Vivo Kitchen

Went for drinks one night as we were trying to find a cool place here in Apple Valley to hang out at from time to time. We sat at the bar and it was pretty empty in the place minus the handful of couples at the bar. There were 2 bartenders working and neither bothered to acknowledge we were there. If it weren’t for the manager who took our order and later pointed to the bartender to refill our drinks, we would’ve walked out. The food others were eating around us looked amazing though. Not impressed with bartending staff.

This place was so nice before it turned into vivo kitchen. I ordered a linguini dish and was given spaghetti noodles. When I told the manager she didn’t know that the noodles were different. I could see my my friends plate of real spaghetti that we had the same noodles. Linguini noodles are flat… Why do I need to say that? The flavor was great and the fake linguini was taken off the bill. I think this place needs to replace the menu. I am only writing this to save other people from thinking they are getting what they ordered. The drinks are good and the place is beautiful.

My daughter and I visit Vivo’s a lot. We love this place especially the patio! I would like to see a glass of wine have more than 4oz in it. A little pricey!

Had lunch with a friend at Vivo Kitchen. Very nice atmosphere. Food has extremely large portions. I had a Ciao Baby salad with chicken. Could hardly eat it all. Menu said that the salad had organic greens. It was 90 percent romaine lettuce. Pine nuts and goat cheese were a nice touch. Well dressed salad.
My friend had the Pronto Lunch, a salad and lasagna. Both portions were large.
The food is good. Service is good, but a bit slow.
Best place to eat in Apple Valley

While the food is on the more pricey side, the meals are delicious and have large portions! The atmosphere is super unique and upbeat. During high traffic hours, you can usually find a seat at the bar to enjoys drinks and apps before your table is ready. I’m very impressed with the staff as well. They all seems to take their jobs seriously and have a cheerful disposition. I will be back!

The restaurant décor is elegant and attractive. The wait staff is very attentive refilling water glasses, removing dishes, and checking frequently to see if we needed anything. We arrived at the restaurant with a 5:00 PM reservation and or promptly seated. By 5:30 PM the restaurant was completely full.
The happy hour menu is only available at the bar. We opted for a regular table, so we did not get the price benefit of the happy hour.
The Ahi tuna crisps were very flavorful. The combination of the Ahi tuna with spicy and soy sauce added, along with the pita crisps, gave the dish a nice mixture of flavors.
The smoked brisket pizza was hearty and flavorful. The toppings were generous. They bake their pizzas in a stone brick oven, which adds the crisp bubbly texture to the crust.
The Rossa pasta was flavorful, yet basic. The peas added a sweet flavor to the pasta. The sauce had a creamy flavorful texture.
The brownie sundae was very decadent and rich. They brought us the wrong flavor gelato on the sundae, but the waiter promptly brought us a dish of the correct gelato at no extra charge.
The price is a little high for the quantity you receive. The flavors and food mixtures were very well worth it, however.

A favorite of mine if I’m staying in the burbs to eat. Lots of variety, and food is usually good. Nice patio in the summer. Once had a bad experience, by the manager came over and rectified the experience, which is always appreciated. Have been here numerous times with large groups, and they handled it well.

Just had an incredible evening. We called enroute and was told there was an hour plus wait, but…
Turns out that we have been visiting this place for a couple years and never knew about the:
Back Bar
Chiefs Bar
Never again will we miss out on this amazing treat. We were dumped by the hostess who dropped the ball after showing us what was available.
We elected to seat ourselves at the Chefs Bar and immediately wondered why we did not know about this. Right in the middle of all the action and you can participate in the quality selections.
Th care and attention performed by this conductor and his orchestra were above and beyond our previous expectations.
From now on we’re asking for the best seats I. The house, bravo crew.

Our second visit was much improved. The Ahi tuna crisps were great and are a happy hour special. My husband ordered a second serving. We also tried the squash ravioli and spaghetti and meatballs and both were very good. The crème brûlée was also excellent.
Service was okay as our server kept disappearing.

First time. Came here for appetizers and drinks which were great and our waitress was super cool
I accidently knocked my glass off the table and it broke (awkward) but handled it smoothly and unexpectedly replaced my drink for me.
Overall,
the food was great.
big bar.
great service.
chill atmosphere.
and I’m a klutz.

This food is phenomenal! We did take out and split the ribs and butternut squash ravioli and both were freaking delicious :) the ribs, slaw and fries are comforting yet modernized into some wonderful flavor combos from the balsamic bbq to the horseradish slaw and hand cut fries your not going to be disappointed. The butternut squash ravioli is a wonderful treat it’s scrumptious; from scratch pasta and the top notch ingredients will make you close your eyes and say «Mmmmm…»

Received a gift card for Vivo over the holidays. I ordered the brisket entrée and it was absolutely delicious. I was able to cut the brisket with a fork and the meat just melted in my mouth. The meal also came with caramelized brussel sprouts. Who knew brussel sprouts could taste so good.
Server was great and attentive without being bothersome. I recommend this restaurant.

We come to Vivo often. Vivo is simply one of the best restaurants «south of the river» and in the entire metro !
Wonderful ambiance with the stone work, the fireplaces and outdoor dining areas. Fine dining without being snooty or overpriced ! Great food for lunch, happy hour, dinner or weekend brunch !

