Bar Vivant is a lovely spot for truly authentic tapas, and a large selection of drinks to go with them. Being able to get anchovies in vinegar, ham croquettes, and a Belgian beer takes me back to some of my favorite travel experiences, and the Pix Patisserie dessert options continue to provide a thrill. I have two quibbles that keep me from adding the fifth star - the Tortilla Espanola (closer to an egg and potato frittata than a Mexican tortilla) is served with a drizzle of red and a white sauces. A well made Tortilla (and this one is very nicely done) doesn't really need any embellishment. I'll try to remember to ask for the sauce on the side next time. The second issue I have is that the servers didn't appear to have received enough training to do justice to the things on the menu. Bar Vivant has a lot of wonderful offerings, enough of them that they really deserve better descriptions and recommendations. Between the drinks, the savory and the sweet options, this is a very special place. read more

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I Love this little gem! They have beers, cocktails and such, but their specialty is most definitely their Sherry selection and tapas. Bar Vivant is a place where you can get more than just Sherry, you get an education about the differences, variations and Spaniard regions where the sherry is cultivated. If you are into Sherry Wines, then this is the place for you. It's a "low-Key" spot with a sense of Romanticism. They have a beer garden that serves as a temporary escape from hustle and bustle. The chill vibe allows for you to take your time, sip on your sherry while trying the different tapas, such as pulpo, sardines, ham, croquettes and much more. If you are in the mood for a good dessert with your sherry, well, you are in luck because Bar Vivant is like a "two-for-one". The restaurant shares it's space with Pix Patisserie, the only place in Portland where you should purchase Macaroons! Because it is a chill spot, the service is chill as well. If you are in the area, waiting to be called for a table, I recommend you stop here while you wait. read more

Bar Vivant - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I've always wanted to dine here, and I am coming back again. Wonderfully attentive service and perfect small bites. Don't let the "canned food" put you off, as everything we tried was delicious and fresh tasting. My favorite was the octopus and the needle sardines. Definitely take advantage of the desserts. The macaronut (macaron inside of a fresh made donut) was like a lightly fried cloud. So heavenly. read more

Bar Vivant - Passion fruit macaronut - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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I found my favorite cocktail at this place! A seriously great bar, with awesome selection (I mean a 42 page drinks menu, full of wine, champagne, etc., has got to get some of you excited). The oysters were actually really good and I enjoyed watching the guy open them right in front of us. The other tapas are pretty good, and the fresh cut serrano ham is a pretty awesome addition. I have to agree with some of the other reviews that the sitting is not the best and I think it is more of a place you go to grab a few drinks and maybe one or two tapas and then go to your next destination. Sort of a "pre-party" place for a lack of a better word. read more

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Bar Vivant is the savory yin to Pix' sweet yang. I'm not sure why that sounds kind of dirty to me, but it's not intended to be. Ever since Pix moved in to its new digs on Burnside it's been offering up an expanded spectrum of food, wine and spirits via Bar Vivant. Technically this bar shares the space with Pix but it seems to live its own sort of existence. And to call it a tapas bar kind of misses the mark. This bar is all about the pinchos - spanish small bites that are diminutive in size but big on flavor. Think hors d'ouvres on toothpicks. In fact, their pinchos bar looks kind of like an hors d'ouvres spread but instead of you just swiping up handfuls, you can look and point and choose what you want and they'll deliver a whole bunch of little bites to your table. My first visit to this beautiful, welcoming and stylish space has me wanting to come back very, very soon. The decor evokes a sense of 1950's/60's continental European flair, and that's backed up by the design of the menus, logos, etc. The style of service is a bit awkward at first, as is the feng shui of the layout. It's a square building but the bar is set diagonally, separating the space into odd angles and cozy seating areas. It takes what would be an angular space and makes it a lot more fun. The deep red wallpaper and dark wood accents bring in the lounge flavor in big doses. As with the old Pix way, the service is great but the confusing mix of order-at-the-counter/order-from-your-seat style is definitely still very present here. They display everything at the counter for you to see and you can order form there, they do deliver some stuff to your seat and some things you order from your seat as well. In the end, I'm fine with it but I'm sure it will confuse many (as was par for the course at the former locations). There are a lot of things that really stand out here. One is the massive wine and beer list. The second is the interesting array of sherries, and third is easily the pinchos. They remind me of Spain. In fact, it takes me right back. Tortilla Española, pulpo, Jamon Serrano, etc... the types of things I lived on when I visited Spain. One bite of each and I was transported back to that trip. Other bites that really stood out to me: Spicy Gilda (a small toothpick with anchovy, hot pepper and green olives), Gilda (same but with less hot pepper), foie a-la plancha with armagnac plum, chorizo and potatoes, and some of the best boquerones I've ever had. These little bites range from $1 to $6 or maybe a little more (depending on size). They're priced just right for a drinking snack, and the explosive flavors of these small bites cry out to be paired with a cocktail, wine or beer. They do add up fast, but the quality easily supports the price. Of course you can pair that up with the legendary sweets from Pix, which is obviously in the same building. But me, I'm a savory type of guy, and I will definitely be back in very soon to make my way through the entire set of pinchos offerings. So amazing! read more

