VIVO Tapas KITCHEN • LOUNGE — Restaurant in Newark

I visited this place lastnight February 26, 2018. We ordered calamari, vegetable paella, full rack of ribs, and fries. First off everything was soooooooo sallty, the calamari tasted good but after a while the salt started getting to me so we stopped eating to wait on the rest of the food. Then almost an hour the ribs that looked like a 3/4 of a rack instead of full came out (I thought the guy forgot about us) the ribs was a bit burnt, salty and dry so I asked the server for some more bbq sauce thinking it would be a little sweet to override the salt, the guy brings the BBQ sauce and it was so cold!!! I ended up scraping it off the ribs. Then we almost finished eating the ribs we remembered we didn't get the vegetable paella we kept asking the guy for it. A couple who came after us had seafood paella how is the seafood ready b4 veggie? And ways when that came it was also very saly.. I hate broccoli and ended up eating the broccoli because it gave me a bit of refreshment from the salt... $82 worth of food wasted! However I gave them 2 stars, the live band and entertainment was enjoyable we sat for another hour singing along and drinking beer while enjoying a hookah... if I should ever go back to this place I will definitely eat first and just go to enjoy the hookah and entertainment. Lol I hate McDonald's but I would have felt better if I had...

I visited on a Friday afternoon 9/2/22 around 5 PM. The outside area had one more table being serviced and the inside was nearly empty. The outside dining space and the music was pretty cool and laid back. The drinks are okay and the food is tasty. I ordered several tapas which were all good I size, presentation and flavor.

The only thing is that I was rushed to order and that always is such a turn off and a huge buzz kill for a foodie like myself. If you k ow you know.

The lady who attended me seemed to have a very hyperactive personality and did not seem to read human interaction very well. She kept asking if we were ready to order immediately after handing Over the menus and repeated herself several times, just minutes apart each time after that. It was my first time there and I wanted to look at my options before ordering.

I’m sure those who work there and those who are regulars there know exactly who I’m talking about. She’s nice but she needs to relax a little. Other than that all was well but it won’t be a place I visit regularly like all my other favorite cool newark spots because of the rush rush factor. Nope.

Edit

Revisited on 9/19/22 Good food. Good service. Nobody rushed us. There were two other tables being served at the time I was there. Gabriel was our sever. Very kind, friendly...

First time I went there about a year ago the food was excellent and services was ok.. went back on Mother’s Day.. server was awful.. we order a margarita, finished it in about 45 minutes and they never came to even check on us or take our order .. we left cash on the table and left disappointed an hour later

Went last night again and one more time horrible .. soup of the day came almost 90 minutes after ordering.. first soup had none of what they said would be on it, they replaced it and being that we were so hungry ate it all.. octopus was not ok.. said it contained sea salt.. and had 0 salt. $20 for a margarita with mango flavor that was never there. Their $12 seafood soup my friend said was very food.

We were served the food and had no utensils, no small plates and had to wait long every time we asked for something

Plus, they charged gratuity regardless (party of 3) the waitresses were nice but lacked professionalism and quality services. We let them know how unsatisfied we were and she agreed and said that they were too busy and their kitchen was small, but never offer even the soups for free after such a huge delay. The two tables around us complained too and nothing was done to make things up. Overall last time for me.. and definitely not...