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Vivoli
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
665 College StToronto, ON M6G 1B7
Neighbourhoods: Little Italy, Bickford Park
(416) 536-7575
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 2 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Ambience:
- Trendy
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
21 reviews for Vivoli
Review Highlights
-
"a co-worker recommended their phenomenal $10 Sangria, fyi." In 2 reviews -
"They are all individual-size pizzas and they range in price..." In 4 reviews -
"...without being overly-so, and genuinely very friendly." In 3 reviews
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21 reviews in English
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Review from BJ O.
Toronto, ON
4/7/2012 1 photo
I felt a good service.
Italian Risotto that daily chef menu that was Chicken by White wine sauce.I knew the Southern Italian Risotto is very salty so I ordered do attention but it was still strong salt taste.
Italia wine ''Negroamaro Nero''I liked.
The wine has intense, garnet red color, with round flavor, slightly bitter and dry.
I'd like to back ''Vivoli'' again. -
Review from Emily C.
2/6/2012
We were wandering around little italy for the first time today .. and wandered into vivoli by accident. Food? B+ Price? B+ Ambiance? it was around 2:45PM so it was nearly empty ... Service? D
It was actually the cook/chef who seated us ... the waitress was dicking around and didn't show up until we were ready to order. The cook was super nice, but the waitress definitely needs an attitude adjustment. She was strutting around with her cans hanging out, which is totally fine, but please just don't have such an attitude! I skimmed over the previous reviews ... which seem to have comments about the poor, poor service and i can't say that i disagree!
She didn't come to take our order until maybe, 20 minutes later? During this time, she was serving other patrons who came in AFTER us ... which is also fine since they might've been regulars/friends. but then, her friends also showed up ... and her boyfriend too and then she sits there and just socializes ...
Service was curt and rude. Let the beer sit on the bar for 10 minutes before bringing it to us. Brought the bread over way after we ordered ... at the same time with the main course actually.
I had the baked manacotti .... very yummy. Super hot when it came out. Delicious! The pizza was ok ... it was thin crust like how i like it. Also loved the bread in the beginning too!
Lunch orders are 25% off ... in which she did not give us. The owner (??) noticed us looking over the bill and was perceptive enough to do something (thank you).
I will also include that I left a 2 dollar tip on a 30-dollar order and that was being SUPER gracious. -
Review from Rosie S.
12/10/2011
Been here with groups of people for drinks - wonderful place, great atmosphere and servers!
Can't comment on the food as I haven't sampled it yet, but the cocktails and service are fab. -
Review from Michael N.
NORTH YORK, ON
7/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
Used to come here 5 years ago. Went back a few times over the past six months to really give it a chance and have now decided that this place really jumped the shark.
You can taste the poorer quality of the food and lament the stingy amounts of basil in dishes based on the ubiquitous herb. The food is now made by cooks, not chefs and the service is impersonal and detached. There used to be a great mix of staff with winning personalities, now it's just blonde girls who visibly hate their jobs and expect tips just because they iron their hair.
Vivoli looks like it's on track to close its doors and it may just be time to pull the plug. -
Review from Zoe R.
7/10/2011 3 photos
Sometimes my reviews end up being long, so let's see what happens when I try to get to my main points.
good:
-service;
-looking waitresses and waiters of both genders (is that a requirement of theirs, to get hired?);
-minestrone soup *** TRY THIS ***;
-flat pizza *** another item to try, although share it w/ a friend if pos. I barely ate half my pizza*** (I tried their cheeseless Marinara pizza);
-a co-worker recommended their phenomenal $10 Sangria, fyi.
okay:
-pasta and fagioli/beans soup (although careful if your stomach is sensitive);
oh noes:
-eggplant parmigiana (too oily, and much too salty);
-gnocchi (aftertaste, wasn't to my taste. :( ).
~~~
Yay, you can finish this meal off with a nearby gelato at either Dolce (keep walking west on College St.) or The Mad Italian (keep walking east on Colleget St.). Both gelato ice cream places, are on the north side of College - like Vivoli is.
~
Would I go again? I'd go for their minestrone soup again, for sure.
It's one of my fave versions of minestrone soup. Not even tomato based, and soooo tasty. Ask for freshly ground pepper, and some olive oil to drizzle into your soup, if you like.Listed in: Best of's :)
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Review from Zubair K.
6/15/2011
We went here for dinner and the service was pretty much garbage, to the point that we had to charge the credit card on the machine ourselves.
