Vivio's Detroit — Restaurant in Detroit

A group of 6 of us went to vivios a little after 1 pm on Sunday. We were one of 4 tables in the establishment. First and foremost our group is very polite and also in the hospitality industry. 1st ,We ordered our drinks. It took reminding the waitress 4 times and 45 minutes for one of us to recieve the water we asked for . 2nd, We ordered 2 orders of the sweet potato tots for appetizers she only brought out one order. We let her know we ordered 2 orders. 3rd. 2 out of 6 of us ordered Philly steak and cheese subs with well done French fries . Everybody recieved their food orders besides the 2 phillys . 25 mins after everyone else got there orders . They brought out the Phillys when everyone else was done eating . The Philly subs bread was extremely soggy and the fries were hardly cooked. 2nd (cont.) By the time we almost got done with the phillys the waitress brought 2 orders of sweet potato tots . We informed her we were only missing one order and that it was a little late for bringing out appetizers. Drink refills only happened once, despite needing more. We asked for 3 separate checks 2 ,2,and 2 and she gave us a single check and she scoffed when when we if she can separate them like we asked at the beginning of the meal. Then when she was separating the bills she tried to tack on the 3rd order of sweet potato tots we didn't order . The bloody Mary's were nothing special and lazily put together and the presentation was horrible. I really hate giving a horrible review . And I would understand if the restuarant was packed and would have let most of this slide But the restuarant had only 4 tables occupied . I expected so much better than this for such a popular locally raved about place. I don't believe I will be taking any more of my group tours here . If you are looking for a good brunch at Eastern Market try wiggleys corned beef or farmer franks . If you're looking for a good bloody mary try sandbar in harrison twp. Still tipped the incompetent waitress 23% of all our bills put together even though i wouldnt let her pay me to wait on us again. What a joke, do...

Vivios has been around for over 50 years and is a Detroit institution located in the Eastern Market district which is increadibly historic.

I had the cobb salad which was very good and fed me for a couple of days. Also had one of their famous Bloody Marys which goes with anything including another Bloody Mary. Really can't go wrong. This place sure brings back memories.

My grandfather used to bring me down here when I was a kid to buy produce, candy and meats from the hundreds of vendors that set up shop every Saturday. That was always fun but we would also go to Vivios for lunch and of coarse he knew the owner and hundreds of other people in the area. While at lunch, he used to tell me stories about when he was a kid, born over a Corktown bar in 1902 and how his family lived in and ran that bar. At the age of 10, he would drive a horse drawn waggon over to the train station to pick up produce and then deliver it to Eastern Market to be sold. It is amazing that this very same process goes on today although there have been changes to the logistics side of things. We still buy lots of produce on every visit.

After a great lunch at Vivios, Gramps as we called him back in the day would take us next door to see his buddies at Hertz and have us ride the old freight elevator (Gramps was a grocer and knew everybody). At Hertz, we would get our dessert, usually a bag of european candy that you can't get anywhere else. Great memories !

So to keep the nostalgia train rolling, my brother whom I was dining with and I wandered over to Hertz (new owners, still says Hertz and a date from the 1887 on top). We bought candy, cheese and tea and took a ride on the old freight elevator. Some things never change

The market is a historic gem which is still in high use and a lot of fun. If you have never been, you are missing out. Brings back a lot of memories for us older people (notice I didn't say old) and is building future memories...

Waited an hour for a table (which was reasonable, expected and acceptable at 1 on a Saturday; a very busy Saturday). Almost to the minute, an hour later we were seated. Ordered the Bloody Mary, beer and a Sangria. Sangria showed up as a Chardonnay. Only a Chard. Pointed this out to the waitperson and she said, "Oh, I've had a lot of those sent back. You wouldn't want it." And, then mentioned something that translated to, "This bartender doesn't know what they're doing." Oh Kay! Hmmm. My wife said, "Oh, that sounded really good." Can you guess the next line from the waitperson? "I'll get you one, then." Again, hmmmmm. After an uncomfortable amount of time, our food order was taken. We got the mussels as an app (they were very good) and ordered sandwiches and a salad. And we watched people come in, order drinks, order food, drink, eat, pay and leave. While we waited. Waitperson came back once or twice but made this comment, "Sorry, we had an emergency upstairs." Funny, we didn't notice the other tables near us (including HER section) that didn't have a problem. Now we're well into hour two (three if you count the initial wait). We said we're leaving and we'll pay the drink bill. Some large, short dude came up and asked, "Is there a problem?" We relayed our version of the events and he waddled off. The waitperson came back and said that our food was coming up next. Uh, we don't want it ... it's closing in on 3:15 now. And, lo and behold, it showed up before she brought the bill. Still watched couples and two groups of 8 come and go. So. Bar tab $66. Left the food (it might have been good, don't know). Went elsewhere and had a good time. Enjoy Vivio's but you might want to eat and, or pack a lunch before going. And, a $7+ Bloody Mary is okay just don't order the Sangria I guess (I mean, the waitperson said not to). Looks like a nice place to set up a...