Viva

I went by and VIVA is closed…

«american new» wtf!
my girls and i walked in and… that’s as american as it got that night.
the moment we walked in all the dice shaking stopped!
here’s the break down…
$ 15 minimum
chinese karaōke blasting
dozens and dozens of dice rattling
seating made for anorexics
and you end up smelling like smoke after just 5 minutes!
their menu said $ 45 for soju… i didn’t get it… but that shit better come in like some keepsake keg! lucky we were at the spot earlier!!!

DO NOT COME HERE. Let me tell you why…
We filled our bellies at Shabu House down the street and was finding the closest bar to chill at and have 1 or 2 more drinks. We came upon Viva, and upon opening the door, it felt like I was in Taiwan. TONS of Asians who are way too intouch with the motherland. Karaōke was going on, people were playing the Taiwanese dice game, and drinking soju in big pitchers.
We sat down and was greeted by this one lady who told us what she had on their menu, but failed to give us the menu. I guess it’s our bad too that we didn’t ask for one. The first thing she offered to us was soju. Soju Yogurt or Soju Pineapple.
We ordered 2 pitchers of soju.
Drank the watered down soju…
Played a couple of the dice games…
Listened to horrible singers karaōke…
Then we decided to leave and pay the bill…
90 BUCKS FOR TWO PITCHERS OF WATERED DOWN SOJU? EXCUSE ME? AND to top it off the waitress wrote in her OWN tip on the tip line of the receipt. She wrote in $ 18. WTF? Who the HELL writes in their own tip. It as if we were mandated to pay her nearly 20 bucks of tip when she never checked up on us once. She only came the first time to give us chips, then I had to get up twice to go to the bar to get water. WTF? Our total was $ 108 for two pitchers of bad soju. I have proof since I kept the receipt and will post a picture of it. I’ve NEVER been to a place in AMERICA where the servers write in their own tip. If it was mandated that there was say an 18% gratuity, then she should have just calculated it into the costs, not write it in. Wtf.
THIS PLACE IS A RIP OFF especially if there are way cheaper places in SF to drink soju (The Spot, Toyose, Arang, etc.). DON’T COME HERE.

If it wasn’t for my ex I would have never known that this place existed, or maybe eventually I would have stumbled across it and walked right back out as soon as I peek through the door.
When I walked in the first thing I noticed was that everyone was smoking, the nerd in me recited the California law about smoking being prohibited in a public building and asked if the owners were aware of that. Then I realized that everyone inside the bar were fobs, ball cap G-​unit wearing fobs, or that’s the ones that seem to stand out. When I walked in some people looked at me, probably waiting for me to realize that I had walked through the wrong door. I grew up in Japan, and even then I’ve never come across so many fobs as I did here.
This is another karaōke bar in SF where if you don’t speak Chinese or a fob you WILL feel left out.
The bar itself is pretty and nicely decorated and the system is has a ton of songs both Chinese and English. If you’re not a smoker then you’re going to want to pass on this place because the private rooms are not any better. They do serve snacks and beer for while you’re singing or playing drunken games.

After drinking at Trad’r Sam’s…my friends and I walked down Geary and stumbled upon Viva. It looked nice… so we went in to check it out. Big mistake…
This was a soju lounge with karaōke full of fobs. So we thought we’d just get one drink and bounce. We ordered a pitcher of Yogurt Soju for $ 45 for 7 of us. AFTER we drank this, the server (who was hot by the way) came up to us and said we needed to spend $ 10 a person. And we’re like… this place sucks we don’t want to spend anymore money here… and they didn’t even tell us until after we drank. Plus, I couldn’t find that anywhere on the menu… maybe because I was gone.
I talked to the other girl, Cat, and she said it was okay she’ll just give us our check. So thank goodness for that… she was really nice! Plus, she entered a bunch of songs for me to sing to.
The karaōke rooms looked nice here… and it seems like they had a pretty good selection of songs. Might keep this as an option if I want to go singing and singing only.
I don’t know… I think there was just some miscommunication here… so my experience wasn’t great. It’s a nice place though… pretty relaxing. The Spot on Taraval would be better if you are looking for a soju bar.

