Viva Fernando

This place is closed.

This was a great restaurant. What happened to it? It appears to be closed but I can’t find anything official and their website is shutdown :(

I would like to add that we have gone here in the past and loved it. We wanted to go here for the Grams’ 95 th this weekend, but THEY ARE FUCKING CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! WTF is going on here?

Is not the same food as it used to (NO MORE SPANISH CUISINE) portions are smaller, no more side dishes coming with your main course, food tastes ok but for Italian or «Mediterranean» cuisine like they say nowadays is not worth it, sad. My best suggestion, go to Saucy Bistro 1 block from it.

The moment we opened the door, a wonderful aroma beckoned. WHATEVER it was, THAT’S what I wanted. It must have been emanating from the all-​you-​can-​eat luncheon buffet in the inviting white-​table-​clothed intimate dining area (maybe seating for no more than 45 – 50), so that’s what I chose.
Salad…
Green leaf lettuce with a variety of fresh additions, including sweet onions and tomatoes. Both dressings — one a balsamic — were very good.
Soup…
Minestrone. Mildly-​seasoned and quite good.
Pasta with meatballs in a pale tomato-​based sauce…
Very flavorful sauce, but meatballs were dry and pasta was very soft. I wasn’t thinking. Pasta in most buffets ANYWHERE will likely never be the way I prefer it — al dente.
Chicken pieces in rice…
Again, very nicely flavored, but a couple of renegade bones and three loose,
bite-​size squares of skin that had managed to work their way free of the small chicken pieces. Rice was unexpectedly soft — like Risotto. Enjoyed the flavor, but not the soft texture.
This small-​piece, bone-​in, skin-​on dish is likely Mediterranean style, but I prefer not having to pick through a dish just to set aside inedible parts. Cooking with is fine — and the way I prepare some of mine — but they should consider sacrificing authenticity for palatability, by removing all those parts before adding the chicken meat into the rice.
Choices made by others:
* Filet Mignon with Mushrooms in Port Wine sauce. .. Excellent.
* Cheesesteak Sandwich, thin-​sliced Top Sirloin with sauteed peppers, onions. .. Too thickly sliced, and a bit gristly. I can accept gristle on steaks when it’s a cut that’s intended to be eaten with a knife and fork. It will probably be visible, and can then be cut off. But steak sandwiches should NEVER have gristle. Unless the bun or roll is removed, and the beef is thoroughly examined slice-​by-​slice beforehand, the only way you’ll discover gristle is when it’s already in your mouth, and that would be too late! Not a good thing for yourself — or for anyone within viewing distance.
Really liked the atmosphere — pull up their website for a visual. Though small, you’re not rubbing elbows with those at neighboring tables. Very friendly staff, and charming, soft-​spoken owner. Overall, very good flavors — the right amount and choices of seasonings. Improvements on prepping, handling, and sirloin-​trimming (or up-​grading), would mean significantly better results. We’d return, but would pass on any pasta or rice buffet offerings, as those will only soften further as they continue sitting in the warmers.
5 star … Filet
4 star … Salad and Soup
2 star … Pasta buffet dish and Chicken-​rice buffet dish
1 star … Cheesesteak sandwich
5 star … Atmosphere, owner, and staff
Comes to a nearly 4 star average.

Amazing Food! Artichokes w/​bacon and mushrooms; bassa (very mild white fish) capers, spinach and asparagus; and osso buco — all delicious! Service was great! Owner Harvey was also eating there and made his way over to say hello. Very nice!

Last night was our first visit, and we were not disappointed. When we walked into the dark dining room… nearly empty at 6 pm I was worried especially when they asked if we had a reservation; however, as we were lead into a beautiful garden patio packed with patrons, all fears quickly fled. The stars of the night were the server (Manuel) and the bold red Spanish wine.
We ordered the stuffed artichoke as an appetizer, and it was complex and luxerious though a bit salty. That just made us drink more wine though… so no harm done. For our dinners, I got the New York Strip which was cooked a perfect rare (as requested) and my boyfriend got a veal cutlet. The entrees were served with saffron rice, steamed veggies and some lackluster in-​house chips.
To top off the meal, Manual brought us a small tasting of some kind of chocolate liquor.
The service was top notch and the food was above average. The wine, weather, patio and attentive server is what made the night an experience.

I has the creamy shrimp & spinach pasta and it was amazing! The service was great. Highly recommended for a romantic dinner too.

This is hands down one of the best restaurants in the Cleveland area.
Great personable service and delicious seafood. I had trout with pancetta that was melt in your mouth yummy. Their outdoor patio area, when the weather is nice is really cozy.
I think the location is a little bit tricky because it looks very corporate officey from the road and doesn’t look like a place you’d find such a great restaurant but don’t be fooled– its awesome.

If you’re a fan of Mallorca downtown then you’ll like Viva Fernando!
The main attraction to Viva Fernando is their outdoor patio. The inside is nicely appointed, but not the overly chic place were you don’t feel comfortable.
Again, back to their patio. It has to be one of the nicest places to grab a drink after work with friends on the west side. It just has a really intimate feel to it.
Word of caution though to the under 40 y.o. crowd: This is one of the corners to the famed «Viagra Triangle» of Westlake. You’ve been warned.

I was worried because I hadn’t heard of Viva Fernando before. I shouldn’t have been.
Apparently the place is packed on weekends but on a Thursday, we felt rather lonely in the dining room. Soon our worry faded as people slowly started filing in, plus our wine was going down well.
We got the pallela and the fruit encrusted salmon. The salmon was cooked to perfection and the sauce was light and tasty. I am not sure I liked the dried fruit as it rather disturbed the texture of the salmon — they were too hard and chewy instead of melting into a sauce like I’d prefer. The pallela was massive and included large lobster tail portions, big shrimp, scallops, etc. The sauce was good and was a «top notch» pallela, especially in Ohio.
The salmon came with salad, vegetables, chips and a side of safron rice. I did appreciate the massive amounts of sides that came with the salmon, although the most were rather lack-​luster and didn’t have any flavor.
In short, I liked it. It was really much better than I’d expected, despite this review sounding more negative. My boyfriend loved it and wants this to be a regular spot for us. I’d rather stick with my favorites in Tremont/​Ohio City for the same price (feel free to label me an OC snob). At the same time, their sea-​food selection was diverse and everything was very well done.

5 STARS
This is a fabulous restaurant. It used to be called Viva Barcelona, but has has this name for about 2 years. Four of us came here for lunch and two of us had the salmon stuffed with crabmeat. It came with salad and vegetables and was absolutely delicious. The others had a lemon sole sandwich and a seafood pasta special and they were delighted with their meals.
This is a special place…