of Italian rice balls, mushroom/feta filling, fresh tomato and mint sauce.  The dish was warm and delish.  For the entree, a couple of us has steak frites, another had the Chilean sea bass, and one had the scallops.  I had the steak frites with yummy fries and a steak that was cooked the way I wanted it to be cooked.  Although I liked my dish very much, I got a chance to try the seafood dishes and liked them more.  So I would stick with the seafood dishes.  The Chilean sea bass was very flavorful while the pasticcio that comes with the scallops was unbelievably scrumptious.  It tasted like a dessert.  For the dessert, we all shared the tiramisu.  At first we were disappointed because it didn't look like the picture that is on yelp since it didn't come out with ice cream. Maybe we had to ask for it?  Anyway, we took the first bite and were in heaven.  It was quite fresh and creamy and it was gone in seconds.  My husband and I shared a carafe of sangria.  Although it was yummy, I've had better sangria before.  Overall, I would definitely come to this restaurant again! :)  So you should check it out!

by Leighann F.

Little know fact:Vlora's appetizers are HALF PRICE before 5:30pm. How did I come across this lovely tidbit of information? I stumbled quite by accident actually, as I met a friend (who's brilliant choice it was to try out Vlora) for dinner and drinks. Beneath the bustle of Boylston, in an elegant subterranean dining room, we munched on watermelon topped with feta and drizzled in balsamic, vegetarian mousaka, arrancini and beat salad. We sipped a carafe of jammy zinfandel and talked some business.Though the bill arrived when I was in the ladies room, I returned to find the waitress at the table conversing with my friend, who wore a look of shock on her face. "Could you repeat that, for my friend?" She asked the waitress. And so the waitress turned to me and said, "Since you ordered before 5pm, all of your appetizers were half price."Cha-Ching! A pleasant surprise that I now pass along for everyone who reads this to take advantage of, immediately. Four appetizers and a half-carafe of deliciously well-priced zinfandel $27 each, with tip!

by Sara S.Stephanie Elena G.Milee S.Matt G.

This place is so good that I've been twice in the past two days. I love the decor. It's so slick, clean, and a cross between trying to look Meditteranian with an NYC vibe. It's so nice and refreshing, especially compared to the creepy Korean/Japenese place I used to go to when I was 17 in college. Many a nights were spent in the back singing kareoke and getting stuck in the elevator (which I didn't remember until I went to use the bathroom at Vlora and had an intense flashback). I'm Albanian and have never had Alabanian food, so I was really looking forward to this. In actuality, anyone who likes Italian or Greek food will find something they like here. Both times, we started with freshly baked, warm bread, served with a side of lemoney olive oil and olives. SO GOOD. My mom and I split the Albanian Tava, which is a mix of different roasted vegetables put into a dish, covered with cheese, and baked. Sounds strange and pretty generic, but it is AWESOME. Both times as a main course I had the Fresh Bay Scallops with Creamed Corn and Pasticcio. I hate with scallops are undercooked, but these were fully cooked and slightly firm without the squishiness that frequenty freaks me out. I LOVE corn, so being surrounded by a bed or (lightly) creamed corn was awesome. Pasticcio is a very thin noodle that is often put into a mold and baked with three cheeses. This was in the center of the plate. I suppose it looks like a quiche. Honestly, this was one of the best entrees I've had in Boston in a LONG time. I also ordered a side of the Blue Cheese spinach... basically spinach creamed in Blue Cheese. YUM. Mom had the Filet of Sole which was great. The Italian Rice Pilaf it was served with was out of control!!Fast forward to lunch this afternoon. As I said before, I got the Scallops. Mom got the Beef Kabob which looked great. Served with rice and a side salad. Our friends got the Octopus Salad and Gyro, which they said was the best they ever had. I REALLY hope this place stays in business. It's a great addition to the Boston food scene!!!After coming home from 10 days in Greece, I was dying for a real Mediterranean-inspired meal, and well.. HORAY! I found it at Vlora. The decor is incredible. It's starry ceiling is cooly complimented by the windows above that look out onto Copley Square forging a lovely ambiance for meeting with friends after work or a nice dinner out. Our larger group had a mix of appetizers, entrees and desserts as well as coffees for desert and all were delicious. The flavors were divine, fresh and actually... Mediterranean! There were incredible veggie dishes as well as meats and fish. There's  something for everyone on this menu. The Sangria is fantastic as well and the bar service is fast and friendly. I will certainly go back for drinks/ apps and dinner again, and hopefully soon!I tihnk what hurts Vlora the most is the location; it's underneath the street so it's not obvious if you walk by it.I had a birthday dinner here and had a marvelous time! No wait for the table but that could be because there was really no one there, sadly.  We started with a half carafe of Riesling, Max-E, which was really good.  For a starter we had the saganaki, which was smothered in sauce.  I wasn't crazy about it.For dinner, my friends had the burger and the shrimp kebabs; I went for the salmon.  Again, issues with the sauce; my salmon didn't really need it.  But the green beans and lemon potatoes were really great! I also had some of my friend's fries, and those were phenomenal. Since it was my birthday, and I had mentioned it on the reservation, they brought out a complimentary tiramisu.  It was really creamy and I enjoyed it a lot.  I finished off the evening with a steaming cup of cappucino. I would like to try this place again; for both dinner and brunch.  Our service was perfectly fine and I liked the atmosphere.  Great place to celebrate an occasion.I've met the co-owner Cindy through a friend and was there 3 times in 2 weeks. Its fantastic.The hummus app is unbelievable! I know... its hummus... but day-yum! its good! What I really like about this place is that its totally honest. What they do is good food, clean food. And I mean clean not in the 'not dirty' sort of way, but not overly sauced, or overly dressed. Its food for the food's sake! Cindy likened how they do food to the difference between getting Chinese food here in the US vs getting Chinese food in China. Its not the same. What they try to do is bring REAL Mediterranean food to Back Bay. Not overly done. Not americanized. Fresh - real food!I'm a huge fan. The Kabobs are very good and a 'safety' for me. I tried the Octopus and it was so tender! The Chilean Seabass was perfect!I regularly dine here for lunch now. Love it love it love it.

by Julie N.

I decided to give this place another shot after all of the great reviews written after my last one.  I was nervous because it was going to be for my birthday dinner with the family, but knew it would be quiet in there at 5:30pm and bringing a 1 year old wouldn't be a problem.Turns out that everything was pretty much perfect.  Since it was quiet, we had 4 people waiting on our table of 7 and the baby.  Apps are half priced until 6pm so we loaded up on all of those and everyone gobbled them up.  Everyone also had great things to say about their dinners.So, I'm glad to say that it was just a bad first experience.  I'm looking forward to eating here again. I wanted to give Vlora one star for the experience we had here, but since it was a private party…

by Jess L.

The outdoor seating for brunch was nice, but I don't recommend sitting here on a windy day, for you'll just feel like you're in a tornado.Service was so-so - not consistent but good when she decided to come over.My omelet - feta and mushroom - was nice and moist. However, the banana pancakes were dry. The scrambled eggs were nothing to write home about.We were served flat bubbly water. Gross.