Vivo

Great ambiance, food and service. Our waiter Mike Z was so knowledgable about wine and made some amazing recommendations. Great to have this old school gem on Randolph. Even the flower arrangement are on point. I mean… peonies, come on!

We reserved table 70 which is a table that is set in a private corner overlooking the restaurant. That in itself made it a fun, romantic experience. The tasting menu was pretty good but not amazing. The grilled calamari was our least favorite as it was difficult to chew. The gnocchi was the best dish and probably the best I have ever tasted in chicago.

Great atmosphere, food and service! We split the caprese salad which was the best I’ve ever had in the US (comparable to Italy). The wine and drinks (beat of my rum was excellent, Wild wild zest was okay) were both refreshing and smooth. Ravioli special and gnocchi were both delish! I’d recommend this cute Italian gem!

Great place to kickback and have a nice Italian meal!
Had the opportunity to have a dinner here on a very rainy evening. Place was quiet, good décor and decent food. Good selection of appetizers. If you are looking for a good place to just go relax and have some dinner with a friend, this is your spot…

The service, food, wine, and ambiance were all 5 star. We ordered the olives and caprese salad to begin. The caprese salad had the best sun-​dried tomatoes. Our dinner of ossobuco and pork risotto was so delicious! We ended with the best Lava cake we ever tasted. Hats off to our server Michael. He was attentive, never rushed us and offered great ideas for wine. The best part was the valet parking, only $ 14.99, and a life-​saver, because it was raining.

Nice comfortable place on busy Randolph. It’s been here for a while but never stopped in. Tried it Friday and it was ok. Nothing great but no major complaints. The tagliatelle with shrimp and the pappardelle with a lamb ragu were ok. The wine was expensive and the pasta was lacking flavor.

Thanks Ryan and Mike. Had a great evening and the food was honestly one of the best meals ever. The risotto pork chop with truffle was out of this world.

We had a perfect meal. My wife, my son and I. Absolutely perfect, from the drinks, soup, main course to dessert. Service was ideal. Will you have a perfect meal? I can’t say. But we did. I suggest you try.

I can’t believe I haven’t tried Vivo sooner! Great service and dishes that really hit the spot. Highly recommended are the gnocchi, squid ink linguine with crab (I added a ton of crushed red pepper) and beet salad.

Had a great lunch! My sausage sandwich was the best I every had! Mahi Mahi was very good with a great spin on it. Service a bit slow for a lite lunch crowd also a bit pricey$$$ but definitely worth a try.

Chicago food hasn’t let me down at all but this did. I had the ravioli special and the first thing that came to mind after tasting it was: I could have made it myself. The sauce was a basic marinara sauce that didn’t excite my taste buds at all. The chicken filling in the ravioli was bland. There was another co-​worker of mine who had the spicy chicken penne but I thought it was bland. The bolognese had potential but they decided to use goat cheese which is not one of my favorite cheeses.
It’s too bad because the ambiance was really nice and the service was very friendly. But the food was just not to my liking.

We reserved Table 70 months in advance for a special Valentine’s dinner. Before the day of the dinner, I called to confirm the reservation and they told me it had been double booked and they would not be able to seat us anymore. This is after waiting months, with no communication that this had happened! It completely screwed up all our plans. Absolutely disgraceful.

I ordered the vivo gnocchi wifi here has black truffle oil. Cost was $ 17 and it was amazing! I also the bruschetta which was delicious. I was a little disappointed in the calamari. It’s not fried but grilled and in my opinion a little on the burnt side. The yummilicious gnocchi made up for it though… amazing!
Nice wine selection. Our table has two different wine options which were good. I especially loved their pino Nuer.
Service was good and we were seated quickly. Traffic had us running a bit late to our reservation. A quick call and they were very accommodating.
I’ll be back next time I’m in Chicago…

Let me start by saying the three star review is reflective of the entire experience (food & service) and it not reflective of the food, which is excellent. The food by itself would be 4+ stars, however, the service was a huge disappointment. The highlights of the night was the calamari, filet and squid ink pasta, complimentary birthday Tiramisu and wine.
The downside, service. I would like to believe the server was just having a bad day, but according to numerous recent Unilocal Reviews, there appears to be a common theme or sub-​par service. Advice, go there and be patient, the reward is hopefully great food!

