Vivo Trattoria And Wine Bar

The restaurant is rather small but it has a great selection of Italian pastas and various authentic style pizzas. Also has a large selection of featured wines. I had a seafood pasta, it was very delicious. I also tried my friends pizza and gnocchi dish; both were very tasty. I would recommend this restaurant to fans of Italian pastas, pizzas or wine enthusiasts.

Food was expensive but delicious — and right-​sized but probably too small to share for two. Nice ambience and it was a very professional crowd — no families in sight.
It’s a bar — albeit a very nice one. Will go back if I was staying or working nearby!

Salmon lunch entrée w/​the spinach & side caesar is legit. Only wish they had the same option for dinner. Different preparation for dinner portion, recipe isn’t as good.

I received an email from Unilocal suggesting this jewel. I decided to take my wife for an happy hour. I’ve been to the area plenty of times and I have frequented other restaurants, but had no idea that Vivo was there.
When we walked in, the place was empty and I was a little concerned. We sat at the bar and was greeted by the bartender and he suggested that we try the über popular happy hour special, pizza with two toppings and a liter of their house/​tap wine for $ 20.
We were a tad hungry and so we got the calamari as well since the reviews were really good.
As advertised the calamari was delicious. Some of the best I ever had. Perfectly fried, and it was accompanied with fried peppers, and marinara sauce.
After being delighted by the calamari, we anxiously awaited the pizza. We ordered the pepperoni and sausage pizza, and it was big hit. It paired well with the red Argentina wine. It was so good, we ordered another.
We had such a great time, and the once empty restaurant was packed an hour later. Great spot for a happy hour with great food and attentive staff, and if you over indulge in the wine like we did, you can just get a room in the hotel like we did for only $ 130 a night ;-)

Great Italian spot in an area where its hard to find hand crafted meals. Mostly chain restaurants in this area. Our party went here a few times (large group) and the customer service was awesome. They were right on us refilling drinks and making sure we were ok. Although it did take a while to get our last round of drinks after dinner we had a great experience and the homemade pasta was really good. We ordered every appetizer on the menu and it was all well prepared. Our main courses were on point also.
For desert we had tiramasu that looked like twinkies.
Pretty good and the presentation was nice.
The place is priced perfectly most meals are like 20 bucks. Nice atmosphere also mostly business people grabbing a quick drink after work. Great spot, we’ll be back when were back in the area. Also the gnocchi was insane good.

I came here for my birthday dinner after the great reviews for this place and I was so disappointed. There were so many great photos of the dishes and speculator comments but the food was not noteworthy. The service was excellent but dang, the food did not live job to its expectations.
For appetizers, we started with meatballs which was a recommendation of the waiter. He said to either go with calamari or meatballs, but my mom won’t eat calamari so meatballs it was! It costs $ 9 for 4 pretty big meatballs, which is a fair price. The meatballs were served on top of a slice of baguette with melted cheddar (?) cheese. The plate was circled with olive oil and some tomato sauce. The plating was beautiful but I wish I could say the same for the food. The meatball was very disappointing — the texture tasted like a cheap over processed patty. For me, I prefer to have the texture of the grounded meat that go into making a meatball but instead — their meatballs had no texture and tasted like it was a frozen package of meatballs heated up and served to you.
We ordered three dishes: lobster and shrimp gnocchi, steak and bacon gnocchi and the scallop ravioli. I wanted desserts for my birthday dinner, but the dinner was such a disappointment, I couldn’t trust their desserts to be any different.
The lobster and shrimp gnocchi was pretty yummy and I would recommend this. The dish originally comes with pasta but for an additional $ 3 you can replace it with gnocchi. The gnocchi is chewy and perfectly dense yet somehow light! The cream for the pasta had a lot of flavor but the consistency of it was way too watery. It felt like I was eating my potato pellets with a soup broth.
Do not bother getting the scallop ravioli. I thought the scallop ravioli dish was going to be served with pieces of scallops but instead it’s inside the ravioli and you can’t taste it at all. You get 8 tiny pieces of ravioli for $ 25 and it is not worth it at all. The ravioli is so flat, it tasted as if they didn’t cook the pasta all the way through and there is hardly a filling inside the ravioli. The red sauce for the ravioli just tasted like a tomato sauce that I was not pleased with.
The steak and bacon ravioli was the most confusing dish. The thought of bacon and steak sounds amazing but when we tried the dish — it was just a weird mix of Flavors in my mouth. This is my mothers dish and she likes to add salt to everything she eats but she said that her food was way too salty. The steak was over cooked and not tender at all and then the bacon was over cooked and too crispy. Not really sure what they were trying to do with this dish.
Overall, I thought the price was way too high for the quality and portion of food. I love Italian food and would have wanted nothing but to enjoy this restaurant but that was not the case. I would highly not recommend coming here.

