Vivendo Restaurant

We were sorry to learn that Country Village shops will have to vacate by April of 2019. The businesses here will be replaced by condominiums.
Tonight, my family and I enjoyed another delicious meal here. The owner remembered us, and as usual, the food is always super delicious .
Our daughter chose the gnocchi with red sauce, adding Italian sausage. She enjoyed this comfort food dish very much.( Gnocchi is freshly made).
Hubby chose mushroom risotto with Italian meatballs as his entree. He said it is the best he has ever had.
I had a warm deep red beet salad that is served warm. It has a basalmic vinaigrette dressing with goat cheese sprinkled in.. very tasty!
As an entree, I ordered the cheese ravioli that is accompanied by a pink sauce, mushrooms and seasonal greens. Their fresh pasta is perfect. All of the flavors combine beautifully - the ravioli is soft and tender ... cooked to perfection and served warm on a long, narrow plate.
In a few months, the restaurant plans to relocate to Monroe.. east of their current location. Though I hate to see them be forced to leave Country Village, where they have been for 9 years, I am glad to know that they will continue to be reopening this elegant, yet friendly restaurant in a different location. The food is so good , and the owners are so personable and hard working -
Lastly, we had an enjoyable meal, with 2 full appetizers, 3 main dish meals, non alcoholic drinks for an affordable price.
Their wait staff is efficient and friendly , and one of the newest staff is from our hometown of Richmond, VA... and talking to him was delightful... it's a small world.
Kudos to the good folks at Vivendos! Bellisimo- best wishes on your new restaurant venture !

What's not to like. A family run restaurant, owned and operated by a couple from Italy (him) and Greece (her). Nine years in this location. Quality ingredients. Good recipes.

The location is charming, endearing, and a touch romantic. There's also a nice outdoor patio for dining when the weather is good.

The food is well executed, traditional Italian and Italian-American fare. A few Greek dishes are thrown in for good measure. Entree portions are large--very large--and flavorful. The house salad dressing is an herbed berry vinaigrette, and it's very tasty. Desserts are a feast for both the eyes and mouth.

The sad truth is this place is in Country Village. That's been sold for condos. So, all the shops and restaurants will close no later than April 2019. And the couple has no plans to open a new place on the Eastside. The do have another restaurant with the same food, Grappa on Queen Anne in Seattle (https://www.yelp.com/biz/grappa-seattle). They are opening another restaurant, Dandelion, near Key Arena.

I'll miss this place when it's gone. Too bad it took me so long to discover it in the first place. But I will have to try Grappa and Dandelion soon.

I was checking out Italian places in Bothell and stumbled upon this little gem. Family owned and in an adorable shopping center, this place has a certain charm to it that's hard to come by.

Nestled in the Country Village shopping heaven makes this place a fun and inviting discovery as you're browsing about the winding little stone walkways lit by twinkle lights, shopping and admiring art and crafts in all the little storefronts, then suddenly... starvation hits! And as if by magic, there's this sweet little cottage style Italian place around the next bend. That's pretty much how the fairytale worked out for me.

I was greeted as soon as I came in and shown to a beautiful window seat where I could admire the twinkle light lit shops while I nommed. They are gluten free aware and have a menu with many items that can be made gf including gf pasta! I ordered the caprese salad which was delicious with large slices of fresh tomato and mozzarella generously garnished with torn basil and balsamic reduction. I went with a decadent Gorgonzola butter cream sauce and chicken over gf penne and savored every bite of the rich and creamy sauce. Even though I felt fat and sassy by this point I had to do the dining experience justice and finish off with dessert, it had to be done and I was the one to do it. The creme brûlée was the perfect finish with a deliciously brûléed top and a creamy center.

Price was very reasonable, my server was attentive, knowledgeable on gf, and friendly. With the great food and atmosphere I'll definitely be dragging the fiancé up this way for date night.

Located in a charming little village that's full of roosters & chickens wandering around, finding this place was like a mini adventure. If you have trouble finding it, simply look for the mini wooden street signs that will have the restaurant's name.

Once you're in, the restaurant itself is cozy, rustic, and very cute. With Christmas decor scattered about, a grand piano right in the center, this place is perfect for group lunches and such.

For lunch, I ordered the pesto tortellini with sausage. Overall, excellentttttt flavors and a decent portion size. Given how rich the sauce was, with its creamy texture and herbal taste, I enjoyed my pasta a lot. As for the sausage, it's quite interesting to eat since it has more of a halal like taste to it (similar to gyro meat flavor). So if you're looking for something different, try pasta with the sausage meat!

As for service, it was average. Parking is a little hard to find during the lunch hour but overall, no matter where you park, you'll definitely be enjoying the view of the village plus the random roosters who apparently likes to play in dirt. :)

Definitely would recommend this spot for lunch!

Let me start off by saying.......I'm kind of sad they're moving. Such a great Italian restaurant, so sad to see them go....they'll be moving to Monroe...too far! But I guess that is where the owners reside. Anyways, let's get to business.

