Food was delicious, and we had a great server. We shared pommes frites which were which was more than plenty for two people to share. The burrata was also great with some crispy bread. The duck was just right. It was over a bed of apple slaw which was a nice add! The tenderloin came with purple sweet potato mash which was new! Our food took longer than anticipated, but overall great experience. Wish it was a bit busier to feel a bit livelier.
Kendra Farn
My sister and I had an awesome birthday dinner for her last week at Vivante. The service, the food, and the birthday cake were all 5 star. And a special shout out to Megan the Gen. Mgr. who was SO nice and pays such great attention to detail! Highly recommend!
The best restaurant in Carmel. Attentive, personable staff, extremely reasonable pricing, excellent food, relatively quiet, gorgeous atmosphere. Always surprised at how few people have discovered this hidden gem. It is and will always be our date-night choice.
CarolynT
We always enjoy Vivante and thoroughly enjoy the food. Last night, however, we had a bit of a shock. My husband was interested in a featured drink on the drink menu. It was made with Knob Creek and listed at $12. The waitress clarified that it is a warm drink. My husband asked how much it would cost to simply change the drink to a Manhattan. She replied it would likely be a $1-$2 upcharge. So my husband ordered the Manhattan. When our bill came, the drink was $29!! We could not believe that she did not check that she was correct in her statement/estimate and confirm that my husband still wanted the cocktail. Thank God she was not overly attentive as he would likely have unwittingly ordered a second drink; but we were limited by time.
WendyH
Our waitress was very helpful with our time constraints. The crab cakes and salmon were delicious and a better portion size then other area restaurants. After an initial slip up with our wine order, our waitresses fixed the problem and replaced my glass with a fresh one. None of that Mickey Mouse pricing with 3, 6 , 9 or 12oz Poor's. One old fashioned standard poor. It was generous, delicious and fairly priced.
Mosey
It was a lovely time for a special birthday dinner, with our waitress, Cassidy who deserves 5 stars! All of the staff were friendly and gracious, creating such a pleasant atmosphere. Food flavor was delicious and 3/4 of us are gluten-free and our food was prepared safely and communication handled perfectly. Overall I only gave it a 3 because everything else was just really off. We picked it because it came up on a google search for French eateries. The menu didn't match, I'm assuming the outdated menu online, so it was only sort of French (we were looking forward to escargot!). I think the kitchen was having a rough night. We were told they were really busy. Someone mentioned something about room service at the hotel. Our appetizers arrived so fast that we got them before our drinks. Then we waited for a long time. Manager came out and said a filet wasn't prepared to their standards so they were re-making it. So we waited longer. Food arrived and the other 3 dinners were room temperature at best. I had fish so I sent it back. It was better but still not the warmest. Everything tasted delicious, so moving on. They told my husband he received a complimentary piece of cake for his birthday. He tries to avoid eating treats with gluten in front of us so he declined and she said the cake is the only free dessert she can offer. For a high end restaurant, I thought this was kind of strange to not be flexible and bring him a free sorbet or creme brûlée. Anyway, just a busy night probably, but we won't take a chance on it again at $100+/person.
Sophia S.
My partner surprised me for Valentine's Day and booked us for an outdoor, private dining experience. It was intimate and even though it was a cold night, our little igloo had a space heater so we had no need for our coats. We received champagne upon arrival and a wonderful charcuterie board. For dinner I ordered the Provencal Chicken and for dessert I had the Home Spun Ice Cream, both were delicious. Our entire experience was wonderful, beautiful setting and great service.
Kimberly Sims
Beautiful restaurant with delicious food! My husband and me went here for a couples getaway complete with a stay at Hotel Carmichael. The restaurant was so beautiful, the service was top notch and the food divine! Will be returning ❤️❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stephanie Perdue
Fig appetizer was delicious. Ordered cocktails, would def recommend Ella & Louis. The Martini Madness left a lot to be desired- oily texture and spicy odd taste. The Stuffed Quail was our favorite. I got the Halibut, not very seasoned and the Brussel sprouts were not pleasant in texture. This is a great atmosphere for a romantic date. Service was ok. A nice place to dress up and go out on the town locally. We would go back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
ibystuff
They were out of two dinner items. One of them was what we planned to order and the only reason we came to the restaurant. Out of menu items by 7pm is not a way to manage a restaurant.
