The service from our waiter, Cameron, was excellent. The food was delicious, from the wine to the salad to the dessert. The entree portions were large, tasty and unique. The decor was fun. Highly recommend. read more

This place is NOT romantic. The decor is NOT impressive. The reviewers who've compared it to Cheesecake Factory are very accurate. It is packed full of tourists in casual wear and children. It is not the place to go for a romantic night out. Please, please, please don't let your night be ruined like our's was by thinking this place is good for a date. read more

I was only there for a cocktail reception so I cannot comment on the full menu. The appetizers we had were quite delicious and included meatballs, pizza and a salumi selection. The decor was cozy and warm and throughly Italian in theme. Where I find Vivere stands out is in the service. From the time I walked in to the time I left, everyone was gracious, welcoming, friendly and warm. I will definitely go back. read more

Great place for italian food my girlfriend and i had a great time at vivere the ambiance was nice our food was delicious and Hector our server was very attentive and helpful his recomendations were spot on! From appetizers to entrees to desserts everything was delicious I strongly recommend this place if you're in the mood for italian. read more

Excellent food, top flight wine list and perfect service. What more can I say?

Great service and the food is excellent. I went there for lunch, ordered the Calabrese with scallops, shrimp and calamari. It was a lunch meeting so I had to rush back to work so no time for appetizers and desserts. Just for the pasta, I will definitely come back! read more

Loved the atmosphere, great place to take a date! Loved the service and absolutely loved the lamb chop on the menu! That little piece of meat was heaven! The steak on the menu was alright, nothing special! The staff and service were exceptional, an added star just for that! Went there for a special occasion and they gave us free creme brule and paid extra attention to our table which was really great! Will go back especially for the lamb chops! read more

Dining at Vivere was an awful experience. I came here with a group of friends for dinner before seeing Book of Mormon. We originally wanted to dine at La Cantina but they don't open until five and we weren't able to get a reservation. When we came in we were seated right away at Vivere. The restaurant was not crowded, the bus boy was able to refill our water (since we never got more wine) and our waiter was very polite. That's the only nice things I have to say. Even though our waiter was nice, he was not attentive. We waited almost twenty minutes between getting our drinks and ordering our meals. He never came over to refill our wine. We waited another 20 minutes after receiving our bill for him to take the check. The food was edible but definitely not worth $30 a plate. The bathrooms were clean but one stall is not enough for three restaurants. There was a line out the door. I rarely leave less than a 20% tip but did this time. Perhaps it should have been given to the bus boy, he was the hardest worker in the place. read more

Vivere - Lasagna - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

someone recommended Vivere to me after they visited on a business trip recently. while they had great service, nice wine and good food i unfortunately had a different experience. i arrived at 8 pm Monday night as a party of 1. the restaurant was empty with about 25% of the tables full. the waiter promptly came over and asked for drinks and told me about the specials. fine start but downhill from there. i ordered 3 of their hot appetizers as my meal and recommended them in a particular order (not what i would have picked but i took his advice). the mushroom tartine came out almost immediately. i am talking 2 minutes after i ordered. i dont know about you all but while i like prompt service i dont think that is an appropriate time frame. made me seriously wonder if someone else had ordered it before and it was sitting in the kitchen for a while waiting for the next order to come it. the sauce on it was pretty tasty and my first few bites i enjoyed. but it quickly cooled and soon had a mealy texture and not much flavor without the sauce which had congealed. after the extremely fast arrival of my first dish, i strangely had to flag down the waiter to take it away and ask for my next dish about half an hour later. he said he didnt realized i was finished though i had pushed the dish to the other side of the table and had not touched in in 20 minutes. i said it was fine just that i would like my next 2 dishes in faster succession to which he responded with quite an attitude. my next two dishes then came very quickly and right on top of each other (not exactly what i meant). the lobster gnocchi was very good- lots of lobster meat and nicely balanced dish. the final dish was a sage sausage, cheese and asparagus dish that i did not care for at all. there were two large hunks of sausage on tops of the dish that reminded me more of street meat style sausage than a nice italian restaurant. and the asparagus overpowered the flavor of everything else. overall i was not at all impressed. the food was mediocre (and debatably pre-prepared), course timings were inconsistent, and service was frankly rude. surely there are much better places to have italian in the loop and i will certainly try somewhere new next time i am in town. read more

My wife and I decide to eat here and it was fabulous. I say it is a must. It was a very slow night due to the holiday weekend. The service great. read more

