Vivace

The restaurant that you go to when you want a great consistent meal.
They serve the best signature dish in Tucson: The Seafood Lasagna.
No other restaurant serves a dish that is so unique and consistently fantabulous, time and again. The Scordato family is proud to be serving Tucsonans for decades and Daniel understands the business well.
When we think of eating anywhere else in Tucson, we often say to each other, why have the opportunity to get disappointed, let’s go to Vivace.

Vivace is most definitely one of the best, if not the best, restaurants in Tucson. It is moderately expensive, but if you are into good quality food that is consistent and executed well, it’s worth the money. Let’s start with the food. Each meal starts with fresh baked warm, Italian bread and pesto dipping oil. It is spot on, every time. The spinach and cheese soufflé is a MUST… Light and fluffy with a rich Parmesan cream sauce perfect for dipping the bread in. The homemade burrata is also excellent. You can also order these during lunch in a smaller portion. My two favorite entrees are the pork sorrentino and the crab stuffed chicken. The sauce on the crab stuffed chicken is to die for… I would eat it in a bowl, with a spoon. It makes the dish. For dessert the tiramisu is light and creamy without an overbearing bitterness that tiramisu sometimes has. For a more filling option, the bread pudding is one of the best I’ve ever had.
Service here is really good. The patio is huge with a gorgeous view of the mountains… as long as it’s not too hot to sit out there. The front room has an awesome view overlooking Tucson at night.
The only drawback to the place, which is not even really a drawback, is that it it always busy. In the fall/​winter, when the snowbirds are in town it is nearly impossible to get in for dinner, unless you made a reservation 2 weeks in advance. Even the bar gets very busy. If you are willing to eat during the day or late at night… like after 8pm, it’s usually not a problem. Soooo, overall… if you are in Tucson, and aren’t wanting to eat just tacos… don’t waste your time by trying other things. Just go to vivace.

I’ve been here a few times for happy hour and the weekend dining experience. When you first walk in the hostess stand is in the back of the room. It is a table like set-​up so can be a bit confusing at first. The bar and a seating area is also in this entry room.
The wait time, without reservations isn’t too terrible. You can expect around 15 – 30 minute wait period on the weekends at prime time. You can however make reservations if you like to plan in advance.
I’ve had the same server every time I’ve dined there. The service is pretty good whether you choose to sit inside or dine on their patio. I do recommend the patio in the early spring/​late fall.
I really do love their menu but sometimes on the pasta dishes it’s either a hit or miss. Occasionally the dishes will be overly seasoned and too salty. If you’re planning on doing a pasta I would choose a tomato based dish rather than cream with cheese.

This is a physically stunning venue. The interior design is superb.
Four of us went for a birthday lunch and we enjoyed it immensely.
Unfortunately, the entrée that I ordered wasn’t to my liking. I should have ordered the seafood soup perhaps, but was talked into the sauteed salmon over linguine in a lemon caper sauce. It was far too lemony and just didn’t taste good to anyone at the table.
Two others ordered the eggplant dish and both were happy. Another had the chef make fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp, even though it wasn’t on the menu. Now THAT was decadently delicious.
The birthday girl was treated to a dessert and the rest shared desserts which were very good.
Vivace’s is a nice place for special occasions and is a regular stop for our family.

Our party of 5 adults and one child recently ate in the outdoor patio of Vivace. The patio is very pleasant, with great views of the mountains and a lovey fountain in the middle. Also, it is has a much lower sound level than indoors, making for easier conversations. Our server, Athena, was terrific: efficient, pleasant, knowledgeable, attentive without intrusive. The water server still needs some training to not cross right in front of a diner’s face to set down the water. The food was very good. The spinach salad was most flavorful with added zest of pine nuts; the pesto dip for the bread was also good. Three of the pasta dishes we had (stuffed shrimp with risotto, chicken with risotto and stuffed manicotti) were tasty but a bit rich, but the chicken meatballs and linguine was flavorful without being rich. We did not have dessert, but the choices sounded great.

The new location does not have the ambiance or comfort of the previous St Philips Plaza spot, especially in the large room adjacent to the parking lot, but, maybe over time, Daniel Scordato will change this. The long time staff is always great, the food consistently very good to excellent and Vivace remains probably the best place for dinner in the city.