Read the reviews while looking for a great spot for lunch while on business and ended up here… So happy I did!
They have a fairly good spread for lunch, and was torn between the chicken sandwich and the Pick 2 special (you could pick soup, salad, lasagne, pizza, etc.) Ryan the waiter recommended the chicken sandwich (his favorite), so I was off!
Chicken sandwich is grilled, with fresh greens, tomato, mayo, and this incredible bacon-​jam (thick cut bacon, honey, raspberry?, syrup, and other carb-​diet-​blowers!) It was fantastic! Came with a side of fruit (but I got fresh cut fries… Even better!)
Here’s the rundown:
Satisfied: Yes
Return: Yes
Advocate: Yes

Beautiful place! Totally hidden, wouldn’t have know it was there. Lunch specials were great tried the turkey sandwich with a salad. Not a huge fan of truffle oil so we did not like the wild mushroom flat bread.
Lemonaid is good and so was the warm crusty bread and butter. love all the outdoor seating and the sunroom! Beautiful bar. Good place to have a party! I head the brunch is great on the weekend.

I remember when this place was Enjoy! Liked it back then but the new twist makes it a bit better. Never really venture out to the burbs anymore but I am a Apple Valley native so this place is great when visiting the folks. I heard it was owned by the same people that own Zelo in Minneapolis which I am a huge fan of. The food is not too salty, the atmosphere hasn’t changed much from the old enjoy except the large hanging sculptures on the ceiling. The building itself was gorgeous to begin with so can’t go wrong there.
My parents are picky (and trust me you don’t know picky til you see older Asian parents go at it) and they like this place. The word like here is used because that is the vernacular they used but that equates to love in normal speak. The most impressive part about this place is their staff. Awesome wait staff, even picked up some cash I dropped on the ground by accident for me. It’s the little things that add up huge.

I’d been here several times for dinner (love the walleye!) but my most recent experience was for Mother’s Day brunch. Every time I’ve been here it’s been solidly good.
They were running a little late on our reservation so we had to wait about an additional 10 minutes. Our server was good, rushed but they were very busy. The bloody mary was nothing special, but it was fine. The buffet was great– the mushroom and chicken risotto was fantastic and so was the steak benedict. They also had an omelette bar, which I did not try, but looked good (they had jalapenos!). The regular buffet portion had ahi tuna crisps (yum!), shrimp, eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, bread pudding french toast (This was amazing and my son’s favorite) as well as lunchy things like pasta, fried rice, chicken, prime rib, salads, fruit, and a dessert table. They also had house made gelato that you could order for dessert– we tried the cherries jubilee, the peanut butter, and the tin roof sundae.
Overall a good experience. Yes, it was hectic but that’s to be expected for Mother’s Day. I am looking forward to coming back for brunch and dinners again. I love that it’s so close.

Ahi tuna crisps make this place. delish! We ordered several appetizers, the above mentioned crisps were the stand out. We also ordered the shrimp and calamari, both were pretty good.
I ordered the salmon entrée, and was pleased. Husband ordered the rocket salad and I can honestly say that I had order envy. We have been here for brunch as well. Brunch was pretty good, I have had better. Risotto wasn’t very good at all. I would go back for dinner, but brunch at Chianti grill in Burnsville is better.

Vivo is located in the old «EnJoy» building near Kelley Park. The exterior almost looks like a castle with large gray masonry work. The interior has warm, bright and whimsical (almost Aboriginal looking) characters and symbols.
The food is best described as «old traditional» Italian and American with subtle and welcome updates. I ordered the small plates Brussel spouts which were caramelized to perfection then topped with a touch of honey and almonds. All hesitation of Brussel sprouts left at first bite! They were phenomenal. I’ve had Brussel sprouts with bacon, seasoning and EVOO, but NOTHING compares to the honey and almonds! Kids would even eat these Brussel sprouts! We also tried the butternut squash bruschetta which I would rate only ok.
I’ve read some Unilocal comments on the dislike of the «spaghetti» or «marinara» like chunky tomato soup… Personally, I love it. I am thankful to finally see a mature tomato soup that doesn’t have a cream/​dairy component. The good news is the wait staff is aware of the love/​hate relationship of their tomato soup and will bring out a free sample,
Our main entrees were all delicious and prepared to our liking and specifications.
We had the Molten Chocolate cake and the Brownie sundae. Of the two desserts, the family consensus was Brownie sundae! I think the Molten cake would have faired better if the dipping fudge were warmed. All in all, both desserts were plate licking good.

Vivo is gorgeous. Deep tones, stone fireplaces, a patio with a pergola overlooking a grassy field that will more than likely be a gas station or a Wal*mart within a year. Vivo is like finally getting that hot date but they have no personality. Bummer.
I’ll cut to the chase.
The tomato basil soup was more like spaghetti sauce. I don’t understand the concept of thick chunky tomato soups. I don’t understand how they are different from sauces. I don’t like it. I’ll keep bitching about this. I’ll probably keep ordering it as well.
The bread was bready-​ish. One of two things happened here; they either put it in the oven to warm it up and left it too long, or they tried to toast it and failed miserably like when Rachael Ray cuts her hair to distract from the fact she has a huge head. It ended up being soft and warm in the very center but shattered into millions of dry crumbs around the edges. It reminded me of the saltine cracker challenge from a few years ago.
My chicken fettuccine was probably poured right out of a Marie Callendar’s box, slapped into the microwave, and formed into a nest on my plate. How cute.
I don’t like soft noodles. My noodles need to have some bite. But these bastards basically bit right back. They needed another minute or two in the water and I’m worried that if any birds find them in the dumpster out back, they will swell up and explode. PETA should really be on top of this one. Speaking of PETA. and birds… the chicken in my dish was bland but I can only attribute that to it living in Apple Valley. *smirk*
Aside from the gorgeous interior and patio, I do actually have a couple good things to say:
1.) My friend’s chop salad was fresh, delicious, and the smaller portion was still a decent size.
2.) The burnt orange mandarin cosmo I ordered was so strong that I couldn’t even drink it. That’s right, I left it sitting there even after I had them mix in a splash of orange juice. You can call me a pussy all you want, but we already knew I was one because I ordered a cosmo, you redundant douche.