This is probably not fair, and I'm acknowledging that up front. I actually didn't eat at Vivere. Why, you ask? I called on a Saturday to ask if they would take a reservation for Sunday (their web page says to call - that sometimes they will open on a Sunday). The first person I talked to said she wasn't sure & handed me over to another person. I asked if I could get a reservation for Sunday for 6 people at 8 pm. "Of course, no problem, we'll see you tomorrow!" was the response. When we arrived, the doors were locked, lights were off, and a man standing in the hallway said "They're not open on Sunday." Completely embarrassing for me, and horrible customer service for Vivere. Thankfully, we managed to have a wonderful dinner at Avec - I will not be returning to Vivere. read more

The atmosphere was soothing, the service was wonderful, the prices were out of my range, but luckily, this restaurant was chosen as a nice place for my roommates mother to take our apartment out to dinner. It was an exquisite meal. I had duck. It was glazed with some sweet pear (?) sauce and laid upon some diced pears with a side of ravioli (just one) filled with a pear custard. I was VERY happy with my meal. I went with an almond tart for dessert and gelato. It was, like I said, very pricey, but such a great place to go if you have the means and an occasion (or just the means). read more

Had dinner with a dear friend here last night and we loved it. My friend is gluten-free and was staying downtown in the Loop. In researching restaurants near her hotel, I found that the Italian Village had numerous gluten-free items on their menu so we chose Vivere. We had a great dinner. They had a special salad on the menu that included grilled peaches and nectarines and duck prosciutto and my friend chose that and raved about it. I started with the Insalata di Asparagi: shaved asparagus, frisee, fried shallots, sheep cheddar in a truffle oil vinaigrette with a poached egg on top. It was divine. The combo of the egg and truffle oil (along with those fried shallots) made every bite a delight. From there, I moved on to the grilled octopus which came with purple potatoes, butternut squash, and a port wine aioli. Grilled perfectly, the octopus was tender and the squash made the dish even better. For dessert, my friend had the creme brulee (perfect as she described it) and I had the brown butter cheesecake which was delicious. Our service was impeccable and I couldn't have imagined a better place to have dinner downtown. read more

Hands down, the best upscale Italian restaurant in Chicago. I have eaten at Spiaggia multiple times and every time I leave asking myself: "Why didn't you go to Vivere?"... Upscale, but never pretentious... they have the most knowledgeable staff outside of Les Nomade and the largest wine list in the city (and I mean list meaning they actually HAVE every bottle on the list - unlike most). They also offer a nice 'wine by the glass' selection that will fit every taste, and because they do so much business you don't have to worry about drinking a glass from last nights bottle. The maître d is, without question, the best in the business. I have eaten there dozens of times, but from my second visit he not only remembered my name, but what I drank (down to the garnish). This may be because I am 6'7" inches tall, but this man sees hundreds and sometimes thousands of faces every day. I'm sorry, I have worked in the business a long time and that is just flat out impressive. Even with the change of executive chefs and wine directors in the last few years, the restaurant is still at the top of its game. Every dish is made to perfection and they could easily charge the same as Spiaggia, but they do not. It is not the "Italian American" cuisine that most Chicago restaurants pump out (although you can get that as well if you go up a few flights of stairs and go to "The Village" one of their other restaurants, under the same roof). Vivere is a culinary delight that expresses many different views on Italian cuisine. The pheasant filled pasta is one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. The dining room is beautiful (even though it was designed by the same ass that made all Cheesecake Factory restaurants look like Alice in Wonderland mixed with a pudgy art deco acid trip)... it has a wonderful flow and, even though the ceilings are way to short for a tall man... after sitting down, it makes you feel at home. The bar is one of the coolest in the city (reminds me of a mix between the Hobbit's Shire, The House on the Rock, some lesser known 60's James Bond Film , Frank Lloyd Wright, The Star Wars Cantina and Jimmy Hoffa (Whom I am sure is located somewhere between the walls and floors of this restaurant empire). But I digress... The entire restaurant is extremely romantic and a spectacular place for a date, without being a flower garden (if you know what I mean). Most poor reviews for Vivere on Yelp! have been based on either poor service when trying to get to the theater on time or the decor. I have never eaten at Vivere before a show, but I know from working in the industry and owning a restaurant near the Ravinia Music Festival not to try to squeeze in a good dining experience before a concert at a restaurant that is located near the concert! I also saw a few complaining about Valentine's Day and New Years Eve... Seriously? That's like giving a popular Mexican restaurant a bad review because you went there on Cinco de Mayo! Go on a night when there is no concert or after the rush and if this place is nothing more to you than a "special event" or "pre-concert meal" than you are missing the point and deserve what you get. And YES... should a restaurant be able to handle any amount of people at anytime regardless of what is going on? Yes... but, let's face it... ALL restaurants are "deep in the weeds" on certain holidays and or evenings where the location is filled with people because of an event, and you have to understand this prior to making your reservation. And as far as decor? Get over it... I can not recommend this restaurant enough. It is a Chicago legend and is far more bang for your buck for high end Italian dining than any other option in Chicago. The wine list (or book) has almost anything you could possibly imagine, and many nights that should have cost me $200, cost me well over $2,000 because of it... do I regret? NO!!! I have never had a bad experience at this restaurant and the mediocrity of other "Italian fine dining" restaurants in Chicago are transparent after dining at Vivere. As a further side note: I took my wife there on our first date and she said it was the best dinner and date she had ever had... Bravo Vivere! read more

