Vivali Restaurante Terraza Bar — Restaurant in San Miguel de Allende

Made a reservation for dinner, we were fifteen minutes early. Politely greeted and shown to our table. We were one of the first tables seated out of about a dozen upstairs. The live music was enjoyable and after a bit the waiter graced us with his presence. We asked if he spoke English, he said he did. We placed our drink order, unfortunately the wine we ordered wasn’t available and we were served something not on the menu. At this point we wanted to order dinner. Unfortunately, the waiter didn’t return to our table. He studiously ignored our discreet and overt efforts to get his attention and averted his gaze when walking by our table. We had to get the bus staff to get us water and refills on our beverages. One of our party finally had to go to the bar to get the waiter to take our order. Multiple parties were seated after us, served and left before we were served. The only difference between them and us is they appeared to be local and spoke the language. After more than two hours and several requests our dinner finally arrived, cold. We can only assume we were ignored because we didn’t speak espanol and the waiter disdained having to serve us. If you don’t want gringos in your establishment just post a no tourist sign. A brief discussion with the manager detailing the egregious service was responded with a blank stare. What started out as a lovely Christmas Eve dinner turned into an ugly display of indifference and discrimination. Unless you speak Spanish don’t waste your time. There are far better choices to spend your hard earn dollars. The only bright spot is this is a Christmas Eve experience we’ll remember, for all the wrong reasons....

We dined at Vivali Ristorante on a Sunday evening and found the experience to be pleasant, but with a few mixed feelings. Here are our thoughts: The food is good, but not great. We especially enjoyed the soups, which were a highlight of our meal. However, the linguine frutti di mare was only okay and didn’t quite meet our expectations. The servers are super nice and made us feel welcome throughout our visit. The restaurant itself is nice and well-kept. Surprisingly, there weren’t many other patrons when we visited, which made for a quiet atmosphere. Vivali is conveniently located—about a 10-minute walk from the upscale Hotel Matilda and just 5 minutes from the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, the largest church in town. Overall: We’re on the fence about recommending Vivali. While there are some positives, especially the service and soups, other aspects left us wanting more. If you’re nearby, it’s worth a try, but it might not be a...

Cute place. Service was very effusive, friendly and prompt. Not cheap. 7 people,5 bottles of wine. 2 shared appys totaled $1300 peso pp or $65USD pp. 7 people all had different things. Pastas were all voted thumbs up. Salmon dish got great review. 2 people tried "veal" with mushrooms... Yeah, do not need to order this. It's not veal. It's super, very tough pounded thin shoe leather, aka "national meat" .. If you live here, this isn't an insult .. it is that a it is. I should have been cued in since we've NEVER seen "veal" here in SMA (ever) before. Thought it would be a treat, but NOPE... Take away; Cute place Super attentive service Great pasta dishes Don't order the veal. Price is avg for SMA...