The crowd was primarily smokers outside, so that also ruined the evening. To top it off, the pizza, and the calamari we ordered was not the best. As previous reviewers have noted...food is definitely a lot more salty (old?)
Not planning to come here again...it was like hooters but food equivalent to packaged Italian microwave dish. -
Review from Jeremy P.
Toronto, ON
4/14/2011
Today I went to Vivoli for lunch with two co-workers in honor of our mutual April birthdays. The reason that I chose Vivoli is that I had recently found a deal via Fabfind (spend $25 for $55), and because the restaurant is only a 5 min walk from work.
We arrived at 1230, and to my surprise, the entire restaurant was empty, save for one server and one pizza chef. In general, when a restaurant is totally empty during the middle of lunch hour, my expectation is that it is not a good sign. That being said, we had already committed to lunch there via the coupon, so I put my game face on.
We were met fairly promptly by the waitress and were seated by the window. We were asked if we wanted to sit outside, but as the temp was still hovering in the low teens, we opted to sit indoors.
The waitress seemed a little bit unprepared as I had asked her what the soup of the day was, and she didn't know. She returned and quickly listed off the specials, and then asked us if we wanted something to drink. (On the whole, there were no complaints from the level of service). However, I did have to ask for pepper to be added to my soup. Normally, in a restaurant of this calibre, I would expect this to be offered by the waitress.
I must say that I'm surprised by some of the other comments (read Ritchie C and Attila T). I tried a slice of my co-worker'spizza (it had prosciutto and mozerella) and I did not find it to be a disappointment. It seemed quite fine. So, if I were you, I'd take their comments with a grain of salt.
I ordered the veal panini (it came with mozerella, pomadoro, and mushrooms), and the soup of the day (which was chicken noodle soup). On the whole the panini was ok. Not bad. Not outstanding. Just ok. I'd probably give a rating of 3 out of 5 on this alone. The soup was served quite hot and was in a medium sized bowl.
For dessert we went for the chocolate cake, which was absolutely superb. The cake alone moved my rating up from three to four stars.
As far as atmosphere is concerned, there isn't much to write about. I did like having the window view of College St. and I liked looking at the huge wood fired oven.
As far as noise level is concerned, it was quite quiet, though that was more of a factor of there only being a few other tables occupied while we were eating. A better assessment would be during a typical Friday or Saturday night.
As far as price is concerned, as a result of the coupon, we ended up paying $30 for 3 people (tax & tip incl.). Without the coupon, it would have been closer to $65, which for lunch in my opinion is a bit too expensive. They do have a deal, whereby if you order a pizza for lunch, they will give a 25% discount. However because we had already brought in the coupon, the 25% discount would not apply.
Would I return? With a coupon? Definitely. Without a coupon? Perhaps. However there are too many other places to try beforehand, so I likely won't be back so soon. -
Review from ritchie c.
Toronto, ON
7/9/2010
What a disappointment! I was all excited to sit on outside on their beautiful rooftop patio to enjoy the redonkulous summer heat with a beer and some pizza and I left there utterly disappointed to how bad the food was.
To start, the bruschetta was served to us on soggy whole what bread, not toasted, not buttered - nada. It tasted like a wet sponge which could have been salvaged had they prepped the toppings properly, but no, it was a pile of diced tomatoes with zero garlic or onion flavour - not even salt! The cheese they put on top was also sad and tasteless. C'mon now! I thought we were in Little Italy?! Where's the damn pride?!
We ordered two pizzas, the Alla Marco and the Salmon. The salmon was definitely better than the Marco, but neither were very flavourful. The goat cheese on the Marco was sparse, the chicken rubbery and it just felt like flat bread with things dumped on top.
While the waitress was very friendly, she was incredibly slow and double charged us for a couple things on our bill.
I was holding out going here 'cuz I thought it was worthy of a meaningful meal, but I'm glad I did just a pop in, 'cuz there's no way I'm going back. -
Review from Jennifer M.
Toronto, ON
7/30/2010
Went here last night with some of my SO's family that are visiting from Manilla. They wanted a Toronto experience so we went to Little Italy for some Italian. There were seven of us, and we wanted to sit on the patio. The hostess was very friendly and accommodating, but the waitress acted like we were being a bother for asking for simple things. We ordered pasta dishes, and my SO's (late 60's) mother asked for cheese even though the waitress had come around earlier asking if anyone wanted Parmesan. The waitress snapped at her "I was ALREADY out here with CHEESE and you said you didn't WANT any." Similar comment when we asked for more water and didn't want to order more drinks. She was, however honest that none of the pasta is freshly made in house, which is clear. For $15.95 I wouldn't mind having cheese brought to adorn my store bought pasta.