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Likes: Basil Ice Cream - Unusual and Delicious! White Chocolate with Berries concoction. My husband inhaled his. The decor and ambiance is nice. Staff helpful. Would come back for sure! read more

We were very excited to try this place, as we are fanatics about tapas. The photo on their website shows a big selection of tapas, just like you'd find in a bar in Spain. When we walked in on a Thursday night though, there was just a very paltry selection -- nothing like the photo. We did enjoy what we ate, which we washed down with delicious vermouth, so I'd go again, but our expectations were higher than the actuality. read more

Perfect place for desert and drinks, especially if you're a lover of Sherry as we are :-) Also, Pita was the sweetest, and made the experience that much more enjoyable. Definitely we will return! (I didn't try the food so can't speak on it) read more

I was really excited to try Bar Vivant when I first read about it on Thrillist. The building was very easy to find, but once inside, it was rather confusing, as previous reviewers mentioned. We had a party of three and it was difficult to find seating at a table, since several of them had not been bussed. The place/tables are rather small and definitely not meant for larger groups (4+) to go. The food was okay. I liked the pear jelly with cheese and puff pastry. It would be nice to have a menu with explanations of each tapa. read more

I'd like to give Bar Vivant a better review but sadly, the experience featured far too many confusing elements for me to check off on this place. I agree with Abby: scattered is a good way to describe the place, especially when it comes to the service. Walking in, a sign greets you asking you to please wait to be seated, yet, when you are, you're told that all the food was back near the front and you'd need to go back over there to order. Should I have ordered before you brought me back to my seat? I found myself getting up and walking back to the bar way more than I would like to in a place where I'm expected to leave a tip for a server. Regarding our server, I didn't catch her name, but she was lovely and brought a warmth to what would have otherwise been a coldly confusing experience. The food was good: the calamari salad tasted as if it was pulled right from the sea moments before, the savory salt cod croquettes were excellent but not good enough to shake the lingering feelings of not quite knowing what was going on the whole time. I anticipate returning, as I quite enjoy Pix's desserts, but hopefully with time the tapas concept is ironed out for a smoother experience. read more

I went with some friends for the Sherryfest West 2013 Andalusian Sherry tasting event. The space is tight and things were a bit chaotic since they were open for business before the Sherryfest event. I will say the Tapas are very good even if the service was a bit lackadaisical. If you are a champagne, wine, or sweets lover then Bar Vivant is not a place you will want to miss checking out. Their champagne, wine, and sparkling wine list is very extensive. The adjacent Pix sweet shop (Bar Vivant is in side the same shop) whips up some very yummy treats. read more

To celebrate our birthdays, I went to Bar Vivant (and its sister patisserie, Pix) with a friend. I highly recommend it! The tapas - both in assortment and scrumptiousness - were fabulous. The tinned goods (we had mackerel, at the recommendation of the staff) were lick-the-tin-clean good. Bacon-wrapped dates, olives and anchovies, little bites of crusty bread with jambon and cheese and butter, all so yummy. The flights of sherry, from dry to rich and sweet, were a fine compliment to the tapas. We kind of went overboard on the desserts, since they looked amazing, and after all it was a birthday celebration...and my friend and I are glad we did. Attentive and informative service and fine, fine nibbles made for a very relaxing couple of hours. You should go! read more

