Vivace

07/17/2008 Posted by lessnow59

I went with 2 girlfriends on a Wednesday night. I was surprised to find out we should have made reservations. Who makes reservations for a Wednesday night? We ended up getting lucky and were seated outside. It was a great night for outside dining. We ordered the red sangria. Very good but not the drink to have outside. It attracted too many flies. We ordered the four cheese pizza with carmalized onions and portobello mushrooms. It was delicious, though the crust was difficult to cut. I ordered the risotti with corn, shrimp, and arugula. I was extremely disappointed in this dish. The risotti was not cooked enough and the dish was bland. It needed salt and pepper. Vivace does have a very extensive wine list, if that is what you are looking for. Everyone at the tables around us did seem to enjoy their wine selections.

07/17/2008 Posted by LitlC119

Vivace has a wonderful atmosphere to relax and enjoy the best italian food in Raleigh! The patio is great and the restaurant is decorated beautifully. very knowledgeble bartender, especially when choosing wine! He encouraged us to try a bottle of Amarone and it went very well with what everyone was having. I can't wait until my next visit to Vivace!!

Pros: food/wine menu, atmosphere, excellent patio, romantic

07/13/2008 Posted by JeremyLaw

Our recent visit to Vivace was painfully mediocre. After four years as a server and six years as a cook and sous chef, I understand how difficult it can be to create a successful dining experience. Vivace, however, didn’t even come close to meeting our most reasonable expectations. Due to some major architectural and interior design flaws, the restaurant was very loud. To make matters worse, the restaurant staff opened the windows to the overcrowded patio. The heat, humidity and additional noise only emphasized Vivace’s congested dining room. Our woefully undertrained server had never heard of “grappa” and didn’t know if the bar had any. He forgot to tell us about the evening’s special, and when he finally brought the wine we ordered to arrive with the entrees, we were nearly done eating. It’s unforgivable that the meat and cheese plate appetizer replaced the classic prosciutto crudo with a prosciutto cotto, though the pear mostarda was brilliant. The cheese ravioli was pleasant, though the veal saltimbocca was slightly overcooked. The food didn’t shine, though it was just as well that Vivace didn’t bother with amazing food; it would have been totally overshadowed by the noise, heat and poor service. The final touch to this tragi-comic dining experience was watching servers, managers and bartenders forever climbing on chairs, counters and the marble bar to reach the inconveniently shelved wine and alcohol. There would have been less gawking from the diners had Vivace exhibited a modicum of professionalism and simply hired a giant from a circus sideshow to retrieve the bottles. Having recently enjoyed a pleasant meal at Porter’s Tavern, which has the same owners as Vivace and Frazier’s, I am left confused. Perhaps Vivace’s initial success will prove to be its demise. Laurels can’t be rested on indefinitely. It seems that the buzz of early 2006 has given way to bandwagons of restaurant critics and hype.

Pros: They have grappa

Cons: Poor service, Loud, Tables too close together

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

07/04/2008 Posted by sigmon

Most of these reviews must have been written by the owner's friends or people who have never been to Italy. All of the food - and we sampled a good deal - was tasty and not screwed up, but not excellent. It was a little clunky and not delicate, the bane of most Italian restaurants (e.g., too much butter). And the restaurant can't use fresh peaches for its bellinis in the middle of peach season in North Carolina (I asked - it was canned/bottled puree)! That'd never fly in most places.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

05/23/2008 Posted by rcm23

i tried vivace for lunch today. unfortunately, due to the unprofessional service (as well as the rather large chicken bone found in a pizza i shared), i do not plan to revisit.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful

05/12/2008 Posted by ErinEliza

I ate at Vivace Saturday. Our reservation was for 5:00 but we finished our plans early and went around 4:00. We had drinks and the calamari appetizer. The calamari was very tender like other reviews mentioned. The service was a bit slow then but it was intermedio so not many people were on staff. The waiter was pleasant and took our order promptly at 5:00. I got the seasonal insalata to start. This is one of my favorite salads. The beats, pears, and walnuts were a tasty mixture. I got the roasted duck for main course. It was delicious and very tender. The presentation was nice too. The leg was set upon cauliflour puree that was just the right consistency. Overall our meal was delicious. I certainly recommend Vivace. Dine on the patio if weather permits.

Pros: Delicious food, wine list

Cons: Service, indoor seating is congested

03/24/2008 Posted by myongsun

Gotta be the best calamari in town. Tossed with strips of red pepper, basil and lemon peel, this squid is never chewy or rubbery (served with a spicy tomato aioli). #1 insists we go there when she needs her calamari fix. We like to sit at the pizza bar in back for a full view of all the doings in the kitchen. Typically, the menu will have features which highlight a focus on a particular region of Italy. The last time we were there, the focus was Veneto in northern Italy. A flight of regional wines was offered: just $13 for three whites or $21 for three reds. The pours were generous and this is a great deal. We almost always split a pizza from their wood oven. My fave: the four cheese with caramelized onions and portobellos. All pastas are made in-house. #2 always orders the wood-grilled flat iron steak with braised short rib, potato puree, asparagus and mushroom butter. He just sits there, rolls his eyes and moans with pleasure while chewing. On our last visit, I had a quail special. The bird was cleaved in two. The breast bones were removed, but others remained. Each half was then rolled tight in pancetta. The two “spits” were then served on a bed of slaw which was more sweet than sour, along with a sauce of red beets. This dish was phenomenal, and one of the best I’ve had in ages! We’ve never had bad service at Vivace. It is absolutely one of our favorites. Last visit was $122 for three (one non-drinker), tip included, no dessert.

Pros: menu

Cons: Can be loud

10/07/2007 Posted by barbaramattox

we dined there last night for our anniversary and were very disappointed given all of the hype and previous positive experiences at frazier's and porter's. our table for two was crammed in between the tables to either side so that we could hear the other conversations without difficulty and had no intimacy at all. the timing was way off...each course was brought to the table before we were done with the previous course and then was brought back to the kitchen to sit until we were ready for it. the wine recommendations by our waiter were excellent. the seared tuna carpaccio was bland. the calamari portion was garagantuan, and it tasted like what is served in a cheap italian place. the caprese salad was good. the veal saltimbocca with cheese ravioli was solid, but we could hardly enjoy it as we had been rushed so quickly through the earlier courses. the coffee and tiramisu were excellent. the manager noticed that the timing was off and proactively approached our table and offered to cover our dessert, and this was an appreciated gesture. i doubt we will be returning any time soon, however.

Pros: cool decor, lively ambience, proactive manager

Cons: average food, rushed service, crammed quarters

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful

07/11/2007 Posted by royalle01

I grew up in Queens, NY; my family and I have frequented some of the best Italian restaurants in and around the city. There have only been a select few that compare to truly exceptional Italian cuisine and Vivace is one of them. I ate at Vivace about 3 months ago and never wrote a review, hence I forget exactly what I had, but the one thing I do remember is that the mussels looked like some kind of mutant mussels they were so big and they were as tender (not chewy) and tasty as any mussel I've ever had. My wife and I agreed that everything else we had was also top notch, including the 'girlie' flavored martini she ordered to the excellent wine by the glass pinot noir I had... A+

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

04/07/2007 Posted by farrahsgirl

Vivace has it all! Stunning ambience, an outstanding wine selection, the absolute best menu (you can't go wrong), plus a very knowledgeable and classy waitstaff. If you are into your dining experience truly being an experience, Vivace is a must! The best Italian food and wines in Raleigh! Do not skip dessert!

Pros: All of it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful