VIVO Italian Kitchen Reviews

I payed over 25 $ for spaghetti and meatballs got it to go and when I got home it had to be one of the smallest portions I have ever seen in my life and for the size the taste did not make up for it either

After a long day at universal it was nice to walk over to Citywalk and find a nice Italian place that was comfy quiet and had a laid back atmosphere while still being a little fancy. Loved it!

Very good service. My wife ate salmon and it was very good I ordered the spaghetti Diabla. Clear spicy and very rich. Alejandro my son ordered Alfredo fetuchini with shrimp and it went very well. Very nice place. After eating a lot of fast food. This was like finding an Oasis.

Visited this restaurant whilst on holiday. Food was good, Service was good. The only downside is that we paid for our meal which was fine, but..... they have taken a additional unauthorised payment against my card for roughly the same amount for the cost of our meal. Dispite revisiting Vivo and addressing this with the duty manager we have still not heard back from them despite being promised she would get back in touch once she had investigated why they had taken 2 payments. The second payment was taken 10 hrs after we fined there. Please be careful this doesn't happen to you. I have now had to report this as fraudulent.

My family enjoyed this new restaurant. The calamari appetizer and bread were very good. We had the green salad and it was very good. The prosciutto pizza was great as were all the various pasta entrees our family of six enjoyed. The draft beer selection was limited but good. The wine selection was very good. Desserts were great. especially the tiramisu. Prices were reasonable. Although owned by NBC Universal, this is not a chain restaurant. We highly recommend it.

The restaurant is very nice with comfortable booth and a cozy atmosphere. The waiter was very polite and service was quick. There was a kids menu and a good selection of options between pasta, pizza, entrees, salads. It was very convenient with the kids.

The food was delicious and the cocktails were very well crafted! And the service was amazing! What a great way to end a fun day at Universal Studios!

Great place to finish off your day at Universal Studios. We found this place to be much more reasonably priced than the other places over there trying to scam the tourists. The waiters are attentive and the food is great. A nice, upscale dining experience.

We had dinner here after a day at Universal. It looks very nice. Pizza (mushroom) and meatballs were quite bland. Bread was good. Took an age to sort the bill and other tables were obviously frustrated with this. We wouldn’t eat here again. Unfortunately we’d started our meal before I remembered to take pictures but you can get an idea.

We had dinner on 1/4/2024, our server was Susan. I ordered lasagna, and 1. No sides offered, not even bread. 2. Server said when she set it down, I am sure your lasagna is better than this. 3. It was the worse lasagna I ever encountered…. I toyed with this and left the rest. After a day at Universal Studios I was hungry. It was burnt around the edges, pasta was hard and crispy about an inch into the piece offered. My husband had Chicken Parmesan and he ate it because like me he was hungry. No sides offered for that either…. So two pathetic dinners and two root beer and our bill was 56.00. The price would have been ok had the food even been half good. I would rather go to a fast food establishment than go here - awful awful - two stars as the place looked like a very nice place. Should be 0 stars….. the server was nice… as seen in most places… workers are older - sad to see.

We were seated quickly and service was great. The meatball and antipasto appetizers were great. Our meals were also excellent, the only complaint being the lasagna being slightly soft. The spaghetti with bolognese was the best pasta I have EVER had— it had a touch of spice that perfected the entire dish. I wish we could eat there again tonight!

Our family spent the day at Universal Studios and ended our evening by going to dinner at Vivo, located in the Universal Studios City Walk. We were seated within 10 minutes, but it took a very, very long time to get our food. The dishes were beautifully presented, but the flavor was somewhat lacking. Although I was incredibly hungry, I only ate 1 of the 4 meatballs served with my spaghetti. They were dry with hardly any sauce and over seasoned with garlic. The Chef seemed to be a bit heavy handed with the Garlic press. I asked my husband how his squid ink Seafood Pasta Dish was and he replied, “It was OK.” But to be fair, others in our party ordered pizza, which was pretty good. All in all, Vivo was OK, which isn’t good enough when you’re craving a really great meal. However, if you want authentic Pizza, this may be your place.

Vivo is on the city walk a very nice Italian restaurant the staff are very polite and the food is delicious our waiter Tyler couldn't do enough for us

Went there for dinner after visiting Universial. This place is nicely decorated with a smaller dinner menu. Food is reasonably priced. Our server Tyler was fantastic he was so freindly and professional pls look for him when you visit there. Highlight of our meal was the Tiramisu which was of the best we ever had !

Let's start with the positive things the friendly and helpful staff! Things far from the reality that it is Italian food, we are talking about an American restaurant that would like to do Italian cuisine!

Service was good. Food was bland, tasteless. It was expensive for what you got. The lasagna looked like it was cooked several days before. I wouldn't recommend it when there are so many other options.

Great meal and family friendly in a great environment. Service was attentive, although restaurant was empty. Couldn’t give a 5th star as server didn’t know the product very well and had to ask on a few questions.

Manager Jorge Rivas Garibay is so rude and unprofessional, does not have the minimal idea of customer service meaning I am not a complainer since I work in the service industry but I have an advise for everyone, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AT THIS RESTAURANT, unless you like to be mistreated and disrespected!!!

I was very disappointed, I though it was going to be a great experience, but it was not. I went there for my mom´s birthdays, but we were not happy at all. It was kind of expensive, very, slow and the food cold. Plus, I asked them to celebrate my mom her birthday singing or a small detail but nothing. Food was good though, but I was sad it happened that on my moms birthdays. You guys should be more careful about it, it is just a suggestion. Thank you!

Our party of five visited the resturant for dinner. Love wood burning stove restaurants! Menu looked great - Something for everyone. We started with the Antipasto which was excellent and provided a little of something for everyone at the table. We also shared a pizza which was excellent - and there was a little left over which one person in our party took home. I had the Tuscan Kale & White Bean Soup for dinner - was a little full after the appetizers. It was excellent and not to salty which you sometimes find in resturant soups. Things started to go downhill from there. Our second favorite at the table was the Chicken Piccata. Nice blend of flavors. The Cacio & Pepe was bland, Eggplant Parm very thin, overcooked, dry and barely edible. They took it off the bill. Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo to salty. Our waiter was very gracious and had an excuse for every problem we had. To his defense, we understand this is a tourist area and it's hard to cater to everyone's spice & salty preferences. But they should be ashamed to serve the eggplant - it was truly horrible. So if you choose wisely, you can have a great meal here. Especially if you stick to the soup, salad and pizza. With the amount of families at the park, you can never go wrong with a good, wood burning oven pizza and a salad or antipasto. We would go back for the pizza if ever in the area.

We had such a great meal after our day at Universal. It is quiet and not flashy. The wine we ordered was good and reasonably priced. The appetizers of cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and flatbread were done well. We had the trophies pesto pasta, chicken fettuccine and ravioli. All were delicious. Our waiter was prompt and friendly and prices were good.

Well thought out menu. Very sweet staff. And the pasta is a must! You want to sit next to the kitchen it's just amazing. Listen to the recommendations they know and are passionate about their menu.

Went here after a day at universal. Setting is very good and the place was clean. Host and server were fine but the food left us both disappointed. We both had different flat bread/pizza and both found them to be very oily, with toppings that were bland. Not for us.

I’ve been here twice now and will continue returning service was truly outstanding, the food is delicious . My drinks never run empty because staff provide top notch service . Tonight I had chicken parm which one of my favorite. Stuffed bread is unbelievable. Will definitely be back again .

I would expect a restaurant, just outside of universal studios, to depend on the captive audience of universal studio visitors and not try too hard. By that I mean that I would expect unreasonable prices, bad food, and even worse service. Vivo was none of these! We had the meatballs starter, which was to die for, and our family of four dove in and devoured it like a bunch of piranhas. At our table, and we had meatballs and spaghetti, fettuccine Alfredo, chicken piccata, and short rib tagliatelle. Every single one of those meals was delightful. I don’t mean just good but top-notch Italian restaurant level good. To be clear, these noodles rival, those that I’ve had in Italy. On top of it, the prices were exceedingly reasonable, our wine was likewise delicious, and Ivan, who looked after us for the evening, was the right level of attentiveness, not hovering too much, but always there when we needed him. Vivo has become our go to place anytime we are in the hood!

We had a wonderful meal here on a cold January afternoon in Los Angeles. The food was cooked in an open kitchen, there were some nice, different choices on the menu, I ate a pasta dish I had not tried before, really delicious. Great wine, a little pricey, but I guess that was down to the location. Our waiter was very welcoming and friendly.

After a long day at Universal Studios we headed up to the Walk to look for food. Everywhere was really busy and we hadn't booked but we tried VIVO. There was a 45 minute wait and they said they'd text us when our table was ready. They forgot but we went back and asked and they showed us in. It was a little late - around 9.30pm - by now so we ordered quickly. The waiter had a strange attitude and after telling us we couldn't order beer or wine because it was too late (9.30, really?) he then made us feel as if we'd been lucky to be let in. Can't remember exactly what he said but I'm guessing he'd had a tough day. Food was quite good, but the experience was a let down, and we wouldn't bother next time.

Great menu! Unique choices, everything we had was delicious! Daniel our waiter was great! Very good recommendations, we loved everything he recommended! He was fun, and made the experience great!

Nice selection of salads, pizza and pastas; a bit salty but good. Excellent bread. Good place for families.

Not sure where to start, only good part was getting seated quickly and it went downhill from there. Our waiter took our order and never seen him again, our food and apps came out at the same time, we asked for bread and it never showed up. One of the meals had rotten mussels and when we asked to see the manager he never showed up for 25 mins after the request. We couldn't even get our bill as no one would come to our table.

My daughter was very excited to go out with three friends for her 15th birthday. When we first arrived the hostess said it would be 70 minutes. After 90 minute they paged us, no problem. Then my daughter and her three friends were seated inside. I left after getting my daughter and her friends situated. I came back about 10 minutes later and found them outside again. Wtf?! Their inside table wasn’t “ready” after all and they got put out an outside table. At the outside table they waited for another 25 minutes until I asked to speak to the manager. It was the first time in my 43 years of life I’ve asked for a manager at any sort or establishment. My daughter was almost in tears and asked if we could just go get crepes next door. As they stood up to leave a waiter finally helped them. They were taken back indoors!!! Is that how you treat everybody or just 15 year old girls that you could care less about? I’m so pissed as a father that they made my daughter’s 15th birthday a total bust at dinner time. I’ll never set foot place in this restaurant again. Terrible terrible service and organization.

The service here was very good. I had Italian greens and a cauliflower appetizer. Both very good. The fresh bread at the table is very good. Wine selection is good. Spaghetti and meatballs came with three gigantic meatballs. Chicken Alfredo was a hit as well. In comparison to Bucca this place is a home run. Everyone got to choose what they wanted. Seemed to be a much better value than Bucca down the way.

We ate here twice during a weeks holiday in los angeles at the hilton universal nearby at the enterence you are asked for a text no sothey can tell you when a table is ready the food and service is very good and is authentic italian and very filling the staff are very friendly would recommend this restaurant

The service was superior and the bread was delicious, but the pomodora needed more garlic or something. It was very bland. My husband's spaghetti with meatballs was okay and the meatballs lacked a lot of flavor. The noodles were good. We did order calamari as an appetizer and that we enjoyed.

An excellent evening after the park. Good appetizers - cheese bread and caprese. Dinner entrees were chicken piccata and bolognese. Bottle of wine and great tiramisu completed the night. Would recommend.

Had lunch there today, and it was delicious! Our server Kelly truly went above and beyond to ensure we had a great dinning experience. I very much enjoyed my pepperoni pizza and my glass of Pino Grigio. Atmosphere was great and bathrooms clean!

The waitstaff was friendly but the food was sub par. We will not eat here again. The Pomodoro tasted like spaghetti o’s. The spaghetti with pancetta you could pick up with your fork in one massive clump. Not a good experience.

The food was decent, but the interaction with the manager (Sammy Ray) at the end of the meal was appalling. Their register couldn’t read my card’s magnetic stripe for some reason and the manager claimed she’d call security if I didn’t go to the ATM across CityWalk immediately. I easily paid with another credit card and we left, but it ruined the experience of my dad’s birthday dinner. I don’t know what kind of profiling she was doing, but it was certainly heartbreaking.

We were torn between two Italian places In city Plaza alongside Universal. We put our reservation in here and decided to see If the other could get us in earlier. It was around 7P and the other had already stopped taking reservations. As they say sometimes things work out how they are supposed to. Food was reasonable, delicious and service was excellent. Very attentive definitely would seek this place out again.

The food was okay. Service was great. Prices where decent for lunch. It wasn't the best we've had but we decided to eat here while visiting the universal citywalk.

We came in here after a long day at Universal studios... went in fairly early, so no reservations. I had the Italian Sausage Ragu which was excellent ! Tasty ground Italian sausage in pasta with a slightly spicy sauce. Portions are large.

we had a very nice lunch at vivo restaurant. we are a family of 4 with 2 small kids and we stopped by for lunch after our universal visit . the waiter was very kind and patient with all our request , suggesting new options based on our feedback. the food came in good time and was delicious, and the waiter came a couple of times to check everything was alright with us without being pushy or invasive. all in all , excellent food , good misic environment with great service, thank you for s great lunch ! we will be back . also , the toilet was spotless and the drinks delicious.

We waited for 45 minutes only to be told that our names were taken off the system that would have been ok if Janice wasn't so incredibly rude about it and so was the manager, Johnathan. It completely ruined our evening, I was so disappointed.

VIVO may be the one place at the Universal City Walk in LA that doesn't glow in the dark from outer space with neon and is probably the least touristy of all the restaurants there. I recently took some friends there for dinner (we were trapped in the Hilton Universal with no other place close enough to walk and with fires breaking out all over the city. We started off with antipasto platter and I could have easily stopped there. It was a big platter with cured meats, good cheeses, olive tapinade, pickled vegetables, strawberries in balsamic, bread, and some other good bites. Dinner was fine but this was the star. I'd recommend it over other restaurants in the City Walk.

I’m very happy with my visit to this restaurant! We got there when they were about to close the kitchen... the manager joe (if I’m not mistaken) was the one who greeted us at the door and let us know we had 30 min to order because the kitchen was closing and he was super polite and nice!! Our server Neely (hopefully I’m writing it correctly...she gave me her name when I asked but I lost the paper lol) was the best server ever! She was sweet... they could be super upset that they had last minute customers.. but they treated us like we were the firsts! Food was superb and staff were amazing! Thanks for treating us the way you guys did!

At the end of the day at Universal Studios and you're tired and hungry, this is not a bad place to relax and dine. Staff was friendly and the food was good. It was very crowded and they did not take reservations. The wine menu was limited. It would be on the expensive side if you have kids.

We walked over from Universal Hollywood and wandered around City Walk a bit. There were quite a few options but Vivo appealed to us and the hostess was engaging. We ate dinner here (caprese, salad and pizza) but I really am writing because the Limontini was amazing. Good service and good experience all around. A really nice end to our day.

We ate here tonight. Family of four including drinks $140. We loved it. Great service, amazing food, good prices and really useful after day in Universal Hollywood

Family friendly restaurant with good selection of Italian food. Serve was excellent and just what we needed after a long day in the park. Enjoyed dining outside to soak up the post park atmosphere.

Service was ok but food was terrible - we both had the meatballs and it tasted very much like a ready meal. The ‘meat’ in the meatballs was very questionable. Avoid if you can, very touristy, not quality food.

My wife and daughter thoroughly enjoyed their dining experience at VIVO in Orlando so we were all looking forward to a great experience at the new VIVO, Universal City Walk, Hollywood. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. The restaurant looks great with a cool ambiance but the food was mediocre at best. The calamari was just okay, nothing special. The Tuscan Kale & White Bean soup sounded delicious but it was so incredibly salty making it impossible to enjoy. The goat cheese ravioli was good not great. Friends who joined us thoroughly enjoyed their Funghi (Mushroom) Pizza but that appears to have been removed from the menu.

We were there in the afternoon for a little lunch after visiting Universal Studios. Although it was quite hot, they wanted to place us outside first. We then asked to sit inside. There were two of us and we received a table on a column. So that I could sit on the bench, we had to move the table first. That was a bit tedious and I felt a bit constricted. The service was good and the food really delicious. We had the caprese panini and spaghetti pesto. We can recommend the restaurant.

This was a good dinner option after a Universal day but only one of the dishes was review-worthy. I went with the meatballs and linguine because I also noticed meatballs on the appetizer menu and wasn't disappointed. Good service!

We visited at peak time 8pm when leaving universal studios next door but managed to get seated without a wait sat at the bar which was good as we could watch everything happening. Really friendly server on the bar and great food, shared a pizza and a salad between two of us. Would recommend.

There are lots of places to eat in Universal City, great food and ambiance etc, however VIVO offers more of a higher end experience, in food and wine selection...wine.... we arrived with no reservation, they told us a rough 20 min wait, took cell phone and text when table was ready. Our server was very good...however please buy her a new corkscrew as it couldn’t cut the foil !! Good wine prices, nice reserve selection of wines as well...food was well portioned and cooked “A” we actually reserved for another night!

Good food, good service, not a huge menu selection. Pretty standard pizza and basic pasta, no complaints, good value in our opinion, everyone in our party of eight enjoyed their meals

Everyone is so nice, the staff is exceptional and helpful!! Blown away with the food and prices are really low. If you are at Universal definitely stop by it reminds me of Italy.

VIVO – While there is a lot of fast food options at City Walk at Universal City in Los Angeles, we opted for a sit down location. Vivo stood out and I’m glad it did. I wouldn’t expect such great food at a place like this but boy was I wrong. The food was excellent. I don’t usually order past but I had a craving and this was cooked perfectly and had great flavor. The ambiance is casual but the food was top notch. Even the gluten free pasta was excellent. The service from Karen was also outstanding. I would definitely go back.

hmmm.... this place is a good option in Citywalk where everything is a chain. It looks better than the food actually tastes, but it is a good option if you are staying in Citywalk to eat. The atmosphere is nicer than most of the other options in that entertainment district.

I’d been here previously on a visit to Universal, so decided to pop back in, avoiding the fast food outlets! My server, Adam looked after me brilliantly. Attentive and friendly. I opted for the Lasagna - one of the nicest I’ve had in a restaurant and a carafe of Cabernet Sauvignon. Reasonably priced, nice vibe - I’ll definitely be back!

The reason for the stars is the bread and the hostesses. The complimentary bread? Delicious The stuffed bread? Delicious Inside hostess? Soo friendly and helpful. Everything else described will be the reason that I really wanted to give this place one star. As other reviews have mentioned, we came here after a long day at Universal. The place has 4 stars, and both of the hostesses were soo friendly so we figured we were in for a delightful meal. WRONG! Granted, I am a very particular eater, but when I asked about a topping that was not listed on the menu, but on my dish the waitress informed us that it's just a topping. I asked for it to be re-made, and they send out the most watery fettuccine chicken Alfredo I have ever seen in my life. It looked like egg-stained water instead of a cream based dish. This was after our waitress offered 0 refills on any drinks, and just said "ok sure" when we asked for the first refill 3/4 of the way through dinner. She never once came back to ask about the re-made pasta, nor did she check on our table. Do you know what she was doing for most of our meal? Standing near the kitchen and chatting in a big group. I seriously wish I had read some of the other reviews before we decided to dine here because they also mention that the servers socialize rather than do their jobs/try to be attentive. The final straw that made me actually come on to write this post is the to-go service. Our waitress said she would box our food, but she didn't bother to seal the lid on either container! Do you know what that means? Watery pasta all over the bag and the backseat of the car. See pictures attached. Please do yourself a favor and stay away. Not worth it, and there are better places to eat at City Walk.

This place is MASSIVE. We just kept walking and walking through the restaurant to eventually arrive at our table and fundamentally that’s the issue with this place, there are just too many customers for service to be what it should be. The food in itself was good, above average for the Orlando area. Portion sizes were as you would expect, big, and actually everything we ordered actually tasted pretty good. Our waitress was really pleasant and helpful but through no fault of her own, we wouldn’t see her for 10-15 mins at a time. She was running here, there and everywhere which meant ordering, getting the bill, drinks refills etc were time consuming. Needless to say, the wait time for our food to come out was also an issue. We may have been unlucky on the night, we may have come at a particularly busy moment but I doubt it. Overall, food is good but you will need your patient pants when visiting this place.

I came here for dinner after a recent visit to Universal. I spotted the restaurant on my way in to Universal, and I’m glad I did. I was seated promptly by the host. There was a small wait. But Steve, my new server, explained no one had passed on that I was waiting. I ordered the Fennel Sausage pizza and a 9oz carafe of Cabernet Sauvignon. My drink arrived very promptly, as did my pizza. I decided to stay for a second carafe of wine. Steve made me feel really comfortable and explained I was welcome to stay as long as I liked. Being a lone diner, this was reassuring. And I felt comfortable being here solo. I’d definitely recommend eating here. It’s a nice change from the majority of fast food offered within Universal.

We had a very delicious meal. Complimentary bread was amazing served with great olive oil. Pasta was cooked perfectly, pizza with fresh mozzarella was yummy, Caprese salad was great. Authentic Italian way to cook! Happy very happy and prices very reasonable considering you are at Universal Hollywood! I would visit again and highly recommend.

We craved Italian food and tried this restaurant on Universal studios' City Walk after visiting the park. We were a bit skeptical but in the end we tried pasta. Personally I ordered pasta with pesto and my partner pasta with meatballs. Good both, great wine, Fast Service and not high costs. Stra recommended if you want to escape from fast food and American food! The only flaw, both dishes ordered were with plenty of garlic.

I ordered the Chicken Fettuccine. I was only able to eat half of it. Took the rest back to the hotel for lunch the next day. My son and his wife each ordered something else.

Since places were opening up for indoor dining I was eager to do just that. While at Universal City Walk I was looking for a place to eat. Sadly not every restaurant opened back up. After being denied a reservation at another restaurant because the other person in my party was not there I decided to move on and found Vivo. Vivo was willing to take a reservation knowing my friend was on her way. We ordered at the host stand and were seated indoors. Our food and drink was served to us all disposable. Food was tasty and service was good. I look forward to returning when I can be served properly on China and glassware but for now it’s understandable considering the situation we are currently in.

This Italian kitchen was authentic and genuine. We were so glad we waited half an hour for a table because the food was so worth it. Staff were very friendly and accommodating. Would definitely recommend eating her and trying the seafood risotto.

After a big day in the universal park studio, what a pleasure to have found this restaurant. We enjoyed the pasta dishes and desserts. Quite fast service. Correct Award

After a wonderful day at Universal Studios we came across this restaurant. It was beyond magnificent! The waiter was extremely kind, patient and attentive! The food was excellent! It is a bit pricy, but oh, so wonderful!

After a long day of being at Universal Studios we can upon Vivo restaurant. Good food. Everything was fresh. Very generous portions. Easy to share. Our server gave us excellent service (Ben?, wish I could remember his name).

Visited this place twice on our visit to LA. Both times had a short 15/30 minute wait but well worth it. First visit was a little noisy with a group at the bar but didn’t put us off going again! Great food, fantastic service and reasonably priced. Wouldn’t hesitate going back.

Food terrible, service was terrible, taste was terrible . They should work very hard for becoming an average restaurant. Price was very high too.

Very busy for a reason: great food and drinks, friendly service, located on Universal CityWalk, indoor and outdoor dining, space heaters available.