3.5 stars for Bar Vespa.
Came here with a fellow yelper for dinner last Saturday.
Decor/Ambiance was just as great as I remembered from the elite party event. Everything is dark and kind of sexy, but they have a few widescreen tvs playing the hockey game which made the place feel more casual and a bit less pretentious than I was expecting.
I had the Vespa Salad to start (feta cheese, grape tomatoes, pine nuts & balsamic dressing). Nicely presented and tasty enough.
I tried the Mussels (Cozza alla Marinara) for my main. The broth was absolutely delish. A couple of the mussels weren't cleaned quite properly as I got a few sandy bits in my mouth, but otherwise it was a really nice dish.
The wine selection here is adequate with a very good selection of reasonably priced ($40ish) bottles. Mostly Italian (obviously) and for some reason California wines.
They have a really nice cocktail and martini selection here too. The ones I remember sampling from the elite party were impressive (bellini, recluta).
The service was a bit over the top (too many check ups/interruptions), but I'm assuming they were trying extra hard because they were aware we were going to YELP about it. Staff were really nice and smiley and even made jokes about my DC's Movember-stache (behind his back, obviously)
Overall, Bar Vespa is a cool place and I would return if it was more centrally located.