VIVO Spanish Restaurant & Lounge
“The experience was excellent due to our wonderful waitress Andrea who was the best.”
“Purchased the Yelp coupon and my wife and I had a great meal.”
“We also ordered a coconut mojito which was delish.”
VIVO Spanish Restaurant & Lounge
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Good For Dancing: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Super slow service but food is worth the wait. Definitely try the cheese and meat tapa plate, pulpo (octopus), fritata, cream potatoes, gambas.
I will never patronize this business again. I love food and am picky about my food & service. My fiancée suggested Vivo and I normally Yelp but I decided against it. That was my first mistake. We purchased the Groupon for two and made a reservation as per the Groupon. Upon entering, the hostess asked if we were there for the Groupon. I at first took no notice of this. My fiancée later noted he was offended as he felt an assumption about us was made.
Food
We had the red Sangria which didn't have the punch most Sangrias in the neck have. We ordered the garlic shrimp which was yummy. The bread was nice with a different side sauce of garlic, olive oil, cilantro & green pepper.
The paella was the Valencia supposedly for two. After about a 30 minute wait, the paella, piping hot arrived at our table, it didn't look like it would feed two…. But I guess it did!?? We had half a lobster and four "prawns" with the head on.. The rice was overdone and as well as the seafood. This is something that I've never experienced in the Ironbound.
Service
Bruno was our server. We had at least 4 different ppl come to our table to remove or bring things. Not a huge issue. Bruno maybe once asked how we were. That's a problem for me when gratuity is automatically added to my bill. I of course asked Ariel the manager about these things. I will just describe Ariel as rude.
Nonetheless, I will never come back here again. Id suggest if you are considering a Groupon here to consider another place.
4 stars only because I thought 5…nah make it 5.
What a Newark gem Vivo is. My friend suggested here because I'm staying at the Hilton at Penn station a short distance away.
The dining room is clean, cool and comfortable. There were a few open tables (it was an early Wednesday) and we were greeted quickly and offered a booth near the front.
Andrea waited on us. She was more than a server, she was an advisor, historian and wealth of knowledge on all things Portuguese. In addition to being an absolute delight.
We had the red sangria and warm octopus to start. The octopus was DELICIOUS. For the main dish we had to have the paella. The paella took about 30 minutes to prepare, from scratch. It was well worth the wait. Wow it was amazing. It was perfectly seasoned and chock full of shrimp, clams, lobster, sausage, corn, mussels and fish. We couldn't finish this enormous dish. Took home half!
The dessert was equally mind blowing. I had the flan with fresh whipped cream. Go here, enjoy the relaxed fun atmosphere, and friendly people. (Ask for Andrea M.) Reasonably priced and in a neighborhood that was clean, vibrant and fun (reminiscent of Queens).
Came here on a Friday evening to use a Groupon I purchased. 30$ for paella and sangria for too.
The atmosphere was great, there was a live band singing covers, good variety of songs.
We ordered the Valenciana and mango sangria. We upgraded to a bigger pitcher for 10$.
The paella was good, however VERY VERY VERY salty. Good flavors, and good amount of seafood. The mango sangria was delicious.
After you finish eating, they bring out a tray of sample desserts to try to get to you buy some, even though we said no, they were a little pushy.
They lost a few stars because of the amount of time we had to wait for our server. It took us 20 mins to find him, and then it took him another 25 mins to bring us the check and another 15 to bring us back the receipts.
I'd probably will return if I get another groupon.
I have visited many Portuguese restaurants in Newark and so far this is the worst.
We had a Groupon and called ahead to reserve as requested. Our table was waiting for us (one point) but after that it went straight downhill.
Our waitress greeted us and we informed her of our Groupon. She explained it to us very nicely and then told us it would be 45 minutes so you may want to order appetizers and showed us where they were on the menu.
When you come hungry for a 7:30 PM dinner that is not what you want to hear. 45 minutes. So of course now we are ordering appetizers and upping the bill.
We ordered a stuffed shrimp, fried calamari and stuffed mushroom all tapas size. We were served our sangria and waited and waited and waited. about 30 minutes later I said "we ordered the appetizers to hold us over for the meal, now they are going to arrive WITH the meal" The usual apologies and they arrived. All three were mediocre at best and one had to be returned and taken off the bill because the shrimp was not cooked. After you got through the breading and toppings it was grey! This shrimp was so tiny it was ridiculous and you can't even cook it thoroughly? Waitress apologized and took it off the bill. The other two extremely mediocre.
Dinner arrives about right At least 45 minutes or more. It was a Paella for four. The entire meal was overcooked, dried out, the rice was sticky and although I am not a paella expert I can just say it was pretty bad. Two of our guests have had it many times and stated they would never come back here again.
Dessert – no thanks, we'll go elsewhere. Left feeling very ripped off and disappointed. From what I can see the reviews are all over the chart on this place so I can only believe that there are good and bad nights for this place, but there are too many other great places in Newark where the food is good every visit.
Sangria – not bad
Food – Bad
Service – decent
Wait Time – Bad
Lesson Learned – Check back here at Yelp before buying Groupons
I was on a search for a birthday cake. My co worker was kind enough to drive me here.
There was a nice display of cakes and pastries. Selection of cakes were simply decorated by pouring chocolate on top, one had cream and almonds, another was a custard pie. I didn't see a cake I wanted, but saw several pre-cut cakes that were pretty. I thought, maybe a variety of cakes can be good enough.
There was one lady ordering in front of me so I wait. She pays and leaves. The employee doesn't come back to me to see what I wanted. She chats with the cashier, then goes to organize cups. I said hello. She says hello back continues to organize, then goes to the kitchen and brings a sandwich to a diner. At this point 3 parties were behind me. She sees, then comes over and starts helping the lady who came after me! I was shocked. The lady must have saw my face, stops her ordering and told the employee I was there before her. The employee was like really? oh. and comes over to me. I ask her what flavors the sliced cakes were, she tells me and the price. The employee had a hard time seeing which cakes I was pointing to, so it took a while for me to get my order.
I ordered 5 pieces of cake: tiramisu, chocolate, strawberry, tres leches, and chocolate caramel. Tiramisu and strawberry tasted best because they're moist. The others were dry! Frosting dry. Not edible for me or the birthday girl. Since I spent $16+ on the cakes, I'll have to eat with coffee or tea since the birthday girl couldn't take more than one bite of each. I don't blame her!
Good tapas. Paella is a huge serving enough to feed 4-5 (take notice that the price is $20+ per person). If you buy a tapas combo that is enough for 2. I would recommend to choose either a tapas combo OR an entree as the portions are considerable. Expect an appetizer combo with drinks and paella to run you about $100. Very nice ambiance and waiter was very welcoming and polite. Their menu is huge. A nice place for a date.
I was extremely hesitant of Vivo. But after some convincing, I caved and came for dinner. Great service, cheap mojitos at happy hour, and nice atmosphere. For the space, I'm sure a date or large group would both work well. I personally came with a date and had a great time. Attentive and helpful service without intruding.
We got a spread of tapas and I recommend 1-2 plates for every person. Despite it being tapas, the portions are very generous. And as always in the Ironbound, fresh bread and butter to start the meal. I got the:
Patatas bravas- very good. Crisp, flavorful, a good side for the meat tapas
Braised oxtail- hands down the best dish of the night. Flavorful, tender, delicious
Grilled octopus- unfortunately cut for you but I assume that's how it stayed to tender. Very large portion as well.
Stuffed peppers- refreshing and very delicious
We ended the meal with coffees and their tres leches. Can't go wrong with that, ever. We left very full and happy. No complaints! Can't wait to go back.