Vivace

I was looking for a place to celebrate my 23rd wedding anniversary, and as we both love Italian food, this seemed to fit the bill. Our introduction to the business was the strange parking, as I drove around the building twice and settled on parking near the street. I walked up the hill to the not entrance, and there was a sign on the not entrance door that said not to park in the spots for the shops or the Sentara lot, as you would be towed. Given there was no parking available in the back of the restaurant, I parked in Sentara and was later told by our server that parking in Sentara was okay. Nothing confusing about that. Perhaps some signage would help. We were quickly seated, and our server came and took our drink order. It is a cozy restaurant with open seating, and the noise levels we

Delightful yummy place! I loved the atmosphere and really loved the food. Very great place for a special homey meal. If I didn’t live out of state I would come here often.

We eat here 1-2 times a week. Not sure what is happening but we've had 2 bad experiences in a row. Last time our order came out incorrectly. My husband ordered the NY strip without the potatoes or demiglaze to cut out the carbs... neither was done. I requested artichokes added to my dish which also wasn't done. Tonight our dinner arrived 45 minutes after we had finished our appetizer and salad. The server never asked my husband how he wanted his steak cooked and by the time it had finally arrived, it was way overdone. By this time, it was also too late too eat so we asked for boxes. All the tables around us who had arrived after us, had already eaten. The poor server was left to make excuses and as per usual, not a word from management. This is consistent w vivace when there is a problem..

The food is awesome, the experience not so much. I don’t really like the service because every time I book inside, they end up placing me outside even though we made the reservation three weeks in advance for indoor seating (and it honestly feels like they prioritize non-college students for inside). It’s always super cold outside -- something about the setup is never warm enough. I also don’t like that it feels like they don’t care as much when I’m seated outside. They often don’t keep silverware at the table and service takes noticeably longer. I wouldn’t even mind where I sit, but it’s so cold that I have to keep my jacket on the whole time, and the service is just worse when we’re outside. Additionally, it doesn’t feel fair-- I feel like I’m not being treated the same because we’re y

It was my first time coming here. Me and my friend stopped here for dinner on 11/16/2025. We arrived there for dinner around 4:30PM. The service was okay, but that changed after our food arrived. I ordered Chicken Parmesan and a side Cesar salad for my entrée. The marinara sauce tasted like canned tomato sauce, not what I was expecting. The chicken cutlet had the distinct taste of a frozen chicken patty. The goat cheese and artichoke dip was wonderful. Our server could have been more attentive with checking on us, however, it wasn’t a terrible experience. I was expecting a better quality meal, considering I spent over $40 for myself alone.