Ultra-modern, high-tech and LED lighting are features you wouldn’t expect to find at a Spanish tapas bar. But at Vivo has them all. Nestled in the heart of Taipei’s swanky East District (東區) close to the intersection of Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路) and Dunhua South Road (敦化南路), it resembles a night club more than it does a restaurant, amusing its predominantly youngish crowd with a futuristic ambiance and a menu of tapas and wine that’s easy on the wallet.
The brainchild of Andrew Lee (李益昌), chairman of Antec (安鈦克), a manufacturer of computer hardware, the tapas bar reportedly took NT$30 million to complete, and is embellished with such playful luxuries as contemporary art and designer furniture. Evidently, the aim of the place is nothing less than to create an innovative experience suitable for an IT entrepreneur like its proprietor.
Upon entering, diners first notice a QR code embedded into the door handle that links up to the Vivo Facebook page. Inside, blue LED light glitters off transparent chairs and bar stools designed by Philippe Starck for Italian design company Kartell’s famous Ghost collection.
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
Occasionally, executive chef Sergio Lahora Cruz from Barcelona, Spain, will emerge from the kitchen and greet patrons.
The restaurant’s lower floor space is bathed in blue and purple LED lighting. Two VIP rooms are equipped with large LED screens and Bluetooth speakers that cater to diners’ audio-visual desires.
Bearing all the designer goodies, high-tech gadgets and a chef from Spain in mind, Vivo’s food is reasonably priced (tapas cost between NT$139 and NT$399).
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
The selection of cold tapas is fairly limited. My dining partner and I ordered the rice with shrimp and vegetables (NT$189) and were surprisingly pleased by the harmonious medley of peas, onions, carrots and the crustacean morsels.
For hot tapas, we tried the chicken wings marinated in sherry (NT$149) and patatas bravas (西班牙風味馬鈴薯, NT$159), or potatoes topped with a spicy s sauce. Both dishes are said to be among the restaurant’s most popular, but they didn’t make much of an impression on my dining party.
The chef’s version of fried squid (NT$239) is lightly seasoned and battered, while the Galician-style octopus (NT$369), served on a bed of potatoes, features thin slices of boiled octopus that were satisfyingly chewy and salty.
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
For its drinks menu, Vivo imports and labels its own wines that come in five varieties, including a white and a sparkling red. The wallet-friendly price for all varieties is the same (NT$799 per bottle and NT$169 per glass).
A sweet way to wrap up a meal at Vivo is by ordering the rice pudding (NT$139) or Catalan-style creme brulee (NT$139). But my favorite was the restaurant’s freshly homemade gelato (NT$139 per scoop and NT$89 if ordering dishes). The frozen delight comes in various flavors daily, the most memorable among which include peanut butter with sea salt, pistachio and red wine.
One main gripe about the restaurant is the under-trained waitstaff. It was hard to get their attention to place our order, and after we finally did, it took one another 20 minutes to deliver our drinks.
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
All in all, Vivo takes some getting used to for those who think that tapas dining is all about authenticity and human interaction. But judging from the number of patrons on the recent weekend night we visited, eating paella under a giant LED screen should pose no challenge to novelty-driven Taipei dwellers.
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
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