Vivace, Raleigh, North Carolina, Italian Restaurant Details

Food:

Love coming here for brunch. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere is very energetic. Always enjoy our meals here. Would highly recommend their fig & prosciutto pizza or the caprese panini.

Food:

Festive and lively atmosphere. We enjoyed a private room for our best friend's birthday party. The cocktails are creative; food excellent and service is cheery!

Food:

Vivace is always a place we head to when we are looking for that 'someplace' special to celebrate an occasion. Elegant feel inside lends itself well to the robust menu. Their panini's are wonderful for lunch! And being a fish lover I've enjoyed their roasted salmon and swordfish and have never been disappointed.

Food:

Yes, the decor is modern and elegant, and the food is very good; however, Vivace does not live up to its hype. Five friends and I were seated at a corner booth so that we were all able to face each other. My first thought was that we would be able to carry on conversation. I was wrong. The noise level in the restaurant, probably due to the fact that people are packed in like sardines (it is nearly impossible to make your way through the dining room to the rest room), was so high that I had to lean in to hear the person next to me. The light was also very dim in the corner; we had to use our cell phones to read the menu. Service? A 20% gratuity is added for parties of six or more. Apparently, that is reason to spend a disproportionate amount of time at other tables while the party of six or more waits for over five minutes to order another drink--during the meal. By the time my friend and I received our second drink, ten minutes had passed. The server was generally inattentive. When I went to the ladies' room, a waitress was walking out with one of the stall doors in her hand. I guess those sorts of things happen, but, in this case, a stall door falling off its hinges, along with some of the wall, just added to my disappointing experience. If you are looking for a swanky atmosphere filled with other people who are all about feeling swanky, Vivace is for you. Just know that good service, conversation, and outstanding cuisine will be missing.

Food:

5 of 5 stars (excellent, fine dining).

Always one of our favorite places. Nice patio, but tough to get a seat there. Vibrant bar scene, too.

We like sitting back at the kitchen bar (where you can see all the action).

My wife claims they have the best calamari in town. It's tossed with slivers of lemon and red pepper.

I like their pizzas: thin and crisp, baked in a wood-fired oven. They now serve five different varieties.

They also have house-made "cellos". You've probably had lemon-cello, but why not try strawberry or orange?

This place is the jewel in the crown of owners Kevin and Stacey Jennings. In 2009, they opened a 2nd Vivace in Charlotte and I hear rumors of a third somewhere in Florida.