You need to have dinner there. We had tickets to Hamilton and, since this was close and had valet parking throughout the play, we decided to have our dinner there. We didn't realize until we did some further research that Vivere was actually one of three venues at the Italian Village. The decor is really interesting and I mean that in the nicest possible way. As good as it was, it way vastly outshined by the food and the service. Gerado was our waiter and his service reminded me of how things were when I used to dine with my parents as a kid in some of Chicago's finest restaurants. His service alone made our dining experience worthwhile. We each had something to drink an then ordered from the Prix Fixe menu which had just the foods that we were craving. At $39.99, we were quite satisfied with everything we had ordered. My began with Caesar Salads, followed by our main courses. My wife had the Pasticcio and I had the Bay Scallops. They were wonderful. For dessert we both had their Creme Broulee. They were the perfect finale to our dinner. We WILL return! read more

I'd do 3.5 stars if I could. Each time I've ended up at Vivere it was because we were trying to go to Italian Village which had a long wait while Vivere had no wait at all. The first time I ever had butternut squash ravioli was here, it was amazing. I am not sure how often they offer it, but it was so tasty. Recently I was there, and their special was a cold soup of mango and cantalope with mint. Very very good. I don't recommend going just before a theatre in the area is about to start a show. My second time there I noticed a lot of families with small children. The main dining room can be very loud with that kind of crowd. I think the children were supposed to go up to Italian Village, but they were full. I can't imagine too many children enjoying the menu here. However, if you plan to go to Italian Village and can't get in, Vivere is a good choice and since they share the kitchen with the other two restaurants, if you want Italian Village's lasagna, you can order it while seated at Vivere, even though it is not on the menu. The atmosphere at Vivere does call for a more dressy-causual wardrobe, but as I said, Italian Village sends their overflow down to Vivere so to wear jeans isn't a sin. read more

My partner and I went Saturday night (pre Vday). We had a reservation for 6pm. We were seated right away. We were lucky to be seated along the wall. Tables in the middle were right next to eachother. I was fine with the decor, like others have mentioned - it has a cheesecake factory feel. We tried the 4 course tasting menu ($60/each) with the wine pairing ($35/each). The tasting was fantastic! The chef came out and asked us about our likes/dislikes. He then delivered a menu for us that was perfect. He brought out each dish and explained it to us. My only regret is that we had to rush through it. We had Opera tickets for 7:30. I suggest giving yourself two hours to enjoy the tasting. Our total bill (with 20% tip) was about $250. It's not something we could do often, but was worth the price. read more

Great atmosphere, occasionally slow service, underwhelming food, overall not worth the money. I left feeling disappointed. I've had much better Italian food in Virginia for much cheaper price. read more

We were not clear that there were three restaurants at this address but just walked into Vivere, on the main floor. We were very happy with our luck. The service and the food were outstanding. The decor is very formal with wood paneled walls and the nautilus theme evident everywhere including on the doors to the kitchen, the light fixtures, the ceiling... We had lasagna and pasta bolognese and found the homemade pasta very tender and the sauces delicious. The desert special was three creme brulee flavors in one compartmented dish - vanilla, chocolate and raspberry - heaven! Thanks for a lovely evening. read more

We had a wonderful dining experience from start to finish. Our server, Marcos was personable and knowledgeable about the menu. He suggested some great entrees! With a large wine menu, Jared steered us in the right direction to find a great bottle that we both enjoyed. They even surprised us with a dessert since we were there for our anniversary. Highly suggest eating dinner here, great date night spot! read more

