Menu for Vivace in Carlsbad, CA

Best italian food in San Diego county. Expensive, but worth it. Very pretty setting and pleasant live jazz guitar on the... weekend. They will give you a prix fixe menu, which can be intimidating, but you can also order a la carte, which is goodbecause the set menu is a lot of food. You have to ask for the a la carte menu. There is always something unusual and I've neverbeen disappointed. Unfortunately the service is slow. Read more

One of the most amazing dining experiences. Excellent food, service and atmosphere.

The night we chose to attend, the restaurant was not busy, yet the service was pretty slow. My pumpkin raviolis were delicious,... but the portion was surprisingly small. The lobster risotto was also superb and thankfully much more filling for my mother. TheBlack Forest cake came as pictured, two tiny cakes on a large wooden box that breathed ?smoke of the forest?. What made a fourstar experience into three stars was the check: I ordered the ravioli and salad (not from menu, just simple greens and veggies)a la carte, but I was charged the price of an Alegretto (appetizer + main + dessert) minus $6 because I didn?t order dessert,which was substantially more than the ravioli a la carte price plus the value of the simple salad. The host offered to adjustthe check, but offered no apology for the outrageous charge. The lobster risotto was truly exquisite, but the most satisfyingpart of my meal might have been my starter salad! Make sure to ask about portion sizes, and be clear about a la carte vs coursemenus. Read more

Vivace is like many of San Diego?s best restaurants, in that it is associated with a resort hotel, and meant to accommodate... guests to this region, rather than feed the people who live here, most of whom are disinterested in elegant haute cuisine. Makeno mistake: although this restaurant is located in the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad, Vivace ought to be considered a localtreasure and every San Diegan should try it. During my visit to Vivace this past summer, a variety of prix fixe menu optionswere offered, and I selected the 5-course option, which consisted of the following plates: ? Amuse Bouche: Cucumber, Crab, andAvocado Gazpacho ? Bread: Focaccia with Asiago Cheese, Baguette, Olive Oil with Thyme, Salt, and Crushed Peppercorns ? AsparaghiGrigliati con Fuoco a Legna: Wood Grilled Delta Asparagus, Speck Ham, Black Truffle Vinaigrette, Farm Egg ? Polpo Grigliato conFuoco a Legna: Wood Grilled Octopus, Sweet Pepper Crema, Marcona Almonds, Olive, and Calabrese Chili Oil ? Agnolotti di FoieGras: Foie Gras Agnolotti, Morel Mushrooms, Duck Confit, English Peas, Pecorino ? Ippoglosso con Granchio e Asparaghi: AlaskanHalibut, Asparagus, Morels, Dungeness Crab, Tarragon Zabaglione, Chili Oil ? Pannacotta di Cioccolato: Chocolate Pudding,Hazelnut Whipped Cream, Dark Chocolate Streusel ? Cappuccino with White Chocolate Dipped Biscotti ? Petit Fours: ChocolateTruffles The highlight for me was the grill-marked octopus and its lip-smacking pepper cream sauce, similar to an Argentineanred sauce, and a small piquant mound of mouth-pleasing rapini braised with chilies and slices of potatoes. Octopus is all therage in San Diego currently, but I challenge anyone to find it prepared better than it is here at Vivace, flavored with thesmoke of the wood it is cooked over and tender enough that I imagine some poor guy in the kitchen hand-massaging it for hoursbefore it hit the grill. The foie gras agnolotti was rich and heavy, and lacked any fresh textures or bright f Read more

Good food for quality and variety. Ambience not good at all but made better by the great live music