My fellow Unilocalers turned me on to this place, so it’s only fair that I offer my review. I’ll make this quick. Let’s see…
1. The restaurant closes pretty early on Sundays (9PM), but for no apparent reason, the kitchen closed at 8:15PM the night I went?
2. The bartender guy was a bit of a jerk.
3. The food was good. Yummy bread! Skip the meatballs… get the calamari! It’s among the best calamari I’ve ever had and I order calamari everywhere!
4. My entrée wasn’t that great… The blackened salmon was overcooked, but the shrimp and cauliflower were pretty good although under seasoned. (That’s what I get for trying to go low-​cal at an Italian restaurant.) My friend had the shrimp pasta which he says was really good. (I REALLY wanted pasta, but I was trying to balance excess holiday calories. I WILL have pasta the next time! It looked tasty.)
5. Did I mention that the bartender was a jerk? It was late, so maybe he was tired. (I’ll get a table the next time he’s working, just in case.)
I hope to upgrade my rating after my next visit.

1^st I love the décor and atmosphere! This is our second visit and I will definitely return. The food is so flavorful and made with LOVE. I can tell they love what the do because you can watch them in action My request to have my food «spicy» was granted and it was amazing. Our server was Jamar and he was a breath of fresh air! Finally someone that enjoys what they do and delivers! Every establishment needs a Jamar in there LIFE

Great experience — awesome atmosphere, great staff, amazing food. Try the Fig and Honey pizza (yes, it sounds weird but you will not be disappointed!)

Decided to join a couple of friends for their happy hour deal on a Monday night, nice little jump start to the week. Had been here before for dinner, was looking forward to trying out their happy hour menu. After looking over the menu was very impressed with their happy hour deal. You could order a 6 slice pizza with two toppings and a half liter of their house wine for $ 20, score!!!
The wine is between their house red and house white on tap. The red is a cab blend, the white is similar to Pinot. I went with the house red, since I am a huge fan of reds. I ordered the white base pizza with red peppers and mushrooms as well as their Cesar salad. The pizza was delicious, with enough left over to enjoy the next day and it reheated perfectly in the microwave. The salad was good too, slightly disappointing that they don’t offer side salad portions with the happy hour deal.
The only draw back for happy hour is it has to be ordered at the bar. It’s nice because the restaurant never seems to be packed, however not a huge fan of always having to sit at a bar of I want to take part in a deal.

Everything in this restaurant is super excellent. OMG, this is my favorite Italian restaurant in the area. The price is reasonable for the food that is beautifully crafted. I believe the décor is Italian modern, classic but gives a feeling of warmth. I will be back.

Went here for an anniversary dinner with my other fabulous other half. It was a little difficult to find (it’s hidden in a mall, next to a hotel). Nice ambiance (an inside-​out kind of feel), but a bit too kitschy. The food was decent (I had the gnocchi, hubby had the braised beef, and we shared a pizza — solid crust, a little too thin).
If we’re around, we’re around, if not, there’s plenty of other Italian stops to hit up.

