Vive Restaurant — Restaurant in West Bloomfield Township

First time at this pretty new West Bloomfield restaurant that took over the former Georges. The restaurant was completely remodeled which was necessary as the restaurant converted from a casual greek/family restaurant to an "upscale" restaurant. They did a nice job with it as the space is warm and cozy compared to what it was previously. There were four of us at dinner this evening. Our friends shared the braised lamb bites appetizer which they said were good but on the dry side. They requested some additional sauce that came with the lamb bites which did make the dish more enjoyable. I ordered a caesar salad which was rather unique and outstanding. I highly recommend that. My wife had the short rib bolognese and said it was the best pasta she has had in some time. Unlike many bolognese where the chef overwhelms the pasta with too much sauce, this dish featured the excellent pasta with just enough sauce to make the dish work. One of our friends had the tortellini which she enjoyed. The waiter had cautioned my wife that this dish was spicy. It most definitely was not. He told us after dinner that the chef had reworked some pastas since they first opened and they must have removed the spice from this dish. (they also removed the cacio e pepe much to my dismay). Our other friend ordered the king salmon with rissoto. He had to send the dish back as risoto was way too salty. They made it for him again and it was better the second time except the risotto was not good.....it was more like wet or mushy rice. On the positive side, he said the salmon was good. I ordered the steak frites. I was surprised when it arrived as it was a "whole" steak (ribeye) when I have always seen steak frites sliced. The steak was good not great. The shoe string fries were good. We shared a strawberry Dubai chocolate for dessert which everyone thought was good. The restaurant was very busy for a Saturday night. Minor gripes: No bread..only bread service for I think $8. I know this is becomingly increasingly common but I still don't like it. Also, our water glasses stood empty most of the night. Just a pet peeve of mine..please make sure to make the rounds and fill your customers' water glasses. If I could give Vive 3.5 stars I would but I thought given how new the restaurant is, I would give them a 4 rather than a 3. I do think Vive has potential but I feel like they are still working out the kinks. I would suggest giving them a couple of months and then giving it a try. In the meantime, I would not hesitate to stop in if you feel like a great caesar and some good pasta, both of which are moderately priced by today's standards as are the wines by the glass. We look forward to trying it again in the...

Hello! if you take time to lend me your ear, I’ll tell you exactly why you should come and dine here. Just a bit of history, I choose to share to express the feeling of love and care. We are not new to this establishment or should I say family.

Prior to becoming VIVE RESTAURANT they were called G Georges where my Auntie V and Uncle B would come every Sunday after church to dine. The initial visit, turned into a 5 year ritual where every and I mean every special occasion throughout the entire family was celebrated here. Our guest count ranged from 2 to 120. Through this patronage we begin to call them friends, and family.

The owners, two young ladies, I will call L & L and their staff, were and still are very, very personable. They care about the quality of their food. They care about the quality of their people, and given that they were dubbed a name they did not care for, no fault of their own and not a bad name, they just wanted something a little sleeker, a new look or should I say a big new look. Nothing Changed!!!! but the building and the name.

Yes, the food is more upscale, ergo the pricing is higher. HOWEVER, THEY HAVE REMAINED CONSISTENT IN PROVIDING (A1 PLUS) QUALITY FOOD AND TOP NOTCH SERVICE ACROSS THE SPECTRUM.

Quickly but importantly, CIARA, THEIR AMAZING BARTENDER IS ALSO A VIVE RESTAURANT ASSET/GEM. Whether you come in alone, as a couple and or a group. CIARA can rise to all occasions without missing a beat. Very much a multitasker. Though I arrived alone with my acquaintance in tow she entertained my conversation, provided excellent, excellent cocktails and brought me a fabulous piping hot French Onion Soup, all whilst doing the same for 12 other patrons dining in the bar area.

I implore you to come and give VIVE a try, I’m most positive when leaving it will not be your...

Vive has potential but there are some things that need to be worked out in the process. The restaurant is clean & nicely decorated, however it’s quite loud between guests and music. The service we received was very good.

Cocktails were very well done. Excellent flavors, and unique without being too risky.

The food was lackluster. The oysters were ridiculously small, and the mignonette had almost no shallot in it at all. They did not come with an oyster fork, which would’ve been fine if they were prepared properly, but they weren’t. The caviar fries were tasty and fun. Bread service was good but the chef’s butter lacked flavor despite being packed with herbs and shallot. My streak frites were ordered medium rare and came out medium well with significant amount of char. It was inedible. We asked for it to be remade and the second one was perfectly cooked temperature wise but lacked flavor and they did not provide more of the bearnaise beyond what had come with the original steak and had been poured over it. The lobster rigatoni had great flavor and a generous portion of lobster but the pasta sauce was very watery. The chai crème brûlée was the best thing we had and was definitely a 10/10. Our waiter handled the sent back steak very well, however with it being a new establishment I was a bit surprised we did not have a visit from a member of their leadership team regarding the quality of the food being sent out.

I think Vive has the potential to be a great dinner spot, but the menu and preparation need some refining in terms of technique. The kitchen needs to be held to a higher quality standard when you are offering these kinds of menu items. These tiny oysters and that overcooked steak never should’ve made it out of...