Vivo Cafe is situated on George Street, most probably the busiest street in Sydney’s CBD. The first thing I notice about Vivo Cafe on approach was the large raised outdoor seating area. This is not a common sight these days in Sydney’s CBD. Most cafes have indoor dining, court yard access or are part of a food court, but not on the main drag.
Vivo Cafe is in prime position to watch the goings on, and as a people watcher (woops my secret is out) it is a perfect spot for breakfast or lunch. Umbrellas to shade you in summer and heaters to keep you toasty warm in winter.
Next thing I notice is the warm inviting interior of the cafe. If you don’t want to sit outside, don’t panic. Warm colours married with high ceiling to floor glass windows and doors makes for a very pleasant environment.
I had been invited to Vivo Cafe by Angela Vithoulkas, the dynamo and driving force of Cafe Vivo, to sample a tasting menu with a few other foodies.
While waiting for the others to arrive I have a wander around. I notice large bags of roasted coffee beans, big barrels of biscuits and a very large glass counter. The counter during the day is filled with deli type meals to give busy CBD cliental the option to grab and go. Think sandwiches, baguettes, gourmet salads as well as prepared meals like pastas, roasts, curries or soups. Perfect to take back to the office to warm up or grab to take home after a busy day.
Extra! Extra! Vivo Cafe Menus newspaper style
Big bags of coffee
Big jars of biscuits
Everyone eventually arrives and we start the evening sitting outside, and even though it is a cold evening we were nice a warm. It was very enjoyable sitting outside with great company watching the world go by while having a glass of sparkling white and listening to live jazz by Cameron Jones.
Cameron Jones
The first part of our tasting menu arrives. We start with mini versions of burgers that are on the menu. These are normally generous burgers served with a side of fries all $19.90 each. They do make the mini versions when catering to groups/functions.
Wagyu Beef Burger
A fat Wagyu beef patty topped with melted double cheese, caramelised onion, lettuce and tomato. I didn’t try this one, but it looked quite juicy and delicious and I didn’t hear any complaints from those that did try it.
Greek Lamb Burger
Lamb patty with fetta, olives, tomato, lettuce and tzatziki. Again I didn’t try this one, but if you are a lamb lover it looked good.
Portuguese Chicken Burger
Moist marinated chicken fillet with lettuce, tomato, cheese and chilli lime aioli. The chicken is tasty and nicely caramelised, I would have this burger again.
Thai Chicken Burger
Lean chicken mince patty with cucumber salad, roasted capsicum. Nice moist patty and I like the big wedge of lime served in order to squeeze over, adds a lovely zing.
Grilled Barramundi Burger
Grilled barramundi fillet with baby cos lettuce, tomato and spicy citrus mayonnaise. Another one I didn’t try, but those that did said it was good.
Aussie Steak Burger
Now this was my favourite of the burgers that I tried. Grilled beef, bacon, egg, onion, tomato, lettuce, beetroot relish and BBQ sauce. The beef was tender, tasty and juicy. I am also old school, and believe that Aussie burgers should have beetroot. The addition of the tasty beetroot relish appeals to me. On biting in to it the egg yolk explodes releasing all its yellow yolky goodness, heaven.
What I don’t know, but am about to find out, is that Vivo Cafe do eggs well. We move inside to continue with our tasting feast. It was now time for breakfast.
Spanish Coddled Eggs $15.80
Fried egg with an oozy runny yolk topped with a melted cheese sitting on top of tomato ragout, chorizo, mushrooms and roasted peppers infused with smoked paprika. Accompanied with two toasted slices of Turkish bread.
Breakfast Bruschetta $13.80
Two plump poached eggs, again with perfect runny centres, served on top of roasted tomato and marinated capsicum infused with basil, lemon on top of toasted sourdough. I instantly notice how tasty the fresh tomatoes are, they taste like tomatoes.
Green Breakfast $13.80
More perfectly poached eggs, I do love my poached eggs and Cafe Vivo do them well, who can resist those runny golden centres? The eggs sit on top of avocado, pesto and spinach which is placed on toasted sourdough. I really enjoy the freshness of this dish.
Parmesan Scrambled Eggs $12.80
Scrambled eggs with parmesan, lemon thyme, generous slices of wild mushrooms and rocket on whole wheat toast. Very generous portion, then again all of Vivo Cafe’s dishes are generous.
We finish with breakfast and move on to sample some of their lunch offerings.
Grilled Atlantic Salmon Salad $24.90
Two large pieces of salmon on top of a salad of pear, black grapes, oranges and rocket with a seeded mustard vinaigrette.
Thai Beef Salad $24.90
Tender slices of grilled medium cooked steak served on top of crispy rice noodles, coriander, tomato and a nam jim dressing. This was my favourite salad by far. I adored the crispy rice noodle, the steak was flavoursome and tender with the nam jim tying it all together.
Warm Chicken & Pumpkin Salad $21.90
Slices of moist chicken breast served with a salad of roasted pumpkin, asparagus and honey mustard dressing.
Vietnamese Chicken Salad $19.90
This salad is for those watching their weight but not willing to compromise on taste. Shredded chicken, carrot, bean sprouts, sliced Chinese cabbage, fresh chilli with a spicy Asian dressing. This salad gets my thumbs up.
Grilled Haloumi & Roasted Vegetable Salad $19.90
Grilled haloumi, roasted pumpkin, roasted eggplant, tomatoes and balsamic reduction. The sweet tangy balsamic reduction works so well with the grilled haloumi. I am a carnivore at heart, always will be, but the pumpkin and haloumi beckoned me to eat more, tasty.
