Honestly, I don't give 5 stars often but I had to for this place. My friend and I shared a platter (which could've been split for 3) but we like what we like .. Location: In NEWARK, NJ area Atmosphere: The dj is vibey, he plays music for everybody! They had a $100 bottle night (Friday before midnight) Service: My party of 7 took over the entire bar area and the service from Enrique (Hen-ree-kay) was amazing! We walked in at 11:53pm and kitchen closes at 12am (midnight) and they still let my large party order food we enjoyed! Food: My friend and I split a platter with assorted meats and sides, and I couldn't have asked for a better platter read more

My friend and I visited this spot for a lunch date, and we really loved the vibe--it was cute and cozy. The place was pretty empty, with just us and one other table. We ordered two dishes along with some drinks, and for some reason the service was a bit slow, but our server was thoughtful and offered us two complimentary shots, which we appreciated. The food was excellent, and the hookah was hookahing lol. One thing to note: parking can be a bit challenging. Overall, a good experience! read more

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No free parking available, do not come unless you want to drive 2 hours to find parking!!!

My second time here and again I was impressed with the food. The menu is great and everything looks delicious so it was really hard to narrow it down. I ended up having Seafood Soup and the Salmon in green sauce. Both were very delicious even though, a little salty. The Happy Hour drinks are delicious and a great deal at $7 (get there before 7). Can't wait to go back again and try some other items on the menu! read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Very nice presentation for my Cosmo and it was great - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Food was tasty, ambiance was nice because it was pretty empty, prices were average for a tapas spot. Sangria was ok - not the best I've had Service was 2/5 stars - the server couldn't understand us and service was slow for a pretty empty restaurant read more

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On a random Tuesday, my friend and I recently visited Vivo Tapas about a month ago with two other friends. After a long trip, it was a great place to welcome us back. We arrived around noon and tried a variety of tapas. The service was excellent, and we opted to sit outside where the outdoor seating was open. We enjoyed hookah and a bottle of Prosecco, and had a fantastic time. Can't wait to visit again! read more

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If I knew the hookah was going to be $40 I would've made sure it was a better one. Came here for a Sunday brunch but realized it wasn't that type of place. We sat outside & enjoyed the nice weather. I ordered a cosmo, it came in a strange glass. My friend ordered a margarita twice but didn't like either of them. For starters the empanadas were great. I ordered the garlic chicken, it was yummy. The portions served are great too. My friend ordered the breaded shrimp in white sauce, it came with the head still attached . All in all cute little spot, over priced hookah. Yes gratuity is included. read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Cosmo & margarita - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

This was my second time at VIVO and it's becoming my favorite tapas place in the Ironbound. The food is so good. The service was good as well, even though at times our waiter seemed a little lost. The place is beautiful, would be a lovely date night. Menu standouts are: empanadillas, mussels in spicy tomato sauce, crab stuffed shrimp and of course the sangria. I'll pass on the lamb skewers and carrot cake next time. Prices aren't too bad just don't go crazy ordering a bunch of tapas if you're also getting an entrée, we learned that the hard way. I'll be back, hopefully for half-price tapas Mondays. read more

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Nice place in Newark... simple but very cozy. Food delicious and nice customer service. read more

