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Viva La Vida

4.8 (48 reviews)
Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

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Flan
Art C.

Dinner is so much better when you enjoy it with friends, especially at a great restaurant. Viva La Vida is a great restaurant. The design of the restaurant seating, the pleasant décor, the background music, was just so welcoming. This was our first visit, and it was perfect for us. Linnet our server was so nice and helpful, adding to our very positive experience. I confess we overstayed our visit and Linnet and the owner Alejandro could not have been better hosts. I had checked out their reviews beforehand and was torn between ordering their Vaca Frita or their pressed Cuban Sandwich. I decided on their Vaca Frita, a marinated shredded flank steak that is pan fried in the end to give it a little crispness. Excellent choice, so easy to eat, so good. I thought the plating was interesting in that the beef was in the shape of a steak. Was it cooked so tender that it just fell apart when touched by a fork or was it shredded and reshaped? The food only took about 10 minutes to arrive but we were there much longer, so long I decided we should order more food. So yes, I also had their Classic Pressed Cuban Sandwich. Well, half a sandwich, the other half will be my lunch today. That was another wonderful choice, soft bread, great flavor. It came with their housemade chips, loved 'em. Someplace during our visit I ordered their Flan. Two thumbs up for that, I wished it was larger. Viva La Vida has live music on Thursday and Saturday, and as part of the Beneva Village Shoppes, there is plenty of parking. As they declare on their wall, for us this was definitely a Cheers to Life night.

Vaca frita with black beans and rice
Maria R.

Discovered this gem of a Cuban restaurant after it was mentioned in the Sarasota Herald. Daniella was our server and she was amazing! The food was delicious and the portions plentiful but not ridiculous. Being Cuban I appreciate good authentic fare and this was spot on! We started with croquetas and empanadas for appetizers. Delicious! My husband had the palomilla with congri and tostones and was delighted with the flavor. I had the vaca frita with black beans and rice. I was super impressed with the vaca frita!! It was succulent and flavorful! The beans were delicious!! Please try this amazing restaurant!!

Snapper Special with Prawns and Plantains
Juvy E.

After reading some of the reviews before I wrote mine, I thought , why hasn't anyone reviewed the Ceviche?! I've had lots of Ceviche from some of the best places in Tampa but that combo Ceviche was amazing!! The best I've had! I could've had another bowl of that! Everything we tried was very good. The Vaca Frita was so tender, the Lechon Asado was delish, the Snapper special was cooked to perfection & the beef Milanese was very good with the right amount of tomatoes & Mozzarella!! Alejandro & Traci Lazo, owners would come over & check on us which is key as a new restaurant to ask for feedback. Our server was very sweet and thorough!Bravo Lazo's!! I can't not comment about the ambiance.... Loved the decor from the ceiling to the Viva La Vida picture backdrop to the begonia trees! We can't wait to go back and try the other dishes !

This place is fabulous! We've been multiple times and have tried many things on the menu. Everything is fantastic. The ambiance is beautiful. The food is well prepared and the presentation is clean and modern. Live music twice a week adds life to this adorable place. It's beer and wine only but they may be working on getting a full liquor license.

Arroz con moro very tasty
Andre M.

We decided to try this new restaurant been open for 2 weeks and we like Cuban food I've eaten a lot of Cuban food. The decor and design of the place is really nice. The service was great everybody was nice everyone greeted us with a smile that's refreshing always refreshing. We sat at the bar it was pretty packed in there so it was quicker to do that. I do have to say we were disappointed in the food unfortunately the brown rice was very very good and it was hot the yellow rice was cold and had no flavor I had two pieces of chicken the dinner piece of chicken was juice here with flavor the thicker piece of chicken was not totally dry or moist and really didn't have any flavor it was like my chicken came from two different dishes. Me lady had the flank steak the flavor was good but the steak was tough I no Cuban food can taste better than that. There's about five or six places to eat in that lot. They have their work cut out for them I think if they want to keep the people coming back, we're going to wait a while and we'll go back in a few months. But hey I cook so I could be picky and then again to each his own right. Anywho in anyhow go out get something to eat you deserve it treat yourself

Cuban Sandwich
Rita H.

Cuban food in Sarasota just got even better. Two weeks into serving dinner, Viva La Vida is here to impress, and hopefully to stay. It is very obvious that every detail of this restaurant was carefully designed, a product of love. Start with a menu centered strictly on Cuban cuisine, traditional dishes with native spices, prepared to entice all of your taste buds. Their modern decor and delightful soft Cuban background music, makes you want to dance; the abundance of courteous staff to ensure a great experience; a simple but exquisite menu to keep everyone happy -- Alejandro & Tracy did it right! What did we order? One order of Vaca Frita, served with arroz con moro and fried plantains; very likely one of the best Vaca Frita that we have ever had, not shredded (as in most places) but a flavorful, soft & tender cut of meat with delicious crisp edges, topped with crunchy onions -- just delicious! One sandwich Cubano, with the perfect amount of mustard and pickles! We will definitely be back to order other tempting menu items.

Dining

Wow, great food, the homemade croquettes are amazing. The Cuban sandwich is one of the best we have had, even the home made chips are really good. Reasonably priced as well. Will be back

Pechuga chicken and plantain
Sahil S.