The service team were so nice and accommodating and the whole experience was nice. The reason for 4 stars is that food wasn’t 5stars. I got the short rib grilled cheese. It was just ok, not juicy or flavorful. Same with my partner breakfast burger, not flavorful, just ok.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
the restaurant is very elegant and beautiful , I was there for my birthday dinner with friends and everything was very nice, I loved that they surprised me with a birthday cake and champagne. The waitress was always attentive and the man who served the water spoke Spanish and was very courteous and pleasant to us. Delicious food and the perfect atmosphere for a romantic, business or friendship dinner. 10 out of 10 recommended
C'est La Vie Nicole
Emma our waitress from last night 02/14/24 had a horrible attitude. Lied about the valentine dinner menu no longer being served as a dinner option; because she seemed to be annoyed being asked if the second course could be changed due to a shrimp allergy. When I told her only one person would eat from the valentine menu she walked away came back quickly taking the valentine menu off the table and stated the cook said we are no longer servicing from the valentine menu you can order from the regular menu. She was rude, dismissive, and made this experience horrible. The food had no flavor at all. Waste of money will never come back. This food and experience was not worth the money,
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
KentR
This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I arrived for my 9:15 PM reservation (closing at 10 PM) and was promptly seated. There were a limited number of tables occupied at this time. It took at least 10 minutes before my server came to my table. I ordered from the Devour menu. My first course of soup arrived in about 10 minutes and 1 minute later the server brought my entree. By the time I finished my soup the entree was warm but not piping hot. For the dessert the server had forgotten which I had ordered, so I reminded her. The food was good, but possibly my less than stellar service somewhat tainted my impression of its quality. The ambiance of the restaurant is pleasant and I would presume the noise level would be rather quiet even during busy periods. Based on this experience, I'm not sure that I will be returning.
Jack
Food was poor. Flavors conflicting in main courses. The layout of the restaurant is very off putting, weird layout between bar and hostess stand. The layout feels like an afterthought. Do not recommend for the cost of this restaurant.
Food was delicious, and we had a great server. We shared pommes frites which were which was more than plenty for two people to share. The burrata was also great with some crispy bread. The duck was just right. It was over a bed of apple slaw which was a nice add! The tenderloin came with purple sweet potato mash which was new! Our food took longer than anticipated, but overall great experience. Wish it was a bit busier to feel a bit livelier.
My sister and I had an awesome birthday dinner for her last week at Vivante. The service, the food, and the birthday cake were all 5 star. And a special shout out to Megan the Gen. Mgr. who was SO nice and pays such great attention to detail! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pumpkin Ravioli, Celebratory Cake
The best restaurant in Carmel. Attentive, personable staff, extremely reasonable pricing, excellent food, relatively quiet, gorgeous atmosphere. Always surprised at how few people have discovered this hidden gem. It is and will always be our date-night choice.
We always enjoy Vivante and thoroughly enjoy the food. Last night, however, we had a bit of a shock. My husband was interested in a featured drink on the drink menu. It was made with Knob Creek and listed at $12. The waitress clarified that it is a warm drink. My husband asked how much it would cost to simply change the drink to a Manhattan. She replied it would likely be a $1-$2 upcharge. So my husband ordered the Manhattan. When our bill came, the drink was $29!! We could not believe that she did not check that she was correct in her statement/estimate and confirm that my husband still wanted the cocktail. Thank God she was not overly attentive as he would likely have unwittingly ordered a second drink; but we were limited by time.
Our waitress was very helpful with our time constraints. The crab cakes and salmon were delicious and a better portion size then other area restaurants. After an initial slip up with our wine order, our waitresses fixed the problem and replaced my glass with a fresh one. None of that Mickey Mouse pricing with 3, 6 , 9 or 12oz Poor's. One old fashioned standard poor. It was generous, delicious and fairly priced.