From the minute the valet opened the car door for me until he closed it as my daughter and I departed the evening at Vivace was perfection. The staff are all friendly, very efficient and helpful. I need to use a walker and was pleasantly surprised to find wheel chair ramps making access easy.
My daughter has worked in restaurants and is very knowledgeable about how things should be done. She said our server, Athena, was the best she had ever seen. Added to that we were seated promptly upon arriving and the city lights twinkling below made the experience an event.
I had the seafood lasagnette and my daughter had the linguini salmon. Both meals were delicious and I brought home enough for another dinner. The bread for dipping in seasoned oil is to die for. The chocolate volcano cake ended a wonderful meal with a sinfully good dessert.
I will be back as soon as possible. Vivace is definitely the restaurant to go to for a special dinner.

Went in for lunch. The pesto that comes with bread was excellent. Ordered the salmon with linguini which was a bit on the sweet side, but still decent. Also got the breaded prime pork tenderloin which was heavy. Both dishes were too oily, the pork would have been more enjoyable if they went lighter on it!

My boyfriend and I came here for the first time for our 2 year anniversary, and it was amazing. The bread is really good and comes with a great pesto sauce instead of just regular butter. My boyfriend had the steak and I got the chicken and asparagus risotto, and they were both perfect. They have an awesome selection of desserts too, and the service was good. You definitely get what you pay for here, and the view is another plus!

Great bartender, good food, but brunette hostess was eating a large plate of food at the hostess stand which was odd. Also we had to eat dinner at the bar because they said their reservations were running behind, even though they had open tables.

We decided to splurge on a fancy dinner with our very well behaved daughters (ages 8 and 12) for our final dinner of spring break. This place was recommended by a friend who grew up in Tucson and obviously there were a lot of good reviews on Unilocal.
Overall, most of our food was quite delicious, but in the end we just didn’t feel welcomed. I don’t think it was a personal thing; I think it was how the entire staff treated everyone. The front desk girl didn’t crack a smile when we checked in with our reservation. And the owner/​manager? who showed us to our table also didn’t smile or offer a welcome hello. The service gets more strange from there.
Our original server almost seemed uncomfortable while talking to us and was very distant. After taking our drink order we never saw her again. After waiting awhile another server came over and said she was going to help out. And then eventually she said she would be our server because the original one was too busy to take our table. No word of apology or anything from the original server… okaaay. Our second one checked all the boxes for being a server, but I certainly wouldn’t say she was friendly. The biggest smile she could muster was when she handed us the check at the end of the meal. Of course, looking for a good tip.
The dinner:
Our glasses of wine were decent and large, but nothing fantastic — the glass selection was pretty weak, but there were pages and pages of bottled wines. I was hoping for more Italian wine choices, but there was only one Italian white wine by the glass so that’s what I got… a basic Pinot Grigio.
They brought out bread and a pesto dipping sauce and both were very yummy.
Our Caesar salad appetizer was one of the worst salads I’ve eaten in a long time! The lettuce was wet and wilted and the dressing was bland. The homemade cheese croûton baguette on top was tasty though. We didn’t finish the salad (a rarity for us) and Tess didn’t ask why.
We had a hard time deciding what to order off the limited menu… not because everything looked good, but because most of it didn’t really appeal to us. I saw their menu online, but was hoping they’d have other options when we got there. Their 2 specials were both fish dishes (both unsustainable fish at that).
My husband ended up ordering the veal Marsala with a vegetable Fettuccine noodle and it was quite good. I got the seafood, spinach lasagnette — four fresh lasagna noddles stuffed and rolled; 2 with basic boiled spinach and 2 with a creamy seafood stuffing. I could have done without the spinach ones or it would have been better if they just incorporated a little bit of spinach in with the seafood rolls. The pasta was very good; you could tell it was freshly made.
They offered our kids half portions of the adult pasta dishes. They each got chicken meatballs with different pastas. They liked it enough and each dish ended up being $ 10 each; not bad considering how much food they got. We tried their meatballs expecting something dry and tasteless, but they were fantastic — moist and flavorful! And the sauce (which we asked for on the side) was savory-​sweet and very good indeed. We passed on dessert.
So while our food ended up being very good; we won’t be returning because of the limited menu and the strange service. Too bad.

