Vivalore

It’s amazing how a server can make or break an experience. We were seated & waiting while other tables that were seated after us were greeted by their waitress. She finally got here, got our drink order where she pushed alcohol, but never mentioned the daily specials until I asked after returning with our drinks. When she told us the pasta special it was a bow tie chicken & «plano» pasta. I asked what that was & she told me it was like a cheese sauce. I asked like an Alfredo sauce & she said no. I told her I was going to need to look it up & so she looked at her notes & spelled pablano! So I decided to try it… After we received our food my friend needed ketchup for her burger & I needed salt (which I rarely add) for my pasta. The waitress came out four separate times, but we could not get her attention or any other wait staffs attention. Finally my friend left the table & flagged her down for our two items. By now I have eaten half my food & the other half is fairly cold. The waitress finally returned with ketchup, mustard & a drink for another table which she dropped off first, but no salt. She did leave the table & go to a table out of our sight to get it off of that one. If I would have know it was so close I would have gotten it myself! As far as my pasta… it was fine after adding the salt (not amazing, but not bad either), I literally think they just forgot it. It did have a panko fried chicken breast on it that was a lot like japanese katsu. I think it would have been so much better grilled or sautéed, I already felt guilty enough eating the cream sauce. The last disappointment were the flies. We ate outside & I do understand that some things are out of the restaurants control, but at the end of our meal we literally counted 16 flies on our table! We literally used one hand to eat & one hand to swat flies away. Now on a positive note the garden area is beautiful. I love how they have many daily specials. The little bit of the interior that we saw as we walked through was very nice. To sum it up though I don’t think I’ll be back. I really wanted to like this place! I really wanted a place like this in Englewood, but from this experience I just can’t recommend it.

Went there for LUNCH another couple. I had the chicken salad and my hubby had the specail which was ham and salami. The other couple had the ham and salami and another special which was seafood pasta. White fish, crab and something else. The food was fabulous.
We ordered drinks as well as an avacado brushetta that was devine. They had a ginger crème brûlée that tasted wonderful but was not carmelized on the top. The waitress, while attentive, forgot our friend’s salad. With the appetizer, mixed drinks, main course and shared dessert our bill came to about 55.00. A little much for lunch but we enjoyed it and it was kind of nice to walk around and see the art and doo-​dahs they have for sale there. I would go there again but will try dinner next time. Great place for special occasions.

My husband and I had a fabulous dinner there. We each enjoyed an entrée, shared a divine portablela appetizer, salads with a perfect vinegar dressing served with Farm to Market rolls w/​sundried tomato butter and banana jam. He had two glasses of beer and I had 2 glasses of wine. Total bill came to $ 81. Great experience, highly recommend. Unbelievable outdoor dining when weather permits!