I visited Vivace as it was on my list of the restaurants left in Charlotte that I had not yet experienced. ( http://ApeSmith.com ) I went with a good friend and we stayed for a couple hours at least. I will give full disclosure and say that I knew our server, Jeff beforehand, but did not know that he would be waiting on us so that was a nice surprise!
We started out with wine, which was suggested by Jeff off of a nice, simple wine menu and then moved on to cheese and charcuterie offered from the appetizer menu. I chose 3 of each for my friend and I and these servings were HUGE! We couldn't finish all of the meats/cheese and were almost full before the entrees were even ordered. Bonus: the appetizer was only $12 which was a steal! Jeff was nice enough to help us choose which ones we would like best too. Thanks Jeff!
We ordered traditional pastas for dinner and barely put a dent in them because we were so full. The pastas were decent but nothing extraordinary. We obviously did not get to the dessert but stayed for a little while longer to chat and finish our wine.
I would say that the best part of this place is being able to sit on the patio when the weather is nice and enjoy the sunset and a spectacular view of the Charlotte skyline. It makes for a very romantic evening. The atmosphere inside is upscale, yet hip and modern. The staff is professional and friendly and it seems to be a place to go after work for drinks or a great date spot. If you sit inside the restaurant, afterwards have a glass of wine upstairs on the patio to take advantage of the view as well as the loungey couches.
I would go again very soon to try some more Italian yum yums!