Viva is delicious! Their lunch combo includes 3 items for $ 12. I had two empanadas(ham and cheese and sausage) and butternut squash soup, mmm. I love the atmosphere at Viva. It’s open, brightly colored, quaint, and for lunch time, quiet. The staff is friendly and efficient. You MUST get a cupcake. The«mini» for only $ 2 and it’s the perfect size. Good wine selection as well. They really know how to pour a hefty glass!
Allison C.
Place rating: 4 Hackensack, NJ
I really enjoyed eating lunch here. The spinach and mushroom empanadas were tasty and the guys enjoyed their huge sandwiches. You’ve got to try the cupcakes. They have mini sized and regular cupcakes, so you can minimize the guilt of a cream-filled creation. They serve beer and wine, and if it were later in the day(and I didn’t have to head back to Atlanta), I might have indulged a bit more.
Arlene G.
Place rating: 3 Lawrenceville, GA
Viva Argentina is the closest to Argentinian food you’ll get when you’re in Athens. I’ve never had Argentinian food before, but when I went out to lunch with my co-workers who were Argentinian, they said it was not authentic. I was told this restaurant used to be owned by an Argentinian family who cooked authentic food, but when it was passed down, the authenticity was lost. Nonetheless, I ordered the lomo con papas fritas viva style. It came with steak on a bed of french fries with tomatoes, jalapenos and chimichurri and cheese sauce. It was good, but a bit too heavy on the tomatoes. My friend ordered the Pastel de Papa which is a shepherd’s pie without the top and bottom crust which she enjoyed. Other friends have ordered the empanadas which they claimed were good as well. The thing that I enjoyed the most about this restaurant was the selection of cupcakes. I was disappointed they ran out of the cookies and cream flavor, but I did try the nutella cupcakes and they were rich and heavenly. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at this restaurant and the food was good. The staff was accommodating to our large group and friendly to us. I don’t mind coming back to this place and trying a different dish if I’m ever in the mood for this type of cuisine.
Matt D.
Place rating: 5 Brunswick, GA
Definitely get some cupcakes! THEBESTCUPCAKES I HAVEEVERHAD, every time. The empanada lunch specials can’t be beat. Try the chicken tinga or ham and cheese. With the argentine sausage appetizer. And of course, the lomos con papas fritas are always incredible.
Emily P.
Place rating: 3 Norcross, GA
The food here is great. Everything was flavorful and just right for my taste buds. The cupcakes were phenomenal, which I can’t get enough of it. The only negative feedback I have for this place is the service from a particular lady was TERRIBLE! I am assuming she was the owner. She seems unfriendly, annoyed, and rude when waiting on our table. Never once did she smile or didn’t give us an attitude when we asked for hot sauce. We assumed she was having a bad day and understand if that was the circumstance. However, the following day, my boyfriend came back to order some cupcakes to go and the same lady seem like she was still PMSing. A week later, my boyfriend came back to order a dozen cupcakes to surprise me and THEFREAKINGLADY(owner) decided to change the price of the mini cupcakes from $ 1.50/each to $ 3/each when the waitress clearly told him it was $ 1.50 each a second before she intervened. In conclusion, I don’t know if she’s races because we’re Asian or she was mad because we were buying all her cupcakes for the day. Whatever it is, my boyfriend and I will never come back to this place. I am bringing you business LADY, the least you can do is smile or seem happy that I am buying your tiny cupcakes for $ 3/each!!!
Nicole S.
Place rating: 2 Athens, GA
The food here is good, not amazing, but good, I really enjoy the Viva salad and their steak is always cooked perfectly and well seasoned. However the service is consistently terrible. The first time I went, I asked the waitress what empanadas she recommends, and she said she had never tried any of them so she didn’t know. A few months later, I had lunch here and my friend ordered a san pellegrino and the waiter carded her — I had to explain to him that she ordered sparkling water and not wine. He also came out 3 times to confirm that she had ordered chicken on her salad and was it hot or cold. Last night we went to dinner here and I asked how the Citrus Shrimp was, and the waitress told me the description of the appetizer. I replied that I understood how it was prepared, but I had asked how is it — is it good, do you recommend it? Her hesitant response was… «well, the shrimp is pretty good.» We didn’t order it. We got the lemon vinaigrette with our salads and it was bland and oily(which it usually isn’t). When we told the waitress and asked if we could get different dressing, she seemed baffled and annoyed. No apology, no let me get you something different — just indifference. I feel as though the service is always unaware of the menu and customer service… that keeps me away, even though its right down the street from me.
