Altavida is a new addition to the downtown Naperville area as they have only been open for 3 weeks. It has taken over The Craftsman building which offers three floors. Altavida's concepts for the three levels are Publico, Rumba, and Altura. Publico (1st Flr)- A South American fusion of food and drinks that will be rotating. The cocktails will be more tequila and mezcal based and food will be subtly rotated based on trends happening in South America. The food menu currently offers tapas, empanadas, ceviche, guacamoles, larger format meat/seafood entrees, and more. They will have a front of our bar as well as a back bar that will specialize in more coffees/coffee cocktails. Rumba (2nd Flr)- The entertainment floor! There is a separate bar on this floor that will specialize in more Rum based cocktails. Additionally, they will have a wine bar area with wines in tap. Lastly, they will have an open area for live music as well as dancing. Their hope is to have a mix of jazz, club music, salsa dancing options available. Altura (3rd Flr)- This floor is still under construction but will have a rooftop patio. The hope is that this space will be an event space both for public and private events. Back to my experience! My partner and I stopped in for a cocktail and to see what Altavida was about. Our first bartender was very nice but was still getting used to the drink recipes and was leaning on their cheat sheets. While we waited, another bartender kindly told us all about the restaurant and its focus on hospitality. Unfortunately, each bartender had a slightly different explanation of the restaurant's goal concepts which was confusing. We ended up ordering the El Toro and Vaquero (both mezcal drinks). Both were VERY spirit forward to the point that it may have needed better balance. Both drinks had a nice presentation with garnishes, color, and a skull feature at the bottom of the glass. Lastly, we saw many people walk up and look confused as there was no formal host stand. They didn't know if they should seat themselves or wait for someone. Overall, there still seems to be some kinks needing to be worked out as well as some conceptual editing. I feel they are trying to achieve too much and it ends up being confusing for staff and guests. I hope with time, Altavida is extremely successful in the Naperville area and I hope to circle back after some time passes. read more

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This place is a wonderful addition to DT Naperville! I was able to get a last minute dinner reservation on a Friday night. I arrived at 6:30 and there were plenty of people already in the restaurant, but I was seated promptly. My server Richard came over to greet me right away. He went over the menu options and gave great recommendations. We put our order in pretty quickly because we've been to tapas restaurants before. I loved the modern decor and lively music being played. The place is truly colorful and has a very energetic vibe. The service was excellent. Everyone was extremely kind and happy to help. Edwin, the general manager was so friendly and accommodating by making sure that everything was to our liking. He is a gem. My husband and I ordered a few different tapas to share. We started with the empanadas and they were truly 10/10, highly recommend! We had the beef and chicken with the chimichurri sauce. We also tried the papas bravas and those were delicious as well. They are spicy and have a nice kick. The portion is pretty big and shareable. Last, we had chicken en mole. Omg, so good! They knocked it out of the park with this one. The presentation is very pleasing and the flavor is 10/10! I'm a hot sauce girly and even carry it in my bag just in case. The sauce they had in the dish was so good that I didn't even think about adding hot sauce! The rice and chicken along with the sauce is chef's kiss. I also tried the Brussels sprouts but they were my least favorite of everything. They should go back to the drawing board on that one. The drinks we had were solid. My husband had an espresso martini and dragonfruit margarita, while I had a mango margarita. All were good. Needless to say, I had an amazing evening at Altavida! The dancing on the second floor was also very fun and entertaining. I will definitely be a regular here! read more

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Great place, great ambiance. The drinks were the best! The guacamole was really good, just a very small portion, but maybe that's what you get at a place with tapas. My husband got the Chicken Mole and said that it is the best chicken he has ever had! My ceviche was a 7/10 We will definitely come back though! Way better than the Ramsay place across the street! read more

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Still figuring it out... That was the theme and quote of the night. Made reservations for 8 people and when we showed up at our reservation time they said a group was still at the table and it wasn't ready yet. I was ok with that because a couple people in our group still hadn't arrived. They asked if we wouldn't mind having a drink at the bar until the table was ready. Speaking with the host, she said they had only been open for about a month and they were "still figuring things out". While sitting at the bar a server or someone working at the restaurant bumped into my friend. It's possible my friend bumped into the server, but they obviously both bumped into each other. I'm telling you this because that guy was the grumpiest and most rude of the night. We finally got our table about 25 minutes late and ordered right away as we were all hungry. I ordered the Habanero ashes guacamole and I'd say it was probably the worst guacamole I've ever had. Not only did it taste bad but it was the smallest size of guac I've ever seen for $12 guacamole. They probably paid $1 for the avocado and then charged us $12. I ordered the Peruvian Ceviche for $20 and was sadly disappointed. Again, not good. Lastly I ordered the Arroz con Marisco as my entree. After about 30 minutes went by I asked our server if that dish was done. She came back and told us they were out of that dish. That was over 30 minutes later. She said "we're still figuring it out". Other people at my table were waiting 30 minutes for their food too when others at our table had already gotten their food and and eaten. The grumpy rude guy working there came to our table and we practically got into an argument with him. My question to the restaurant "Why is this rude guy still employed"? The entire experience sucked. Another person in my group had such a bad experience he complained to the manager. The restaurant's way of making it better was to give our table of 8 people 3 free desserts. The desserts were ok, but not the saving grace I think they thought it would be. The only saving grace or good part of the night was a guy named Ezekiel. He was always coming by to clean our table and was always smiling and in a good mood. People like him deserve a job, but the other grumpy guy doesn't....and he didn't even have a name tag on. read more

