VIVO! Restaurant & Catering — Restaurant in New York

Since Cafe on the Green left the spot, businesses have struggled to stick around. Vivaldi may change that. Based on my experience it should be there a very long time and I hope it is.

The restaurant itself has 2 distinct feels apart from the party room upstairs. Upon entering, to the right there is bar with a warm and more relaxed dining room complete with dark wood and stone fireplace. To the left is a more formal dining room that is lighter in decor with leather chairs and is warm and comfortable. Soft music played at just the right volume throughout the dining room and added a nice touch to the experience.

Service was very attentive and our waiter was friendly. Although a tad rushed to take orders, but nothing drastic. My only gripe would be that I wish they would have acted on the comments left in the Opentable, but c'est la vie.

The food is fantastic and presented very nicely with every ingredient serving a purpose on the plate.

Appetizers: Crab Croquettes served with roasted red peppers, arugula, thinly sliced fennel and a lemon pepper aioli. Two large perfectly fried balls were served and inside was basically a crabcake, that was bursting with crab, it was creamy and tasty. I couldn't detect any potato which the name led me to believe, but it was great nonetheless.

Marinated Grilled Octopus is not to be passed up! It was served with a wonderful chickpea salad, yogurt and olive puree. The octopus itself melted in your mouth and had the perfect amount of char. Excellent dish.

Entrees: Pork Chop with spiced potato puree, apple raisin chutney and a bourbon glaze. I've never tasted pork like this. It was juicy and meaty and not at all 'porky'. It had a hint of sweetness and was fabulous.

Skirt Steak marinated and served with a watercress salad and a Bordelaise sauce was cooked to perfection, tender and delicious. The salad offered just the right acidity to the dish.

Dessert: If you consider passing on dessert, please don't. Everything is made in house (I had to ask to be sure) and are out of this world.

Apple Crostata may have been the best apple dessert I have ever had; apples with a slight sweetness encompassed in a lovely flaky crust and served alongside some ice cream. Just amazing.

Italian Cookie Plate contained 2 each of 4 varieties; Rainbow cookies were decadent, Pistachio cookies were delicate and packed with flavor, pignoli were good, but crispier than I am used to and the chocolate chip biscotti were scrumptious.

Decent wine list as well as a fair selection of wines by the glass across price ranges.

This was truly a magnificent meal and while we ate a lot, we did not leave feeling overloaded, but left...

I am just leaving Vivo from my Valentine’s Day dinner. I am very upset with the service. My reservation was for 6:00 PM and I am just pulling out of the parking lot at 8:46 PM. While our waitress was trying her best and I do not blame her at all, our whole experience was ruined. I asked for my main entree to be wrapped and waited AN HOUR for it! I asked for it before and during dessert and was told it was being held to keep the chicken warm. Once we were almost done with dessert we asked for the check and still waited for this “food left to the side to be warmed because it was chicken.” I patiently waited as I totally understanding that given the holiday things can be hectic. I spoke with the manager and was told “I’m so sorry. I’ll check on it. Even I’ve noticed that you’ve been here awhile.” Eventually after waiting even longer, I was told “Oh they threw the food out. At least you’ll be given another full chicken dinner.” We waited awhile again and a young gentleman (I’m not sure if he was a manager or not) came up to us and asked if everything was okay. After explaining to him what our circumstance was he came over with our food in the next five minutes or so. I was very respectful throughout the entire awful experience and do not appreciate the way things were handled. Of course our bill was given very quickly and our credit card was taken just as quickly. Once we paid, there was no interest in addressing us. Once again, I do not blame the waitress as I know she went into the kitchen and spoke to the manager several times. I have worked in restaurants before and my managers would always offer to either take an amount off the bill or offer something small such as a glass of wine on the house. That’s just good customer service. The only thing said to us was “You’ll receive a new chicken” like it was my fault that they threw it out. This was a very important Valentine’s Day for me and my fiancé. It is our first Valentine’s Day engaged and right after mourning a huge loss in our family. We were looking forward to a nice night out to focus on us and it was ruined by this restaurant. We even thought about using this restaurant as a spot for either my bridal shower or rehearsal dinner. After tonight I will never...

We had the best day ever and a large portion of that was because of Paul and his amazing team at VIVO! We live close to the area and were looking for a wedding venue that included food, bar, staff, linens, tables etc and VIVO had it all!

The outside space was perfect for our ceremony and cocktail hour and then we moved inside for the reception. The indoor space is very tasteful and pretty, we didn't need to add much decor other than our centerpiece florals for the tables. Paul (Vivo's Manager and Event point person) is an absolute legend!! He was so accommodating and wonderful with all communication leading up to our event and with us every step of the way on our wedding day. Paul is so kind and calm, always on top of all the details and there when you need him. Our event was in the best hands and we felt totally confident of that because of Paul's professionalism and communication with us. The food options are outstanding and all of our guests commented on how GREAT tasting it all was. The presentation is so nice and they pride themselves on delivering actual great tasting food- and it was delicious! The cake was so beautiful and delicious tasting as well!

The staff working our wedding was so kind, on top of everything, and professional. They kept us informed of what we needed to know and then took care of the rest- letting me and my husband just enjoy our big night and party with our guests. The evening all flowed so well and if there were any slight hiccups, (which I don't think there was) we didn't notice and neither did our guests- a true testament to a professional team on their A-game!

If you book your wedding at VIVO know that you will have a truly special event. You will be taken care of with the utmost respect and integrity from Paul and his team, and your guests will love the food, the atmosphere and will be so happy they were at your wedding! Our guests have told us multiple times this was the best wedding they've ever been to! My husband and I are so thrilled we chose VIVO as our venue and we are such fans of Paul we will absolutely be going back for dinner soon to enjoy the wonderful food there and to just see him again. Thank you VIVO and...