Viva

I went here with Paul M for dinner before a movie and we both really enjoyed it. We were heartily welcomed the moment we stepped in the door, the staff taking our wait coats for us as they showed us to our table and told us the specials. An Italian restaurant should be warm and it should smell of great Italian food, which this one did, so we suspected we were in for a good meal.
I ordered the Funghi Ripieni (breaded mushrooms stuffed with Italian cheese) to start and it was delicious. Paul got the Polpetti which he loved, a nice surprise since he’s not very adventurous with food and it’s hard to get him to order anything other than Minestrone soup. Fortunately I think we’ve got a new favourite with this.
For the main course I ordered the Penne Marco and Paul got a param ham pizza. Mine was perfect. Paul enjoyed his but said it was overly garlicky, when I tried a piece I thought it was perfect, but perhaps if you don’t like garlic this could be one to avoid.
I was sooo tempted to get the Tiramisu. I’d seen someone else order it and it looked perfect. Unfortunately we had to leave so we’d make our film on time, but we’ll definitely be back soon.

My family was visiting for the weekend and we decided last minute to head for an Italian. A friend had recommended Viva — so I decided to chance it and see if they had space. Being a Saturday I didn’t have high hopes, but luckily they were able to squeeze us in.
After booking a table for 17:30 I realised that Rangers were playing — living not far from the stadium it became apparent that getting a taxi into the City Centre at that time was a no go as football would have just finished. Therefore I called back to see if I could get in for 18:30 instead. The lady on the phone explained it was really busy and they didn’t have a spare table, but that she would rejig the current plan and fit me in. Great!
Well… even with my rejigged plan my taxi just didn’t show up. This meant that the 1830 reservation time was fast approaching and I was no where near. I called the restaurant to tell them I’d be late. Not a problem, but they affirmed that they would need the table back by 20:15.
First impressions of the restaurant were good! A packed restaurant, deceivingly large, divine smelling and a lovely atmosphere. We were seated towards the back of the restaurant and given our menus. There was plenty of choice and I struggled to decide! I ended up picking the Spaghetti Ricardo. This was a dish in a cream and tomato sauce with italian piccante sausages and smoked bacon. It was delicious! The sauce gorgeously rich, the sausages perfectly moist — all topped off with a big heap of parmesan cheese. Spaghetti heaven! My other half had the Pollo Viva — which was a fancy chicken kiev — pan fried breast of chicken with gooey mozzarella, parma ham, crispy breadcrumbs and a sweet napoli sauce. This too was a good call! Others had pizza and really enjoyed these also. My dad had the Diavola pizza and had a chilli sweat on! It was super spicy, even for us chilli heads! You’ve been warned, order with caution :-)
We were about to order deserts when (what I believe was) the restaurant manager came over to remind us we needed to vacate the table by 20:15. It was 5 minutes to this time, bummer we thought. Dessert sounded lovely. But fair play they had warned us of this multiple times. However, before we knew it they had magicked up a booth for us so that we could have dessert. Yay!
Oh mannnn. The deserts were sooooo good! I had the hot cinnamon waffle with vanilla ice cream. My dad had the toffee crunch cheesecake which was out of this world! Others had tiramisu and a bailey’s cheesecake. All washed down with a large glass of red.
Once we’d finished our deserts and paid up — the manager came over again. Looking a bit sheepish he kindly asked for the table back as the diners had arrived. We speedily made our exit. They’d been really great and accommodating — and for this I was super thankful! My family don’t manage to visit much — but this night out more than made up for that. Great food and wonderful service paired with fantastic company.
I recommend and will absolutely be back!

I was in Viva for a late dinner last night, it’s cosy and comfortable with high backed booths that easily seat 6 and provided a bit of privacy for a chatty table.
The menu states that Gluten Free pasta can be requested in advance and I did just that — they use good GF pasta, the portions are as generous as the regular pastas are and the waitstaff are up to speed on what dishes can and cannot be GF due to their other ingredients. I was delighted with my meal and will be back

Viva is, without a doubt, my favourite Italian restaurant in Glasgow.
It’s always immaculately clean and the staff are friendly and attentive. Décor wise, it’s a mix of dark wood panels and exposed brickwork — but it doesn’t feel dingy and dark, just really warm, inviting and cosy.
I’ve been here a gazillion times over the years — I’ve never left disappointed. The food is simply awesome. My favourite starter is the minestrone soup — which I used to really dislike until I had it here. It’s full of pasta and chunks of veg. perfect for an autumn eve :) Mains… they’re all great (and I have pretty much sampled the whole menu!). Most recently had penne Marco — penne pasta, chargrilled chicken, mushroom and onion in a creamy tomato sauce. It is to die for! Don’t skip the tiramisu :)
Viva always has deals on 5pm — currently 2 for £10 on a la carte pasta/​pizza mains. They always have a 25% off total bill deal, too.