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I finally visited this restaurant. I have had my eye on this place for a while. I live in the neighborhood where this establishment resides. I came on a weekday. While the service was decent and attentive, I have to say the food is just ok and the drinks are weak and overpriced. I have to add that I have had take out here before and the Sangria was strong and good as well as the Paella. Which is why I was surprised at the lack luster of the drinks and food when I sat down to dine. The oxtails are decent. They should be cooked longer so that they can be a bit more tender but they are flavorful. We ordered crab stuffed mushrooms. All I can say is they were aweful. They put some raspberry like sauce on top which was absolutely horrible. Needless to say I would not go back. My rating is more 2.5 but I would say it goes to the service during my dine in experience. read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Crab stuffed mushrooms. Not good at all - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Since apparently my review was too honest for some, here's my updated review about my last poor experience here for the nightlife I arrived at Vivo on a Saturday night at about 10pm to party and, although it wasn't busy, I ordered a bottle service promo that they promoted on their business instagram. When asked, the bartender said she wasn't aware of the promotion. So she asked her manager, and he wasn't aware of the promotion either. So I went ahead and showed them their instagram page with the promotion, which was posted repeatedly. Then the bartender came back and said the manager said that promotion is wrong, even thought it's on his official instagram. She then made me a different offer, which I wasn't happy about but accepted. You would think it was resolved, but nope, the saga continues. When I asked where I would be seated, she said that according to the manager if I only buy one bottle, then I have to sit at the bar. Ha! Who buys bottle service to sit at the bar?? So I looked around, and saw people at tables who only had a couple of coronas or just hookah. So I point that out, and asked the bartender why people who don't have bottles have tables, but I can't even after buying a $200 bottle for just 2 people?? Keep in mind, it's about 11pm now, and the party is still dead. At this point the back and forth has gone on for about 45 minutes The bartender says she will handle it, and gets me a standing table. She rocks. She then charges my card for the bottle, I get a text alert about the transaction, and she holds the receipt for me. All done right? Nope, there's more! When I finally get to my table, after an hour of haggling with the manager during this slow party, I ask for my credit card back but they can't find it! So I proceed, along with my new waitress, to ask every bartender in the place if they've seen my credit card. One bartender (stationed at the left end of the bar) was particularly obnoxious when I asked, like it was my fault that they lost my card. So as a precaution, I block my credit card from any additional transactions. Finally, an hour later, they discover my card and said that the bartender clocked out and "left it somewhere she shouldn't have." Ok, mistakes happen, I'm not happy, but I'm still playing it cool. But then the waitress tries to charge my card for the bottle, a second time. When the charge bounced, I then had to explain that the first bartender already charged me and I blocked it after they said they lost it. At this point I'm done. It's about 1am, the party is still dead, and between my friend and I we spent about $300 in food, drinks, and bottle service. Which apparently, still isnt enough to have a table here. By the way, during the night I saw more than one group of people get seated at VIP sections that also only had one bottle. So where did this "rule" about having to stand at the bar go for them I wonder. So what can we take away from all of this? - The party is not as popular as it once was. There were only about 50 people in the room by 1am on a Saturday. Before it was easily 200+ - The management doesn't know about their own promotions and won't honor them - The managers give priority for table service to certain people (perhaps regulars or friends) - The waitresses are great, but some bartenders aren't - The food was good though! After this poor experience with the management here, I'll take my business elsewhere. The party was my main draw. Since that is gone I have little reason to come back. By the way, if you go, get in before 10pm so you don't pay a cover for a dead party. There are many other places with better parties, better deals, great food, and, most importantly, better management and customer service. read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - "Ole Ole" tapas combo - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

I recently went to vino tapas for the first time at the recommendation of a dear friend and was blown away by the quality of the food, the diversity of the menu and the fact that they offered a brunch menu on Sundays. The fact that the chef can make paella on min and cinnamon crunch French toast with poached apples the next shows that this chef is well trained. I have read some of the negative review and have to say that while I understand people frustrations, no restaurant is perfect and people usually only write negative comments. My meal was amazing so I wa Ted to offer my support read more

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This place has happy hour specials but will deceive you on the prices and promotions. Check online to see what deals are going on that day and make sure you ask them for the special pricing if not they will not give it to you and pretend they forgot read more

Came here for lunch and overall everything was just ok. The food was just ok service was ok could have better nothing really stands out to r about my trip here. read more

I came here with a Groupon deal of paella meal for two and pitcher of sangria for $39. On their website, it advertises free parking down so naturally I figured why not give it a try especially I'm always seeking for good eateries in Newark (where I work). First, I made reservations online to ensure there's a table for two. Upon arrival, I found parking easily in what seems like an empty lot on 85 Jackson Street. When you enter, there's no staff at the lot but a machine that gives you a ticket. It states $2 per hour parking. I took the ticket with me for parking validation at the restaurant. I should note that this is a private parking lot for several places nearby and parking is at your own risk here. We got to the restaurant, I noticed it was empty for a Sunday evening. We got a seat no problem and placed our dinner order. We have seared scallops with potatoes for appetizer and it was delicious. The soft bread and dip with butter was good. Our sangria wasn't great tasting. I've had better and trust me I have had many dozens and flavorful sangria whether red, white or blue...although the marinara paella portion for two is a lot, it was too watery. I've had better paella and am a bit disappointed. The paella does take about 25 to 45 minutes to prepare depending how busy the kitchen is so make sure you give yourself some time and order appetizers or don't come too hungry. The service was not so great but I wasn't the worse I've ever experienced either. When pouring out the sangria, our server spilled the drink on the table and ice chips fell out. Then when another server came to clean the table he dropped the utensils on my husband's shirt. I paid for the difference of my bill (total charge minus the Groupon deal) and noticed that they have the nerve to charge me a 20% tip for their services. The best part is they took my credit card to the back area where I can't see and more than 5 minutes later, I asked for my credit card and then they gave it back to me with another charge slip so I can leave them another tip. Haha, dream on! I would tip well but not when servers are being so sneaky nickeling everything. The parking is also very deceiving. It's not quite true that it is free parking as stated on their website. The 1st hour is free only. They do give you another ticket to scan when you depart from the parking lot. Make sure you have a credit card ready to charge for the parking fee because the machine's screen blanks out quickly and then also deletes the one time credit provided by the restaurant. Trust me, I'm reviewing from my own sad experience. I wished I would have known in advance! Two stars here as I'm being generous and yes, those damn scallops and bread was good but other than that this is not a place I'd recommend. I've had better experience with food, service and parking with other Portuguese restaurants in the ironbound. read more