What a find!!!! I ate here because it was close to my hotel and it was one of the best Italian restaurants that I have ever experienced. (and there have been many) I had the Caesar salad, scallops, and tiramisu and I can highly recommend all. But the star of the show was my waiter Marcos. He turned a great dining experience into a even more spectacular evening and made me feel like family. read more

Inside look like Frodo n his whole family live hur. Bread and bread sticks oh ma laaaawd. I jussss cannot get enuf. Some crab cake appetizer wuz aiite, interesting but on da sweet side, taste like it wuz on a tomato relish. Got risotto n seafood pasta. Big portionz n both seasoned well. Dey seafood taste rul fresh. Service on pooooint! Holla atchyo gurl. read more

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3.798 stars Pre-game: We had reservations on a busy Saturday night, before the 101010 marathon. Despite having a reservation we were seated 35 minutes after the appointed time. We arrived about ten minutes early hoping to get seated on time, that didn't work out so yeah 45 minute wait. No stars deducted however. Food: The appetizers we chose were the Minestrone and the Terra e Mare. The soup was just ok, rather flat. I have had many versions of this here in the states and in Italy this was a lack luster, not bad but not great. The lump crab cake and the Wagyu (points for not calling it Kobe) medallions were another story. This was a nice pairing of flavors and the ingredients were treated with respect, it was a table hit. The pasta dishes, Tagliatelle alla Bolognese and Agnolotti di Fagiano were also on the mark. I appreciated the delicate flavors of the pheasant combined with sage and parmigiano reggiano. A very nice dish but I'm partial to Bolognese, especially served over Tagliatelle, a "comfort dish" for me and this was a wonderful rendition. The roasted duck breast with foie gras raviolini and parsnip pure was fantastic. It was refined dish and while I had doubts about port cherry sauce it was not too heavy and found myself mopping it up with bread after the duck was gone. The best dish we sampled was the Braised Pork Shank that was falling off the bone tender. Very rich layered flavors, that were contrasted by the near perfect polenta. We had desert and coffee, but I stuck to the grappa and the espresso, didn't try the dolce. Service: I didn't make a fuss about the tardy seating but they apologized, twice. The wait staff were professional and it was packed, getting a second glass of wine was somewhat difficult, but it was attentive and courteous. Room: We sat upstairs; the decor has a Dr. Seuss-esque kitsch about it. It wasn't disturbing or unpleasant, I actually found it inviting, the colors were dark and warm. We were a party of 5 and we didn't feel cramped at all. * more Upscale Restaurant with an Italian Flare than Upscale Italian in my opinion. * Could have been better at these prices. * Some values on the wine list, and by the glass. Cocktails were decent. * I like the whole Italian Village concept, although Vivere was what we needed on this night. read more

Not worth the price, service with attitude, the only thing they've got goin' for them is location. I gave it two stars instead of one because it beats its ugly-evil-stepsister restaurant upstairs (The Italian Village)--and it should with the per person tab. read more

Horrible!!! The food was mediocre at best...but our experience ruined an otherwise pleasant evening. Our waiter was a sweet heart, but the manager was rude, and dismissive. We had $500 in gift cards that were pre-approved for use by our waiter and the owner Gina...and the when our $466 bill came they wouldn't accept more than $250 of them. We are not residents of Chicago so ended up putting all of the gift cards towards the bill in hopes they would do the right thing and honor the gift cards...but no...they charged my credit card for the $216. Italian village is Shady!!! The manager Gerardo Castillo is rude, and dismissive. He REFUSED to discuss the matter with us, He REFUSED to call the owner Gina to discuss. He walked away from the conversation and told us he wasn't going to listen to us any further and to do what we wanted to do! We didn't know what he was implying....To walk out without paying??? We are upper middle class Americans...we don't do that!!! He would rather make a very public scene and embarrass our party by trying to cheat us than go along with what his waiter, and the owner had pre-approved. Obviously we paid the other half reluctantly. Out of towners beware!!! Skip Italian Village!!! Go ANYWHERE else. We will NEVER go back and will tell everyone we know about how Italian Village ruined our family reunion dinner and how horribly disrespectful the manager is and how unbelievable it is he has a job. Gerardo...the hospitality business is NOT for you! read more

Funny thing. We came here during St. Patrick's Day. Great creme brulee and of course got the Corn Beef and Cabbage. Got to try some of my pals lovely steak. Great service, food and interesting decor. read more

The environment is fabulous. I ordered a glass of cellar selection white wine and it is best glass I have ever had. However, the food is a dud. read more

It started off ok. My salad was decent and my husband really enjoyed his pepper cream soup. My son actually sent his soup back it was so bad. None of our main meals were what I would call great. I only took two bites of mine. Yuck. The only saving grace was desert was good. Not great, but good. For the amount I spent, it should have been great. read more

Great Italian food and great service. A step and a half up from the Italian Village... Literally and figuratively.