My wife and I had a weekend getaway to Chicago planned this past weekend, January 29 – 31, so I called on the Tuesday before we arrived to see if the famous Table 70 was available. Miraculously, the 9:45pm seating was available, so we booked it. I asked them to call if the previous reservation cancelled so that we could slide into that spot to avoid eating dinner really late. At about 7:55pm, shortly after we made it into town and checked into our hotel, we received a call from Vivo, in which the hostess informed us we could come in at any time because the reservation ahead of us cancelled. We got ready, hailed a cab, and made it to the restaurant by 9pm, elated that we didn’t have to wait until almost 10pm to start eating.
The evening took a turn for the worse as soon as we walked in the door and saw that someone was sitting at Table 70 enjoying a meal. The hostess said in a half-​joking tone, «I gave away your table… just joking… well, kind of. We were running behind, and a party asked if they could sit there, so we let them. But they’ll be done around 9:30.»
I replied, «You should have called us and let us know so that we wouldn’t have to wait around here at the restaurant.»
She arrogantly said, «Sorry. It will be worth your wait. You can go have drinks at the bar until they’re gone.»
At this point we were annoyed, but not enough to change plans. We figured we would wait it out at the bar, and still be seated 15 minutes before our original reservation. We also both agreed that it wouldn’t have been as big of a deal if the hostess had not been so snotty about it. So, we sat at the bar, I ordered an old fashioned, and we enjoyed watching the bar tenders and all of the people at the bar (we like people-​watching). Soon 9:45pm rolled around and the party was still going strong up at Table 70. I asked the bar tender to send over the manager so we could discuss the situation. The bar tender introduced himself to us as Murph, and explained that he was one of the managers. He apologized, told us the drinks at the bar were on him, he would send up champagne when we finally got up to our table, and our first round of drinks at our table were on the house as well. If we were really big drinkers, this would have been a great deal… but we’re not really. The floor manager, a female whose name I didn’t catch, came and apologized, though she seemed half-​hearted about the apology and didn’t seem to genuinely care like Murph did. At about 10:00pm, I noticed Murph talking to the server at Table 70, and it seemed she was frustrated that the party wasn’t leaving even after she had informed them of the next reservation. Murph climbed the stairs and took care of it, and within five minutes we were seated.
True to his word, Murph sent up champagne, and comped us our drink at the bar and our glasses of wine we had at the table. Our server was absolutely wonderful, and it’s obvious that Murph actually did what he could to take good care of us. The snotty hostess and the floor manager who didn’t seem to really own up to the mistake, however, left a sour taste in our mouths.
Now onto the food… the food was fantastic! It was a five course prixe fixe menu, and it did not disappoint. I won’t go into all of the detail because my understanding is that the menu at Table 70 changes based on the chef’s choices for the evening. I will say that the gniocchi and whatever kind of ravioli they served was delicious, and my wife loved her grilled salmon entrée. I felt the filet mignon was one of the best I’ve ever had. I’d say the weak point of the meal was dessert, but that’s probably more because of OUR tastes than the taste of the food. Dessert was chocolate cake and then some type of gelato. The gelato was really good, but the chocolate cake was just chocolate cake… not our thing.
So, overall experience was just a three, food was probably 4.5, service was sort of a split personality of a 2 (for the hostess and floor manager) and a 5 (for Murph and our server). Maybe next time (if there is a next time) there won’t be the big debacle that we faced… of course then our bill would be an extra 60 bucks for the drinks!

We just had our rehearsal dinner in the upstairs private space of Vivo on 12/​30, and everything went wonderfully. There was a lot of staff turnover from the time we reached out to Vivo to the event, but we ended up working with the restaurant manager, Sheena, in the weeks leading up to our dinner and she was awesome. Everything came together perfectly and it was so nice to have private space. The event was well-​staffed and people were able to grab drinks from the bar easily, and food was served promptly and was delicious. One thing to note is there is no elevator to get upstairs, which was tough for our grandmother. That was obviously my own oversight not to ask about that in advance, but just a fair warning ;)

