Vivo Kitchen Offers Fresh and Local With a Twist

Vivo Kitchen has opened in in a new incarnation of one of the region’s most popular restaurants. Fans of the original Vivo in Bellevue will find the same simple preparations of fresh, local ingredients but should expect an updated dining experience.

Fitting with the new, sleek approach, the menu does not offer four courses but is broken into just two sections: starters and mains. Menu items will change frequently according to seasonal availability. 

Current dishes include grilled fig with prosciutto and spicy ricotta, beef short ribs with a molasses barbecue sauce, crispy poussin with fresh herbs, Duroc pork strip chorizo and peaches, and oven roasted, whole branzino.

Owners Sam and Lori DiBattista operated Vivo in Bellevue for the past 11 years, but in that time the restaurant scene had significantly changed. Pittsburgh neighborhoods from which Vivo once drew clientele, such as Lawrenceville and Squirrel Hill, saw many great restaurants open, giving residents more choices without the drive.

“People like nothing more than being able to get up, walk out of their house…have something to eat and have a couple drinks and then walk home,” said Sam DiBattista.  

With the  and a changed economy, DiBattista said operating a destination restaurant was no longer as viable as it once was.

Sewickley offered the DiBattistas an opportunity to reinvent Vivo as a neighborhood institution. 

Tom McCargo, a longtime Vivo patron, urged the restaurateurs to relocate to a building he owned on Beaver Street. Eventually they did. 

The borough’s walkable, village-like setting and streets filled with shops and restaurants offered the DiBattistas the neighborhood context they had been looking for.  

Vivo Kitchen has been quite busy in its first few weeks, and DiBattista estimates that 80 percent of the clientele is from the Sewickley area.

DiBattista designed the interior, and the space was completely remodeled for the opening. He said the old Vivo had a classic warmth to it, “[but] I wanted to move beyond that and do the same feel in a different design.”

The new minimalist aesthetic is met with organic textures such as cork flooring and tables made of walnut and ash. A set of warehouse-style windows, which Moss Architects designed, replaced an entire wall and open to an outdoor courtyard.  

The outdoor dining space features a bamboo hedge, an herb garden and two newly-planted trees. Metal light fixtures and rustic gates add contrasting edge to the soft greens, and the open design brings together the outdoor and indoor elements. 

Designing this space and the re-imagining of Vivo has invigorated DiBattista.  

“I think it’s inspired me and it’s helped me realize that I’m not done quite yet,” he said with a laugh.

One of DiBattista’s goals with the new Vivo is to work with young, inspired chefs in a creative kitchen atmosphere.

Vivo Kitchen has a full liquor license and a wide selection of , but the restaurant still allows customers to bring their own alcoholic beverages. That is one classic feature he doesn’t plan to change.

“I had so many great customers that supported us over the years that loved the BYOB,” DiBattista said.

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Vivo Kitchen

Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Location:432 Beaver Street, Sewickley. 

Phone:  412-259-8946.