Vivace restaurant has a warm inviting charm about it. Located on Bay street in Brighton, they serve tasty Italian food from the heart. We had a large group of people so we sat in a function room in the back of the restaurant. Considering it was a cold winter night, all of that was forgotten. There was a long table in the center of the room covered in a white tablecloth, with a wooden board across the middle for appetisers. There were wine glasses big and small, tea light candles scattered across the table and in the back corner of the room a fireplace was burning. It created a lovely ambience.
As we were seated we were spoilt with appetisers. There were boards of delicately sliced San Daniele prosciutto, bowls of marinated cerignola and kalamata olives, and pieces of housemade rosemary and sea salt focaccia with local extra virgin olive oil.
We had some fresh oysters dressed with shallot, citris & prosecco vinegar.
And some crispy deep fried arancini with saffron, tomato, peas and mozzarella. It was a great selection of food to start with and it was all so delicious. Our appetisers were paired with a prosecco (La Gioiosa Prosecco ‘Extra Dry’ Valdobbiadene), which was crisp and bubbly, a perfect start to the evening.
For entrée we had the caramalised scallops with a smooth cauliflower puree, salty chorizo, finely cut shallots and thinly sliced fennel with capers and coriander to garnish. The flavours married together well. It was paired with a lovely white wine (2016 Hancock & Hancock Fiano McLaren Vale SA).
For our pasta dish we had one giant ravioli each filled with potato and leek with truffle & blue cheese sauce. It was creamy with a pronounced truffle and pungent blue cheese flavour. This was paired with a beautiful rose (2016 Hancock & Hancock Grenache Rose McLaren Vale SA).
For main we had the Murray Valley 12 hour slow cooked crisp pork belly with rhubarb and apple puree, onion ginger relish, thyme roasted squash and a white balsamic sauce. We had a red cabernet (2014 Hancock & Hancock Cabernet Touriga McLaren Vale SA) which really complimented the pork with its deep, rich, sweetness. It was lovely.
Lastly for dessert we had the dark Belgian chocolate fondant which was rich, decadent and oozing chocolate when you cut into it. It was served with fig, mascarpone & honey gelato which kind of tasted like toasted popcorn for some reason. And there were a couple of grapefruit segments to balance out the richness of the dessert.
Oh how I love the gooey chocolate middle. This was served with a super sweet, fruity dessert wine (2009 Craigmore Botrytis Mudgee NSW).
It was a lovely dining experience. The atmosphere was warm, the staff were lovely and the food was tasty.
I heart Vivace Restaurant!
Olives x
Vivace Restaurant
Address: 317 Bay St, Brighton VIC 3186
Website: http://www.vivace.com.au/
Phone: 03 9596 9511
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 7.30am-11pm, Sat: 8am-11pm (closed Sundays)
