Vote for Vivace in the 2011 Best of Omaha survey

"Whether you are seeking a fine dining experience or a casual meal served in elegant surroundings, Vivace is a great find.... Vivace has the menu and the staff to completely sate your appetite for contemporary Italian cuisine. Restaurateurs Ann Mellen and Ron Samuelson have painstakingly created a lively atmosphere for your enjoyment.......With everything that Vivace has to offer, including a private dining room for up to 30 people, reservations are of course recommended............"

-- Paul Ranney
Omaha Restaurant Examiner
December 24, 2009

"On sheet music, “vivace” means “lively.” At Vivace Contemporary Italian......“vivace” has long been an apt description of the cacophony within its big, dark, exposed-brick dining room and bar on a busy night.
A menu makeover, in the works for a year and unveiled at the 16-year-old restaurant a month ago, does much to pick up the pace. "

-- Nichole Aksamit
Omaha World Herald,
August 7,2009

“Vivace Contemporary Italian is one of the Old Market’s war horses, opening in 1993 and delivering high-quality food and service ever since. …executive chef, Bobby Mekiney, …has devised a Mediterranean-infused menu with a few dishes that have break-out potential. And the restaurant remains one of the less-expensive upscale dining options in the Old Market.”

– John Keenan
Omaha World Herald,
January 26, 2007

“The new offerings take us further and deeper into the heart of Italian cooking, dispelling the myth that only pasta and red sauce are Italian. There is still pasta, but there is so much more.”

– Ken Mayer
Old Market Encounter, 3/2003

"Although the restaurant still specializes in Italian, the pasta heavy menu…has been replaced by an interesting bill of fare that offers appetizers and entrees from different regions of Italy - Turin, Trento, Bologna, Florence and L’Aquila and Palermo and Cagliari."

– John Keenan
Omaha World Herald, March 21, 2003

"Vivace's is educating people about a broader range of Italian and Mediterranean foods. The enormous menu is full of ethnic dishes you seldom encounter elsewhere."

– Jim Delmont
Omaha World Herald, 2/1997

"Vivace has always been one of the Old Market’s great restaurants. The fresh approach and inventiveness of Joe Gerardi and his staff are certain to make it an eatery to visit again and again."

– Ken Mayer
Omaha Weekly Reader, 2/2003

"With perhaps the liveliest dining room in the Old Market, Vivace continues to attract fans with its 100-item Italian wine list and its distinctive Mediterranean cuisine...Dining at Vivace is an adventure. Everything is fresh…. Let yourself go into unfamiliar culinary territory and have a good time, abetted by excellent wines and elegant desserts."

– Jim Delmont
Omaha World Herald, 2/1997

"Vivace has mellowed into one of the better restaurants in Nebraska.... The servers also are well trained in wine selection from the almost phenomenal Italian list that has now reached nearly 200, of which about a third are available by the glass."

– Jim Delmont
Omaha World Herald, 11/1999