Had reservations at 6:30pm 8/1/25 for family and friends. That went smoothly, the table was ready We ordered 3 appetizers, they came quick. We ordered our meals. I ordered a Wedge Salad and 4 grilled shrimp. That came quick. Cut into my lettuce and took a bite and then proceeded to pull a long black hair (+-18") out of my throat that was wrapped up around blue cheese crumbles, lettuce and dressing. It was gross. The waiter saw it, everybody at my table saw it. Iceberg lettuce wrapped in long black hair dropping to the floor. Gross, gross, gross. Never will I eat there again. And, although they did take my salad off the bill, they did not comp the table anything. Surprised me. The manager, Perez, could have comp'ed our table and I would likely have let it go... He gave us a dessert for the trouble. Into the trash that dessert goes. No thank you. I still feel like I have hair in my throat.... gross.
Pamala Lambert
This restaurant was worth the five-hour drive! It has a bay view, the food is excellent, and the drinks are fabulous! We went on Memorial Day weekend without a reservation and were lucky enough to get seats at the open bar immediately. (I highly recommend making a reservation on any weekend.) We ordered the jalapeno margarita and pina colada on the rocks. We had the crispy brussel sprouts for an appetizer and the shrimp tacos and beef tostadas for our meal, which were all served hot and fresh with beautiful presentation. The food was terrific, and the service was fabulous. The bartenders were friendly and skilled at crafting the fancy drinks. We would totally make the five-hour one-way drive just to come back here again in the future!
LYZETTE HUESCA
The BEST of the BEST Joe was an awesome waiter. Everything was perfect đđŒ.
Abi
A great semi-upscale dining experience on SPI! The bay view is gorgeous for the sunset (tho expect a wait if you don't have reservations), and the food and cocktails were fantastic. I especially loved the yellowfin crudo! I had also been searching for a good quality specialty cocktail (not just fruity island drinks) and Viva was exactly what I was looking for. Will definitely be going again next time I am on the island!
Jennifer Wuensche
My husband and I didn't want anything too fancy or grill/bar food and we ended up stumbling upon Viva. Their food is the best I had during my stay at SPI! I had the Teriyaki shrimp and beef kababs and my husband had the Steak n' frites and they were both delicious. But make sure to have a reservation, they seem to get filled quickly.
JoseAngel Valdez
Definitely the Best Restaurant on the Island. Food was exceptionally delicious, savory and hot when it got to our table. I recommend anyone to come out here and give it a whirl, you will not be disappointed. For an open air concept of a restaurant, this restaurant was not only fresh, it has a beautiful waterfront, super clean dinning area, and a very clean restrooms. Service was excellent, and great attention but not bothersome.
Kerry Chapa
Great fish tacos and cocktails. Beautiful views of the water. Drive up or dock your boat access. Waiters were friendly and fast service even during dinner rush.
Debbie Saldana
Amazing. I will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Chips, Sayulita Nachos, Crispy Brussel Sprouts
beth watson
The quality of food is superb along with the service
NOT THE FISH BROUGHT: We are 40+ year veterans and winter Texanâs here at SPI. We have eaten several times at Viva and brought and entertained several guestâs. The atmosphere, food, and service here has always been superb. HOWEVERâŠOur most recent dining experience was an absolute disappointment that should NEVER happen. We regularly go on private fishing trips with various Captains and bring our catch to be cooked to restaurants in SPI that offer the âCook Your Catchâ option. We brought 4 filets of black drum, 4 of trout, and 5 redfish throats. The waiter insisted that the chef preferred to fry the throats as our choice of blackening them would take longer and may not be throughly cooked. We had originally wanted to have a combination of baked trout, fried drum, and blackened redfish. The SHOCK was that we were not served the fish that we brought. Not the portion sizes or the filets, and the fried throats had finâs sticking out, which as many times as we have caught and cleaned our fish, we have always removed the fins. It was such a SURPRISE that this had occurred and embarrassment to address this with our guests. All the waiter did was insist it was our fish even though we knew it was not. We had previously had our catch cooked at both Blackbeards and the Brewing Company. They cooked to our liking, and it came out looking exactly like what we brought, not cut into pieces and small portions like what Viva gave us. We fully expected to have a lot of left overs. With so much fish caught, it is nice to have the option to have a fine restaurant on the island cook your fish occasionally. But I would caution you against Viva as an option as our experience was all but a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT.
Go and experience for yourself. You want be disappointed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Meghan Tabari
Viva did not disappoint. We went two night in a row this week. We have food restrictions and they were very accommodating and attentive. The food was by far the best in town. We first went to Yummy Bistro, their sister restaurant. Which was equally amazing. We figured if Yummy was that good, we couldnât go wrong with Viva. They totally delivered on all aspects. We would definitely be back when we are in town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smash Burger
Jeannie Kanter
Menu is chef driven and unique. Service is excellent. Varied drink menu. Our new favorite place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Taylor Frohnapfel
Amazing food! So fresh and with a beautiful view on the water. Came twice within a week.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Chips, Fish Tacos
Corey Chandler
Food was good or so I thought literally have never been this sick in my entire life. Had gulf shrimp tacos and made me so sick its 11:07 am and I'm still dealing with that decision. Been a chef for over 20 plus years and I'm not even sure how you make someone that sick? Traveled to Mexico over 50 times in my life never had a iota of sickness that rivals this one. Literally telling my wife not to call a ambulance at like 3am. Great service great views but damn check them shrimp or cheese.