I have visited here a number of times now. Each time has been a pleasure.
The food is simply fantastic. The service excellent. The coffee delicious.
It is fantastic value for money notwithstanding any deals you may find.

What may be adequate for a business lunch disappoints as a post-​business dinner. The minestrone was smooth and tomatoey. The parmesan rocket salad was fresh and cheesy but too dry with only a light balsamic. The meat lasagna was okay. The penne salsiccia had good sausage but a bland tomato sauce and food service pasta. The service was friendly, but slow.
So, not a bad dinner — but nothing noteworthy, memorable, or demanding a return visit, either.

Amazing pizza and pasta. We had a fantastic birthday celebration in this restaurant. Great food and amazing friendly service. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

Came into this establisent and it was pretty quiet which can indicate eat worries but I decided to let the food do the talking. Had mozzarella salad which was lovely perfect portion size ind as fresh as u like. Then for my main course a had beef al fungi. It was a beef style pasta in a cream sauce it really was delicious and the staff were friendly and attentive. Would Defo come again

Nothing wrong here — Just about.
Ottimo ristorante italiano adatto a tutti. Damn, sorry. The Learn Italian tape in the toilets is rolling about in my head. Maybe I’ve visited too many times? In fact just by coincidence and circumstance, I’ve visited this restaurant twice in one week. On both occasions the place was buzzing, and yet, the service was just as swift and attentive from the smiley and youthful staff. It’s Certainly a large space on the corner of Bothwell and West Campbell St, so you’ll not feel cramped and it’s ideal for large groups.
Being situated in Glasgow’s business district you’d expect lots of suits. In fact it’s the ideal place to go with friends, family or businesses colleague’s if you want quick wood fired pizza or al dente pasta with plenty of decent red wine. However, I feel the prices are a tad on the high side, but grab yourself one of the groupon style vouchers that seem to be ever present.
Ora, dove ho lasciato il mio portafoglio?

I’ve been to Viva a few times & never been really wowed by it. But when I went recently for my sister’s birthday, I went with an open mind.
We were a table of 9 & despite the larger table, service was never compromised which is always a good thing!
I had mussels which came in a large portion with a tomato-​ey broth. The mussels were well cooked & there was plenty of them.
I had difficulty choosing a main as none of the dishes jumped out at me. All of the pasta dishes are similar with the difference being the meat accompanying the dish. I opted for a diavola pizza which had spicy chicken, chorizo & chilli on it. The pizza was a good size but the chicken was plain & there was a scarce scattering of chilli.
Viva is ok if you want a typical Italian meal but for a special dinner I’d go elsewhere.

Lovely food, usually with a fine deal too. Large restaurant and big portions. Only issue is the staff are not that attentive. Would recommend, I would go back as I have been plenty of times in the past.

Headed here for a leaving lunch for a colleague going on maternity leave. There were 14 of us in the group but that didn’t seem to be an issue. We had phoned in our orders ahead of time which meant we didn’t have to wait long or worry about going over our allotted lunch breaks.
There were lots of things to choose from but I did find it slightly annoying that the lunch specials cost exactly the same as everything on the ala carte menu; to me that’s not a special, y’know?
That being said my portion of pasta was MASSIVE as was everyone else’s portions of pasta so I can’t complain. It is a bit on the expensive side when you compare the cost of one main to two lunch courses are other restaurants.

Second work lunch this week, this time dining at Viva on Bothwell Street.
Again, a large crowd of us (14) and again, like La Lanterna, the staff were ready as we had pre-​ordered. Polite and quick service (always high on my plus points list).
The restaurant is clean and simple with a mix of panel wood and bare bricks. Again nice and laid back even during a busy lunch time service.
I had the Fettuccine alla Matriciana, which was delicious, nice wee kick of garlic in there too. Portion size was more than satisfactory. Only (very minor) negative would be lack of choices on the lunch menu hence my order from the A la Carte. So many options in Glasgow that offer two lunch courses for the same price as the one main meal here.
Still, I’d recommend to anyone looking for a quality cooked Italian meal.