Food was tasty, smallest portion of pechuga chicken I've ever had at a Cuban restaurant. Also was charged $3 for Cuban bread. Plantain and black beans were good!

Flan

Amaizing Cuban food restaurant, nice service staff and owner. Easy & plenty of parking. Modern decoration with sitting inside and outside. Everything was very tasteful and the right portions. I had lechon, congri and fry sweet plantains. My husband had vaca frita with congri and sweet plantain. For dessert we had a delicious flan.

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1 month ago

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1 month ago

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1 month ago

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2 months ago

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5 months ago

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5 days ago

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11 days ago

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8 days ago

Beautifully decorated, delicious food and friendly staff! A welcome addition to the neighborhood.

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3 months ago

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29 days ago

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4 months ago

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27 days ago

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28 days ago

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4 months ago

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4 months ago

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4 months ago

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27 days ago

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5 months ago

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2 months ago

Excellent food at reasonable prices, very nice interior, and great service. This restaurant will be a big success!

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3 months ago

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2 months ago

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3 months ago

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3 months ago

Outstanding service, empanadas were fabulous, terrific atmosphere nicely decorated! Amazing addition to SRQ! Que rico!

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3 months ago

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5 months ago

Food amazing service excellent great Ambience all the flavors incredible . The products are very high quality,

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1 month ago

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4 months ago

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3 months ago

Absolutely loved it. Great service and food. Nice ambiance- especially for a strip center restaurant. Please give it a try.

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2 months ago

The wait staff excellent. The food was superb. Everything new and bright. We loved this place!

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3 months ago

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5 months ago

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5 months ago

So good!!!! Very happy I tried it. Would highly recommend! My wife had the chicken and it was the best we've had in Sarasota!!

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4 months ago

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3 months ago

Excellent! The food was outstanding and the staff are all very friendly and welcoming. I would definitely recommend.

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3 months ago

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4 months ago

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4 months ago

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4 months ago

The service and food are fantastic! Great addition to Sarasota - it will be one of our "go to" places from now on!!

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5 months ago

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Happy hour at its finest. Stopped in on a Friday afternoon for happy hour. What a delight. The food…read moreand service is amazing. Not only are they attentive, the owner came and checked on us twice. The drinks were delicious and made fresh right in front of us and not premade. The appetizers were authentic and delicious. One of my new favorite spots!

Will return. Many…read moreblack and white photos on the walls are beautiful and interesting. Girls in the bathroom walls are provocatively enchanting. 1958 was the last year that the Cubans existed as a whole on the island. Since then, one million plus hit the roads around the world for a new home. This owner came to US. The stems look nice but are rather thick. Good service with delicious food: Empanada with spinach & cheese Marquitas con Guacamole Croquetas de la Casa Cod sandwich Guajiro - pork All three are great, except the sandwich is tasteless. No hooks under the bar counter. The only handicap is the regular high ceiling. The two men band plays before we left for our opera. Next time Will return. Many black and white photos on the walls are beautiful and interesting. Girls in the bathroom walls are provocatively enchanting. 1958 was the last year that the Cubans existed as a whole on the island. Since then, one million plus hit the roads around the world for a new home. This owner came to US. The stems look nice but are rather thick. Good service with delicious food: Empanada with spinach & cheese Marquitas con Guacamole Croquetas de la Casa Cod sandwich Guajiro - pork All three are great, except the sandwich is tasteless. Using cigar box for bill is cool: The Library in St. Pete uses book No hooks under the bar counter. The only handicap is the regular high ceiling. The two men band plays before we left for our opera. Next time

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The Cottage - Lobster Maki Sushi

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After a relaxing day at Siesta Key beach, we stopped at The Cottage for lunch. I cannot say enough…read moregreat things about this restaurant. It's got a relaxing beach vibe with outside seating and a nice patio in the back with enough shade. I could tell that they host nightly entertainment here with a small stage. For lunch, I ordered the lobster maki roll. I'm not a big sushi fan, but I was intrigued. This lobster roll was one of the best sushi rolls I've had in a long time. Also ordered include the blackened grouper sandwich, billionaire burger, and tempura shrimp appetizer. Our group loved every entree. The cocktails were also refreshing. I really loved my jalapeño watermelon margarita. Our server was wonderful - very friendly and quick service. Definitely an enjoyable lunch or dinner spot!

We booked this place via OpenTable since it received great reviews. We ended up parking next door…read moresince parking was a bit hard to navigate. The parking place had ample parking where you needed a mobile app to pay for your parking. There was a larger souvenir store there if you needed to kill time before your seating. Once it was our time for our dinner reservations, we were greeted and seated at our table. Our waitress was a bit sarcastic or had a witty comments that didn't sit well with my kids. When ordering our foods, the kids asked what type of drinks they had since it was not listed on the menu. She said Coke but didn't elaborate that they had Coke products. Since she said Coke so fast our daughter didn't hear the response and asked her the question again where she just said that's a great question and ignored her and moved on. Food wise - we had the Peruvian ceviche, Peruvian chicken, I think I had a special grouper dish. The food was good. We were able to eat everything and the kids enjoyed their kids burger meals. Outside of the waitress comments, the place placed nice modern music to listen to and had the basketballs games playing on the tv at the bar.

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The Cottage - Patio seating

Patio seating

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Viva La Vida - cuban - Updated May 2026

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