Summary

The author shares a mixed experience at Viva, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Milan by chef Viviana Varese, highlighting the exceptional dining environment, innovative dishes, and a few service and meal portioning issues.

Abstract

The article recounts the author's visit to Viva, a one Michelin star restaurant in Milan, where they enjoyed a lunchtime meal. The dining experience was characterized by a modern and colorful atmosphere, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the square. The meal began with an impressive array of amuse-bouches, showcasing the chef's skill and creativity. The author particularly enjoyed the pasta bite and the starter with raw prawns. However, the caccio e pepe pasta dish, unintentionally served with caviar, was found to be excessively rich, leading to an inability to finish the portion. The author's husband's pasta dish, featuring tomato and goat cheese, was praised for its balanced flavor. A unique pumpkin dish with mozzarella ice cream offered a delightful mix of flavors, though the pumpkin alone was quite bitter. Service at the restaurant was generally good, but the sommelier's wine recommendation exceeded the author's budget, and the substantial portions throughout the meal left no room for dessert, which was a disappointment. Despite these issues, the author recommends Viva for its innovative Italian cuisine and memorable dining experience.

Opinions

The author is enthusiastic about trying new and local foods, especially high-quality gastronomic experiences.
The amuse-bouches were a pleasant surprise due to their size and flavor complexity.
The caccio e pepe pasta dish was criticized for being too rich, especially with the addition of caviar.
The author's husband's pasta dish was well-received for its lighter and more balanced taste.
The pumpkin dish was praised for its innovative combination of flavors, despite initial concerns about the bitterness of the pumpkin.
The author regretted not being able to try dessert due to the large meal portions.
The sommelier's wine recommendation was considered too expensive, not aligning with the author's budget.
The overall experience at Viva is recommended, with the caveat of being aware of portion sizes and potentially high costs.

Fine Dining in Milan — Viva Viviana Varese

Incredible food with a few issues

The author eating at Viva in Milan (photo by the author’s husband)

Food is definitely my favourite part of travel. I love trying new foods and local delicacies. I’ve also been a fan of gastronomic Michelin-rated food for the past few years and have taken every opportunity to experience that kind of food (within reason, I don’t have an unlimited budget).

In Canada, we lived in the middle of nowhere and had limited access to very fancy food so being in Europe, we have had so many opportunities to experience the creativity of many incredible chefs.

In Italy, we ate incredible food throughout the whole trip. As we reached the end of our trip in Milan, we wanted to get one last incredible meal in. We chose to go to Viva.

Viva is a one Michelin star restaurant located on the second floor of the Eataly complex from chef Viviana Varese.

The dining room is amazing. The tables are beside floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the square. Everything is colourful and modern, including the food.

As we went at lunchtime, there was no tasting menu option. Instead, we got to choose between 2 or 3 dishes (one starter, one pasta dish, one main) from the menu and had the choice to grab desserts at the end.

We chose to go for three dishes.

Amuse-bouches from Viva restaurant (photo by author)

As with most gastronomical meals, this meal started with a selection of amuse-bouches. These are usually one to three bite-sized dishes that showcase the chef’s universe and cooking. We were surprised by the quantity and size of the amuse-bouches.

As you can see in the picture above, there were 5 different bites and they weren’t exactly bite-sized.

The flavours were incredible. From top to bottom, they included a cone filled with Venetian-style creamy cod, lettuce with pistachio paste, a fried pizza, mushroom and parmesan pasta, and minestrone soup.

The pasta bite in particular was incredible. I would have happily eaten a whole plate.

Starter from Viva restaurant (photo by author)

My starter was delicious and light. I don’t remember all the ingredients exactly but it included raw prawn, tomato water, and croutons. I forgot to take a picture but my husband had carpaccio, which was also delicious.

Caccio e pepe pasta dish from Viva restaurant (photo by author)

My pasta dish was an interpretation of caccio e pepe pasta with a very rich parmesan sauce and 7 different peppers. Caviar was optional and, while I had asked without, there was a misunderstanding and I did get caviar.

If I’m honest, I didn’t love this dish. The first few bites were incredible but then the combination of the extremely rich and salty parmesan sauce with the also rich and salty caviar was too much and I wasn’t able to finish my plate.

My husband’s pasta dish was much better.

Tomato and goat cheese pasta dish from Viva restaurant (photo by author)

Not only was it beautiful but the combination of tomato and goat cheese was much more balanced and lighter in a heavy meal.

At this point, I wasn’t feeling really hungry anymore and wished I had only gotten two dishes rather than three.

However, I’m glad I got to taste my main dish.

Pumpkin dish from Viva restaurant (photo by author)

My dish was composed of roasted pumpkin with a pumpkin seed emulsion and mozzarella ice cream. It was incredible. The pumpkin is brought whole and cut in front of us.

When I tasted the pumpkin on its own, I was worried as it was incredibly bitter. However, the combination of flavours between the softness of the ice cream, the saltiness and nuttiness of the emulsion, and the bitterness of the pumpkin was incredible.

It was also a very light dish, which I appreciated after the pasta.

My husband had a bone marrow and tartare dish, which you can see pictured below my title. As these are not flavours I particularly appreciate, I didn’t try it but he seemed to enjoy it.

Finally, we had to decide whether we wanted a dessert or not. I personally love dessert and the dessert menu looked incredible. But, frankly, we weren’t hungry at all anymore. So we chose not to get a dessert.

We did however get the confectionaries, which are served at the end of such meals. Like the amuse-bouches, they are a selection of small bite-sized desserts.

They were served on a colourful construction, which looked incredible on the table.

Confectionaries from Viva restaurant (photo by author)

They included a chocolate truffle, a meringue, a pâte de fruit, and a candied orange peel. It was a lovely way to end our meal.

Overall, Viva was a great experience. The food was beautiful and delicious. The service was great. And the location was beautiful.

However, there were a few issues that made it not a perfect experience. My pasta dish was too rich for the quantity that I got, especially with the caviar that I had not wanted. Overall, the quantities were a bit too big and prevented us from getting a dessert, which is usually my favourite part of the meal. And the sommelier didn’t really take into consideration our budget when we asked for a wine recommendation and served my husband a glass of wine that was much more expensive than we had planned.

I really love Viviana Varese’s modern and colourful take on Italian cuisine and I recommend Viva if you find yourself in Milan and want to treat yourself to a fun meal.