Ah… Vivace. My parents have been going here and their older location for years. I definitely understand why now. The service is great, and the view was one of the best I’ve ever seen. We were seated around 7:30 and I ordered a glass of wine (Kim Crawford SB if you’re wondering) and waited for the folks. The one thing I noticed when I entered the main dining room was that it was loud. This place is huge, you could easily have a wedding here for the size of it but, there was no way I was going to be able to have a conversation with my dad unless he was right next to me.
When they arrived we heard the specials and chatted with each other about the menu. They told me their regular orders and we ordered the escargot and antipasto plate to start us off. Escargot is delicious, it’s buttery and garlicky, and I never give it up. The antipasto plate was kind of, store bought tasting?! I think the only thing I liked on it was the cheese and the eggplant.
I ordered the branzino fillet, which was their special, and it came with rice and vegetables. Branzino was good, rice and vegetables were not mind blowing. My dad got the salmon, and said it was really great. We also ordered a plate of pasta to share, angel hair with white sauce, and it a nice Alfredo.
For dessert we got the bread pudding, which I thought was pretty satisfying.
I would honestly say the food here is only 3 – 3.5 but the view is a 5. They do have an extensive wine list which is amazing if you want to do wine pairing.

Vivace is a good restaurant and I’ve been there to eat many times. The food is excellent and the main reason I keep coming back. There are a few cons to this restaurant, which I will get into, but on the whole it is my first choice for Italian food in Tucson.
The experience:
You walk into the restaurant through an ornate door and are always greeted promptly by the hosts. I’ve even been apologized to for a five second wait at the door. We always make reservations for dinner (which I recommend because this place is popular!) but for lunch I’ve walked in a few times. You get some really delicious and crispy bread with a basil/​parmesan dipping sauce. Amazing!
For appetizers, I have had:
the antipasto for two
the fresh burrata cheese
and the grilled asparagus and parma prosciutto.
The antipasto is by far my favorite, and I’ve even ordered it as a main a few times. It comes with some amazing garlic toast (the aforementioned bread toasted with garlic) which can be hard on the roof of your mouth but still tastes delicious. The asparagus is the best I have ever had, which might sound weird to some people, but all I can say is that it’s grilled to perfection and you have to try it (which is why we’ve ordered the asparagus app by itself before). The prosciutto is typically very rich and buttery, although there was one time where it tasted rather like plastic, unfortunately.
The fresh burrata cheese was a spontaneous order for us, and while I am a cheese lover I had never had burrata before. It is served cold and has somewhat of a cream cheese/​sour cream flavor. I have to say I didn’t love it, but I think that was largely personal preference.
For pasta/​mains:
the seafood lasagnette
the chicken and asparagus risotto
the fish of the day (sea bass)
and, of course, the seafood soup.
The lasagnette is absolutely fabulous. All of their mains are served in HUGE portions. I saw a few people complaining about, but seriously? Just eat what you want and leave the rest! Anyway, the lasagnette is very clearly handmade (in a good way), and the pasta is very delicate and delicious. It comes with spinach and seafood in a tomato based sauce, all of which is reminiscent of your home lasagna only so much better. You can tell a lot of work goes into their dishes when you order a main course.
The seafood soup is one of our all time favorites, and I think a lot of people feel the same. It is a GENEROUS portion of fish (some of the largest scallops I have seen in my life) in a light but filling tomato/​red pepper broth with some fettuccine on the bottom. I have to say I barely ever get to the fettuccine because I am so full from the rest of the soup. In addition to the scallops, you get salmon and shrimp, and it gets topped with parsley flakes which do wonders with the other flavors in the dish. It is a very warm and filling meal which we absolutely love.
Finally, for dessert:
tiramisu
gelato of the day
and the molten lava cake.
The tiramisu, of course, is masterfully done, with an espresso flavor to it as well as a perfect little cake. This has satisfied our tiramisu cravings many times. The lava cake is worth the wait, especially if you are a chocolate fanatic. It is served warm.
Now, for the less-​positive notes:
While the view is exceptional, the interior does seem kind of dated to me. The worst part is the chairs. They are extremely uncomfortable and hard with barely any cushion. Honestly, patio chairs are more comfortable.
And to the somewhat more disappointing part. I don’t know if it is because of my apparent age or what, but I’ve had some sad service more than once in coming here, especially if I have dined alone. One thing I want to mention about myself: I worked in a restaurant in college so I know how hard it can be, and I think I always tip pretty well. But there have been a few times where it seems like I am not taken seriously by the servers, whether it’s because I’m by myself or that I look too «young» to be eating in a «grown up» restaurant. Like maybe I can’t pay or something. I’m often forgotten or ignored if I come in alone, and the service has been quite brisk a few times. It’s worth mentioning that these experiences are mainly during lunch. The manager has always been very pleasant to me, and I think the restaurant management/​owners would be sad to know that this goes on during their lunch hours. I know I’m not the first to complain about bad experiences while dining alone. I get the view that one tops are taking up «real estate» in your restaurant, but I typically order a lot, am friendly, and honestly single diners are just part of owning a restaurant. Hopefully this behavior ends soon.
One last thing. Please do not bring your children unless they can behave. It ruins the experience for the rest of us. Last time, the teenagers next to us were singing and the parents did nothing. I understand having children is difficult, but this restaurant is an experience where a babysitter is a valuable tool.

