Vivo Lounge, Dorchester in West Dorset - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

We recently attended the birthday event at Vivo Lounge, to support a local spot and band. However, our experience was completely ruined by the disgraceful behavior of the manager, Betsy. After having three cocktails and some food, I went to the restroom with my friend. We had a brief chat with Betsy, who was there changing the loo roll, about which toilet needed supplies. My friend then told me a funny story, and we were laughing together. When we returned to the bar, Betsy rudely informed me that I could no longer be served because I was "too drunk and falling over." As someone who has worked for many years at a bar this accusation was a blatant lie—I was neither drunk nor had I fallen over and I would heavily advise her to rethink her perception of a drunk and disorderly individual. The only "wrongdoing" was laughing in the toilet about a funny story my friend had told me. When we questioned the staff about this absurd claim, they became incredibly hostile. Betsy’s lie was clearly a personal issue, and the staff's nasty attitudes made it obvious they supported her false narrative. Feeling extremely uncomfortable and unwelcome, we decided to leave. To top it off, as we exited, a girl with brown hair at the bar pulled disgusting faces at us, adding insult to injury to what I can only describe as the most bizarre hospitality experience ever. Betsy's unprofessional and deceitful behavior, combined with the staff's hostility and real lack of maturity, turned what should have been an enjoyable night into a deeply upsetting experience. This kind of treatment is unacceptable, especially towards loyal customers. Vivo Lounge needs to address this issue immediately, as no one should be subjected to such disrespect and false accusations. We will not be returning and are all incredibly disappointed by the rude staff with an attitude problem who have ruined what is normally a lovely chain restaurant.

McDonald's for adults. Awful food poorly/ over cooked and cold. Terrible beer choice unless you like lager. No service at all. Order online only so no interaction or ability to ask questions about whats available. Terrible experience

Lovely atmosphere and a great selection of food for all dietary needs. Lots of games for families to play while waiting for food.

Excellent quality food, well cooked and served nicely. The staff were very welcoming, friendly, and helpful. I'd definitely go back again.

Stopped here for lunch with our dog. A lovely friendly welcome along with instructions on how to order. The place is lovely with a nice vibe. We ordered 5 tapas dishes which arrived very quickly. The food was so tasty! Loved the chicken wings! We will definitely be back again. Absolutely loved everything about it. Thank you

The restaurant has a really nice, comfortable atmosphere from armchairs for coffees, etc, to tables and chairs. Exceptionally friendly staff and tasty food! As a vegan, I am used to a very limited choice but Vivo Lounge has a whole vegan menu including desserts on request. Food arrived at the table in good time and we enjoyed the whole experience. LGBTQ+ friendly too

Have eaten here several times and never been disappointed. The food is always excellent and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Great selection of food - even if there are dietary requirements such as vegan or gluten free there is still a great choice of dishes, alternate milks etc. Very welcoming and accommodating. Will continue to visit!

Lovely food, service and atmosphere. The only negative was the lack of heating - we were seated in the snug which was not at all snug as there was no heating on whatsoever. We were the moved into the main dining area but next to the door so had continual draughts. Again the radiators were stone cold so we had to sit in our coats. Hope the staff get training on how to turn on the heating!

excellent spot, friendly atmosphere and great food and drinks, quick service, our waiter who was a tall ginger guy was excellent and really helpful and attentive, great staff and amazing quiz night on mondays.

We are Lounge regulars so the decor and food choice are known. But the food quality was above average here and we enjoyed our visit. Dog & vegan friendly.

We went for our staff Christmas meal at Vivo, they couldn't have been more accommodating. A few people dropped out at the last minute due to illness and one person was running late. The staff delayed the food coming out until we were ready, the food was excellent and we didn't feel rushed at all. Would definitely recommend Vivo

I travel around the country for work and often dine alone in the evenings. I love exploring different restaurants and there is a huge contrast across the board. I fell upon Vivo lounge recently when staying in Dorchester. Early evening there were some other diners and there was a good buzz about the place. Deco nice with cozy feel. Staff were very pleasant and attentive. Menu was great and varied with lots of choice for vegetarians too all at reasonable price. I ordered the Mexican supercool which was huge and tasty. Great value for £10ish. Maybe pop some more non alcoholic beverages on the bar to include non alcoholic cider. All in all great experience and highly recommend.

