Vivace Ristorante

bean2s

4 months ago · ★ 5

The service was great. Good wine selection and almost anything on the menu is a hit. I’m vegetarian and got the polento which did not disappoint. Almost everyone else got the lasagna for good reason.

Megan Mulholland

6 months ago · ★ 5

We had a large group event so we took over one room. The facility was great, the staff super attentive and the food and drinks were wonderful. My only complaint was parking. There is none, so we parked in a bank lot, which the hostess told us to.

Wandering Wok

8 months ago · ★ 5

Overall: We thoroughly enjoyed the food and service at Vivace. It's some of the best Italian I've had in the Bay. We got (favorites first): - Mussels & sausage app: This was delicious. Mussels were tender; accompanying fennel-y sausage, red sauce, and bread all went great together. - Arancini app: I love arancini, and these traditional ones delivered. - Linguine alle vongole: Solidly executed. Pasta texture was perfect to my liking. - Pollo alla diavola: The way they managed to debone the breast and thigh while keeping it all one piece with the skin and grill it was impressive. The spicy rub was good, though the meat itself without the skin was a tad bland. I appreciated that this came with roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts to make it a well-balanced entree. - Poached pear salad (special): A good classic pear salad, though nothing to write home about. It's worth noting that the portion sizes were bigger than I expected. Because the menu was organized in Italian style (meat dishes under secondi section), I assumed portions would be like in Italy for primi (pasta course) and secondi (meat course), where each person orders one primo and one secondo. We opted to share one primo, one secondo, and three appetizers. This turned out to be a lot of food, as even the waitress mentioned. I'd say the pastas and secondi here are more like typical entree portions at most American restaurants. And the mussels appetizer was bigger than I expected too. We had a Friday 6:45 reservation but arrived a bit late at 7. The place was packed, and we waited about 10 minutes to get seated. Once we were seated, though, service was surprisingly fast - we had already taken a look at the menu online, so we ordered right away, and food came out very fast for an Italian place. The entrees came at perfect timing maybe a minute or two after they cleared the apps. It's definitely a pricier place, but it feels fair for the food quality, service, and ambiance. It was a bit loud as the restaurant was so packed, but we were still able to have conversation. Overall, this is some of the best Italian cooking I've found in the Bay (admittedly, the competition is not super high here).

Jesse Kyser

2 months ago · ★ 5

Friendly family neighborhood Italian joint. You really feel like you’re family when you walk in those doors. I’ve been coming here for years and not once had I had a bad experience. Mike and Deena are great. The Caesar salad is spectacular and the chicken parmigiana combined with the low lighting and family feel when Mike goes “how ya been?” will make you feel like you’re in Italian mobster era NYC. Really a unique place.

Iman Eskandari

5 months ago · ★ 5

We were a group of 15 moms celebrating May birthdays and welcoming summer, and we had such a wonderful experience. The ambiance was warm and perfect for a lively but comfortable gathering. The food was delicious and beautifully presented, and a special thank you to our waiter for being so thoughtful and attentive—ensuring everything was served in the right order and flowed perfectly for a large group. Great hospitality, great food, and a truly enjoyable evening.