Vivo Pizza + Pasta — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

I was able to go to Vivo for the first time on Saturday. I've seen quite a lot of people go, so I thought why not try it out. It was on a Friday evening around 6pm and it was quite busy for that early time.

We were greeted by a hostess and was given the option of sitting at a middle table or towards the back at their side tables. We chose the back side tables because of how close together the middle tables were.

We were quickly offered menus and drinks, we chose water, and was given time to choose our meal. Our server was quick and provided some suggestions towards what was popular and most ordered. I chose the penne vodka while my friend chose the fettuccine alfredo and was allowed to add chicken to it with a extra five dollar charge. I kid you not, our food came out in six minutes. Literally enough time for my friend to go to the bathroom, come back, sit down, and take a sip of water. It made me a bit wary because there was no way they could make pasta and sauce from scratch that fast. Which brought me to the conclusion that they probably have it all pre made and just quickly heat it up to be served. My penne was nicely coated and I was given some Parmesan to add on top. I’m no culinary chef, so it’s hard for me to mention that there was a bit too much oil in the sauce. Now I know it did state on the menu that olive oil was added, but just thinking about the oil already in the tomato sauce made my tummy rumble. I wish they would’ve given the option of bread on the side. The portion size was pretty good, and I was able to take a bit home (my mom threw it out by accident so I can’t comment on left over quality) Prices were reflective of the meal. I’d totally recommend this place though if you’re looking for a quick lunch or dinner spot. But I'm sure someone's Nonna can...

Horrible, they couldn’t even earn our business from the get go. Right at the entrance at 1:30pm on a Sunday afternoon where there were only a couple of tables occupied, a server leaning at a food counter with head in her hands simply shouted out to the 2 of us with 3 table numbers to choose from without bothering to even showing us which tables they were.

When we looked around and found out all 3 were tables for 2 but under the sun from a skylight above so we asked for alternatives as we prefer to not to sit directly under the sunlight. We saw other tables for 4 but actually they were just made up with tables for 2 and since the restaurant was relatively quite and already passed peak lunch hour, so we thought it would not be a problem to switch. Unfortunately they insisted that we had to sit at one of the 3 table for 2 as they said the other ones are for 4 guests only and as if they were expecting more guests to walk in at that time. The server gave us the attitude that there is nothing wrong with the sun and still would only confine the choice to the 3 tables for 2. So at this point we felt that no matter whether the food was good or not, we had been mistreated with terrible service so we decided to leave and to go across the street where a great restaurant with food and service that we love to go. At this time, they finally gave in but it was too late and I would never consider giving this place a chance again ever! Can’t believe we still have this kind of attitude in the...

New place, not large, but very nicely decorated with a mix of modern and rustic design, very clean and very pleasant. Everyone if very nice and the atmosphere is also very good. The menu is not wide and quite simple, but has everything all italian restaurants have. The prices are lower than average so it's a good deal. As for the food, it's not hurt by the low prices, you can feel the high quality of the materials and the freshness of the ingredients. We had a Pizza, pasta and capresse salad, and all have been great. The pizza is a wood burning oven one and you can taste it. The size is also very nice for the price and quality, and can feed 2 if not extremely hungry. My wife said the pasta was one of the best she has had, and both of us agreed that the salad was the best we ate (Almost as good as hers :) ). For dessert we got a Tiramisu, and again very nice (I would soak the lady fingers a little more in a combination of coffee and rum) and very refreshing to taste something that is made in house and not one of those factory desserts or instant mixes most restaurants use. We also had a latte and cappuccino and they have very good coffee, strong and tasty (These as opposed to the food were a little on the pricey side) . Overall, great experience, great food, will definitely come back and next time...