| rev:text
| - I recently attended an event in their private upstairs dining space. This space is FANTASTIC for private events, small receptions, or even (hint, hint), holiday functions! It has a private and fully-stocked bar, a large space that can be appointed to seat a fair number of guests (or, set up for over 100 if you do hors d'oeuvres (lighter food far, antipasto, appetizers...). Additionally, there is a beautiful (really nice!) private terrace/balcony up there. I was able to meet the event manager David, and he was delightful. I'll try to remember to upload a picture of his card. He was very bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed, and super friendly.
The way they do events is quite simple, and reasonable... you don't have to pay a deposit, instead, you simply sign a contract committing to rent the space, and have a minimum to spend on food/bev. So if you want to have a sit down dinner with x guests, he'll just work with you and say we just need you to spend at least $x on food and beverage. I'll add, this is exactly how we've done it at Ruth's Chris and other CLT establishments for my holiday parties. You also have the option of setting a specific menu, going a la cart, or, picking what apps/etc you want set out or passed. They'll work with you.
Also, they have complimentary valet (don't forget to tip!). This is a MUST for any restaurant in Charlotte. While there is a free and close parking deck, I prefer the convenience of pulling up and letting someone else worry about finding a spot. :) Plus, (random factoid), they're next to Trader Joes - so you can stock up on that oh-so-delicious Cookie Butter. Dang it, now I want Cookie Butter. I digress...
The particular event I went to only had hors d'oeuvres, which simply means I didn't get a chance to try their entrees or pastas (which I would have liked to try). Oh well, it gives me a goal next time I'm there. So what did I try? I first had what the waiter said was blue cheese stuffed fig. Errr... I like fig, and I love blue (or any kind of funky-) cheese, but I was not a fan of this. But, don't let that discourage you because many of my fellow guests did seem to enjoy it. For me, the ratio of bold cheese (really bold!) to fig was off. Dare I say, too much cheese? GASP! I said it... oh well. (Though, really, you can't ever have too much cheese... or bacon.) Darn, I'm off track again.
Ok... where was I? Oh yes, hors d'oeuvres. They had oodles of olives (that's fun to say... try saying it 10 times fast!). The olives were fresh, flavorful and diverse. Yum! They also had blue cheese stuffed olives, which I enjoyed! Of course, you have to appreciate both olives and blue cheese - if you do, this would be a treat. We had a huge antipasto platter to pull from. It had an olive spread (almost like a tapenade meets hummus), which was good on their pita-breads. They had an assortment of quality meats (spicy and yummy salami and pepperoni), and even better quality cheeses on the platter. Now, the show stopper for the night was the cheesy fried risotto balls. Let me be clear, if you dine here (event of not), you MUST ORDER THESE! Delicious and perfectly balanced. They went very quickly, and despite the lovely staff hustling to refill them, they would run out many times before the platter made it to the table. That good!
Lastly, I cannot forget to comment on the drinks. They had VERY STIFF drinks (read: strong). This I actually think is an upsell... I had trouble drinking my mixed drink, but generally, when I pay the market rate for a mixed drink, I want value in the booze-to-mix ratio. This place has it down! Of course, they have a great assortment of wine and beer as well.
So, while I can't comment on the traditional dining service, or the heavier entrees, I do recommend Vivace based on my experiences here. Great location, easy to get to, valet parking, and quality ingredients in a modern-but-sleek restaurant.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)