Viva

My pre-​salsa food search last Wednesday took me to Viva on West Street. It obviously has different guises, ranging from a breakfast spot in the mornings, to light lunches and tea to a restaurant at dinner time
I was offered a choice of where to sit and I loved the fact that the different areas had very different atmospheres — a large airy sunlit but covered large back room to more intimate rooms in the front.
I was also pleased to see root beer float on the drinks menu — ahh, nostalgia when I ordered it
Food-​wise, I started with the mozzarella salad which was beautifully plated but strangely failed to wow my palate. Perhaps a bit more dressing would have provided a contrast to the mini mozzarella balls and tomato. Also, the advertised toasted pumpkin seeds were missing from my plate and would have added some crunch. A good idea with good mix of ingredients but needs a little tweaking
For main course, I had a lovely robust spaghetti sausage carbonara. The weather was a bit cold and wintery and the solid carbohydate base of pasta, meaty sausage and bacon covered but not swampedin a cheesy sauce was a great antidote to the chill outside. I did struggle to pick up the advertised lemon zest but I don’t think it was ever going to stand much of a chance against the other ingredients
I was also very impressed that my server sorted me out a small (and cheap!) side order of deep fried courgette as I wanted to try it but didn’t want the £4.25 starter portion size. It’s nice to see when restaurants are flexible for their customers. They were nice but I do have to give the edge to the version at Two to Four restaurant across the road
A solid 4 stars with a lovely variety of meals available from cakes to more substantial meals

Average food and less-​than-​average service; we had to ask for some menu’s while the waitors were idly standing there, not being pro-​active in the slightest. The only positive I can think of is that the food came pretty quickly. Sardines in pasta were obviously out of a tin and they were very stingey with pepper and parmesan (which was tastless). Will not be returning.

Very nice meal I had here last week. Simple foods which are affordable, well presented and tasty!
An Italian restaurant but has alot more to offer than just pizza and pasta and salads unlike pizza express which isn’t far from here and is the more popular choice, for some reason!
Service was excellent, laid back and knew about their menu and I asked the manager on duty about the wine and he gave me a great choice to go with my pizza vesuvio! And he gave me some chilli oil to go with it!
Really enjoyed it, meal came to £34 with 2 glasses wine, two mains, one side, one desert and 2 coffee.

If you’re choosing between this and Pizza Express then it has to be Viva every time. It’s good honest value.

Decent food, well-​priced, and a good menu (apart from the starters which are all mediocre). The portions are very generous and Viva have a great wine list which they serve by the glass. It’s popular with families so can get busy. The service is a mixed bag with some very friendly staff but others who can be quite surly.