Twas a double birthday in the office today, and we all fancied trying somewhere we hadn’t been before. As Italian is always a hit with everyone, even if it’s just pizza, we selected Viva — another place in Office Land, just a wee bit up the road from our place of civil servitude. Having booked through 5pm, we were to get 30% off the bill. Being that this was a working lunchtime celebratory meal, we were delighted to find that we could phone in our order as well! All around, this place checked all the boxes.
From the moment we sauntered in the door, all ravenous and salivating, the service was nothing short of excellent. The staff were cheerful and polite, whether taking coats and showing us to our table or trying to figure out which one of us scatter brains ordered what. Just lovely smiley people.
When finally the confusion of who had ordered what was over, we stared at our gargantuan starters — they each looked like mains! I was so glad I had ordered a salad, but even at that it was still a wee bit intimidating knowing I had another course yet to come. Still, my Insalatta di Fromaggio di Capra was a taste sensation. Spinach leaves, goats cheese, toasted pine nuts, balsamic glaze and little slices of toasted Italian bread. Yum. Everybody was enjoying the food, not a single complaint — and we have a couple of very fussy eaters indeed.
Next came the mains, equally as eye-​poppingly generous as the previous course. I ordered the Fusilli Pesto con Pollo, a dish so delightfully green that the Hulk would be a shade greener with envy. You could just tell they make their own pesto, and it was beautifully fresh and flavoursome. The chicken pieces were lovely and tender too. I was full when my plate was only half empty, but still I battled on further because I die a little inside when I have to waste particularly tasty food. In the end, I had to leave a quarter behind.
This place should most definitely be on your radar. Those with big appetites will have no complaints, and apparently the fussy eaters will be happy too! I’m saving my fifth star for my next visit. Check it out, my friends.

My first visit to this place was on a Friday night, in a party of 7, with the table having been booked quite a while in advance (my friend said they phoned her several times to confirm that we were still coming). We arrived slightly early and were accommodated at the bar while we waited for our table.
The interior of the restaurant is beautiful, with atmospheric lighting and lovely wood furnishings. It was packed to the rafters, and the noise made conversation difficult at times, but this gives you an idea of how popular the place is. I’m wondering if this means walk-​ins wouldn’t be well-​received, but this warrants further investigation…
The service was friendly and efficient, even in the face of a few last minute changes of mind, and they made sure everyone’s wine glass stayed topped up.
We shared several portions of focaccia as a starter, ordering 3 or 4 of their interesting variety of flavours, and all were so good that I’m licking my lips even thinking about them again now!
What followed was the best penne arrabiata I have tasted in a loooooong time! I like it hot, hot, hot and the sauce did not disappoint! The only downside for me was the olives, because I hate them, but I can’t fault Viva for my fussiness — the meal really was superb!
So satisfying were our mains that we didn’t sample the desserts, opting for coffee instead, but the selection on offer was mouthwatering — the waiter mentioned a Bailey’s cheesecake among other specials of the day — so we did well to resist!
The prices on the menu were pretty much standard, and our bill when it came was very reasonable — plates of foccacia to share, a main and a coffee each, plus bottles of wine (red and white) came to less than £20 a head.
I can’t wait to go back to Viva! Book a table now!

I made a booking here through 5pm on Saturday 4^th August, and I am so glad I booked it through there and got my 25% discount as I was not happy with the place. I think the place being half empty at 8pm on a Saturday evening should of told me all I needed to know.
My friend wanted a Rose wine and there was only one choice which she said tasted dreadful.
That was just the start I ordered a focaccia to come with my main course as I never wanted a starter and it came as a starter and I have been eating focaccias for years in many Italian restaurants and for this was the smallest unappealing focaccia I have ever seen and it was not as if it was cheap either as it was at the top end of the price you would look to pay. The girl who served it was so offish and rude also. The staff all looked like they could not be bothered with serving anyone to be honest. The main came and this was actually nice, then it came to dessert I never wanted anything my friend wanted a sorbet and asked if she could have a scoop of raspberry and a scoop of lemon, he said this was okay. When it arrives it is only lemon I was so annoyed I could not even be bothered to pull them up for it as at this point I just wanted out as the place had a bad atmosphere about it, the guy did come up as she was finishing it to say he noticed she never got a scoop of raspberry and if she wanted it but it was then a bit too late. This place seriously needs to one offer better value for money, two train their staff on customer service and three improve the atmosphere in the place as it lacks it. I would never return as I felt there are so many more Italian restaurants that offer so much more than this place.

Popped in here for a quick and easy meal, one night after work. The thing that sticks out in my mind is that the staff were lovely — friendly, courteous and attentive!
I had the spaghetti bolognese, which was great! The desserts looked good, but unfortunately, I was far too full to have any! Next time!

Food and service both very good, although garlic bread a little disappointing.
Spaghetti with seafood was fabulous, lots of shellfish, but less squid than I would have liked.
Loved the Italian lesson piped through in the toilets instead of music, very amusing!
Was packed at lunchtime, will definitely go back