David M.
Place rating: 5 Watkinsville, GA
Went for the first time and ordered the Lomo con Papas Fritas. I’d never had this dish before. It was excellent. Also, the staff were very professional and polite and the restaurant was very clean. I definitely plan on going back.
Ben N.
Place rating: 4 Cincinnati, OH
I have no idea how closely Viva hews to what Argentine food is all about, but for an an economical, flavorful, and at least potentially nutritious lunch, it pretty much hit the nail on the head. Ten dollars gets you a three-item lunch combo – with some 15 items to choose from – and a(non-alcoholic) drink. A relatively large and tasty green salad, a bowl of chicken sofrito(here, not the Spanish sauce, but a nourishing veggie-heavy soup), and a ground beef empanada(you get to choose from several sauces) were all quite good. A terrific bargain. The restaurant makes excellent use of its Bottleworks location – the interior is airy and spacious, will high ceilings and cool colors. At lunch time, it was a calming atmosphere on a hot day.(It was definitely too hot to sit outside, but the patio out front looked really nice, too.) Will have to get back at dinnertime on a future Athens visit.
Linh T.
Place rating: 4 Stone Mountain, GA
Great cupcakes! Their soups are really good! I also really enjoy their chicken empanadas.
Alan D.
Place rating: 5 Suwanee, GA
Delicious and reasonably priced. The chimichurri is really good and the fries are some of the freshest and crispiest I’ve ever had. The mashed potatoes are also very good. I would definitely recommend the steak. Also the service was good.
Dave L.
Place rating: 4 Dacula, GA
Stopped in for a quick lunch. Had the Lentil soup, Chicken Salad Slider, and the Black Bean Empanadas. Enjoyed all, especially the chicken salad slider. Topped off with the mini cupcakes of pumpkin and spice was the best. Viva is dog friendly, good for them. Would however suggest stronger tables outside. Will be back!
Diva J.
Place rating: 4 Athens, GA
I am giving this four stars because the cupcakes were five stars but the food was maybe 3.5. We ordered the Steak tips with the chimichurri butter and a side of the mashed potatoes along with the vegetarian shepherd’s pie. First off, I love that they have several vegetarian options on the menu. Not as many places around Athens have that many veg options as you would expect. The steak was delicious but I like mine cooked medium well and that it was definitely not. There was definitely some red juice coming out of it. The shepherd’s pie was tasty but it’s more their heavenly creamy mashed potatoes than the rest of it. But we enjoyed it. The cupcakes are the best. These cupcakes are not those dense and overly sweet cupcakes you find at those overrated cupcake shops. No, these are perfectly sweet and light. They are filled with a cream and topped with a smooth icing — not too much… just enough to cover the top of the cupcake. I plan to go back and get just the cupcakes for all my coworkers. The regular sized ones are $ 2.50 each. I think the small ones are $ 1.00 or $ 1.50. Seriously… they are the best!
Kurt M.
Place rating: 4 Atlanta, GA
My wife and I stopped in Viva! on a chilly Saturday evening about 6:15. We were seated right away near the back of the restaurant at a comfortable table. We ordered two types of empanadas as a starter, spinach & mushroom, and sausage and rice. Both were fried beautifully, with crispy, flaky crust. We split each in half and dug in. Simple, but very good. Warm on a chilly evening. I ordered the sausage plate for dinner, my wife ordered the Pastel de Papa, or «Argentenian Shepherds Pie». Both dishes were good, but again, the flavors were very simple. I don’t know a lot about Argentenian cuisine, so perhaps simple comfort food is what it is, but I would like a bit more spice. Perhaps other dishes or sauces on the menu are more representative. We each had a mini cupcake and coffee for dessert. Mine was a wonderful, rich chocolate cherry delight that was gone in two bites. Service was perfect! We will be back to try more things
Sandeep G.
Place rating: 5 Atlanta, GA
Been there twice when visiting my daughter in Athens. Fantastic food, great service. The cup cakes are great.
Camilo N.
Place rating: 1 Athens, GA
The food was nothing special and the waiter was extremely rude.