The last Royal. 7:30 pm on a Tuesday night, we walked in after dinner wanting dessert. We had been eyeing The Royal in the dessert case and there was only ONE left. I lined up for the cashier and she said if we wanted it here, we would grab a seat and someone would be right with us. We sat down. 10 minutes passed, no one came. I got worried so I went back to the dessert case, about to order it to go so I could have it, and as I was re-lining up, the waiter showed up so I returned to my table, placed the order. 10 minutes after that, we placed our drink order. 10 minutes after that, our drinks were served. THEN, 10 more minutes later, one of the desserts we ordered, the capacabana, was finally brought to us, with a mere apology that they were out of the Royal. EXACTLY WHAT I WAS AFRAID OF!!! Had he grabbed the dessert when it was ordered (ain't like he needed to do anything more than putting it on a plate!!), this review would have been a four-star. You know, when someone needs their chocolate, they NEED THEIR FREAKIN' CHOCOLATE!!! Now I have nothing to pair my freakin' port with, and when I glared at him telling him exactly what should have happened, he said "there is a flaw in the ordering system, this is not my fault, I'm just doing my job." NO. YOU were not doing your job. While I understand things get busy and can get out of hand, your job was to place the order when it was ordered, and when you couldn't deliver it (had you done your job properly...!) offer a real apology and WORK ON PERFECTING THE ORDERING SYSTEM instead of pointing your finger on something else. OBVIOUSLY when someone needs chocolate and is not getting it when someone else is not doing their job, the first someone gets really grumpy. UGH!! To be fair, the capacabana was good, but if you don't want to endure this painfully slow service, run and never look back. read more

First time here last night and weirdly we are right in line with other reviews: terrific food (5), service lacking (2). In sum well worth it and a place we will go back to... A LOT. Food: they have a small case of tapas, no menus. You select what you want and return to your seat. Standout is the Jamon, dramatically sliced off the leg. We ordered 5 different tapas... all were excellent. Cocktails were fresh, IE: the limes for the margaritas were squeezed per order, no oxidized, days-old, pre-mix. In all the food was great - so good that I am already planning on taking out of town guests there in a few weeks. Everything we ate was truly delicious, and the desserts are beautiful. Service: The staff was very friendly, and wanted to do a good job, I think. And there were a lot of them: beside the bartender 5 others were on the floor of a pretty small place. The issue seems to stem from role definition: Everyone is concurrently a wait person. You can order at the cases from anyone standing there, at the bar from the bartender or your waitperson. But the staff were never sure which person took which order for whom. For example we were told on arrival that we could order from the cases, and did. But our order was lost. When we asked after it we were told we should order from the bar. As we were doing that our previously lost order was delivered. Hmmmm... Our 2nd 'round of tapas took an extraordinarily long time, and from our vantage point we could see the prep area for the tapas. When we asked after our 2nd order nearly 30 minutes after our order was placed the bartender went to the tapas area, chatted with the staff, there was a flurry of action... and presto here come our tapas. Now to dessert. We picked out a couple of tasty bits from the case, the waitperson took our order, and told us to order coffee from the bar. We did that, here comes the coffee .. tik-tok.. no pastry. At this point we've finished the coffee and while asking for refills we reorder our dessert from the bar. Many apologies follow and after literally less than a minute our dessert is delivered. Hint to management: clearly define a process for managing food orders, and establish a set of clear roles to support the process. read more

Some friends and I descended on Bar Vivant last night in a celebration of my entering club 30. These plans were unbeknownst to me (semi-surprise)...and apparently Bar Vivant as well. Those poor, wonderful souls. They handled the onslaught of 25 people with poise and competency. In addition to delicious drinks and clearly astounding desserts, they handled the chaos of the group so amazingly well that we didn't feel like a burden at all. Our server was a rockstar and the bartender kept up with the drink orders like he was bailing water out of a sinking ship - seriously a pro. Also, the drinks were dirt cheap. THANK YOU Bar Vivant for helping cap off a memorable landmark birthday celebration! read more