My husband I were seated at a table promptly since we had a reservation and given water, but then 25 minutes (I timed it!) go by and not a single waiter or waitress stopped by. Obviously, we got up and left. We were so offended that not one person could check on us. I've never been to a restaurant where that happened. read more

The food here was great! I had the tomahawk steak and other appetizers and tapas. The portions were decent and pricing wasn't too bad. The service was terrible as many have experienced here. Took 1 hour after our reservation time to seat our larger group. Also they didn't have many top shelf liquors one would expect to have at a restaurant like this. We did end up getting our bill comped by 50% but would have much rather had a good experience rather than a 4 hour meal. read more

What a great experience and food. We were there twice and both time were fantastic. The food is super flavorful. Can't wait to hit the 2nd floor music and wine. read more

I am hoping that they are just working out the kinks of a new business. The service is super slow, the food that we have tried has been hit or miss, the drinks are okay and not sure how they run out of ingredients to make a traditional margarita. I am hopeful that it gets better as we are really trying to love this place. read more

The food was pretty good overall. The ceviche was very good but the chips were underpar. Root vegetable chips didn't hold up. Same root vegetables were served with the guacamole, which was very bland. Beef empanada was good; the chimichurri was exceptional. The burger was also excellent. The flan tres leches cake was ok. I asked for a mocktail and the server recommended a nonalcoholic dragonfruit margarita. It was awful. Tasteless. read more

Beautifully appointed. I love how they transformed the space, before it was Two Brothers. When we arrived for our reservation, I stood 5/6 minutes at the hostess desk, whilst she navigated what appeared to be a challenging phone call, I digress. Rule #1 in customer service, if you have a guest standing in front of you, acknowledge immediately. if your call is longer than expected, ask the phone guest to hold, while you attend to the needs of an actual guest in front of you and not just the caller. You can manage both. I may be asking for too much here but, ok. I'm willing to be flexible here. We wanted an outdoor/indoor experience since it was unseasonably cooler for the summer. We sat under what was a A/C blower the entire time. By the time I left, I had a massive headache from the air blowing constantly overhead. This too shall pass... Overall, The drinks were colorful, flavorful and matched the environment. I loved the shareable plates of food, which is a great way to sample new and quite delicious selections. Our waiter was attentive as well And kept the vibe up, as it was my birthday celebration. We met the owner, which was very cool and I liked hearing the history of the building, the concept for the space and other tidbits that made this a special evening. Despite a rough start, Altavita was a place that I'd definitely go back to because of the charm and hospitality, which is what did it for me. Honestly give this place a try, you'll love it... read more

My friends and I had an amazing time. I was surprised that we were the only ones there on a Sunday. We got to meet the owners, who welcomed us and shared their story. We met the Chef and shared some laughs. The food was delicious, and the bottomless mimosas were perfect for our girl's brunch. The live music and open buffet were stellar. We will be back for dancing on a Saturday. read more

might have been our waiters first day. he was not familiar with the menu. he went back to the kitchen several times to get answers for us. Long gaps between contact with our waiter. We ordered several tapas plates. They brought them all out at once. Our table was full of plates and glasses. They were not quick about clearing empty plates and glasses. Our table was directly across from the bar. The space between our table and the bar was very tight. We were constantly standing up so people could get through. Our food was very good but it was not a relaxing experience. read more

It was my wife and mine first time at Altavida. We had been told by friends we had to check it out. We are so happy we did, the depth of food selection and quality of flavors kept us ordering more and more items. The french fries are the best I have ever eaten and don't miss the corn bread to die for. It is obvious that an incredible amount of time was spent selecting the food offerings and we really appreciated that. Make sure you try the Pink Sangria best I have had north of San Juan. The salsa dancing on the 2nd floor with live bands was a perfect after dinner workout. It was nice only having to park once and spending the entire night at one location enjoying drinks, dinner and dancing. The staff was incredibly nice all smiling faces seeking if they could assist in any way. Restaurant manager Sandra and owner Edwin stopped by our table to introduce themselves. I like that they made us feel like family. Do yourself a favor and check out the new must see in downtown Naperville. read more