Early in the evening when we went so had amaxingly quick service. Some very interesting offerings on the menu, all sounded interesting and those we had were great

Ordered 3 lounge breakfast, coffee. One breakfast arrived 20 minutes before the other two, looked nice, 4 hash browns!! 2 extra, however when the other two breakfasts arrived no hash browns!! We spoke to the waitress who apologised and took our breakfast away retiring them with hash browns but one without mushrooms this time. Again spoke to the waitress who once again apologise took the breakfast and returned it. Both these breakfasts we cold!! Needless to say after three attempts to make right they still failed to serve a-lounge breakfast which was edible! Won’t be returning, in as much I even suggested they may need a new chef.

I ate at Vivo Lounge for a friends birthday on the 15th September and wrote to their email on the 20th to advise of the issues I faced while dining here and still haven’t had a response back. This really concerns me, as the basis of the email was to highlight how the staff don’t take allergies seriously and need further training on this - especially when it is advertised throughout to order at the bar if you have an allergy! I had informed the bar staff of my specific dietary restrictions, which include allergies to gluten, dairy, onion, and garlic. I asked if I could order the herb-marinated chicken, bacon, and avocado burger, with the request to have it served with a gluten-free bun and without onions and garlic sauce. The bar staff assured me that these accommodations could be made without any issues. However, when my meal arrived, it was evident that the chicken had been marinated in garlic and herbs, despite my explicit request. I informed another staff member about the issue, who then told me that garlic is a herb. To clarify, garlic is a vegetable, not a herb. This meant that I was unable to have my meal. I was then informed that I would receive a refund for my meal and was offered a complimentary dessert. When I inquired about which dessert options would be suitable for my dietary restrictions, I was told that all the desserts were gluten-free. However, I further inquired if they were also dairy-free and was told that they were because they had a "V" next to them, indicating they were vegan. I pointed out that "V" means vegetarian, not vegan! Especially worrying that I’m having to teach their staff what their own menu means. I would definitely avoid if you struggle with allergies or intolerances until they can fix the issues.

We did not take to the atmosphere when we entered or to the off hand attitude of the member of staff who approached us. We were pout off by the noise, particularly as one member of our party suffers from partial deafness. We therefore decided to leave and find an alternative.

I frequent this lovely lounge often, the atmosphere is always nice and relaxed and the food enjoyable But the staff here are always smoking, on every occasion I've been here the staff are always off smoking, on one occasion I counted a chef and I assume a manager (lady with short blonde hair) went off smoking 4 times! In the space of an hour that I was here. The chef is always making phone calls and speaks loudly enough for the whole town to hear him! Interestingly enough, he wears a white Jordan cap ? One would think it would get dirty in the kitchen right? But it's obviously clean because he's never in there. I today (16th September arrived here for mid afternoon bite 16:05, but on arrival noted 4 members of staff outside smoking, I promptly turned around and left. It's easy to see why hospitality is struggling if businesses are paying their staff to smoke and not work.

Visited on Monday night, first day of the holidays, expected to be busy. Felt horribly understaffed. Ordered at 19:43 - a pint of coke to drink; and to eat a bacon+egg sandwich with 2 hash browns. Members in my party ordered 10+ minutes after me - a full tapas board, cheesy chips and a garlic bread. My drink arrived 25 minutes after I placed my order - AFTER the food of the other members of my party. However, I had still not received mine. Nearly 40 minutes I waited for a bacon+egg sandwich with hash browns. 40 minutes! When it arrived I was less than impressed. Soggy, falling apart and not particularly hot. Better off ordering down the local Wetherspoons for half the price!

Visited for supper this evening. Waited at the door to be seated and was told we could sit anywhere. Was also asked if we had any allergies straight away. When we said we had, we were told to order at the bar. Ordered our food and were asked again about allergies, and the young man even checked the ingredients for us. We were then given our cutlery which was really hot as they'd been washed immediately before they were given to me. Impressive! Amazing buttermilk fried chicken, really amazing. All in all, a very good experience.