Tiny plates of brilliant flavor explosion. Inspiring drink menus. High energy OR relaxed. Savory-sweet-spicy-soft-crunchy-chewy-creamy-licious. One of Portland's best spots to share and pair. Don't be intimidated by the space---to the left we find a standing room (counter service), Pix sweets in the center and full-service tables & bar to your right. Easy! And it gets better every time. read more

Wow...scattered. The concept works better in Madrid by far. The desserts are still outstanding. The service is confused, and although some of the tapas were very good, the bar, food and desserts are sufficiently disconnected to detract from the food. A perfect example of trying to do too much. Go for the desserts though, they are still among the best and most varied in Portland. read more

I wasn't sure whether to write this review for Bar Vivant or for Pix. It's all one room, so maybe there shouldn't be two yelp entries? So, yes, the macarons are great, but we've already known that for a while. But, Bar Vivant, well this is something new. The tapas are like the tapas you get in Spain - just a tiny bite. Not for when you're hungry, more more just tastes while you're drinking. A few of my favorites include the croquettes, the octopus, and the cold garlic soup, which I dream about sometimes. The happy hour is a steal. It's the kind of place you can take your mom, or your coworkers, or a friend, or a date (I have done all of the above). Oh, and they threw a great New Year's Eve party. I just love this place. I want it to do well, but not so well that it's hard to get a table. read more

The first time I came here everybody was kind and explained everything. We had dinner but in the patiserie side. Today, Thursday, it seems to be Tapas Thursday. Nobody told us, we had to figure it out after one of the waitress tried to sell us desserts like three times. Then finally somebody understood that we wanted tapas, but there's no menu, you have to go see what you want. Anything under $3 is included with the drink, but the price is not indicated. Seems that the waitress was to pissed off to continue serving us so other ended doing it. I'm giving it 2 stars because I loved it the first time and cocktails are really good, but this service and reheated tapas are terrible. read more

Disappointing. Non-friendly non-inviting atmosphere. Service seemed confused and scattered. Lots of food sitting out at room temp. Tapas was meh, service was meh, atmosphere was meh. Trying to combine Bar Vivant and Pix has made it feel disjointed and odd. Def preferred the Division and Nopo locations. read more

Great place for many occasions, great vine list, friendly environment, nice patio - the weather allowing, excellent tapa and pastries, Pix under the same roof has excellent champagne list. We have been there with kids for tapa and vine - and will be back. It's not Andalusia, Seville or Malaga - that's why only four stars but then, maybe asking too much! Anyway, enjoy! read more

Some of the best coffee I have ever had however.... low customer service. Had to ask the waitress to come up and bring water, had to get up again to ask the waitress to come our order. Stood at the bar to ask for a drink and was told to sit down to order it and never got arround to it. Ended up leaving without ordering anything else. read more

I love tapas and was excited to try Bar Vivant. The service here is painfully slow and the tapas were simply underwhelming. The pinchos looked a little old and the variety was lacking. They have an extensive wine list and random but interesting ambiance. The place was not busy and the bartender was friendly but the service speedy was maddening. There was another employee just putting menus together while we sat at the bar waiting for someone to approach us for almost 20 mins. Not sure what that was about but I won't be going back to give it another chance. read more

This place looks pretty cool from the outside, with the big bull on the roof and the vines out front. They probably get 90% of their business from folks who don't want to wait to eat at screen door. I'm sure that is no secret. This is how we found ourselves walking in. The problems start when you walk in. The sign said to seat ourselves and the waitress took quite a while to bring us menus. We were told by someone behind the pastry bar that we could also order from the pastry or tapas bar instead. They had movie ropes setup for the non existent lines to order at these bars. The folks at the tapas bar were helpful, but we sill didn't know whether to wait there or return to our seats after ordering. If you can't tell, the whole operation was just clunky and confusing. All of that was enough to turn us off, then the food came... We were not fans of the tapas or the pastries. We ordered quite a few of the tapas and the only item we liked were the bacon wrapped dates. Kinda tough to screw those up anyway, I think. Food came out quick enough, but the waitress was very slow in general. Decor was fine, music was 90's hip hop and way too loud. Not a great experience. They really need to streamline their operation...imo. read more