In the end she added a tip to the bill, for a party of 7 not 8 and terrible service. The entire time we were treated like it was a chore to explain items on the menu and bring us things like WATER. We were embarrassed for bringing our guests here and my SO's elderly mother was upset.
Not worth it. There are nicer restaurants in the 'hood that don't treat you like garbage.
BLACKLISTED. -
Review from vivian v.
Aurora, ON
4/13/2009 ROTD 11/30/2009
Honestly, the look of this place, always intimidated me. So, when I would eat across the street at The Standard, I would be envious of everyone who was having the supposed "best pizza" (according to their sign). I always figured with my septum ring and dirty converse shoes, I would be snubbed from this place without a second glance (and you know what, I might have been once) but when my new friends would go on and on and on about this place, I just had to take the chance.
It was worth it, the pizza was delicious and is easily one of my favourites in the city. I couldn't tell you what else the place serves, apparently small meals compared to everyone else who has reviewed. The pizzas, to me, were a great size and I've always split one with a friend or family member but I also stuff myself on the bread they bring out before hand.
I'm a total plain jane, and I always get the Bambini (pomodoro, mozzarella, pepperoni). My favourite thing about the pizza was the perfect amount of cheese. I love me some cheese and with most regular pizza joints, I always have to order extra cheese to get my desirable amount. Not here, no sir. I've witnessed Napoletana (pomodoro, mozzarella, anchovies, oregano) and it wasn't as repulsive (looks wise) despite the anchovies, but my mom could just be trying to wear me down with that order. Also, if you're not the brightest tool in the shed (like.. maybe me and some of my friends), pomodoro is the sauce.
Every time I've gone back with someone new, and now I have found a new place to eat on College regularily that's not Utopia.
My one star removal comes from the time I tried to go with my mom and sister on a Thursday night. Most restaurants were filled and I noticed Vivoli was pretty much deserted. When we tried to get a seat, the hostess gave me a simple "no." Not in a rude way, but it was kind of shocking not to be explained why paying customers weren't allowed to take a table. I even dressed up! Well, as much as my wardrobe allows. What's the excuse?
Either way, love the pizza, kind of awkward when you're the only customers, but it's worth it.
Also, one of these days I'll pronounce it right. Vi-vo-lee? Vivalee? Whatever.Listed in: My Reviews Of The Days
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Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
11/17/2008 2 photos
I liked the food here, I really did. My Italian friends are certainly fans of the place, too, often mentioning it when we go out to eat at lesser establishments.
However, what's with the pea-sized dishes? After the two bites it took to finish my manicotti, I spent half an hour snacking on leftover bread crumbs and lunging to lick the empty plates at the other side of the table.
Still, Vivoli is all right. It attracts the better dressed crowds of Little Italy, and is perched right on a bustling corner of College Street, making it a fantastic place to people watch. Be svelte, wear black, don't beg for more food, and you'll look super cool here. -
Review from Chris E.
Toronto, ON
10/6/2009
Mixed emotions about this place. I visited tonight for the first time and had a weird time. I ordered a caesar salad, which came sans croutons. Sent back for a repair job. The music was great, but unnecessarily loud. I couldn't finish my meal so I asked for the rest to go, and in a bag. Along it came in an aluminum container...sans bag.
Minor things, I admit, but they do add up.
Having said that, the pizza (the Piquante) was really quite something. Lots of cheese and garlic. Very tasty. My server was very attentive without being overly-so, and genuinely very friendly.
If I could rate this place on food alone, I'd give 5 stars. But overall, I'd have to say the experience left me underwhelmed.Listed in: Restaurants
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Review from Keidi K.
4/6/2010 1 Check-in Here
I have hearted this place before I even step foot in it. I always just awesome it was too fancy of a place for me. This last week I've been there twice and it is worth it. The rooftop patio... leaves me speechless and with this weather it can't get any better.
The servers are a little cocky, but I just treat them like the custom officers and then they always seem to bring down their noses. -
Review from Nicole A.