Such a lovely welcome and attentive service. Jack needs a mention as he really was a fab host, thoughtful, polite and caring - a real asset to the team. Thank you Jack.

We were visiting friend and agreed to meet at Vivo Louge for Lunch. We had a mixture of lunch and breakfast but it all was delicious my hubby said its the best Egg Benedict he's ever had and my daughters hashbrowns were on point. I had a little mishaps with my breakfast but the young lad apologise straight way and within 5 minues replacement food was on my plate (accidents happen). We need to big up small businesses not tear them down! We will see you soon.

I booked a birthday meal for nearly 20 people and was so good!! Great service x flawless to organise aswel! And the manager has since come asked me if I had a nice evening!! Very impressed totally recommend for a meal !!!

A great place for a swift meal albeit very popular and can be noisy. A large and varied menu with meals of a good standard. Self ordering but with table delivery. Clean and tidy it caters for a wide age range, but not the place for a quiet tete-a-tete . However we will still be visiting again.

Fantastic staff, scrumptious food, and the Monday dessert offer is irresistible and encourages me to return to visit at a later date! Try the biryani bowl - it's dishlicious!

Didn't have items on menu available. Generally grubby. Staff pleasant. Dark interior. Food very average

Stunning breakfast, the coffee was amazing too, although they did scrimp on the scrambled eggs. Apart from that the breakfast was delicious and cooked to order.

We do love Vivo Lounge. No pretentious rubbish, just great food with a great vibe. You really can't go wrong here. Lots of choice, great taste and a good price.

Another wonderful time in vivo for cocktails and brunch , as soon as we arrived we were greeted with a warm welcome and big smiles from Maia behind the bar, she was very courteous and nothing was too much trouble , we felt very at...

Vivo has always been a reliable place for relaxed brunch at a fair price. Been going for years. Last few months seen a considerable drop in the food quality. Cold food, overcooked (rock hard) poached eggs, things being badly reheated (hot on outside cold in...

It’s not clear at all what you’re meant to do and no one guides you when you arrive. Order at the bar? No, there’s instructions on the table on how to order by mobile but there was no direction when we arrived and we spent...

Had breakfast here twice when we had to visit Dorset to see a sick relative. We were staying at the Premier Inn round the corner and wanted something a bit nicer than their standard breakfast. So glad we found Vivo Lounge. The staff were friendly....

We’ve been to the Vivian Lounge for a while now whenever we visit Dorchester and it’s been good however, our last two visits within a couple of days were a little disappointing. Firstly we went for breakfast, (which was delicious); All three cubicles in the...

Came to the quiz at Vivo Lounge last night. Wow what a total disaster!! The girl started by telling everyone that whatever she said was final. She proceeded to start the quiz and it went downhill from then! She mucked up multiple questions and even...

A great experience provided by a team that is clearly driven by passion! Thank you for making our time with you so memorable

I had the unfortunate experience of attending this establishment. On arrival the venue was crowded and yet there was no crowd control on the door. I was meeting friends who were already there so I persevered in trying to order a drink at the bar....

Lovely atmosphere! Lovely food. 😀 I just had toast. I was brought garlic butter instead of butter.. nearly put it on my toast 😂 but spotted it and it was exchange straight away. Others had burger, curry, chicken and breakfast.. everyone loved it! And it’s...

We come here for the wonderful atmosohere and their tapas. For someone who spends a lot of time in Spain, Vivo Lounge tapas are the most authentic in the UK for the price. They also serve Estrella on draft and excellent wine. It can get...

Nice and calm setting at the bottom of the Brewery Square. Had the Mexican bowl and beet killer and service was fast and food met expectations. Would come back

Food was nice but I had an apparently home made pink lemonade. Meant to be pink lemonade syrup, raspberries and soda. It was raspberry syrup, soda and something else. For £3.35 I expected better. I also stopped the girl completely filling my glass with ice!...