YES:
-Ravioli, just do it. I know there's no meat and it's all veggies, but just do it.
-Their sweetest white wine from California is such a great pairing. Can't remember the name but it is delicious. (Totally would have ordered a bottle, totally should've because I wasn't driving haha)
-Gnocchi: I would suggest doing this with the marinara sauce or pesto sauce. The white (alfredo) sauce is too much (that's what she said). Some weird reason the alfredo makes it taste more...carby. I think the marinara or pesto would bring a different zest. Their gnocchi is delicious nonetheless!
-Meatballs a la carte: delicious.

Needs Improvement:
-The seafood risotto....wasn't bad. I think it lacks acidity. I think next time I would go with the mushroom truffle risotto...Life is about balance and I think if there was a lemon it would really augment the dish.

A very quality place overall! Free bread, who doesn't love free bread.

This place was tough to find. It is in the upper front middle area and there are signs but you have to get out of your car to actually see the place. I saw all the 5 star reviews up front I should have dug a little deeper and reviewed more current reviews. I picked up my food to go which isn't the best option but I tip just like I do at the restaurant for the person putting together the meal and packaging it all up and serving it to me. I noticed the restaurant was empty on a weekend night. I thought to myself hmm how could a place with rave reviews be empty. The service seemed ok for an order to go. The gentleman was courteous and made sure I had the napkin, plate and bread.

I had the fungi risotto which according to the menu on their site it's risotto with wild mushrooms with white truffle oil and Parmesan. What I received was risotto rice with a ton of badly chopped onions from someone with little to no knife skills and some store bought cheap mushrooms with some Parmesan for $17. It was seriously basic and nothing wild about it. I tasted zero truffle and I certainly know what a truffle tastes like. I can tell the difference between a white truffle and a black truffle and not much truffle and I can say this is not much. As I ate the dish I noticed more and more oil on the dish. I tilted then dish and about 3 tablespoons of oil collected on the side. I am assuming it was a combination of olive oil and butter. It was just disappointing.

The other dish we ordered was the spaghetti and meatballs. It's a basic dish but this place takes basic to a new level. Two medium sized meatballs and spaghetti with marina that had a sparse amount of parm and again odd cuts of an herb that left strings of basil I think for $14.


This place has a good foundation what seems like good people working there.

Management needs to hire a chef and put some pop on those dishes. a little fresh Italian parsley, maybe some wild mushrooms and some truffle oil with a micro thin slice of truffle would elevate that risotto. The meatballs how about some of your left over bread crumbs from your bread. Cut up the basil into small pieces. Your meatballs should be delicious all on their own.

One walk on a fine warm day around the bucolic and charming ad hoc mall Vivendo shares with its neighbors, with the amazing garden trails, bridges and water features, ducks, chickens, wild birds, lovely trees and lawns, old buildings and unique shops, and I bet you'll be in love too.

This store and others in this historic shopping destination will be destroyed soon in favor of building yet more short-sighted, unimaginative, anonymous, soulless boxes. Why some rich people hate beautiful things, especially if the public can enjoy them too, is a mystery. I digress...

So to the food: It's a Mediterranean place, with Italian and Greek-style offerings. Food is handled well. My evidence: their humble meatballs. Let me explain:

If ever I see that a place has homemade meatballs, I order them (and you should too) because they speak volumes about the chef; a deceptively simple and ancient foodstuff, if you over-handle them or ignore the fat content, they turn out gummy and tough. Cook them improperly and they're crusty or raw in the middle. Forget or mishandle the binder (usually egg, bread crumb or flour) and they crumble...here at Vivendo, they are tender, herbal, moist and delicious. You can tell that someone back there cares about this food!

Veg is fresh. Plating is clean. The setting is rustic and romantic. Cocktails are on point, even if the booze selection is limited. It's obvious this good restaurant is suffering, and they are trying to stay afloat while trimming expenses; it's a difficult tightrope to walk.

Potentially a very cool place indeed, Vivendo suffers from a nearly invisible location that's slated to be demolished to put up yet more putty condos. Go here and taste what might-have-been, and enjoy this beautiful setting while you can. Get out here and support this place. You'll be glad you did! Recommended.

Best Italian restaurant I have been to in Washington hands down! The service was impeccable, the food was absolutely spot on perfection. We were there with a party of 8, 3 kids and 5 adults. We were able to sample a large variety of dishes on the menu and not a single one was less than amazing! We were visiting from out of town and will definitely be back. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing food with us. The location was so fun, the little shopping center was so cute and inviting. I will definitely visit again and hope to partake In the farmers market sometime on a Friday! What a great experience.

Came here last Friday 28Aug with some friends after reading Yelp reviews.

The place is nice, nothing too fancy but pleasant location and decor to have some Italian food, great Brunello and catch up with friends.

The food was VERY good, smoked salmon app one of the best and and freshest I have had in a while, bruschetta was lovely as were the pastas.

The service was prompt especially the folks who were refilling our water, however, the waitress could have been bit more friendly. I am sorry but service should go hand in hand with food and after long work week when spending few hundred dollars on dinner, should not deal with sour attitude, hence why I am taking one star away.

Would definitely come back for the food though a great fine in Bothel.

Cute small restaurant. It's very authentic and the owners have a heavy Greek or Italian accent! The chicken Marsala was very thick and sweet. I didn't care for it. The Greek style chicken was yummy. In my opinion it's over priced for the quality of food you get.