Had reservations at 6:30pm 8/1/25 for family and friends. That went smoothly, the table was ready We ordered 3 appetizers, they came quick. We ordered our meals. I ordered a Wedge Salad and 4 grilled shrimp. That came quick. Cut into my lettuce and took a bite and then proceeded to pull a long black hair (+-18") out of my throat that was wrapped up around blue cheese crumbles, lettuce and dressing. It was gross. The waiter saw it, everybody at my table saw it. Iceberg lettuce wrapped in long black hair dropping to the floor. Gross, gross, gross. Never will I eat there again. And, although they did take my salad off the bill, they did not comp the table anything. Surprised me. The manager, Perez, could have comp'ed our table and I would likely have let it go... He gave us a dessert for the trouble. Into the trash that dessert goes. No thank you. I still feel like I have hair in my throat.... gross.
This restaurant was worth the five-hour drive! It has a bay view, the food is excellent, and the drinks are fabulous! We went on Memorial Day weekend without a reservation and were lucky enough to get seats at the open bar immediately. (I highly recommend making a reservation on any weekend.) We ordered the jalapeno margarita and pina colada on the rocks. We had the crispy brussel sprouts for an appetizer and the shrimp tacos and beef tostadas for our meal, which were all served hot and fresh with beautiful presentation. The food was terrific, and the service was fabulous. The bartenders were friendly and skilled at crafting the fancy drinks. We would totally make the five-hour one-way drive just to come back here again in the future!
The BEST of the BEST
Joe was an awesome waiter. Everything was perfect đđŒ.
A great semi-upscale dining experience on SPI! The bay view is gorgeous for the sunset (tho expect a wait if you don't have reservations), and the food and cocktails were fantastic. I especially loved the yellowfin crudo! I had also been searching for a good quality specialty cocktail (not just fruity island drinks) and Viva was exactly what I was looking for. Will definitely be going again next time I am on the island!
My husband and I didn't want anything too fancy or grill/bar food and we ended up stumbling upon Viva. Their food is the best I had during my stay at SPI! I had the Teriyaki shrimp and beef kababs and my husband had the Steak n' frites and they were both delicious. But make sure to have a reservation, they seem to get filled quickly.
Definitely the Best Restaurant on the Island. Food was exceptionally delicious, savory and hot when it got to our table.
I recommend anyone to come out here and give it a whirl, you will not be disappointed.
For an open air concept of a restaurant, this restaurant was not only fresh, it has a beautiful waterfront, super clean dinning area, and a very clean restrooms.
Service was excellent, and great attention but not bothersome.
Great fish tacos and cocktails. Beautiful views of the water. Drive up or dock your boat access. Waiters were friendly and fast service even during dinner rush.
Amazing. I will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Chips, Sayulita Nachos, Crispy Brussel Sprouts
The quality of food is superb along with the service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Parmesan Truffle Fries, Yellow Fin Tuna Tartare, Smash Burger, Watermelon & Feta
NOT THE FISH BROUGHT: We are 40+ year veterans and winter Texanâs here at SPI. We have eaten several times at Viva and brought and entertained several guestâs. The atmosphere, food, and service here has always been superb. HOWEVERâŠOur most recent dining experience was an absolute disappointment that should NEVER happen. We regularly go on private fishing trips with various Captains and bring our catch to be cooked to restaurants in SPI that offer the âCook Your Catchâ option. We brought 4 filets of black drum, 4 of trout, and 5 redfish throats. The waiter insisted that the chef preferred to fry the throats as our choice of blackening them would take longer and may not be throughly cooked. We had originally wanted to have a combination of baked trout, fried drum, and blackened redfish. The SHOCK was that we were not served the fish that we brought. Not the portion sizes or the filets, and the fried throats had finâs sticking out, which as many times as we have caught and cleaned our fish, we have always removed the fins. It was such a SURPRISE that this had occurred and embarrassment to address this with our guests. All the waiter did was insist it was our fish even though we knew it was not. We had previously had our catch cooked at both Blackbeards and the Brewing Company. They cooked to our liking, and it came out looking exactly like what we brought, not cut into pieces and small portions like what Viva gave us. We fully expected to have a lot of left overs. With so much fish caught, it is nice to have the option to have a fine restaurant on the island cook your fish occasionally. But I would caution you against Viva as an option as our experience was all but a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
Go and experience for yourself. You want be disappointed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Viva did not disappoint. We went two night in a row this week. We have food restrictions and they were very accommodating and attentive. The food was by far the best in town. We first went to Yummy Bistro, their sister restaurant. Which was equally amazing. We figured if Yummy was that good, we couldnât go wrong with Viva. They totally delivered on all aspects. We would definitely be back when we are in town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smash Burger
Menu is chef driven and unique. Service is excellent. Varied drink menu. Our new favorite place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing food! So fresh and with a beautiful view on the water. Came twice within a week.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guacamole and Chips, Fish Tacos
Food was good or so I thought literally have never been this sick in my entire life. Had gulf shrimp tacos and made me so sick its 11:07 am and I'm still dealing with that decision. Been a chef for over 20 plus years and I'm not even sure how you make someone that sick? Traveled to Mexico over 50 times in my life never had a iota of sickness that rivals this one. Literally telling my wife not to call a ambulance at like 3am. Great service great views but damn check them shrimp or cheese.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish Tacos
Loading...