Melissa K.
Place rating: 4 Tucson, AZ
What a delightful place off the beaten path of downtown Athens! A cute little Argentinean place that serves up unique dishes and offers fast service and helpful servers. I took my niece here and neither of us had tried this kind of food before so we sampled around a bit. We started with the Chicken Tinga Empanadas(1 is big enough for 2 people) served with salsa verde, this was savory and a bit tangy with the sauce. It was great! Then we ordered a black bean empanada served with chimichurri ranch, not as excellent as the chicken but still a great choice! Savory empanadas are simply a must when you visit this place. The server was also super helpful when we tried to order 2 of each he told us how big they were and that 1 would do, we saved some dough and gave him a bigger tip! For our entrée we were intrigued by the Loma con Papas Fritas with chicken and we did it Viva Style with a chimichurri sauce. The server also brought out an extra hot sauce and damn it was HOT but super duper good! The dish was great, meat and veggies on top of french fries, my only suggestion to make it better would be to serve it with som bread to scoop up all the veggies and sauce once the fries are gone. Besides the food, the outdoor patio seating atmosphere was fun and lively sitting next to the coffee shop/bar. A very cute place with great food!
Ben G.
Place rating: 4 Sebastopol, CA
Great location. It’s really nice to sit outside for dinner here because Prince Avenue isn’t as busy and loud as downtown. I tried three of the empanadas and the shepherds pie. The empanadas were great but not the best I’ve ever had. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but there’s room for improvement. «Argentinian food made for a college student palette?» Maybe. And the shepherds pie was tasty, but too salty. Way too salty. The cheese was overwhelming too — the flavors of the caramelized onions and the green olives completely got lost. All it really tasted like was salty ground beef and cheesy mashed potatoes — which I don’t think is really what they were going for. I’m still giving 4 stars because it wasn’t necessarily a bad experience, it’s just that I’ve had much better and more flavorful and more distinctly Argentinian food elsewhere. I think if they toned down the salt and the cheese and let the other flavors stand on their own they would really have something here.
Meredith R.
Place rating: 4 Marietta, GA
Though I try to eat healthfully, when I see sausage on the menu, I often throw caution to the wind, and go for it. Viva’s grilled Argentine sausage sandwich was worth the gamble. Topped with chimichurri, lettuce, tomato, red onions and mustard, the sandwich is served on a crisp roll; not a crumb was left on my plate. One gets a choice of sides, including spring salad which I ordered. Their house dressing– balsamic vinaigrette — was good, but typical. This is a casual restaurant, with a nice outdoor patio. The staff is friendly and efficient. I don’t think my meal was necessarily four stars, but I rounded up. I’ll certainly stop by again for lunch.
Dax B.
Place rating: 4 Birmingham, AL
Huge fan of Viva and so happy they moved to the West Side. the Lomo con Papa Fritas is one of the better steak sandwiches in town if not the state but I really love the empanads most. Any of them are good but the traditional Argentian is my favorite. Gaby’s cubcakses are also very good but I’m typically stuffed by the time I’m done with the sandwich or empanadas. They were also very baby friendly on our last visit. Keep up the great work Jesse and Gaby!
Bradley T.
Place rating: 5 Mountain View, CA
I absolutely love this place, its staff(especially the owner), and it’s new location. And as always, lunch today was amazing. The pick 3 lunch(3 items + a drink for $ 9) is a great deal and hits the spot(2 items if you’re less hungry is only $ 7ish). I love to get the empanadas(chicken tinga is my favorite, but I also love ham and cheese) and either the beans or viva salad to complete the trio. My friends love the soup(black bean or squash) too. For dinner, my favorites are the pastel(think Argentine shepherd’s pie) and the Lomo(try with mashed potatoes instead of fries to rock your world… always get it Viva! style). The steak medallions are also a winner(get it on a salad for a healthier version if you’d like). The best way to finish the meal is with a cupcake(or two… or three). These guys knock other places out of town. The cake itself is moist and wonderfully flavorful, with a great creamy filling and just enough«frosting»(none of that pure sugar tasteless junk). The strawberry mascarpone is probably my favorite, with any of the peanut butter ones next(especially the combo with banana and/or chocolate). If you haven’t been yet, go. It’s worth your while, and it’s a great deal. And if you have been, then you know it’s time to go back!