Weekday lunchtime and we were impressed with the relaxed decor and friendly service, but small loud children running around and screaming doesn't make for a relaxed atmosphere. I know it's an echoey building but It's a restaurant, not a creche. The menu looks good, but...

Waited 40 minutes to get served before giving up! Told the manager who was completely uninterested before going elsewhere.

Amazing food and staff as always. Will continue to come back! Absolute chicken burger is my go to and always would recommend to friends and family

I thought this restaurant might be dingy as it is tucked away below street level at Brewery Square. I was wrong. The owners have created a calm, pleasant space and I enjoyed eating there. My partner enjoyed his smashed avocado but was disappointed that there...

So we have visited Vivo lounge many times, for breakfast on a Sunday morning. I ordered the same as I always have. Scrambled eggs with a couple of slices of bacon and toast. To my surprise the waiter told me they don’t do scrambled eggs...

My husband and I visited Vivo lounge last night, we had a brilliant meal the tapas was delicious and cooked perfectly we found the staff really friendly and the service was great. Great place and great value.

Great place to meet up with friends and chat. A nice atmosphere. Food was delicious and staff were friendly. Good choice of drinks too.

We love coming to Vivo as a family, the food is always great and service is fantastic - really quick and staff are very friendly! My kids love the board games and colouring available.

Visited Vivo with my family and the experience was great! Greeted with a warm welcome and informative explanation to the menu and ordering options. It was easy to order on the app and there is a variety of food and drinks available. Our food arrived...

Thank you to Vivo Lounge for a fab evening with great food and smooth service. We waited a long time to get together to belatedly celebrate Christmas as a team and it was worth the wait. Well done and thank you to Jasmin, bar staff...

I have visited numerous times. The food and service is good although the coffee machine seems to be broken regularly. There is a friendly, welcoming atmosphere.

Stopped by for a quick bite for lunch. Food was very good, quick service and friendly staff. Ordered from table using their App which was simple and easy to use.

Late lunch stop today. Midweek. Plenty of tables. Would've preferred it to have been a bit brighter in there during the day. Good amount of choice on the all day menu. The Bang Bang chicken noodle dish the runaway winner from the dishes we chose...

Great choice of menu, probably the best burger I have ever had!We were a small table of three - all very happy! Can't wait to go back!

Nice choice of dishes, well prepared and tasty.. Easy-going, casual atmosphere. Spotless tables. Friendly staff.

Been here a couple of times over the last few months when down with work, the food is fantastic, the atmosphere great and the staff are absolutely brilliant and friendly. Would definitely recommend for a relaxing night out for food or drinks.

Very fun place. Relaxed with great service and good food. Great to meet with friends for a catch-up or for a quick bite.

I popped in on a Saturday afternoon and was greeted warmly by someone I believe called Leanne. She was hard-working and attentive, but maintained a friendly disposition. Drinks were served promptly and nothing seemed too much trouble. As a regular, I cannot recommend this establishment...

Went in on Saturday night for a quick drink before getting a train. The 4 girls working behind the bar clearly didn’t really care about customer experience as it took 5-10 minutes for the 2 of them of to pour 2 simple drinks . All...

Thank you vivo lounge for taking our booking for mothers day, then calling back to saying you made a mistake and you don't allow advance bookings, so have cancelled our table. Thank you for discriminating against larger families, and telling us we should do the...

Visited the Vivo lounge for a drink and snacks, the staff were really efficient and asked about allergies and offered gluten free menus if required. Quirky decor, lots of different areas to sit. We subsequently returned for breakfast the following day, again we received good...

Visited Vivo Lounge for post dinner drinks, good selection of drinks both alcoholic and non alcoholic. Friendly staff and a good atmosphere.

Lovely breakfast freshly served. Very friendly staff and fantastic service. Lovely place Couldn’t recommend enough, thanks 😊

A very warm welcome, attentive staff who are happy to go the extra mile, and a competitively priced drinks and food menu. Manager very personable, which creates a warm and happy atmosphere Top marks

Asked straight away if anyone had any allergies which was a welcome change. There menu had a great choice of gluten free options. The lounge burger was tasty. Will definitely be returning.