Came here for a work happy hour. It is certainly in a nice location and the restaurant itself is beautiful, however i wasnt a huge fan.
Happy hour apps seemed a bit overpriced. The portions were fairly small for what you pay for, so they werent very good for sharing with colleagues. There were 7 of us and we had to order 6 appetizers, and we were all still hungry! Although of course everyone was too polite to ask for more food… so i was secretly starving.
We sat at a table and the bartender served us… which was fine when we got in and it was dead, but service became obsolete once the crowd rushed in and we were forgottten about… I used to work in restaurants so i feel for him. When your a bartender your responsible not just for your guests but the WHOLE restaurant and when it’s busy its almost impossible to please everyone. With that being said i think other staff members *who shall not be named* would be better served helping the poor guy out.
Based on the other reviews it sounds like they could have been an off day but i had a pretty mediocre experience.

Writing this review the day after my visit. With the memory of sweet delicious pork belly runs through my mind. Okay, let me back up. I read some kick-​butt reviews on this place from you guys so I had bookmarked it. I’m moving to the Severn area and was secretly hoping this would be my new spot pending the food/​ambiance. Well, Hanover you did not disappoint.
Vivo is located attached the «The Hotel» on Arundel Mills Blvd. a GORGEOUS hotel made up into a small shopping center. I noticed an Indian restaurant, coffee place and bagel/​breakfast sandwich shop. We made reservations and I was so thankful we did. The bar was packed, (looked as though there was a work HH going on or something because eventually they cleared out).
We were sat right away. The ambiance is cool. Kind of rustic with and old world charm. Open kitchen which I always love. And extremely friendly waitstaff. We were waiting on another couple so the fiancé and I grabbed the menu to pick out some apps. Then. I saw it. The specials list. On it, was an appetizer of «Pork belly wrapped in bacon», with a few other ingredients but the world went black after that. Bacon, wrapped in bacon? Could all my dreams have come true? Thank you Vivo! Without hesitation. We ordered that, and some delicious hybrid brussels and kale sprouts (no idea what they were called but it was GOOD).
The pork belly was phenomenal. I hope they have it all the time so you all can go and try it!
On to entrees. I had Charlie’s Chicken. Which is a bone-​in chicken dish. This was okay, it almost reminded me of a tandoori chicken dish I had had before. A little dry, but flavorful none the less. It did, however come with their cauliflower side dish which is roasted, sprinkled in parmesan and crumbled pistachios. I could have had a whole bowl of this!
Wine, I had their white on tap. It was a pinot grigio, which was okay but nothing to write home about. They have a VERY extensive wine list and if I had been feeling more adventurous, I would have tried more!
I would absolutely go back. It was a cool place. A bit pricey but worth it for a nice meal out.

My review is based solely on their happy hour. I have been to this place a couple of times and had another great visit last week.
If you get there towards the beginning of the happy hour you will not have a problem finding a seat but by 6pm the bar seems filled.
Great drink and food specials. Great girls get together spot. Great place to grab good drinks and great food. Meatball sliders are a little spicy and very juicy for a meatball. The Arachini balls are delish too. Rail Drinks $ 4 and food about $ 6. Special wine and pizza special at $ 20. Beers and House Wine $ 5.

Excellent food.
I’ve come here a few times now and every time the food is spot on. The restaurant has a nice, dim ambiance — not the place for wild a$$ kids. Bar takes up the majority of the restaurant but it’s not like a pub.
Knowledgeable, pleasant and attentive waitstaff.
Exceptional service from Danielle.

My rating is based on Take Out. We phoned in an order and food was ready for pickup 25 minutes later. We ordered calamari, pizza Margherita, tres carne pizza, canoloes, and tirimusu.
The pizza was very yummy. The crust reminded me of pizza we had in Italy, as the crust is thin. The sauce was delicious on both pizza. I would recommend both.
The canoles order comes with two canoles. The Tiramisu was my favorite out of the two dessert. Light and delicious. My least favorite was the calamares, the taste of the oil was too much for both of us.
All in all the food was good and would order it all again except for the calamari. Because the Take Out service was so good, we are looking forward to go for dining in next time.