Etobicoke, ON
7/21/2010
I liked this place, it had good pizza and a very nice patio. The patio along the street was noise with delievery trucks that parked right in front of where we were eating , but thats not the restaurants fault! The rooftop patio is nice, kinda cool to see College street on a rooftop! I wouldn't say there was anything wrong with this place, but I wouldn't say there was anything particularly special about it either. I enjoyed my lunch but nothing left me wanting to come back. The food options were typical to most of the italian food fair found on College.
Also the wait staff was very boring, no engagement or interaction with us at all. They we not busy, it just didn't seem like they cared we were there.
Overall. if your looking for a decent pizza you got it! -
Review from Melissa G.
North York, ON
3/7/2009
Vivoli is right in the heart of Toronto's Little Italy and is always a hotspot! It is especially popular during the summer with its huge patio with plenty of wine and food flowing around for all to enjoy.
I was able to reserve a table for a group dinner at Vivoli last spring and was happy with the service and the warm atmosphere.
The food was absolutely delicious and flavourful, however, I can agree with the previous person who reviewed this restaurant about some of the portions being a bit small.
So if you have an appetite for good Italian food but you want a larger portion, you will need to order more food options or come with a less hearty appetite to begin with.
And in addition, I would recommend this place as a date location to grab a glass of wine or a light dinner with your special person. My boyfriend and I enjoyed a wonderful night last summer on Vivoli's patio, taking back some white wine and enjoying the candlelight.
Overall, this restaurant is very nice, both for its lovely interior and its romantic feeling. -
Review from Ares X.
Toronto, ON
4/9/2011
Service was good, cant really complain about anything.
However the main problem of this place is the food.
The pizza was garbage. It was tastless, and the flavours didn't really go well together. Also a couple of the olives had seeds in them (really? it takes one second to take the seed out when putting it on the pizza).
Pasta dish was alright as well. Came out nice and hot, but still lacking in body (no flavour).
I noticed too allot of the veg items seem to be from cans and have a sort of off sour taste to them. wtf?
Also to the management, get your cooks some whites. The least you can do is make them look professional especially when they are in a some what open kitchen.
So in the end, i'd come here for drinks and sit out on the patio (which was crammed with seats btw), but skip out on the food. -
Review from Tara Z.
10/14/2010
I stopped in for drinks and appetizers with a friend before we went dancing. The service was quick and knowledgeable (our server suggested the calamari, which was perfectly seared and very tasty), and the patio was nicely busy. I'd definitely return!
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Review from Maria B.
North York, ON
7/26/2011
Love the vibe of the rooftop patio it is really nice in summer. Service is also always fast and nice. Food is delicious. And the sangria glasses are absolutely worth it!!! Would definitely recommend!
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Review from Brenna K.
Toronto, ON
5/20/2010
Great place in the summer. They have a front patio and those garage style doors that open up so if you are not on the patio you can at least look at the patio people with envy. Or you can just go upstairs and sit on thier wonderful huge roof top patio. I have only had thier pizza here and I think it tastes better than jesus. I hear thier other food is good too. Crowd is friendly and casual and so is the service.
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Review from Jeff K.
Toronto, ON
2/16/2010
What a hidden treasure. Was looking for a place to have lunch with a friend on Valentines day. Most places in Little Italy were not open. We walked in and they said today it was 25% off, on Valentines day? So we stayed. Food was wonderful, waitress was so nice and knew when and when not to show up. The guy making the pizzas looked like he was really enjoying making them. I didn't get a pizza, but will next time, and there will be a next time. They could do without the big screen TV, it's not a sports bar.
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Review from David S.
4/3/2009
Vivoli is a good choice for you if you're looking for authentic Italian pizza or calzone in a more refined atmosphere than your average pizzeria. Unlike in the States, the pizzas are not the huge, 12-slice standard. They are all individual-size pizzas and they range in price from $10-15. I had a Napoletano, and it was appropriately plain and purist: tomato sauce, mozzarella (not too much) and anchovies. Basta. I can say it was GREAT, no reservations. My dinner companion, a native Italian, had a calzone and it was a HUGE gorgeous baked-to-perfection sight to behold, with a beautiful presentation and decorative spices around the rim of the plate. He said it was the real deal. I also glimpsed a mean-looking fettucine with shrimp next to me and a nice filet of grilled salmon on the other side. A very good wine and beer list. The service was a tad slow, but very elegant and warm. I recommend Vivoli heartily as one of the best options in Toronto's Little Italy.