Dimly lit , comfy seating and well priced food. Staff always friendly. Sometimes a long wait on food. However excusable under the climate!

Absolutely lovely food , great steak!! Nice surprise as walked into the unknown. The atmosphere is lovely with attentive staff.

Vivo has a nice atmosphere - the friendly staff make you feel valued. No cask ale, but quite a good range of draft beers.

Came a few days ago with a friend for a meal and some drinks. We ordered and waited over 45 minutes for a food, after asking where it was we had a vague apology and was told it would be another 15 minutes, which wasn’t...

Staff friendly and generally efficient however recently I've noticed standards are slipping, to give an example, there was a dirty ashtray on my table (I didn't make it dirty). Staff visited my table perhaps 4 times and even when they came to clear my plates...

We often visit Vivo lounge for coffee in the morning but never for an evening meal. We chose a burger and a buttermilk chicken dish both extremely delicous both came with perfect fries and really good coleslaw. We were told half hour wait but food...

Popped in for some lunch on the off chance as have always seen the place full and lively , staff were very welcoming from the minute we walked through the door , we were informed of a small wait but did not bother us &...

We were here for lunch on a rainy day so the place was extremely busy. We were told on arrival there would be a 45 min wait for food, which was fine. We only wanted a soup and sandwich, the staff bent over backwards to...

You arrive and they supposedly tell you how long is the wait on food, well that's not the case they don't tell you. We were 4 adults and 2 children. You order your food and after 40m the food is still not served, not even...

We are a long way from home and never felt more welcome than we did tonight. Yes they had a large party come in but sent staff over to over bar snacks while we waited for our food. And when it came it was 10/10....

We stopped for lunch and sat outside in the gorgeous sunshine. Waitress service, very friendly. Lovely lunch and refreshing drink. Enjoyed our panini and ciabatta. Part of Brewery Square complex with car parks close by.

As a regular vivo customer for their food I went to my first quiz this week with some friends. Really enjoyed it, great atmosphere and the quiz masters Danny and Theo were brilliant!

Very friendly staff who made us most welcome. Good choice of food. Comfortable dining area. Dog friendly.

A good find of this no book restaurant. staff very friendly and helpful if you can’t order by the app. We had six of the tapas dishes that came with warm ciabatta. My husbands favourite was the pulled beef, mine were all of them, a...

Great reasonably priced meal, easy to order using the QR code, service was quick and friendly. Tricky to choose what to order as there was such a wide range of options, we'll definitely be returning to sample some more dishes!

Excellent food , Excellent service . Food was second to none . Was surprised at the price for 2 Adults and a Child very realistically priced. The staff are friendly and polite and nothing to much trouble. Kept to the safe Covid criteria. Definitely eating...

My girlfriend and I paid a passing visit to Vivo Lounge on our road-trip, and they made us wish we had one locally! We visited on Tuesday so there was an offer on tapas, which was all really nice. Cannot recommend the goats cheese and...

I’ve been here many times and I was always happy with the service and the friendly staff. I had a lovely time with my friends for drinks and we will be returning for sure.

had tapas and drinks. Staff were very friendly and helpful, explained how to use the app, food arrived promptly which was welcomed with the threat of rain. Ordered 6 tapas dishes between us, all very good. Staff came to check we were OK and were...

Popped in for a couple of drinks and food with friends now they have reopened. Outside dining experience just as good as before, cocktails were great as the cheesey chips. Staff were welcoming and enthusiastic, clearly happy to be back. Even offered out umbrellas as it started to drizzle with was a nice touch. Looking forward to when we can get back inside and enjoy again.

ordered via click & collect today for the first time, portion sizes were extremely tight and food was average. Missing some of the sauces/dips. not worth the money we paid

Another excellent bacon sandwich.... and a big thank you to all the staff for making me feel safe when visiting Vivo during such difficult times.... I hope your bosses know what amazing employees they have!