My boyfriend surprised me the night before our 1 Year Anniversary with an intimate dinner, he booked Table 70. The night was perfect, the fixed menu was delicious, the dining experience was intimate, service was impeccable and on point!
We came in on Friday night, our reservations was set for 9:30 PM. We arrived a little early and waited at the bar. Apparently the reservation before ours ran a little late, luckily I was very patient and wasn’t going to let anything ruin our night. We were at the bar for some time, we definitely enjoyed it! I should mention that the service at the bar is pretty amazing, the staff is extremely friendly and very welcoming!
The minute we were told our table was ready we were excited to get our night started. It was great knowing that my boyfriend booked Table 70 all to ourselves, separate from the crowd. The restaurant was packed! To get to the booth you have to go up a flight of stairs, the booth itself is pretty huge, big enough to seat a table of 6 maybe more. It was also a nice touch knowing that the table had it’s own menu, see attached photos.
I should mention that I am a vegetarian and the minute we told our waiter he alerted everyone in the kitchen; making it very clear (my boyfriend overheard our waiter alerting the kitchen while on his way to the bathroom). Our main waiter took care of my food restrictions and it wasn’t an issue! Every Course was delicious (see attached photos!), each one a surprise after the other, it was almost too much to handle but we did it! By the time our Entrees came out, we were stuffed! Our waiter reminded us of the dessert which we hardly dented and it was still a great way to end the meal! Everything was perfect! As mentioned our service was perfect, there were 3(+) people working our table and each one made the night one to remember!
I am definitely adding Vivo to my Recommendations List and I am even more inclined to come back to try their standard menu! Stay Tuned!

Amazing food & the atmosphere is always great. Staff is very friendly. I enjoy myself every time I visit this place. Try the ravioli or rack of lamb.

We went here for a birthday celebration and mostly enjoyed everything — definitely enjoyed the food. I have to say the hostess was a crab when we walked in — didn’t greet us, didn’t smile — didn’t even tell us our table was ready. I hate it when this happens because it can start off the whole experience on the wrong foot. We were at the front by the freezing cold windows and door (this was one night I was thankful for above freezing temps in Dec) and saw when they were done putting everything together and sat ourselves into the cramped space.
Our food was great — and our server was nice. I highly recommend the beet salad and burrata. Everyone loved all that was ordered for appetizers and entrees — I feel you can’t go wrong with anything you order.
The only other thing I wasn’t impressed with was the drinks. We ordered a bunch of different ones and they tasted just off. The Moscow mule had cinnamon or something in it. The dirty martini was mostly olive juice. The Manhattans were great the first time but the second time not nearly as good.
I would go back and order anything but stick to prosecco.

First time here for a lunch meeting, a bit dark when I entered and a little upscale for me but after that I was comfortable. Had Chicken Milanese off lunch menu which was fantastic. I’m not a chicken lover but would go back for this. I will visit again and 5 stars coming if second visit is as good.

After going to Vivo several times I’ve come to a realization. Sometimes your meal is going to be great, sometimes it’s just ok.

My husband and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary having dinner at Vivo. We started with the olives and calamari. Both starters were vey good especially if you’re an olive fan and the calamari was grilled to perfection.
The kitchen was very quick with our entrées. My husband had the Veal Milanese and I had the Vivo Gnocchi. Both entrées were delicious! But OMG the Gnocchi was out of this world! The best Gnocchi ever! A must have if you’re dining at Vivo!
Great food and service! Thank you Vivo for a great dinner experience!

We held our rehearsal dinner at their private event space upstairs which ended up being perfect! The space itself is huge– only somewhat annoying part is that we didn’t really have enough guests to fill up the space (around 30) and so it left one table kind of stranded on the other side of the room to eat dinner. Overall — not a big deal.
The food was great and the Food & Beverage minimum was one of the lowest I found in the city! My guests absolutely raved about the Mushroom/​Gorgonzola bruschetta & the Sausage & Peppers appetizer.
The thing that made this so great to have a rehearsal dinner here was that my venue would not allow us to hold ceremony rehearsals in our actually space and this space was big enough that we just held our rehearsal here. Meaghan was helpful to work with and allowed us to come in early without any extra cost.
I would recommend for anyone looking for a private event space in downtown Chicago!

Loved it! Table 70 with the 5 course tasting menu was delicious. Service was great. The food was amazing, even though it was way too much but that’s what doggie bags are for! Right?! I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something romantic and different. I thought the wine menu was well priced, but my boyfriend thought it was too expensive ($ 40ish and up).

Ambience — dining room very nice for a date. Patio is what you would expect.
Food — wood grilled calamari (different, but worked), mussels and clams (very flavorful), squid ink Linguini (up to par), rigatoni, gnocchi (very good), penne (ok).
Service — complimentary bread even before you order, noticed when it wasn’t enough and gave 2 loaves for the refill (nicely done), not attentive for water refills though.
Price — 40 (before tip) for 2 shared apps, an entrée and a shared bottle of wine.
Verdict — will return to try out that dining room next time. Food is up to par (not mind blowing but still good), service slightly below expectations. 3.5−4÷5

DELICIOUS! The only reason I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because the outside had a ton of bugs and they took forever to refill our water glasses each time (my water tasted strange as well). That being said– not deal breakers and the food more than made up for it.
First off, the bread and oil/​parmesan was delicious. I plan on recreating it at home. We got the buratta appetizer — the pine nuts were such a great addition– the flavor a were amazing. Then the gnocchi. Oh my god. I had looked on Unilocal to see what dishes were recommended and that kept popping up– I am so glad it did. Some of the best gnocchi ever, and a really good sized portion which I feel is rare for gnocchi. We also got the Chicken Milanese. The chicken was very good although I wish it came with some sort of sauce– the potatoes it came with were probably my least favorite food item we got, but I still cleaned my plate :)
I can’t wait to come back and try other items.

