Viviamo

Viviamo is a new Italian restaurant that opened up right near my house! It took over what used to be another sad kebab shop in the area and has transformed into a sleek, welcoming restaurant. We were anxious to try it, so popped in last Friday night.
We were greeted with a tasty-​meat-​treat, sliced right off leg in front of us. A little while later the very friendly, enthusiastic waiter came to us with fresh, fluffy, right-​out-​of-​the-​oven bread for us and a trio of dips. We ordered the antipasti platter to share and it did not disappoint! The produce in this place was fantastic — the grilled courgettes and peppers were to die for, along with the wide variety of meats and a few mouth-​watering cheeses. I’m not a big ‘antipasti’ person but this place has swayed me! Mind you, we intended on having a ‘light’ dinner… that didn’t work out for us. Also worth noting was that their house red was rather nice — not as dry as I usually go for but the fruitiness really worked here. I think it’s the only wine by-​the-​glass but I can see how it is a pretty universal wine.
For the main I went for the mushroom risotto and my partner went for the steak with mushroom sauce. His steak was fantastic — tender, perfectly seasoned and smothered in a delicious mushroom sauce. Unfortunately, I didn’t love the mushroom risotto. If the chef did whatever magic the did on the mushroom risotto as they did on the mushroom sauce, we’re in business. If not though, I’ll happily go eat steak here and am anxious to try all of the wonderful pastas on the menu.
After our ‘light’ dinner, the server offered us a ‘small sample of desserts.’ I have no self-​control so much to the dismay of my partner, I happily accepted his offer, despite the fact that we were on the edge of running late for another engagement. The server eventually returned with what I can only imagine were 2 full sized desserts (God help us all if these were really sample size) of the Tri-​colour pannacotta and tiramisu. I preferred the pannacotta to the tiramisu but might try a different dessert when I return to Viviamo, which, I definitely will do.
Overall, the service was fantastic, if at a Mediterranean pace — the server was knowledgeable, told us about upcoming events and was SO excited about what Viviamo has to offer, it was infectious. It’s early days so I think there are still a few kinks to work out but this place is jumping off from a solid platform so I have high hopes for this local business!