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Cool bar to check out if you are in the area. It has a dance floor with lounge style seating all around. They have deals with bottle service, and food to accommodate all size parties. Bartenders were very attentive, and always around. They also have some nice hookah's with fresh fruit. read more

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I love coming here on Monday's for the Rock Show, but every time I come, I feel they try to do something sneaky . So today I decided to not drink and order food with tap water. Not just I wasnt allowed to have tap water, as my water was $5 usd. On top of that I was charged for a Litter bottle while my bottle only had 335ml. Once I complained they removed the word "litter" out of the receipt. Again, music here is great. Which I could say the same about management and service. read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Charged $5 litter water while they serve 335ml - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Been coming here with my coworkers, this time was it was trash. My quesadilla was super greasy, and our drinks were watered down. When we asked him to separate our checks he had a slight attitude. read more

I stumbled upon this restaurant and I am happy I did. Betty was my server and she was amazing! The food was good, only complaint is the calamari was too greasy for me. I ordered the chicken and shrimp in garlic sauce and it was very good. The drinks were amazing, I will be back! read more

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The best tapas in Newark I stop by for lunch today the place is really clean Grey was very welcome to my guest food was amazing stuff mushrooms was 5 stars. read more

I purchased several gift certificates from restaurant.com with the intent of trying out more Spanish restaurants in my current city of Newark, New Jersey. I'm told we're known for this stuff. Vivo Tapas Lounge was selected for having "Tapas" in its name. Me love tapas! Like Spanish versions of my dear Dim Sum! Me LOVE Dim Sum! Although this area is packed with food options, the restaurants aren't always aesthetically designed. I was actually quite surprised by how nice and un-cheesy this place is. You can tell from walking in that this place doubles as a nightclub. There's an elevated DJ booth, club lights on the ceiling (though not active during dinner hours) and duh, "lounge" is also in the name. There are brick walls and arches to provide an old world charm, colored lit walls giving us a modern club atmosphere, plush lounge seating somewhat separated from the main dining/dancing area by a low iron gate and sheer drapes lining the length of one wall, a full bar lining another wall, and ample removable dining sets on what I assume is the dance floor on certain nights and hours. Our server, (receipt says his name is) Nuno, was friendly and courteous, before and after we presented our gift certificate, and he was efficient throughout our meal. The bread came out with a couple of garlicky dipping sauces that almost made me cry. So good! We ordered exclusively from the tapas menu (this time), both hot and cold, and we either really liked, loved, or really loved what we ordered. Freshness was at its peak! Flavors and aromas were on point! Me love Vivo! read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - tapas - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Frozen (salty) seafood atop super wet paella, mandatory tax on tax and gratuity--the groupon "deal" is 100% not worth it. The cost of it ends up being about the same as if you were to buy everything at regular price. The blue sangria was pretty strong. However, the glasses were dirty when we were seated. They warn you that the paella takes 45 minutes to come out and constantly bug you to order appetizers. I wasn't keen. The bread was really dense & yummy/the highlight of the whole experience and the reason for the bump up to 2 stars. read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Paella Valenciana - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

I wish I can rate this place negative stars! Food was terrible. We ordered the oxtail appetizer, we had to send it back 3 times because the meat was legitimately frozen. We had the manager even feel the meat because we were in shock. Very disappointed and disgusted. I will definitely NOT be coming back. Highly recommend NO ONE to step foot inside this place. read more

The food is always great and the service is always excellent. However, I wish that since some Tapas would have more than one piece (at least two) considering the price is about 17-20 bucks. Specifically I am referring to the Solomillo with brie, potato confit,onions and honey also the spinach and garlic parmesan sauce atop pan seared salmon. You can see how small both are in the photo. Two people can barely share those two dishes and is very misleading. Also, I was unable to use the voucher I purchased from Yelp there and there was no manager/supervisor/owner on site at that time for me to speak to. The server we had it was his first day/new but he said they don't honor it anymore. If it's his first day, how would he know that? Anyway, Yelp agreed to give me my money back for it. I appreciate that. I always go back but maybe next time I'll just get an entrée though I love the tapas. read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Salmon con Espinacas Tapas, Solomillo and Brie Tapa, Patatas Bravas Tapa, Manchego Frito , Calamares Fritos Tapa - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