We finish with sampling the salads, and to tell you the truth most of us are about to slip in to a food coma. Just so much food, Angela has been more than generous to us. We stand up hoping food generally disperse from our stomachs to other parts of our bodies to prepare for the next round of dishes, MAINS…….
Prawn Linguini $24.90
Linguini with prawns, fresh chilli, rocket, garlic, basil, parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil. I don’t usually order pasta at cafes and I am really happy with this dish. So happy that I take some home in a doggy bag.
Chicken, Leek & Pea Risotto $21.90
Risotto of chicken, leek and peas made with white wine and cream, topped with pesto oil and rocket.
Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Penne $21.90
Penne with roasted vegetables, feta, olive tapenade in a fresh tomato herb sauce.
Crispy Skin Chicken & Green Curry $22.90
Chicken breast served with green curry, steamed bok choy and rice. The chicken is moist and tender and for our cold winter days is a great option on the menu.
During the evening we also sample some of Cafe Vivo’s smoothies and drinks.
Mango & Lime Smoothie $6.90 (right), Homemade Lemonade $6.80 (behind), Iced Lemongrass & Ginger Tea $5.58 (front) & Peanut Butter Shake $6.50 (left)
The flavour of the mango and lime smoothie is so fresh, just low fat Greek yoghurt, milk, mango and lime, that’s it and it tastes so good. I am always a little hesitant when it comes to peanut butter in drinks, it can go so wrong. You end up with a thick gluggy, don’t want to drink more than two sips concoction. Not with Vivo Cafe’s, it was so light, the ration of peanut butter and milk just perfect, I wanted more!
Mini Homemade Lemonade – taster
Mini Iced Lemongrass & Ginger Tea – taster
Mini Peanut Butter Shake – taster
We are all completely full. We resembled a family that has overstuffed themselves on Christmas day. Yet Angela, being the great host that she is, wanted to feed us more.
Baby biscuits
Fruit Platter
Affogato $4.90
A double shot of espresso with vanilla ice cream. I had a try of Simon’s and it was creamy and delicious.
Vivo Espresso Martini (mini taster shown) $6.80
Clever concoction of espresso and sparkling mineral water in a lemon and sugar rimmed glass.
Short Black $3.90
Unfortunately I found my short black a little on the bitter side, this could well be due to slurping away at the affogato before hand.
Cafe Vivo is open Monday to Thursday 6am – 5pm and Friday 6am to 6.30pm. They offer a range of services for their customers, space for your next business meeting, birthday celebration, cocktail party, tweetups for those twitterers out there, workshop and course break lunches, private functions, charity events, Christmas parties and much more.
Simon (Simon Food Favourites), Tony (@asktonyfood) & I in a food coma
I can now say that I am very familiar with the Vivo menu. Will be back for the Thai beef salad, mango and lime smoothie, the warm welcoming staff and a good spot of people watching.
Sara xxx
holy crap did u eat all of that?! thats a lot of food…
Food coma indeed! I think we sampled 22 courses all up including those milkshakes. I’ll be back for the Vietnamese Chicken Salad and Parmesan Scarnbled Eggs – loved them. Great to see you there Sara – thanks to Angela and the team at VIVO for hosting a great event.
Tony Hollingsworth
@AskTonyFood – Twitter
Whoa – so much food! I would’ve had to go in my comfy PJs in order from my tummy not to explode. Is this Cafe under the IAG/NRMA/Whatever building? If so I’m pretty sure I’ve been there when I used to work across the road.
LOL!!
Guys, I didn’t eat every mouthful of all the dishes, please let me set that one straight!! We were sharing them and basically towards the end it was a couple of mouthfuls each. We all went home with doggy bags.
Mel, it is on the corner of King & George, next to Coles, pretty sure it is the one you are thinking about.
I think you just found the next challenge for JOSH V FOOD
Hi Tony, was great to see you there too. When I was editing the photos, it really struck home the amount we got through.
Hi Mr Mac, Simon actually made that remark on the night as we all started to struggle.
Wow you bascially ate your breakfast, lunch and dinner in few hrs that’s crazy. But those drooling breakfast and egg pics are making me so hungry now! Wish I was there…
I cannot believe you guys ate sooo much. I used to order our catering from Vivo when I worked in the city. It was the best! Also tried the Breakfast Bruschetta recently… really nice! And I continue to get my coffee from the nice baristas whenever I’m in town. PS Are you still feeling full?
Wow, everything looks delicious.. though I think the jury is out for me on the green breakfast!
Great looking cafe food. Hats off to your stomach capacity!
Even though I still can’t see the pics even with my upgraded ie it sounds like an awesome feast! I mean, when do you ever go to a sampling event and get to take home doggy bags?? =D
So…much…food! But you definitely grabbed my attention there with the peanut butter shake.
that’s a nice photo of us at the end
i think we needed at least 6 more people to help eat our way through the menu.
Ahh..the Spanish Coddled Eggs looks great! Looked to be a smashing event!
OMG sooo much food!! I like the look of beef Thai salad.
Hi Wendy, yep we ate a days worth of meals
Hi Martyna, yes, still feeling full
Hi Thang, I quite liked the green breakfast, hehe
Hi Gaby, my stomach will never be the same again
Hi Angie, I can’t work out the pic prob
Hi MD, the shake was really good
Hi Simon, is a great pic, 6 more people or Josh
Hi Adrian, was a great event
Hi Sazzie, the Thai beef salad was really nom
[...] in May a few food bloggers got invited to sample a heap of dishes at Vivo Cafe. According to their posts they were served copious amounts of good food and drinks for free. When the rush of envy was gone, [...]