Vivian

"I was very excited to try Vivian. My husband booked it as a surprise for our getaway to Asheville. We were expecting great food based on the reviews. The menu was a little confusing to us and we asked for recommendations from our server. I think the idea of this restaurant is to share lots of things. We wanted to share and ordered the chicken paprikash and lamb dish to share. The lamb was cooked well but the garnish was terrible and undercooked. The chicken was really good but a pretty small portion of chicken for the price. Overall it wasn't enough food for a full meal for two which I feel like should have been explained if the expectation is to order more. We left and stopped to get share sandwich a cool bar on the way back to our B&B. It was a pretty disappointing meal."

"What a gem. My boyfriend and I were visiting from Charlotte for the week and having been to Asheville many times, were in search of somewhere new and local. Vivian is small, intimate and absolutely delicious. We were lucky enough to get a seat at the bar, but heard many people check in with reservations so I would suggest to make one in advance. Our bartender was friendly, knowledgeable and made great suggestions. We went on a Thursday and select bottles of wine were 1/2 off. We both ordered the steak, and it was one of the best steaks we’ve ever tried. It was so good, we returned two days later to have another one before heading home! The only thing we weren’t blown away by were the mashed potatoes, but paired with the gravy from the steak it wasn’t bad enough to have complaints. We will be returning here on our next visit!"

"This postage stamp of a house accommodates a New American restaurant that aspires to deliver innovative twists on many familiar concepts. The best work is in the 'Starters & Sharables' section and my next visit will build a meal exclusively from the 11 choices there. Some examples: Ceviche serves the marinated fish in crispy chicharrones for a texture contrast. Tinned Trout doesn’t actually feature any tins, but it does toss local trout with an earthy bean salad to make one of the best starters. Likewise with Siano Burrata and its piquantly delicious basil pesto. Less successful were the Salt Roasted Beets where more greek yogurt would have amplified the flavor diversity. As it was, the dish was like chomping through beets. The winning main courses were both fish: Either Pan-Seared Halibut (cooked to sinuous perfection) or Roasted Sunburst Trout Steaks (which comes with a deboning demo). Ask for salt on the table to accent the latter to good effect. Among the meats, domestic Roasted Rack of Lamb and Vivian’s Steak Dinner, a 14oz ribeye, were both credible. The wine list is steller. “Small But Carefully Chosen” is the key here. The most interesting corners were from Europe (sometimes barely -- Georgia!). We had a choice from two whites from France’s remote and underappreciated Savoie region. As homage to the Sicilian in our party we chose a red, an impressive Cos Frappato which had just the right balance of fruit and forest floor. Then the table went all European with post prandials (Calvados, Sercial Madeira, Amaro, and Limoncello). A great ending to a memorable meal. The sommelier was out so kudos to the patience of the manager who answered my wishes to “see the bottle” three times (you sealed the sale!) and the most friendly service so far in Asheville from our waiter (known only as Adam “P” on the receipt, probably due to a lifetime subscription to the Witness Protection Program). Recommended."

"This was top rated so we decided to visit for our special occasion. The server was very attentive and recommended great options for food and drinks. We liked the drink recommendations, deviled eggs and duck dish the most. Did not like the oysters (oily taste didn’t go well with us). Overall a great choice for an inventive menu and intimate setting."

"Finally ate at Vivian. Food was great, so creative and so much flavor in every dish. We had 2 shareable plates (beets and salted cod), steak and Black Forest cake for dessert. Place stays casual which is nice and very Asheville. It would have been great if the bar server who checked us in conveyed to our table server that it’s my husband’s birthday and add a candle to our dessert. The bar server greeted my husband with a ‘Happy Birthday’ greeting. Next table had a candle in their cake which would have been a nice touch for a great dinner. But we are happy with the experience nonetheless."