My rating is solely based on Monday’s Happy Hour. I went to Sushi with my neighbor across the street (Red Parrot) where we were already enjoying crappy (headache prone) happy hour white wine on special for $ 5.00 a glass. We decided we were done eating but still wanted to drink. My neighbor and I are the common wineos which of course within a blink of an eye we were sitting happily at this bar after a short phone call to see if Happy Hour was still on.
We had no idea what was placed in front of us, we didn’t know why we each received $ 10.00 coupons for next time and we didn’t understand why our bill was $ 10.00 for a huge carafe of wine for two. AWESOME! Best two bartenders ever! The wine was great! Who knew wine in tap could taste so yummy! Their happy hour deals are amazing, especially if you like pizza. Will come again!

Escaping the busy office to relax in a nice ambiance of Vivo wine bar, I finished our lunch within an hour despite the big group ahead of us. I wish I could have drunken a glass of wine. The wine by the glass list contains only ten choices each for red and white wine.
It will be a good place for happy hour with like minded co workers and some wine.
The fried calamari was soft in the inside and crunchy on the outside. My favorite is bucatini with lobster and shrimp. The creamy sauce is just flavorful and not drowning the pasta.
The other combination is the garlic shrimp with sun dried spinach sauce with mozzarella and shrimps. The creaminess is balanced out by the sour taste of sun dried tomatoes. I wish I have plain pasta to go with it.
Warning: NO free bread to tame the growling stomach.

Wonderful service and tasty food.
I went to this restaurant on a whim with my boyfriend while we were in the Baltimore area. It had the atmosphere and service of an upscale restaurant, perfect for a date. The dining room was large and spacious with the lights dimmed for ambiance. They had a nice wine selection, along with a bar, which we did not par-​take in. We were seated by the window and immediately poured a glass of water from a clear wine-​like bottle which they left on the table for us. A major plus in my book considering I always hate it when my water glass is empty and I’m waiting to get more.
As we looked over the menu they served us bread with seasoned olive oil, a nice start to any Italian meal. We began by ordering meatballs as an appetizer. These are what both of us remember most from the meal. The meatballs had amazing flavor as well as the pasta sauce. Any Italian establishment should have good pasta sauce, it can make a huge difference and this place did not disappoint. The presentation of the meatballs were beautiful (picture below) with four meatballs served over ricotta and a crostini topped with sauce and olive oil. The ricotta really enhanced the dish by giving a creamy quality. All of the flavors blended together perfectly. The crostini was great too for mopping up the sauce and oil.
For our main dishes we split the chicken parmesan and pizza with sausage, hot peppers, and pepperoni. The chicken parm was boring in comparison to everything else. While the sauce was good, albeit a little watery due to the noodles, the chicken was on the dry side and had little flavor. Although the melted mozzarella was generous which is always a plus in my book. The pizza was brick oven style with a crispy crust and delicious toppings. I love the smell and taste of fresh basil which was sprinkled over the top adding to the taste and presentation. Once again, all the flavors melded together perfectly to create a tasty dish.
For dessert, we ordered a flour-​less chocolate cake and mini nutella cannolis. My boyfriend loves cannolis and nutella so this was a must order dish. They were just as good as we expected. I am very critical of cannolis when it comes to the filling and they did great. I get annoyed when the filling doesn’t fill the entire shell, but that was not the case here. The filling was delicious as was the shell which had a pleasant cinnamon taste. The chocolate cake was warm, moist and oh-​so chocolate-​y. We should have ordered milk it was so rich. The strawberry was a pretty additive as well as a nice burst of tart while eating it.
Overall, this place was perfect for us. It was romantic, had great food, and amazing service. Throughout the entire meal the waiter was very attentive to our needs. He brought us a total of 3 bottles of water, serving them just before we ran out of our previous one and he was very pleasant the entire time. It’s definitely not a cheap place, somewhere to go on occasion for a special meal, but if I was in the area again looking for good Italian food and a nice atmosphere, I would come back here.