I don’t get the four stars as this is, I think, the best restaurant in Tucson. The salmon sandwich is perfection as well as the souflee.
I’ll never forget… when my son was an underweight baby/​toddler who would not eat anything, I brought him with me to Vivace and special ordered a kid friendly meal. I sat there in amazement as he gobbled up the plate of homemade pasta and Alfredo sauce. So I promptly rushed off to the grocery store and bought pasta and a jar of Alfredo sauce, but the kid wouldn’t touch the stuff!

Nice intimate location on a private hilltop. Looks like you would definitely need a reservation for table in advance on the weekends. Restrooms are close to the entrance which is always nice and the hostess is readily available. The restaurant can be pretty noisy, especially at the bar. The BREAD was probably the best part of the meal due to the pesto dip. Honestly, I could’ve just had multiple servings of that all night. I had the veal piccata which was good but I probably wouldn’t order it a second time around. They have an extensive wine menu so there are plenty of options of pairings with your food.
Full disclosure, I had walked in on the phone so I don’t have the most accurate picture of service. It seemed that the service is pretty average but that most come here for a lengthy social meal.

Rude, table for 1? Called on UofA Parents Weekend to inquire about securing a dinner reservation… smarmy, rude hostess responds — sir, we have 400 reservations, no, we have nothing available. Her attitude was as though we should’ve known this.
If one of my staff ever spoke to any of my current or prospective clients this way, they’d be fired. Shameful when those in hospitality lack basic service skills.
Recommend taking your business elsewhere, I can’t imagine the service is very good inside given how they represent their business to prospective customers.

First time in the new hilltop location. Definite upgrade, although not as intimate as at St. Philips. Outstanding service.
Bread was amazing, and I am really fussy about bread. We sat in the main dining room between two pillars so the four of us could converse. All three of their locations have been noisy, so be aware of this ahead of time when reserving.
My wife and I split the lunch seafood soup. It was better than ever before, and we’ve eaten it often. Generous split portion, and excellent value.
It was raining (hooray) that day. On a typical sunny day the patio looks inviting. Will try it there next time. Well done, Vivace.

Came here late July to celebrate a late Father’s Day and birthday. Fantastic. It’s more expensive but so worth it.
Now that they moved to Anthony’s previous location, they have a gorgeous view but I think their prices also went up. Anyway, try to ask for a spot by the window so you can enjoy the beautiful view.
Food, even the complimentary bread was delicious. They had a pesto sauce that was great with the bread. I got the seafood lasagnette ($ 23.95) which was delicious and lasted me another meal with all the bread I ate. ;] Its a seafood medley wrapped in a thin Italian dumpling wrapper over spinach with sauce. There are two, and if you eat enough bread, you can save the second one for another meal =D. Anyway, it was delicious in taste texture just everything was good about it.
The other dishes we had was their fish special of the day, also good, and the grilled chicken breast. It was just all good.
Also had their Zinfandel which was good.
Lastly, service was great. Not too much, not too little, and very friendly and helpful. I’m definitely coming back!

We came for our anniversary again but this time we had our 10 month old with us. We made reservations early (5 pm). The bartender (we sat near the bar) made jokes that people shouldn’t have their kids in the restaurant. I thought that was rude.
I was a little nervous bringing the baby since Unilocal indicated it wasn’t a place for kids but we brought the baby anyway. I’m was glad to know that the restaurant has high chairs! For some reason, I didn’t think they would.
The baby started signing «milk» and the owner asked if he should bring a cup of milk for the baby. That was sweet but she wanted mama’s milk.
The food:
The food was great, as always. But the desserts were not as good. Well, we ordered bread pudding which was delicious and we also ordered crème brûlée. The sugar on the top of the brûlée was burnt! It tasted really bad and the fruit served with the dishes was very tart.
Overall, we had an okay experience. I’m not sure if I want to return next year, though.

We come here whenever we are in town. Love this new location. The décor is Tuscan you really don’t feel like you are in AZ. It’s beautiful inside with lots of natural light. The food is really good. The fresh pesto dip for the bread is dangerously addicting. We have had several things on the menu and have not been disappointed. This is a very nice place with pretty views from either side of the restaurant. The service is very good as well. Everything is very fresh and we highly enjoy it!