Restaurant Reivew
Vivo Italian Kitchen
Vivo Italian Kitchen is a fantastic modern Italian dining option, conveniently located right within Citywalk Orlando. It's the perfect addition to any Orlando vacation due to the convenient location, affordable prices, great atmosphere, and accommodating staff.
Any Orlando tourist looking for a great restaurant experience to compliment a fantastic day at the parks should head over to Vivo Italian one night for dinner. Kick back and relax and treat yourself to some tasty comfort food after a long day walking around Universal's fun (yet totally exhausting!) theme parks.
Food
Vivo offers a traditional Italian menu featuring appetizers (Calamari, Caprese, Antipasto, etc.), fresh salads and soups, pasta dishes (Bolognese, Carbonara, Linguine & Clams, and Lasagna to name a few), along with a few Chicken, Seafood, and Meat Entrees (Picatta, Salmon, and Beef Medallions, amongst others).
An hour before dining, we talked with the chef about gluten-free options. Not only do they carry gluten-free pasta, they also offer 2 gluten-free soups, along with a few salads and sides.
The chef was also willing to create a homemade gluten-free breadsticks appetizer for us. This was great as we did not have to feel left out when everyone else at the table got bread. It was so good, that everyone at our table had to test it out! We truly appreciated the kind gesture, especially on such short notice!
The gluten-free breadsticks (which had a nice garlic flavor), the Tuscan Bean soup, and the salad were all wonderful starters. The Chicken Marsala, with an abundance of sautéed mushrooms, GF pasta, and a tasty marsala wine sauce was just delicious.
The Pomodoro, which includes GF pasta, tomatoes, basil, roasted garlic, and a white wine sauce, was just okay. In my opinion, it was too bland and needed more spices and oil. A simple marinara sauce would have been tastier. This was the only downside of the meal for our table. Other guests dining with us really enjoyed the Lasagna.
A full list of wine and Italian cocktails are available to compliment your Italian dinner.
Prices are surprisingly affordable, considering it is a nice Italian restaurant located in a pricey theme park destination. Portions are pretty large considering the popular Universal location, and no one at our table left hungry. Overall, dinner at Vivo was just what we needed after a long day at Universal.
Service
As I mentioned above, the staff was wonderful. The chef made us a special appetizer with almost no notice. The staff is very accommodating when it comes to pleasing every guest, even those with strict dietary requests.
Atmosphere
The design at Vivo is very appealing: sleek and contemporary. Everything is very clean and elegant in appearance, right down to the bathrooms.
When looking into the open kitchen, you can see the homemade pasta hanging down to dry.
The attractively designed dining room, combined with unique modern decor, makes it a great place for a post theme park celebration or date.
Final Remarks
Vivo's creative design elements, comforting home-cooked Italian entrees, catering staff, and convenient location at CityWalk make it the easy choice for dinner after your day at the Universal parks.
