Vivo Palm Cove — Restaurant in Queensland

A masterclass in how NOT to run a restaurant

We arrived at 7:45pm, ordered swiftly, and braced ourselves for what we hoped would be a memorable evening. We were right about that—just not in the way we imagined.

The opening act was brief but promising: our waitress returned almost instantly to inform us, brusquely, that oysters were unavailable. Fair enough—though one couldn’t help feeling the delivery might have been more at home in a police interrogation than in hospitality. We selected another starter, which appeared quickly, and it was perfectly decent. So far, so good.

Then Act II began: the Great Waiting Game. Plates cleared, we sat patiently. At 8:45pm—one full hour later—our daughter ventured inside to enquire about the main course. The waitress emerged with all the charm of a malfunctioning parking meter and muttered “five minutes,” as if the very act of speaking to us was an inconvenience.

At this point, most establishments would offer an apology. Here, they offered a manager. And what a manager he was: a man so spectacularly defensive he should come with his own legal team. He accused me of being “aggressive” (apparently asking where our food is qualifies as a criminal offence), insisted with Olympian confidence that steaks take at least 50 minutes to cook (one assumes they raise and butcher the cow on-site), and proceeded to argue with not just me, but my wife and 13 year-old daughter as well. Truly, a family experience—though not quite the one advertised on the website.

The climax arrived when my wife went in to pay, whereupon the manager launched into yet another debate. By this point, it was clear: this was not a dining experience. This was performance art. The theme? Hostility as Hospitality!

To summarise: the food we managed to taste was fine. The service, however, was like being trapped in an amateur improv show entitled How To Lose Customers and Alienate People. If you enjoy being scolded, gaslit about cooking times, and treated as the evening’s main inconvenience, this truly is the place for you.

Otherwise, Palm Cove offers many excellent restaurants. This one is best enjoyed from a safe distance—ideally while eating elsewhere.

PS. In contrast, Nu Nu Restaurant - a few meters away - was EXCELLENT. And we had a wonderful chat with the manager there. Don't risk...

What an absolute disgrace. Prime location, absolutely disgusting service on behalf of the manager. We had a good tasting entree (calamari). Then ordered 2 mains and had pre selected desserts. The worst service I’ve encountered in 15 years working in hospitality and half a decade managing it, kicked off with mains. I’ve have I tasted a plate poorer tasting dish - their line caught snapper. Absolutely nothing to do with what they outline in their menu. Nonetheless, out of respect for the chefs, I did not call the waiter. She approached our table as she saw I didn’t eat my meal and I explained the situation with kindness and respect. She apologised and said she was new so she’d call somebody who knew the menu better. The manager, approached the table rudely and asked me what was the matter. I explained respectfully - explaining i.e., fondant potatoes are ment to be seared in butter and sometimes a reduction/stock - but these were BOILED, very flowery and sitting in an acidic water, which was meant to be a tomato consummeé (which I’ve had many, but this was far from it). The fish was overcooked and very dry. This was met with rude “What do you want me to do? This is a delicate palate plate, there’s nothing wrong with it, the potatoes are seared and everything is as it should be. You can order pasta from the kitchen but that’s it and I’m still charging you for the plate”. What can a paying, respectful costumer say after this? I stayed quiet as he removed my plate. Then I was advised by him that the kitchen had closed. Yet, minutes later another couple was sat down to have dinner. Shortly after, rib eye steak dinner and a pasta dish was brought out to the table behind us. Another lady came out and we paid for this terrible and heartbreaking experience. I was here for my 4th year anniversary. Arrived with a smile, left with an empty stomach. Sadly, never returning again. To the manager: in all my 15 years of experience, I’ve never been spoken to with such condescendence, disrespect and lack of kindness. Take your anger out on somebody else buddy, you’re ruining the business for the owner. A clarification for the owner: I’m speaking about the young, slim figured, Asian male...

Service left a bit to be desired...

My partner and I were visiting Palm Cove and decided to have dinner at Vivo as it looks lovely walking past. We booked in for 7pm, turned up at 7pm only to find we had no table... We were sat at the bar area which was sticky and covered in spilled drinks. Without being offered a drink while we wait for a table, we were left there wondering what was going on.

Eventually we were seated at a table outside and our order was taken. We started with a couple of cocktails which were lovely.

We decided to share two entrees, followed by two starter size pastas followed by one full sized main to share.

The two entrees were calamari and a sashimi salmon, both superb. Once we finished and our dishes were taken, we asked if it is possible to have our two starter size pastas followed by the one main.

Then the wait began....after about 40 minutes I asked one of the waitresses if our pastas were far away. This was met with an eye roll and her saying 'Well we were waiting until you asked for them'... I have never been to a restaurant of this price point where you have to flag someone down and tell them when you are ready for each course... I then observed the same waitress speaking to another waitress while pointing at our table and laughing. I thought that was extremely unprofessional and rude.

Both the pastas came out about 10 minutes later and both were delicious. We went for a crab pasta as well as the marinara.

We finished with the veal saltimbocca which was beautiful.

If the service had been even remotely adequate, this review would have been 5* and we would have probably also stayed for desert. However, being made to feel so unwelcome and like your attendance at the restaurant is inconvenient all while being $200+ for two people, next time we are in Palm Cove, we are very...