Popped in for a late lunch. We had the vegan hot dog and the falafel & avocado wrap. Both were excellent. Hot dog was huge and really tasty. Good service and felt very Covid secure. Will visit again. Top marks.

Visited with family and we all had various meals, which included the all day breakfast and tapas options. Overall all and considering the difficult situation with Covid it was excellent. My only small criticism was the service was a little slow but it was a...

Visited with a friend recently, and was very pleased with the visit. Food is always wonderful, and the staff are helpful and polite to make the experience even better for us. Feels safe regarding COVID with their restrictions in place, and the online ordering is a bonus. Can’t wait to come again!

I came here last night for a meal with my friend, really nice cosy atmosphere, both our meals were lovely; hot and well presented and we both really enjoyed them. Nice waiter who showed us to our table and brought our food over. Definitely recommend, great place with reasonable prices.

QR Ordering code a complete waste of time. Spent 10 minutes faffing around placing order snd it all dropped out. Went to bar, helpful staff who said that they have told HQ that the QR system hets lots of complaints but they don't listen. Food OK but tomatoes tastless and commercial. Lime wedges curked up and certainly not cut today. Staff pleasant and helpful and clearly not well supported by their operational management & HQ

Fabulous evening meal at vivo, we were welcomed in seated served very efficiently our food was served hot and within the 40 minute Waite time, ashley and her team are doing an amazing job considering the pressure they are under and the queue’s of people they were having to deal with and all I’m sure with a smile under their masks, nothing was to much trouble the food was delicious and we felt very safe to be in the lounge being it was our first time out since covid, throughly enjoyed the whole experience and can’t rate them enough we will definitely be back well done loved it

We have been here a few times this month. The staff are incredibly friendly. This is also dog friendly which is a bonus. The breakfast choice is superb and is consistently good. We visited for an evening meal during the August dine out offers and the place was socially distanced busy. We did not have a reservation so we were happy to wait a few mins for a table to be available. The few staff here were run off their feet but their standards did not drop they battled through kept us informed, we were told of the delay for food before we ordered so our choice to stay or go. The two staff we interacted with are a credit to the management.All in all a great place to eat my favourite is breakfast which you can have all day. Price is good for what you get. Staff are very accommodating. Will definitely be back!

Just returned home from a long weekend break in beautiful Dorset. Having set up camp near Brewery Square we soon found the Vivo lounge. We all absolutely loved the place, it’s well sorted for COVID, but so chilled and the staff were awesome. We had breakfast there every morning and the food was delicious, hot & fresh. Plus the on line ordering system was simply brilliant. We also went there for drinks on a couple of afternoon/evenings too. Fabulous selection of beers, wines & cocktails. I cannot fault the place and will return when I’m next in town!

Went 3 times in same week Service was superbGreat value Tasty food and lovely drinks Toilets cleaned regularly Can order at table or screens at bar Quick service Tables outside Would recommend

Came to Dorchester for a trip out from a local caravan site. Got a table outside in the sun and had a really enjoyable experience. The staff were so friendly and meticulous with the cleaning regime in place. Food was lovely, service was excellent.Could not fault this in any way.

Had a fab meal here for my first dining out experience with all the guidance in place. Staff were helpful and cheerful and made sure we knew how everything worked. Felt extremely safe and comfortable and the food was amazing as always.

Lovely to see vivo lounge open again... same excellent food and service as always! The safety measures put in place made me feel safe to be there but haven’t taken away from the relaxed atmosphere.... the staff were very friendly and helpful explaining the new system... will see you again soon!

I’m a regular at Vivo Lounge and every time is a brilliant experience. The staff are always friendly and competent. The food is always so delicious. I love the venue and location, as it’s right in the centre of Dorchester. Overall a very lovely place to eat and hangout!

Visited again for a couple beers for the first time since they reopened and everything that had been put in place was nothing short of incredibly impressive. The efforts of the manager and the staff were beyond expectations and the measures put into place to keep everyone safe were appreciated. The beers were well kept and the staff had the attitude that nothing was too much trouble. The manager, after a very difficult phase for our nation, has made everything run smoothly and perfectly. A very happy visit