Vivo Ristorante — Restaurant in Raleigh

When I first moved down here from New Jersey, my brother and I found Vivo. We were so grateful because where we are from, we are used to having top notch authentic Italian places close by. When we first came, we were ecstatic about the food. It made us feel like we were back home a filled a huge void that we had in the southern Italian scene. Pizza, pastas, and especially the pasta fagioli soup absolutely incredible never tasted a better version, in fact, as an avid home cook, I tried to dissect what they were doing to make the soup so flavorful and delicious. I came to the conclusion/assumption that they must have been blending some of the ingredients like the beans and veg into the broth, which gave it the perfect viscosity and flavor. I have recommended Vivo to over 100 people as a hidden gem of the area because of this soup alone lol.

A little bit back, they started to make some changes. Starting with the menu, which eliminated both my brother and I's go to entrees (chicken cannelloni and linguine w clams/shrimp). Of course restaurants want to stay exciting and make changes which I support, but these changes did not seem to be going in a better direction. (IMO) We made adjustments because prior, everything was delicious. We started trying some new things and a lot of it still great, but the new items didn't quite do it like the old. If they did, I would have no complaints. Lately, the changes have become a little intolerable. Mainly because the quality of food has been falling off a bunch. My brother was always very into the chopped salad, the way it was finely chopped and loaded w great accoutrements, good acid, although now it has become more leafy, less dressed (mostly oil)less chopped, and less topped. The most heartbreaking change has to be the soup tho. It went from what I have called the best soup I have ever had, to what tastes like chicken broth out of the box. It lost all of its thick rich flavor and has been a huge disappointment which has led to our decline in going. I hate to talk like this about Vivo because they are great people who has brought us many great meals, but I want to bring awareness to whoever can control these variables that it is very recognizable to the customers. Whether it is to save time money or effort, it has been the cause of losing some of your most loyal customers and may not be worth it.

There are still plenty of things that are incredible about Vivo, and I do plan to come back, but what was once a weekly routine that we looked forward to has fallen off our list of options quickly with the changes that have taken place over the past year. At the very least, bring the old pasta fagioli recipe back. I'm writing this review because we were just talking about where we should eat tonight, which used to not even be a question for our early in the week dinner routine, because we always wanted Vivos. And I'm sad to say that we don't consider it anymore because of the kitchens decline. I am still giving four stars because of all the joy that this place has brought us in the past. Thank you for reading and I hope management/kitchen take this in a way that can help Vivo in...

EDIT: I'm surprised I'm having to write this kind of review about one of my favorite local restaurants. Tonight (thursday) I took my mother and my family (4 of us) to Vivos to celebrate her retirement. We were sat instantly. It took our waitress about 10 minutes or so to make it to our table for the first time. We ordered our main course, no appetizers within 10 minutes after meeting our waitress. We waited for at least 1 hour 15 min and our food still hadn't arrived. Tables around that sat when we were had gotten their food and were gone. Tables sat AFTER us had gotten their food and gone as well. We asked out waitress how much longer once it had been an hour she said it should be any minute. Another 15 minutes went by and we asked her to please go ahead and make our order to go. Within 5 minutes our orders were packed up and brought to the table. A young man, not sure if he was a manager or not, came over and apologized for the wait saying there was a large private party that had backed up their kitchen. We didn't receive an update or some form of explanation until the very end. I understand there was a party however we arrived and ordered before that whole party had even arrived. And I know this because we knew people in that party. But it also doesn't explain why we were the only table who didn't get their food when tables who came after us had already dined and left. We completely understand busy restaurants and short staffing since the pandemic but what happened tonight was hardly excusable. We have never experienced the type of service we experienced at this restaurant. We have dined here and we've always gotten our food within a reasonable time, even with them being short staffed.This also happened on a Thursday evening.. I will say this review is purely on the service, not the food. The food has always been wonderful, which is why we tried to dine here. This was supposed to be a special night to celebrate my mother. And I know things don't always go as planned, but I never expected this from Vivo's. ............................ Previous: I can't say enough about how much my husband and I loved Vivos! All of the staff were extremely friendly, accommodating, and seemed to genuinely enjoy being there. Kayla was our waitress and we absolutely loved her! The food was perfect from the fresh baked Italian bread (like just came out of the oven half an hour ago fresh) to the rosemary/roasted garlic oligio (oil) to our pastas. My husband had the Shrimp Scampi and loved it. I had the Vodka Rigatoni and added Italian sausage and peppers. This was the best Vodka Sauce I've ever had and the past was perfectly al dente. My husband and I are huge critics when it comes to Italian cooking and Vivos immediately became our favorite. The atmosphere/style is very welcoming, clean and rustic. If you're in Raleigh head to Vivos! You will not be...

I have been on the hunt for consistent quality Italian food in the area. From what I can tell, Vivo and its owners have been around for a while. Most reviews are very positive so it was worth a try.

The food was pretty good, but on the expensive side for pasta with sauce. My biggest issues are with the facility, ambiance and service.

First, it was an intensely hot evening and we were seated in direct line of the sun. There are no blinds on the window and the inside temperature was very uncomfortable. Because of the seating arrangement, we had the intense sun in our eyes for the whole meal. We asked if they can turn up the AC and the waiter said it is running on max but he will ask if they can turn up the ceiling fans. That was no help.

The dining room was also very "smoky" without any ventilation. It turns out the kitchen is on full display and not behind any doors. This creates even more heat in the dining room. Plus the added challenges of cooking odor, steam and smoke.

The current NC laws around re-opening bars is murky to me but Vivo's bar was open. There was no social distancing going on. They seemed to make some attempt at marking which seats people could sit in but nobody obeyed those suggestions.

I wanted baked ziti but it was not on the menu. The waiter asked someone if they had it and they did. He was not sure why it was not on the menu. It was $15. It should be about $12.

The bread and olive oil were delicious even though they were served in a colander. This was different and no big deal. Just an odd note.

We were not given any silverware, napkins, bread plates or straws and we had to ask one of the bus boys to bring them. This bus boy had an odd, stiff demeanor, would not say a word and walked like Michael Meyers. He was making us uncomfortable but at least he knew where they kept the napkins.

The portions were a good size and we asked for boxes to take the leftovers home. We were given boxes but no bag. The sauce was runny and I wanted a bag so it would not spill in my car. We could not find our waiter so we had to ask Michael Meyers again. We were lucky to have him around.

So in summary, the food was good if a few dollars overpriced. Odd service, uncomfortable temperature and seating with sometimes unwelcoming service. It felt like the place just opened or was under new management. Lots of kinks to work out...

It is probably not worth a second visit without explanation. Pretty pricey for...