Meh overpriced and whatever food. My pork was pretty good and literally fell right off the bone.... other than that some really mediocre food that is overpriced, although the service is excellent. read more

This was a great place. The service was awesome and the food was very good. I enjoyed the atmosphere and would def go back .

Business dinner two weeks ago. Overpriced (okay, it is downtown Chicago, so maybe not that bad). All four of us were less than impressed to downright not liking it. One of us had linguini and scallops. Too spicy. Another was an unimpressive lasagna. My dish was completely uninspired, hard to eat halibut. Never again. read more

We had a great experience at Vivere on Saturday 1/7/17. The food was great. We enjoyed the gnocchi lobster appetizer, and the lasagna and scallop dishes. All very good. Winning the night was the service. Turns out our bread service was missed, unbeknownst to us since this was our first time dining here. Our server was extremely apologetic when he set the bread on our table right before our entrees arrived. Not an issue for us! He continued to "make it right" with a complementary dessert. I was really impressed at the kindness we received, when we would have never known the difference. Thank you, Vivere! read more

I've been to the Italian Restaurant upstairs and was excited to try Vivere for Restaurant Week on the main level as I had heard wonderful things about the place. The customer service was great but I was sadly disappointed by the quality of food. I look forward to Restaurant Week as a way to try new restaurants at a discounted price and sampling their delicious foods. Since the menu was "set" for restaurant week, my friend and I ordered two salads, a chicken dish, cheese ravioli, cheesecake with berries and creme brulee for dessert. The salads were rather disappointing as it was only lettuce with a vinaigrette. The ravioli was decent but I thought it would be seasoned better. The chicken was over cooked and upsettingly small portioned. The cheesecake was good, however, the creme brulee was mediocre at best. I've made creme brulee before and this was not high quality at all. I left full but no where near satisfied. I don't think I'll be returning or recommending Vivere to my friends/family in the future. read more

wonderful food... we were here during the restaurant week and they really amazed me.. interior is beautiful... Service was fine... only thing that i did not like is Arancini... They are way to small and a bit tasteless... but everything else was great... we will be back read more

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meh,an alright spot,the staff tries too hard,fake it poorly,and the food is,well,it's alright. Not really something to remember,except for the bill! read more

Amazing restaurant. One of the best pasta meals I have had in my life. Super ambiance. The waitress, Crystal, was incredible: knowledgeable, considerate and entertaining. Thank you for a great night. read more

Place is really nice on the inside. The service was okay that's the only reason I didn't give five stars. It took us a little while to get drinks or his attention at all. But my God did the food make up for it. I had a seafood pasta that topped any pasta fish I have had in my life. For dessert I had a chocolate cake that had house made fresh strawberry gelato on top. And I must say that, that too was one of the best if not the best desserts I have ever had. Props to chef James Giacometti. I highly recommend vivere to anyone who wants some real Italian food in chicago. read more

Took my 10-year old daughter to her first play AND her first visit to Italian Village...she LOVED it! Our server, Jacob, was absolutely fantastic with recommendations and answering our questions, and he made her feel like she was a total VIP!! The entire staff was consistently attentive and wonderfully accommodating...we felt like we were regulars. It was my first visit to the main level vs the upstairs traditional Italian Village, and it definitely exceeded expectations. The table across from us noticed that they had looked at the upstairs menu prior to their visit, and that the menu was slightly different...the manager didn't miss a beat and got them a menu from the upstairs venue. Definitely a Chicago gem for terrific ambiance, great food, and phenomenal service...and they were spot-on in making sure we were out the door to make our performance on time without rushing us in the least bit! And, again, HUGE kudos to our server, Jacob...you made our night! read more

Really nice atmosphere with impeccable service - friendly and knowledgeable without being overbearing - with great food. The buffalo mozzarella appetizer with tomatoes and a balsamic reductions was to die for and the Limoncello cheesecake with blueberries was amazing although there was a little left to be desired with portion size. I didn't order it, but the pheasant pasta was amazing. The duck I had was perfectly cooked and tender but I'm just not the biggest duck fan. The one complaint i do have is that the drinks were very small and butter was served on the table with the bread but no olive oil was to be found. I would recommend for a date. read more