Viva Argentinian Steakhouse — Restaurant in Key West

We had a party of 9 and were excited to try this place out. We should have just gone to Prime Steakhouse. Food was overpriced for what it was. I ordered the Milanesa Napolitana and it was basically country fried steak with mozzerella. We all ordered alcohol and the drinks were not good. I ordered the spicy pina colada and it was watery served on the rocks and no spice at all. When the bill came there was a surcharge for using a credit card. No where on their website or on their menu was that disclosed. The manager came out and was very rude. It was over $16 in just fees. If we had known we would have brought cash for an over $450 bill. We will never go back and take our business to the best steakhouse in Key West-Prime Steakhouse!

In response to the owner-4 in our group ordered the Milanesa Napolitina and not one of us was impressed. It was tough to cut through and far from tender. The fee is no where on your website and it was not optional. You certainly have the 20% customary gratuity on your website. Your manager’s rude “option” was to pay cash which again we would have gladly done if it was listed on your website or if I was told when the lady called to confirm the reservation. Your manager then threatened to call the police when we asked to have the fee removed since it was “optional”. No one at our table raised their voice or stood up, we simply asked since you are telling me it’s optional then take it off and he said that was not an “option” if by paying by card. We were stunned and have never been talked to that way at a restaurant. Not one of us saw it on your menu!! No one typically carries that much unless they know ahead of time. And no one apologized to your manager because again he was rude. We apologized to the server and let him know that just because the company he works for is awful we were not going to take it out on him and tipped him well. Also I have been coming to Key West for over 20 years and never once has a restaurant pulled this shadiness. If you would like to discuss this further, feel free to reach out to me. I stand by my review and would NEVER recommend your restaurant. There are so many better options in Key West and I should have gone with...

We were looking for a place to grab a bite where we could sit outside on a nice patio and enjoy live music with good food. As we walked by Viva it seemed to fit the bill.

The ambience was great! We were seated in a courtyard and the live entertainment was fun.

The food was ok. We both ordered the NY strip steak sandwich and it was fine. Not amazing, not terrible. A little overpriced, but about what you’d expect in Key West.

So why only one star? Because if the service sucked any more it would win an AVN award. It was unapologetically and embarrassingly terrible. The waitress did come to take our orders pretty quickly, but then she pulled a disappearing act so impressive that David Copperfield himself would scratch his head wondering how it was done.

The food arrived fairly quickly, delivered by another employee. There were only two or three other tables occupied since it was late, so the fact that the waitress never checked on us again is inexcusable. Our empty water glasses remained empty and she never came by to see that everything came out okay.

When we finished our meals, the busboy took our plates away and we sat waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Until more than 15 minutes passed and the waitress finally showed back up. She actually sent the busboy to the kitchen to see what was taking so long for our food to come out. SHE HAD NO IDEA THAT WE ALREADY HAD AN ENTIRE MEAL because she was completely absent for so long.

Two thumbs down. 0/5. Three strikes. Whatever measure you want to use, Viva is a direct nonstop line to the very bottom of the scale.

Don't say you haven’t been warned. With so many other great food options within walking distance, you’re best to go to literally any of them. Unless your goal is to save money on a tip, because nobody at Viva...

When we saw they had a brunch menu for the weekends, we made a special trip back to Duval street. It was the Shrimp and Lobster Omelets we were after, having missed them ever since TGIFridays took it off their menu in the 90's! What could be better than big chunks of seafood cooked in a huge, fluffy omelet?! Even though the price tag was a bit steep, 3 out of 4 of our party ordered them. What a disappointment! While the seasoned home fries were tasty and the omelet itself was fluffy and hot, we were hard-pressed to find ANY shrimp or lobster in our Shrimp and Lobster Omelets. The manager explained to us that the Chef grinds the seafood and its mixed into the spinach and cheese omelet filling, and that perhaps the portion of the mixture used in ours was a little light on the seafood. He was sure that even though you could not see it, you could definitely taste it, but we definitely could not... At all. To his credit, he understood that we were disappointed however, and comped us two flan desserts to share between the four of us. The flans were extraordinary, flavorful and delicious! Service at the restaurant was very friendly but extremely slow. A to-go box was requested three times before it actually made it to the table. During our visit, there was an outdoor event which took the attention of all but one server , who we had indoors. We were not allowed to join the outside tables as it was apparently a private affair. Finally, the strong, almost espresso-quality coffee was delicious, and our party had two cups each. Bottom line is I highly recommend the flan dessert and coffee but recommend against the very pricey Shrimp and Lobster Omelet. (Photo is of leftovers not on...