What a surprising gem! I read about this place in one of the local rags and realized I had missed it because the business I knew about at the same location (Prix) specializes in pastries and desserts which are not my thing. Well I am so glad I stopped in. They have an incredible assortments of tapas, including as the centerpiece, fresh cut serrano ham. Also oysters, boquerones (Spanish anchovies) shrimp, almonds, and many other rotating selections. Ask for the Champagne list. Then expect to be amazed. In fact, this is the most extensive list IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES! I was skeptical, too but just check it out! Also long and deep sherry list. There are other tapas bars in Portland, and I LOVE some of them (my birthday was at Toro Bravo with 15 of my best friends) I also love Pata Negra, Navarre, and others - but this place tops them with their low key authenticity. As they say, "napkins on the floor, please" Stop in, and allow yourself to be transported to Madrid. read more

FRESH CUT SERRANO HAM! Really, that's all you need to know. I'll add some details but when it seems like I'm whining, just remember that part. Beneath an Osborne bull-board is this jamon oasis. It's a Pix combined with a tapas bar. Most are already familiar with Pix so I'll focus on the tapas bar. It certainly has been our focus. The freshly sliced serrano ham is fantastic. It is properly and lovingly sliced and the portions are generous, the price reasonable (I think it's $4). We've had many of the other tapas and most are pretty average. The padron peppers are solid. I don't recommend the spicy Gilda. Like a real tapas bar, they encourage you to throw your used napkins on the floor which I think is great. Environmental Portlanders, however, seem reluctant to litter under any circumstances. While a successful recreation of Spanish and French food, the resemblance unfortunately doesn't end there. It is also a recreation of the worst Spanish and French bureaucracy. We've been a couple of times. The first time wasn't very crowded at all and we went to the Bar Vivant side and ordered food at the bar without issue. Our beer, however, was held up in customs at the Pix-Vivant border. The most recent visit was more crowded and there was a sign posted at the Pix side to wait to be seated. We went to the Vivant side and sat only to be told that we needed wait to be seated there as well. We could stand near a table, however. Shortly after we stood, we were then informed that we would be allowed to sit. Confused yet? It gets worse. Previously we ordered at the bar like in Spain. This time we could order tapas without issue but if we wanted a macaroon (the fleur de sel are world class), we had to wait for our server. Server? What server? We waited for a while and on our next attempt, we wisely ordered to go and then took them back to our table. Even if we had a server, I don't think it would be too practical considering the huge variety of macaroon flavors. They should just do all the orders through the bar. OK. Done complaining. FRESH CUT SERRANO HAM! read more

As a Spanish expat I was excited to try Bar Vivant. Finally a place with simple, traditional tapas, and none of the fancy, fusion, frou frou "tapas" other restaurants in town offer. However, some of the food looked like it'd been sitting out too long even though it was early in the day, and it tasted OK, but a bit bland. The Ajo Blanco soup (a shot glass of it) seemed to lack one of the main ingredients, ajo (garlic), the tortilla was nothing to write home about and came smothered in tomato sauce and was served cold, while a pulpo salad was served warm. The boquerones tasted really good, but, and this is my main complaint about Bar Vivant, the portion was ridiculously small. 3 of the tiniest anchovies I've ever seen spread out on a plate. Also, and if you've ever been to Spain, you know that it is mandatory, no, I'd say it's almost a law, to make bread available with any tapas... $30 later, we were thinking of ordering patatas bravas and some croquetas since we were still pretty hungry when the servers disappeared for a good 5 mins... so we decided to just leave... I wanted to love it, I miss going out for some good ol' tapas, but I'll just wait till my next visit to Spain. read more

We won't go back--ever. In order of appearance, the server had absolutely no understanding of the wine menu for the drink order; the notion of by-the-piece tapas is a stupid, annoying idea (I guess we'll have 4 bacon-wrapped dates?); the croquetas weren't even as good as the crummy, late night, fast-food croquetas you get in Madrid at 4am; the pulpo was chewy, fishy and overall not good; if you are actually served Tempranillo when you order it, you might enjoy it--but we wouldn't know because we didn't actually get the Tempranillo we ordered. We got the wrong wine. In general, this was a total waste of a babysitter. We didn't have dessert, so hopefully the Pix side at least lives up to its reputation. read more