Last weekend the hubs and I made the short drive out to Bellevue to check out Vivo 53 and their new(ish) Italian Brunch menu. I don’t visit Bellevue nearly as much as I would like, so it was fun to spend the afternoon enjoying delicious food and then doing a little window shopping at the Bellevue Collection afterward.
Walking up to Vivo 53’s front entrance already set the mood for a fantastic experience. The vine covered brick exterior and fun signage was so charming.
Once inside we found a pretty mix of rustic and industrial interior decor with a hint of modern design. Hopefully, that makes sense, if not here’s a photo to better showcase what I’m trying to describe 🙂
I love their brick oven, kept warm and ready to go with a heaping pile of wood-fire. The perfect way to make a tasty pizza!
On the opposite side of the spacious restaurant, they have a generous bar where they can make pretty much anything a thirsty heart desires. 
Our table was right by the butcher area, where they hang cured meats and cut the slices to order.
Since it was brunch time and I can’t say no to a good Bloody Mary $10, we decided to start our meal with a little ‘eye opener’. So full disclosure here, this tasty tipple was pretty strong, and I had a nice buzz going after just 1.
For our first course, we started with an Antipasto of Burrata – roasted organic vine tomatoes, pesto, taggiasca olives, sea salt $12. This also happens to be one of their house specialties. 
It was everything you expect burrata to be – creamy, milky, and smooth. The roasted tomatoes add a bit of sweetness, the pesto and olive oil added a nice flavor component, and the olives were the perfect touch of saltiness. For our second course, we split a wood-fired pizza. Smoked Salmon Pizze – herbed crème fraiche, Bermuda onions, salmon pearls, fried capers, lemon zest, minced chives $17.
All I can say is YUM! The smoked salmon was nicely prepared and not overly fishy as it can sometimes be. The capers, along with red onions and chives all paired together perfectly. And what I loved the most was the nice hit of citrus in each bite from the lemon zest. Here’s my poor (patient) husband, like “Can we eat yet”!!!
For our third course, we definitely wanted to try a pasta dish. We chose another house specialty, the Vivo Truffle Fettuccine – truffle bolognese, white truffle oil $17.
Talk about a truffle lovers dream! The bolognese was perfectly seasoned, and the truffle oil was not overpowering, you could still taste the freshly grated parmesan as well. I really like how they cooked the noodles. Sometimes fettuccine can be too firm for me, but this was the perfect amount of firm chew and softness. We finished our meal with the most lovely dessert, an Orange Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary Gelato (sorry I forgot to note the price).
I am a huge sweets person, but sadly my husband is not, so we made the perfect compromise. If you are a fan of Carrot Cake or Spice Cakes, you will love this. It did not have a strong olive oil flavor, but the orange was quite nice. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the Rosemary because it can be pretty aromatic but it worked really well in the gelato. It left your mouth with a nice refreshing finish after every bite.
After all this food we basically needed a wheelbarrow to roll ourselves out! If you are looking for a good brunch option, I would definitely recommend checking out Vivo 53. They also offer $15 bottomless mimosas, which is on my ‘must-try’ for the next visit.
Cheers,
Sonya
Neighborhood: Bellevue
Price Point: $$
