We went to Viva Madrid a few weeks ago for my friend Liz’s birthday- many of us had already been there before, and we all shared another successful meal that night. The tapas at Viva are truly Spanish-size, with many dishes only affording each person a bite or two. But that’s the joy of the whole experience, because you get to try so many things. The bacon-wrapped dates there have reached almost legendary status, as have their patatas brava (my personal favourite- I could eat an entire order of these happily every day). We had success with almost everything we ordered- the pan con tomate was so good that we ordered seconds! The only disappointments were the tortilla artistica and the pincho moruno (chicken skewers)- the latter was seasoned really nicely but way too overcooked. After several rounds of food and sangria, everyone was stuffed, but made room for the delicious creme brulee that they caramelize tableside. Viva Madrid offers a more fun, boisterous environment than most of the other restaurants in the Village, but doesn’t sacrifice quality of food for ambience. They don’t take reservations, so waits can get up to several hours on the weekends, but we went around 6 on a Tuesday and had no trouble getting a table, so plan accordingly!
-priya
red sangria
patata bravas (potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce)
datiles con bacon, calamares fritos (fried squid with aioli)
tortilla artistica (eggs, onion, potato, capsicum etc)
pincho moruno (grilled chicken kabobs)
champiñones al ajillo (mushrooms in olive oil with garlic and herbs)
Liz’s birthday creme brulee!
Reblogged this on Around Claremont – Real Estate and commented:
Viva Madrid was really hidden away from me, despite my many trips to the Village. I thought I’d share this review that reflects exactly my feelings about the great food at this local treasure!
Hi there, I too have been there. The thing I loved most was the paella, not authentic but tasty. I will not order tortilla de patatas anywhere because no one makes it like mom. And I love tortilla! Even created a store around it!
Love the food pics!