RESTAURANT & BAR VIVES — Restaurant in Salten-Schlern - Salto-Sciliar

Definitely the best meal I had for my Dolomites trip this summer! I came in here thinking of a casual dinner with traditional Italian food, but ended up with a semi-fine dining experience with excellent creative modern Italien cuisine, which made it such a perfect night. The atmosphere and decor is pleasant, a chic modern Alps vibe. The menu is brief but filled with surprising combinations. But the food, a great & successful modernized creation based on tradition Italien cuisine. First came the starter, beef tartar. The cheese melts like soft cream & the beef blends smoothly with the bean purée, it doesn’t taste like meat anymore but like a perfect bite of a cloud. Then came the entree, deer steak. A perfect medium rare paired with lightly grilled apple slices & lightly salty walnut purée, hence the perfect balance of meaty & fruity, hint of salty & sweetness. Then came the most interesting & innovative Tiramisu I’ve ever tried. It’s nothing like an ordinary tiramisu. It got mascarpone with cocoa, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream on the side, topped with a leafy-like baked waffle. Very lightly but elegantly sweetened to perfection. It’s truly a nice dining experience with great innovative food & mostly nice service! The young waiter kept checking in to see if everything’s ok & we had a nice chat, the owner is a very polite & friendly lady who introduced that her husband is the chef & he loves cooking. Only issue which made my experience less pleasant: I was greeted by an elder waiter, who was cold & refused to let me sit by the window (it was early dinner time, no one inside the restaurant yet) & sat me in a dark corner (where I could barely read the menu but ended up using my phone lighting, when it was still bright & sunny outside) . I am an Asian woman traveling by myself, I am not sure if this is some factor. But when other guests came in, he showed them to window seats or seats in the center, with much better lighting. I truly enjoyed the food, but its moments like this make me feel awkward...

Came into this restaurant with high expectations as a group of 3 vegetarian and 1 non-vegetarian:

The non - veg person was very happy with their food and the vegetarians were also fine in general, despite the small portions (even for fine dining)

However the waiter ruined our night. On arrival we told the waiter we wanted the cauliflower steak. He did his best to convince us that it was going to take 45mins to cook and that we shouldn’t order it. However because the choice for vegetarians wasn’t huge, we told him we would wait the 45mins and to bring out the other food whenever it was ready. To our surprise, 10mins letter all the food turned up, including the cauliflower which looked unusual. We tried it and it was boiled, boring and the sort of thing a child could make. We asked the waiter why he didn’t bring us the steak and he said it would take too long. We told him we had agreed to wait. that long and then he said the chef didn’t want to make it. I have never come across that excuse in Pizza Hut let along a restaurant like this. We sent the food back but at this point the evening had turned sour. The waiter at that point was too embarrassed and simply didn’t have the cojones to serve us again for the rest of the evening and sent the kid waiter to take payment from us. We then went to Mauriz Keller for a proper, hearty and happy meal:

Change your staff. They are rude and arrogant. The food...

We really enjoyed dining at Vives - so much, in fact, that we went there twice during our one week trip to Ortisei.

First, the atmosphere was elegant but relaxed. Classy, without being snobby.

The food was amazing. We mixed and matched a bit from the set menus, and everything was exquisite. Taste, presentation.. all on point.

The staff can make or break a meal. Vives' staff were great. Friendly, knowledgeable and welcoming. I do need to mention the sommelier in particular. Such a passion for his craft, it was a joy to witness. Obviously, his recommendations were perfect.

We heartily recommend dining at Vives, and will certainly be back if we're ever...