Vivere

We had an early dinner at Vivere which is one of the three Italian restaurants of the Italian Village Restaurants. The other two restaurants include Tuscany Village and La Cantina. The Italian Village claim is the oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago, continuously owned by one family, the Capitanini family, and established in 1927 at this location. This dining experience far exceeded my expectations. We were seated right away and greeted by a young waiter named Nenad J. who brought a basket of Italian bread with olive oil to dip into. We were then introduced to the wine steward who took his time, paying attention to our preferences, and helped us select a bottle of red. We were given a regular menu and also a smaller Prix Fixe menu for theater patrons which includes a soup or salad, a limited main course and a limited dessert course. From the large regular dinner menu, I ordered the Tortellini con Ricotta e Carciofi which is tortellini with artichoke hearts and seasoned with toasted anise seed and mint. My husband selected the beef Chitarra alla Bolognese which is pasta "ribbons" with beef and bolognese sauce. We ended our dinner with the best tiramisu I have ever had. Perfect! Our waiter was friendly, very attentive and invited us to return on our next visit to Chicago. It was just a perfect ending for this day. If you are dining later in the day, I recommend reservations. When we arrived about 5:30pm following the theater, many of the tables were already reserved for a 6:00pm seating. We were fortunate to not have to wait to be seated, but the area filled up quickly. I loved Vivere, but next time I may visit one of the other restaurants of the three, perhaps "The Village" to sample the recipes from Tuscany.

I loved Vivere before but after having dinner here and a very miserable night last night, I'm avoiding it. Food poisoning via their calamari dish, I think. My date and I shared the calamari and after about two hours we were both regretting it. Our entrees were different from one another so we're thinking it was our appetizer. Not fun.

The Italian Village on Monroe in the heart of downtown Chicago is really three restaurants - The Village (upstairs ... Northern Italian casual dining), La Cantina (in the basement like a wine cellar ... serving the classics and steaks), and Vivere (the more formal dining experience on the main floor) ... this review is for Vivere. We happened to be downtown and without reservations got shut out of a number of restaurants so we walked over to Italian Village. Since the price point in Vivere is higher than the other two (assume about $50 per without drinks), this one usually fills up last. We got lucky and snagged a table. For appetizers we shared the Mozzarella di Pomodoro (4+ stars and exceptional imported Buffalo mozzarella with heirloom tomatoes). For our entrees one of us had the grilled Veal chop (4 star nice and something you cannot get everywhere), the other two in our party each had the ravioli (4 stars cheese ravioli in a cream sauce with mushrooms and Prosciutto). For dessert we had the tiramisu (3 stars ok) and the Cioccolata (2 stars for this essentially Italian-style hot chocolate which needed extra sugar since it was not sweet).

In the Loop, this restaurant is upscale with a stylish interior. The restaurant has intimate and romantic dining opportunities. The theater special for $39 included a three-course prix fixe dinner option. The squash soup was creamy and delicious. The creme brule was ample and tasty. I would recommend the chamomile tea.

This restaurant was excellent. Not sure how or why others would have said otherwise. My husband & I were looking to try a restaurant we hadn't been to before and we're in the mood for good wine. Vivere delivers in spades! I had originally reserved a booth seat but my husband's knee was bothering him and he needed to stretch it out. They immediately found us a new table. Our waiter checked in to see what drinks we wanted & we told him we wanted a bottle of wine. We were given a veritable book to order from. It was a bit overwhelming so the Wine Master listened to what we were in the mood for and gave a suggestion. When he came back & told us his recommendation was sold out, he upgraded our wine to a similar one at no charge. This was all before the food!!The food itself was amazing! My husband had the scallops and I had the veal medallions with collared greens and apples. I have never had either veal or collared greens so I have no point of reference... but this dish was amazing. The mix of flavors was superb. After dinner was dessert of course. I love chocolate so had the flourless chocolate cake with mousse. My husband had creme brûlée. Though my dessert was delicious, I actually regret not getting the creme brûlée after I stole a taste of my husband's. All in all. We WILL be back. It is now on our favorite restaurants list. It has great service, food, and ambience... what more could you want?

When you walk into Vivere you forget you're walking off the bustling streets of Chicago and you're taken in a trance by the dim lighting, quiet but comforting Italian classical music, and classy ambience that comes from the clinking of glass and soft talk from the tables for 2.This place engulfs you into a romance and it made for a perfect date night before going to see a show. My boyfriend started off with The Hamilton, which was a perfect match for our show later in the evening. If you love Whiskey/bourbon then I would recommend this drink. I started with my favorite European drink, an aperol spritzer. It comes in different flavors but I would recommend just the classic way. The menu items are extremely unique and this is is what makes this restaurant a must try Italian spot in Chicago. If you walk in expecting Olive Garden, well then Id recommend going there instead because you have set yourself up for disappointment. We began with the lobster gnocchi appetizer, which tasted fresh and I all but licked the plate of the sauce it was tossed in. My main dish was a spicy seafood mixture in a red sauce with spaghetti noodles and I was in love. It was a Calabrese dish that made Calabria the next stop in my international travels. My boyfriend ordered the pasta with duck and fig. This has to be the most unique pasta Ive ever tried and every bite is different but full of flavors. I paired my meal with their Michigan originated Riesling and it was perfect. We somehow made room for dessert and split the carmel cheesecake. It was absolutely rich and creamy. The service was incredible and we were checked on my management mid our meal. This place is perfect for a romantic date night and we saw several business men enjoying a meal before heading home. Vivere has become our new spot to enjoy whenever we make our way downtown for an outing.

This place has THREE Italian restaurants in 1 spot! How fun. I was unable yo eat due to surgery but went for a celebration with friends. They raved about the food and it looked and smelled great! My daughter (4) enjoyed the fun atmosphere of the upstairs restaurant. It looks like an outdoor Tuscan restaurant, at night. I loved the ducked away seating for intimate settings. I can't wait to be able to eat again and I'm coming back HAHA

Walked in on a Tues, no res: no problem and no attitude. Hamilton tix holders, take note and get all the food here. Start the night with the Hamilton sezerack. Gives all the warm and fuzzies.Dean, our server, knew the food, the area, the beverages, the city. As a decade long fine dining server, this guy put me to shame. Steered me to the pheasant filled pasta- sublime. Wife: butternut squash ravs. Also sublime. Managed a 9 table section and managed to make us feel welcome. Wow. Great cocktails, attentive service, great price for the Loop. This place is now added to our ever expanding must-return list.

I would have given five stars but it was pretty obvious our server forgot to fire our entrees. Wine list is extravagant and their wine manager helped us pick an amazing chianti!! He was so nice and personable. We loved our dinner but were kind on a time crunch to get to Hamilton by 8:00 pm. I even told her this as she took our dinner orders. We had a 6:00 pm reservation and were instantly seated. Just waited a really long time in between salads and entrees to be served our entrees. Guests around us were seated after us and served before us. But the ambiance, food and wine was delicious!!

The place was fine, clean, service was good. The meal was extremely disappointing. I was recommended the duck special on a Saturday evening and it was probably the worst duck I've ever had. My date had the cod which was cooked properly but basically tasted like green olives. Way too salty. For $140 go somewhere else. Not worth the money.