A local favorite in the Ironbound, is Vivo. I was invited to a birthday party there but never expected it to be jamming on a Monday night. The band started at 10 pm and it was karaoke night. The birthday girl had appetizers and pitchers of different flavored sangria for her guests . I also observed hookahs. read more

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Place is super cute for a date night. I went with me and my girls and we had a great time. The waiter was super nice and attentive. We had the paella valenciana everything was good except the lobster was over cooked. Overall great experience. read more

We ordered my dad's Father's Day dinner from this place last night after striking out with a different tapas place, and I have to say we are so glad that first place didn't take our calls. In typical Ironbound fashion the food was delicious and well worth the drive to pick it up. We ordered the fried calamari, several variations of shrimp, the parrillada, the pinxtos, the ham croquettes and a bunch of other stuff, and all of it was absolutely delicious. My grandpa ate almost all of the rice and kept raving about it. I had the fried shrimp and loved them, and my sister finished all her shrimp and then used the bread to sop up the rest of the green sauce they came in because they were so good. I actually saved my ham croquettes for my lunch today and I'm already looking forward to them. The staff was also great about labeling all the dishes so we'd know what was what, even though we all ended up sharing everything anyways. My only piece of adjusting feedback is to maybe pack up any dishes that are prone to dripping in their own plastic bag or something. One of the plates we ordered opened on the drive home and spilled on the bottom of the bag. Overall, we were very pleased with the food and ready to visit the venue once the pandemic lifts so we can get the full experience. read more

I went to vivo for lunch and surprise to see the big menu. It has outdoor dining and the tapes is on point I will go there again for sure I also have tried their breakfast and it's quite good as read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Salmon tapes - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

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Here's what to expect when the place transitions from restaurant to dance club. Rude bartenders and servers 10 cover for men 5 dollar cover for women 40 minimum on your card 150 dollar minimum if you want a bar table with two chairs (what a joke) Save your money and time! read more

I came for tapas here about two weeks ago after Casa Di Paco had a two hour wait. Parking was easy and there is no way which made it a perfect destination for the evening. They appear to have a dance club after 10 o'clock which could be fun but regrettably we were unable to stay past dinner. I found the croquettes to be some of the best I ever had. All the other dishes were tasty as well including the sardines and the meat and cheese platter. My only negative comment was that the service was very spotty and inconsistent. I still do you prefer Casa d'Paco but I would come back to this place. read more

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Food was good, ambiance nice minus some tears in the booth seats, and drinks were NOT strong as I needed them to be. Staff was extremely helpful and nice. read more

This review is for takeout and delivery. I've always gotten the seafood paella from Uber eats and it's huge and delicious. Historically it was $35 on Uber eats but the price was increased to $41. Downside if usually takes about 20 min for them to accept the order and it's delivered about 40 min later. On the restaurants menu it's $28. But given current circumstances I figured I'd call the restaurant direct so they don't have to pay the extra fees. When I called it in they told me it's 45 min wait - which is totally fine. However when I paid - it's more than double the price advertised online ($70!!!! 28 x 2 = $56?! Was confused when the person on the phone asked if it was a portion for 1 or 2 people when I asked for one order. To their defense there were 2 lobsters were included) for the same portion to pick up from restaurant than it is on Uber eats or Grubhub WITH delivery. I would not order from the restaurant for pick up unless it's through an app. Very disappointed. read more

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Be careful if you order white wine by the bottle. They will try to ice room temperature wine a few minutes beforehand then pass it off as cold. The service here has gone down unfortunately. The bright side is if Chef David is cooking the food is decent. read more

When we arrived our waitress let us know all appetizers were half off . Then I went on yelp to read reviews and look at pictures as usual and noticed the $20 for $40 deal! I brought the $20 for $40 deal : long story short you can't combine deals. So I got charged full price for appetizers. I didn't know this and no where on the purchase does it say that..Any ways... A friend brought me here and said after hours it turns into a lil party and thought it was a good spot- All the food was missing something besides the calamari. The crab stuffed shrimp had way to much lemon The blackened paella tasted bland. Even the next day . The serving for one actually feeds about 4 - The waitress was friendly but it took her forever to check up on us and since we were sitting outside I actually went inside to find her and pay. ( there were only 2 other parties in the whole restaurant & one was sitting at the bar with a bartender ) Oh and don't forget the added gratuity! read more