personally prefer rooms and here only has 2 or 3 small rooms;
outside gets crowded and suffocated;
but if you like to look at ppl and being looked at, it’s a good place;

Karaōke is a huge part of my culture and I’ve been on the hunt for a good spot to do just that with my gang. I came across Viva via the recommendation of a friend. Though prices are definitely on the higher end, the décor and selection of Chinese songs are definitely top notch for San Francisco.
The waitresses are sweet and the house serves a wide variety of Asian liquors: yogurt soju, flavored sake to a bunch of interesting cocktails. If you have a large crowd looking for something to do on a Friday night, Viva is not a bad place to stop by! That is if they haven’t been fully booked for the evening.

The one thing I can comment on is the great tea fuzed drinks. It was just one of the most unique tasting drinks to me. The scenery is nice with LCDs on the walls and nice looking seating. I used to work at this same location when it used to be CyberHunt. Seeing such a beautiful place spawning from where CyberHunt used to be was pretty cool. The food was above average but since the price was a tad bit high I docked down a star. The owner was very pleasant to talk with and the overall feel to the place is nice. I can’t comment on what goes on in the afterhours… so this is just a rating based on the food aspects. I really do miss CyberHunt =[

As a self-​proclaimed fob, the scene is all too familiar with me. Groups of friends playing dice, drinking soju, smoking and singing karaōke. You can order flavored soju (yogurt is the best!) and their menu consists of items from all over the world (roti prata, crab cakes, swiss chicken wings, pizza, you get the idea…). Although the snacks are mediocre, you can’t really taste the difference after several pints of soju.
If you sit in the «lobby» (minimum $ 150), you can serenade to everyone with your karaōke song of choice. Since my ABC friends don’t know the latest chinese pop, they sang some songs from Britney Spears and the Carpenters. Everyone there is so used to listening to chinese songs that the look on other patrons were literally priceless when they heard us busting out some old english songs. One guy behind me even mumbled «next «. So come here if you have no shame and want to show off your vocal abilities after a few drinks!

What the HELL?! What happaned to Cyberhunt? I’m away from the city for over 4 days and my favorite internet café to play counterstrike is replaced with an Asian Fusion restaurant?!
Strangely enough, it still has the same Asian badasses hanging outside smoking and causing trouble. Just like the good ol’ days.

Went to Viva for the first time last night with some friends and I will never go back again. Once you step foot inside, It wreaks of bathroom glade plug-​in smell. Service is horrible. Food is horrible. If you order roti prata, please don’t expect to get roti prata. Expect Chinese fried green onion pancake instead. And it’s not even freshly made. It’s one of those packaged frozen ones that you can buy from Ranch 99 or something. A pitcher of flavored soju (which looks more like a tall bottle) would cost you $ 45 and it’s watered down with a lot of ice cubes. Another thing that I didn’t like about this place is that people were allowed to smoke inside. Hmm… I guess all those glade plug-​ins were there for a purpose after all. And on top of that you have to endure listening to bad karaōke. If the soju wasn’t so expensive I’d drink until I go numb so that I can’t hear or smell.

It’s not really my kind of place. People are smoking inside, playing dice games, drinking soju and karaokeing.
blehhh
sometimes i miss cyberhunt. *sigh* i miss the days when i’d come here and play counterstrike! hahahah nice interior though.

Viva was such a fun restaurant /​karaōke place! A group of 16 went out there for a friends birthday in one of the VIP rooms and it was tons of fun. Singing karaōke in four languages, with finger food and soju/​drinks galore in a sound proof room makes for fun times.
I will definately go there again.

This new California fusion restaurant is a pleasant addition to the Richmond District. The décor is exceptional, with sleek suede seats, indoor waterfalls, numerous flat screen T.V.‘s, and interesting lighting fixtures. The menu is eclectic and there is a great fruit-​drink menu with everything freshly squeezed. Located on the slower end of Geary between 15^th & 16^th, but perfect for a tranquil night. VIVA la new place without the noise and pretensions!
I had to add another star because I got to experience their little VIP rooms that are equiped with karaōke machines and sound-​proofed! After a few delicious Soju & fruit concoctions, both are oh-​so-​important…