Vivo Italian Kitchen Review

[SeventyOne]

Got a chance tonight to try the newly opened Vivo Italian Kitchen in CityWalk, formerly Pastamore.

Overall it reminded me of one of one of those yuppie Italian restaurants every city seemed to get in the 90s. I don't mean that as an insult, really, but that is the vibe. Lots of open spaces, simple lines, mostly black and white. Not kitschy at all, as opposed to almost everywhere else in CityWalk--in fact, this feels more like a "date night" place than a theme park restaurant. It's the anti-Buca de Beppo. Kind of a refreshing break.

The menu was fairly basic Italian, almost everything is a dish you've heard of (e.g. lasagna, spaghetti bolognese, chicken parm--the exceptions being the squid ink pasta and some pear-stuffed pasta), but the food was still delicious and freshly made. I may have had Carbonara 30 different places, but this was one of the tastiest; certainly the best I can remember in Florida. Portions are reasonable, if not so large you'll take half home for dinner tomorrow like some of the national chains. And prices are spectacular. Pasta dishes ran $13-$15, other entrees into the $20s. Annual Passholders even get a discount on that.

Sat at the bar, service was exceptional. Friendly, recommendations on food, wine and dipping oil poured--a level of service I wouldn't expect at such a relatively low price point.

Ultimately Vivo feels more like a signature Disney restaurant than a CityWalk restaurant, only at a fraction of the price. To be honest this was the expansion outlet that interested me the least, but I've been very pleasantly surprised. I see myself returning here often, even on days I don't plan on visiting one of the parks.

 

[UNIrd]

Thanks for the review! Pastamore wasn't bad but THAT was a real nineties restaurant. This at least looks a lot more tasteful and modern. Can't wait to try it out next week.

Just out of curiosity, what were the recommendations?

 

[Nick]

What i've noticed in the design of a lot of these new places (Vivo, Red Oven, Starbucks), they are making them so that they all are very open concept to the guest walking by. They can see right in or there's a porch at all of these places and it helps get the guests attention and make them notice that the place exists, rather than before when guests would just walk right by.

 

[shiekra38]

What i've noticed in the design of a lot of these new places (Vivo, Red Oven, Starbucks), they are making them so that they all are very open concept to the guest walking by. They can see right in or there's a porch at all of these places and it helps get the guests attention and make them notice that the place exists, rather than before when guests would just walk right by.

Well I know I appreciate the very openness of the Starbucks and Red Oven on busy days...I think they realize there is a high traffic volume in the area and they've learned to accommodate..as well as looking visually appealing..I personally like big open spaces in a restaurant for some reason..

 

[Obi Ubamba]

Great review SeventyOne. I am glad that the prices are reasonable and that the food is up to par.

 

[SeventyOne]

Just out of curiosity, what were the recommendations?

Definitely the carbonara and the squid ink pasta. Fairly certain there was a third, but it slipped my mind. And the bartender seemed genuine, like those were the things that stood out to him on the tasting menu.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

My parents went on Thursday night. They loved the food and service was exceptional.

 

[UNIrd]

Tried Vivo last night. Awesome. We tried the Ricotta with candied walnuts mason jar appetizer, the duo fritto, the fiochetti and the chicken parm. The food was excellent, the service was great. Just absolutely loved it.

 

[rinacee]

My boyfriend and I tried out Vivo last night and we were extremely impressed! Our waiter was obviously very new, but everyone was kind and helpful. I loved the atmosphere and the themeing. It was very classy, particularly for a restaraunt near two major parks. The complimentary bread they served was wonderful and we couldn't get enough. My boyfriend ordered the squid ink pasta and LOVED it. I am not a seafood fan, but I did try the pasta and it was delicious. They had the best texture and were cooked to perfection. I ordered the eggplant parmigiana. I cannot say enough amazing things about this dish. The pasta served as the side was okay (not enough sauce for my personal taste, and I prefer spaghetti noodles to angel hair), but it was still buttery and cooked perfectly. But the eggplants. OH MY GOD THE EGGPLANT. It seriously melted in my mouth. The crust on the edges was perfect. Everything was cooked just right. And the ratio of sauce to cheese to eggplant was spot on. Would HIGHLY recommend that dish. After the first bite I knew I was in heaven, haha!

 

[Frank Drackman]

I'll echo the statements that the food here is really good and really not very expensive.

We really enjoyed our meals here one night on our trip. My wife had the Pesto Papparedelle:



which she enjoyed ('cept that when she tried some of my meal, she realized she ordered the wrong dish ;-)

I had the Fiochetti which I thought was way better than I ever expected:



Our daughter had the Kids Spaghetti and meat ball which she said was incredible as well:



I passed on desert, but the girls shared the Zeppolli which they seemed to enjoy!

 

[illumination]

I ate there for the first time on Friday night, and overall loved it but next time I'll get a different entree. The restaurant is beautiful and I love the decor. I ordered the Pomodoro which turned out to be very plain--could not taste the garlic or white wine that were mentioned in the description, and the pasta didn't taste different from the kind I buy from the store. I would not recommend. After trying to eat it but being unhappy with it, I asked for some crushed red pepper. I got the tiniest amount of crushed red pepper in a little dish that was only enough to eat about 4 more bites of the dish. I left at least half on my plate and filled up on the bread they bring you instead, which was delicious and so was the olive oil. However, the person I ate with got a sausage pasta dish that was new to the menu (it's not shown on the online menu yet--it's different than what's listed there). Their dish was VERY good, and I wish I would have gotten that. Very fresh, flavorful, slightly spicy and the pasta tasted homemade. Also, they do not offer to put freshly grated cheese on top of anything, seemingly you would have to make a special request for it. This is unusual as most italian restaurants offer cheese when they bring the food, even if the entree already has cheese in it.

Anyways, despite not liking my entree I really did love this restaurant and would go there again! I think I would have loved just about anything else on the menu. And, now through the end of December any food at the parks and citywalk is 10% off if you use your AmEx card, you just have to ask for the discount.

 

[Zombie-C]

I was excited to try Vivo out. Seeing as it had such rave reviews. Upon seating I felt under dressed. As I gazed around the restaurant to see most were dressed in evening wear. Any how on to the food and service. Service was good the food on the other hand. The bread was meh, I prefer Finnigan's bread and sides. As my entrée I had lasagna. For the price and the size of the dish. I was thrown off. It filled me up but that was all it came with. Taste wise it tasted close to my mom's lasagna. I expected to be blown away. I'll give it another chance but based on this experience

 

[Clive]

We finally got a chance to try this Friday night - was able to seat ourselves immediately at the bar. Great drink selection. Got a bottle of wine with provided ice bag - a nice touch. The calamari appetizer was phenomenal. I got the margarita pizza (a tad dull, I know) and really loved it. Overall an excellent closer-to-upper-scale dining addition to Citywalk. Much, much better than Pastamore.