Vivo

zabelle
zabelle
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
2
Reviews
4
Photos

When Good Things Go Bad

  • February 15, 2008
  • Rated 1 of 5 by Quinto0108 from Manchester, Connecticut
I have dined at VIVO many times, but not in the past year. When looking for Valentine's Day options, my wife and I chose VIVO as we have always had great meals and impeccable service. Unfortunately, it seems that was the old VIVO.



Not only was our food horrible (Fried Calamari & Baked Poached Lobster which actually is only 1 claw and a tail that are miniature in size), the service from the beginning was horrible. The hostess was not acknowledging guests (not just us) as they walked up to check in. Rather you stood there dumbfounded until she could be bothered to look up. Our waitress was probably one of the worst at her profession. We saw her a total of only 3 times throughout our meal. Had I needed another beer, it would have been faster to brew it myself then to wait for her to assist. When the manager brought our food to the table, I asked where the rest of the lobster was. The waitress walking by answered the question. The manager did not understand my concern. His solution was to bring this crepe type log filled with, or at least I was told, lobster meat. Horrible.



Bottom line is this. This is a great restaurant that has lost its way. It apparently has become just a high-end "chain type" food establishment. To continue to call it true restaurant would be a gross overstatement.

Editor Pick

Vivo

  • May 10, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by zabelle from Portland, Connecticut
Vivo

Located in the Marriott Hartford Vivo is a lovely restaurant. The wood is a rich cherry color and there is a definite Latin flare. We received coupons that brought the price of the morning breakfast buffet down to $12 so we decided to give it a try. This price included tax and tip.

We got a nice table right beside the buffet which had the best selection of fresh fruit that I have ever seen. The bowl of berries alone made my day, including large raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. They were huge and all perfectly ripe. If this was all the fruit it would be quite extraordinary but there were also large bowls of cut up melon, watermelon, and pineapple. There was in addition a bowl of whole fruits, apples, pears, and bananas. You can have an omelet made-to-order which Cindy opted to do. There are many ingredients to choose from and you can add as many as you want. They don’t, however, serve the omelet with toast.

In the hot offerings there were French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and very good breakfast potatoes made with onions and peppers. In the cold section besides the fruit there was cereal, (small boxes of cherrios, fruit loops etc) homemade granola which I tried, yogurt, bagels, croissants, and muffins. The bagels can be toasted in the toaster that is right beside them.

Drinks are included with the buffet and I decided to have grapefruit juice and coffee. A carafe of coffee was left on the table and our waitress offered refills on the juice. The waitress was able to provide me with honey for my granola which I covered with fresh berries and milk. The granola was really good with plenty of grains and also nice bunches of coconut.

Service was very attentive the first morning, sulky the second. If you don’t want the buffet they offer an a la carte menu as well. On the way out I grabbed a banana which served as a welcome snack at about 1pm. The price of the buffet without the coupon is a bit high but so is the quality of everything offered. The only complaint that I have is that they didn’t offer real maple syrup, come on, who wants fake syrup with a nice thick French toast.

Vivo serves lunch and dinner as well. We stopped in on our last day to have lunch. It was a special occasion as lunch is not usually served on Saturday. They offered us the bar menu.

Two of us had the BLT on sourdough bread served with french fries. It was one of the best BLT's I have ever had. Everything about it was perfect, especially the bread.

The burger on the other hand was offered with a small green salad. We had perfect service at this lunch our waiter could not have been nicer and he kept our drink glass well filled.

From journal Historic Hartford

Compare Hartford Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Hartford Travel Deals