Vivo Latino — Restaurant in Wales

10 of us were booked in on Saturday 18th for a family birthday. None of us had ever been to Vivo Latino before, but saw the reviews and were quite excited about it.

Service itself started on the slow side, our starters were brought out before half the party had even had their drink orders. But, we were okay with that, as it was a Saturday night and it was apparent only one guy was in as front of house (bartender, waiter, taking payments). So we were understanding as even though it wasn’t really that busy, it must have been hard for him doing all that on his own on a Saturday night.

Starters were nice, none of us really had any complaints. We were all quite excited for our mains. That is when it went downhill.

We’ve never been to a place with delays between food as we experienced last night. We’d be a bit more understanding if say complete meals were brought out at the and time. But they weren’t. An example, 3 Fajitas were ordered, the meat came out first and by the time the actual wraps came out, the plates were not sizzling.

We were just shocked over the fact the waiter would literally be bringing out one dish at a time (sometimes 2), then after serving half the table would then stop and go and sort another table out eg drinks/payment. Whilst we had half complete dishes, and the complete dishes were getting cold as we were waiting for everyone to be served before eating.

A steak was ordered with chips and with no spice. We were giving spicy wedges and the steak was awful, not sure how it was cooked but never had a worse steak.

Salmon was ordered with a request for the sauce to be in a pot on the side, came out with salmon covered in chimi sauce. When mentioned to the waiter he tried saying that was how it was ordered. It was not.

The worse part of this entire experience, was the chicken, chorizo skewer salad. You’d think this would be the most simplest item for a chef to cook as chicken is white when cooked. No, my dad was served raw chicken, told the waiter, no apology (he actually tried insisting it was cooked) but he took it back to be ‘cooked’. Less than 5 minutes the same chicken was returned. Still raw, but covered in sauce to try and disguise the fact it was pink. To be served raw chicken TWICE honesty is unacceptable (even worse as the waiter tried insisting for a second time it was cooked) - also disappointed by the fact it was the same chicken as I thought everyone knew you should not reheat (or try) due to chicken being high risk. At this point my dad didn’t really want to eat anything, after been served raw chicken twice (it was still pink and slimy so was raw).

We were planning on having dessert, but were put off after the service we’d received.

We didn’t receive an apology at all for the raw chicken or the large delays for food and drink.

Yes there were 10 of us, but surely is a restaurant was unable to cope, they should have rejected our booking and we’d have gone elsewhere.

Needless to say, it was not the birthday meal we expected or planned and we will not be going back again. The raw chicken was the nail in the...

The staff is very helpful and kind, but overall, I would say it is a stretch to call this "authentic" Mexican cuisine. I cannot speak to the other Latin American cuisines that are represented because I know Mexican food in particular. The food isn't bad, it's just not what I would consider authentic Mexican cuisine, it's a fusion of British and Mexican cuisine. Just for background, I have lived in Mexico (both the north and the south), I have visited the Central part of the country on various occasions, and I am familiar with various fusion versions of Mexican-American cuisine (Texmex, New Mexican, Mexican-Californian) and Mexican-Asian cuisine (e.g. Baja cuisine). I am one of the few people that my friends from Mexico actually trust with cooking authentic Mexican food from different regions when they just don't feel like cooking. One of the tell-tale signs that this is British-Mexican fusion and not authentic Mexican cuisine is the extensive use of wheat flour instead of maze in certain dishes. Wheat flour substantially changes the flavor of the food, even when it's 1/2 and 1/2, the taste is very noticeable (maze will turn slightly sweet when cooked, but flour still has a slightly uncooked taste to it, even when part of the flour tortilla is charred). What I have gathered from talking to the staff is that using wheat flour in dishes which should never use them (e.g. tacos are always made with 100% corn tortillas in "authentic" Mexican cuisine) is a consideration based on practicality: the flour adds gluten which in turn adds pliability to the tortilla. This is an indication that either the maze was not properly nixtamalized (this is the process which makes regular maze from the cob the type that you can actually form into a tortilla, i.e. masa harina), or the more likely issue is that the 100% corn tortillas are drying out when they are shipped and needed to be properly rehydrated and grilled before serving to regain their pliability. That being said... when I want authenticity and cannot buy the proper tortillas a the store, I mix my own masa and water to make my own tortillas with the tortilla press that I...

📍 Vivo Latino, Cardiff *Video review on socials @thefemalephysicist

Last week we went to Vivo Latino on Cowbridge Road East to sample some of their latin deliciousness.

Master Chef Ram and team are serving incredible fusion cocktails and Latin American delights.

I liked the look of absolutely everything, so we went for tapas. First up was home made latin bread, complete with guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Swiftly followed by empanadas which got absolutely demolished.

Loaded nachos were next, with plenty of BBQ beef, Tex Mex cheese and chilli seasoning. To round off mains we finished strong on Salvadorian chicken wings.

Make sure you leave room for dessert, these are EPIC. The Mexican buñuelos, which are mini donuts with cinnamon sugar and chocolate sauce, are to die for. And of course we had to goo for churros smothered in chocolate.

✨DEALS✨

🍸 BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH: £35 pp with a 2-set menu. 12-5pm (last booking 3pm) for the weekend. 12-9pm (last booking 7pm) for weekdays including Sunday. You get a mouthwatering 2-course meal paired with your fave cocktails

🍸BIRTHDAY CLUB: Book for 4+ adults and the birthday guest gets a free meal and a small birthday cake (bring Bday proof)

🍸SUNDAY LUNCH: BYO wine and they’ll serve it for no corkage free. Takeaway Sunday lunch is also available

🍸WEEKDAY DEALS: -20% off food Sun-Thurs -Taco Tuesdays, BOGOF -Burrito night Weds, 2 for £20 -Fajita night, any fajita for £15 -Tapas special, free cocktail with 2x tapas (£15) or 3x tapas (£20)

Special dietary options: •Vegan & gluten free: Delicious options to suit your needs
•Halal: all meats are Halal except steak which can be arranged upon request •They also catered extremely well for my nut allergy

Discover food that fits everyone’s taste and preferences at Vivo Latino. Whether dining in, celebrating or taking away, you’ll be in for a treat!

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