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The service is horible I was there Sunday night not too many ppl are waiter Dannie or Daniel For start he never introduced him sell [name on the bill ]not once did he come to are table to ask if we need it anything other then to bring the food We order chicken wings the wings were uncooked we send them back the only thing they did was dipped it in hot oil I will not recommend this place to no one the only thing I would say is the decor is nice the food SUKS and the servise is HORIBLE !!! read more

So I have to say they are a little on the pricey side, but the food was good. Definitely a lot of options to choose from appetizer wise. For my entree I had the braised oxtail wasnt bad it had good flavor. I had a drink on the happy hour menu, it was a tequila sunrise. It was okay didn't like how the vodka tasted. They do have hookah for outside, im not sure the prices I didn't get only because all the food I ordered. Overall though very cute place read more

Update- The food came in just as we were about to ask for the check to pay for our drinks. The food was delicious I must say. It really stinks that it took so long for it to come out or this review would probably be 5 stars. Nuno are waiter was very apologetic and asked that we come back after our concert so he can take of us & he did! Will be back again to try their paella (we didn't get it b/c is says it will take 30-45 min to prepare, which we may have we'll have ordered! Lol) It's been over an hour at this restaurant & we still have not received any food!! It took 20 minutes to take our order. We ordered fried calamari as an app and we didn't get it until 25 minutes later.... we had to ask for it and when we did it was cold! We asked them to just take it off our bill and just send us the entrees because we have a concert to go to.. another 20 minutes later we still haven't gotten our food. At this point we are ready to finish our drinks and leave. Do not recommend this place to anyone!!! read more

The drinks and food was delish. We even used the $20 for $40 deal which was even better. It's was very quiet when we were there but it must have been the weather plus it was only 6p on a Saturday. We will definitely go back! read more

VIVO Tapas KITCHEN LOUNGE - Spanish Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

I will never patronize this business again. I love food and am picky about my food & service. My fiancée suggested Vivo and I normally Yelp but I decided against it. That was my first mistake. We purchased the Groupon for two and made a reservation as per the Groupon. Upon entering, the hostess asked if we were there for the Groupon. I at first took no notice of this. My fiancée later noted he was offended as he felt an assumption about us was made. Food We had the red Sangria which didn't have the punch most Sangrias in the neck have. We ordered the garlic shrimp which was yummy. The bread was nice with a different side sauce of garlic, olive oil, cilantro & green pepper. The paella was the Valencia supposedly for two. After about a 30 minute wait, the paella, piping hot arrived at our table, it didn't look like it would feed two.... But I guess it did!?? We had half a lobster and four "prawns" with the head on.. The rice was overdone and as well as the seafood. This is something that I've never experienced in the Ironbound. Service Bruno was our server. We had at least 4 different ppl come to our table to remove or bring things. Not a huge issue. Bruno maybe once asked how we were. That's a problem for me when gratuity is automatically added to my bill. I of course asked Ariel the manager about these things. I will just describe Ariel as rude. Nonetheless, I will never come back here again. Id suggest if you are considering a Groupon here to consider another place. read more

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I have visited many Portuguese restaurants in Newark and so far this is the worst. We had a Groupon and called ahead to reserve as requested. Our table was waiting for us (one point) but after that it went straight downhill. Our waitress greeted us and we informed her of our Groupon. She explained it to us very nicely and then told us it would be 45 minutes so you may want to order appetizers and showed us where they were on the menu. When you come hungry for a 7:30 PM dinner that is not what you want to hear. 45 minutes. So of course now we are ordering appetizers and upping the bill. We ordered a stuffed shrimp, fried calamari and stuffed mushroom all tapas size. We were served our sangria and waited and waited and waited. about 30 minutes later I said "we ordered the appetizers to hold us over for the meal, now they are going to arrive WITH the meal" The usual apologies and they arrived. All three were mediocre at best and one had to be returned and taken off the bill because the shrimp was not cooked. After you got through the breading and toppings it was grey! This shrimp was so tiny it was ridiculous and you can't even cook it thoroughly? Waitress apologized and took it off the bill. The other two extremely mediocre. Dinner arrives about right At least 45 minutes or more. It was a Paella for four. The entire meal was overcooked, dried out, the rice was sticky and although I am not a paella expert I can just say it was pretty bad. Two of our guests have had it many times and stated they would never come back here again. Dessert - no thanks, we'll go elsewhere. Left feeling very ripped off and disappointed. From what I can see the reviews are all over the chart on this place so I can only believe that there are good and bad nights for this place, but there are too many other great places in Newark where the food is good every visit. Sangria - not bad Food - Bad Service - decent Wait Time - Bad Lesson Learned - Check back here at Yelp before buying Groupons read more