Everyone needs that cozy, quaint, everything delicious Italian restaurant you can count on to bring warmth into your heart & soul into your belly. Well in the appropriately middle location of restaurant row ‘West Loop’, ViVo is THAT place. A rustic designed restaurant with a lot of core & history. Having been around over 25 years. This place discovered WL before the neighborhood knew it’s name or what was to become. With a high list following; what they call Table 70 is a single second story table that seats 4 & comes with privacy bell to reach the waiter when needed usually reserved for 3 weeks in advance.
Now let’s talk food. Going back to the basics of simplicity and freshness, ViVo over delivers. Unlike many Chicago restaurants trying to one up each other on ingredients that the norm needs to google to figure out. ViVo keeps their food delicious and straight to the point down to the little things as powdered parmesan & a juicy lemon garnish. The staff is like family, you can tell by their demeanor towards one another & it’s refreshing to witness.
Overall, ViVo gives you that dinner at home cooked by a chef and hosted by the best ‘feel’ that keep you coming back for the next invite.

The food and atmosphere was great, our issue was with the service. We waited over 45 minutes at our table for the server to come by to ask us for our drink order. This was after asking the host 2 times when a server would be coming to our table. When he finally got there he apologized for the delay but rudely told us to be patient with him because he was one of the only servers. We definitely would have understood that he was doing his best with all the tables he had to wait on, he just didn’t have to be so rude about it. It felt like we were inconveniencing him by being there. Every time he came by for an order (drinks, apps, entrees, dessert) he acted annoyed if it took us more than a second to spit out what we wanted.
We get it, you’re busy but you’re still in the service industry and should make guests feel welcome and comfortable.

This review is long overdue. My wife and I were in Chicago a few weeks ago for business and our trip coincided with her birthday. I was looking for some place very unique and special to celebrate it. During an internet search, I was lucky to come across Vivo and their famous table 70. I called and spoke to a very professional and friendly young lady by the name of Sterling (General Manager). She answered all of my questions, suggested an excellent touch in a personalized menu and booked us for a Saturday seating.
The same friendly voice was there to greet us when we arrived. Sterling gave us a wonderful welcome and wished my wife Happy Birthday. We were escorted through a beautiful dining area, past a very unique bar, to the stairway that led to our private table. An original elevator shaft that had been renovated and turned into a single, second floor private table. The view of this setting was grand, (see photo). It was exactly what I’d hoped it would be.
We were seated and soon after met Mike, our waiter. He was outgoing, upbeat and very helpful. He went above and beyond to take care of us. He achieved the perfect balance between being there for as long as we needed him and gone long enough for us to have plenty of alone time. I am not that familiar with Italian wines; Mike was very knowledgeable and helpful. We chose a wonderful wine that complimented the meal greatly. The five course meal was excellent. Our only regret was that we couldn’t finish the last two courses. I apologized to the chef on the way out. We ate so little of our entrees that it would appear we didn’t enjoy it, which was absolutely not the case.
My biggest surprise was how little this evening cost. I would have easily expected to pay twice as much for this experience. This was the perfect evening and I definitely scored major points for this selection. When back in Chicago we will definitely dine here again and will ask for Mike. We will probably ask for table 70. The main dining room would be a great place to dine but I’m afraid we’ve been spoiled.
Thanks Sterling, thanks Mike, thanks Vivo!

The food was definitely good. Baked gnocchi, tasty calamari, and a good caprese salad. But everything else left me wanting more.
One shared bathroom on the main floor. The place was pretty dead but a line still managed to form occasionally. I can’t imagine what happens when it’s busy.
The chairs have rod iron backs and likely an iron seat under the 1″ cushion. So by the end of our 2 hour meal my seat was definitely uncomfortable.
And I found myself without a drink for 10 minute durations on multiple occasions. Although my water glass was always full (go bussers!).
For the price and location it was a bit underwhelming.