Vivere: User Reviews

My husband and I love Italian food (it's our meal of choice for all our important days), so when he surprised me with tickets to Wicked, I wanted to select the best restaurant I could find. After looking online, I chanced on Vivere. To my utter joy, I could not have picked better. Vivere is perfect in every way - the service is exquisite, the food scrumptious, and the wine list incredible. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough!

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I’ve long enjoyed Vivere for its food and its whimsical décor (in the lower seating level, anyway -- the upper level is too dim for me), and this visit was no exception. Tonight’s standout was pork two ways, starring succulent pork belly in espresso glaze -- outrageous! The only disappointment was my companion’s pheasant-stuffed pasta -- it was tasty, but the pasta was undercooked (almost grainy), even after she sent it back for a do-over. Too bad -- it’s a wonderful dish when properly cooked. A very nice chocolate cake was redemptive, though...

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This restaurant is well worth your money . The chef's tasting menu is so unique and a real expierence. The chef comes to your table and prepares a special dinner just for you.You can have it with a different wine for each course or the dinner alone.The staff made us feel like royalty.The small booths are so romantic and I would go back again. This place is perfect for a special occassion or a business meeting where you want to impress your client.

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I dine out alot and consider myself picky at best. I enjoyed Vivere from the start as the warm bread and beautiful decor was a hit for me and my friends. The wine is well executed and enjoyable . The pastas were flavorful and the Duck was some of the best I have had in the City. The Wine List is a Bible and well written. I found some value in most categories especially Italian . I tried the Chef Tasting and it was awesome as the Chef and Sommelier construct a menu for you and describe why they paired the disches. Try the gelato for dessert as it was well made. One of the Best !

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Based on the reviews here I was very dissapointed. Just to confirm, yes the decor is cool, like a dr seuss movie set, but the wine list by the glass is average, and a little pricy, nothing under $9. The service was excellent, and friendly. However I feel the point of any restaurant should be the food, and if the food does not deliver, it's all a charade. So just the facts:
For $24.00 I ordered the pasta with shrimp and tomatoes. I got 6 very small (80-100) size shrimp, a notch above salad shrimp, white linguini pasta with almost no sauce, seasoning, oil, herbs etc. and 4 small yellow tomatoes, and maybe a few slivers of almond and garlic. This plate was on par with a fast food lunch place like cafe Bacci, Barely. So opinions and personal taste aside, it's clear the food cost here was under $4 for the restaurant. My wife's entree was on a similar par but had a little more flavor.
Ok back to my opinion: When someone charges $24 for a plate like this it's just insulting to the intelligence of the patrons I believe. If this restaurant had to rely on repeat business it would have been long gone. I believe there's enough visitors to the city that keep this place afloat. Someone in an earlier post compared the food here to Olive garden, I'd say I would have welcomes an Olive garden entree compared to this, which is sad.
In the end I got an $8 meal and paid another $16 to look at the decor.

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The Lobster gnocchi at this restaurant is phenomenal. Its in a white-wine shallot sauce that is just to good for words. The wine list is amazing, its as thick as a novel, and there is an incredible selection from all of Italy and the world to choose from. The Roasted pork tenderloin excellent, I would highly recommend it, along with the Prawns. The ambience is very romantic, this is a great place for a date. The service is excellent, the entire staff is incredibly polite and they know their stuff.

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I took a girl I met recently to Vivere a couple of weekends ago, and I think I really impressed her. It could have also been the wine list, we were told the cellar has over 40,000 bottles in it. Unbelievable.

The lighting was dim and the restaurant very chic. We were seated about 5 minutes after we walked in. We had reservations for 7:30 on a Saturday night, so the place was packed. We were greeted by our server promptly and his knowledge regarding the wine list and pairings was impressive. We ordered a bottle of chardonnay from Northern Italy.

We started with Gnocchi which was phenomenal, the white wine shallot sauce is to die for. My date ordered the pan roasted duck and I had the Roasted pork tenderloin, both dishes were excellent!! Cooked to perfection.

It’s a little more pricey than the Village, but more intimate. The food and service were excellent. I will be back.

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Went for Valentine's day and it was very good. The wine list is extraordinary (the biggest in the midwest) and our selection was superb. My food was so-so, but I think I ordered an entree that I didn't enjoy, not that the food quality is low. The atmosphere was great and it's a great place to take a date.

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I have been coming to this restaurant for 15 years. My biggest customer was right next door...and it was the perfect location for our Business Lunches...but Vivere is so much more than that. Where do I start? The maitre de (Fred) remembers me every time I come in (many times without a reservation). The winelist is world class. The food is top notch (the fresh fish is my favorite...but their traditional Italian dishes have a great, eclectic flair)...and the decor has that hip "feng shui" that makes you want to curl up with a great glass of wine and just talk for hours. I have been there at least 100 times...and I have NEVER had a bad experience. I am not a restaurant critic...but if this isn't the definition of a great restaurant...I don't know what is. Bravo, Vivere...

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The food was top-notch, the service superb, the ambiance top-notch. I would highly recommend it to anyone in the downtown area looking for a place to dine pre-theatre or after work. I've gone to the Italian Village for years, but had never experienced Vivere, and boy, have I been missing out! An absolute gem.

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