It was a lovely time for a special birthday dinner, with our waitress, Cassidy who deserves 5 stars! All of the staff were friendly and gracious, creating such a pleasant atmosphere. Food flavor was delicious and 3/4 of us are gluten-free and our food was prepared safely and communication handled perfectly. Overall I only gave it a 3 because everything else was just really off. We picked it because it came up on a google search for French eateries. The menu didn't match, I'm assuming the outdated menu online, so it was only sort of French (we were looking forward to escargot!). I think the kitchen was having a rough night. We were told they were really busy. Someone mentioned something about room service at the hotel. Our appetizers arrived so fast that we got them before our drinks. Then we waited for a long time. Manager came out and said a filet wasn't prepared to their standards so they were re-making it. So we waited longer. Food arrived and the other 3 dinners were room temperature at best. I had fish so I sent it back. It was better but still not the warmest. Everything tasted delicious, so moving on. They told my husband he received a complimentary piece of cake for his birthday. He tries to avoid eating treats with gluten in front of us so he declined and she said the cake is the only free dessert she can offer. For a high end restaurant, I thought this was kind of strange to not be flexible and bring him a free sorbet or creme brûlée. Anyway, just a busy night probably, but we won't take a chance on it again at $100+/person.
My partner surprised me for Valentine's Day and booked us for an outdoor, private dining experience. It was intimate and even though it was a cold night, our little igloo had a space heater so we had no need for our coats. We received champagne upon arrival and a wonderful charcuterie board. For dinner I ordered the Provencal Chicken and for dessert I had the Home Spun Ice Cream, both were delicious. Our entire experience was wonderful, beautiful setting and great service.
Beautiful restaurant with delicious food! My husband and me went here for a couples getaway complete with a stay at Hotel Carmichael. The restaurant was so beautiful, the service was top notch and the food divine! Will be returning ❤️❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fig appetizer was delicious. Ordered cocktails, would def recommend Ella & Louis. The Martini Madness left a lot to be desired- oily texture and spicy odd taste. The Stuffed Quail was our favorite. I got the Halibut, not very seasoned and the Brussel sprouts were not pleasant in texture. This is a great atmosphere for a romantic date. Service was ok. A nice place to dress up and go out on the town locally. We would go back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
They were out of two dinner items. One of them was what we planned to order and the only reason we came to the restaurant. Out of menu items by 7pm is not a way to manage a restaurant.
Restaurantji Recommends
The service team were so nice and accommodating and the whole experience was nice. The reason for 4 stars is that food wasn’t 5stars. I got the short rib grilled cheese. It was just ok, not juicy or flavorful. Same with my partner breakfast burger, not flavorful, just ok.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
the restaurant is very elegant and beautiful , I was there for my birthday dinner with friends and everything was very nice, I loved that they surprised me with a birthday cake and champagne. The waitress was always attentive and the man who served the water spoke Spanish and was very courteous and pleasant to us. Delicious food and the perfect atmosphere for a romantic, business or friendship dinner. 10 out of 10 recommended
Emma our waitress from last night 02/14/24 had a horrible attitude. Lied about the valentine dinner menu no longer being served as a dinner option; because she seemed to be annoyed being asked if the second course could be changed due to a shrimp allergy. When I told her only one person would eat from the valentine menu she walked away came back quickly taking the valentine menu off the table and stated the cook said we are no longer servicing from the valentine menu you can order from the regular menu. She was rude, dismissive, and made this experience horrible. The food had no flavor at all. Waste of money will never come back. This food and experience was not worth the money,
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
This was my first time eating at this restaurant. I arrived for my 9:15 PM reservation (closing at 10 PM) and was promptly seated. There were a limited number of tables occupied at this time. It took at least 10 minutes before my server came to my table. I ordered from the Devour menu. My first course of soup arrived in about 10 minutes and 1 minute later the server brought my entree. By the time I finished my soup the entree was warm but not piping hot. For the dessert the server had forgotten which I had ordered, so I reminded her. The food was good, but possibly my less than stellar service somewhat tainted my impression of its quality. The ambiance of the restaurant is pleasant and I would presume the noise level would be rather quiet even during busy periods. Based on this experience, I'm not sure that I will be returning.
Food was poor. Flavors conflicting in main courses. The layout of the restaurant is very off putting, weird layout between bar and hostess stand. The layout feels like an afterthought. Do not recommend for the cost of this restaurant.