Vida - Indianapolis

In my 50+ years, I have never felt compelled to write a review on a restaurant but on this occasion, I felt it was important to share my thoughts on what was an extremely disappointing experience in dealing with Vida. My end goal was to simply organize a surprise 70th birthday dinner party for my partner. It should be noted that the size of the intended dinner party was 8 (not 80! guests and we are repeat offenders , having dined happily at Vida on a number of occasions in the past .... but what followed was anything but the Cunningham VIP experience. My dealings with their lead reservationist was a painful process and the apparent restrictions imposed at multiple levels, including the menu options were extremely disappointing (given the $1500 minimum spend and to be brutally honest, ridiculous, especially for a restaurant that markets itself as being in the “premier league”. My dealings with Vida suggest otherwise. It was especially curious to be told 5 weeks before our planned dinner event that the reason for this was because their kitchen was likely to be short staffed. That is “crystal ball gazing” at its best, I would suggest. Having reviewed my lengthy email exchange with their lead reservationist who did not cover herself in glory and badly mishandled my attempts to make a simple reservation for 8 diners, the facts are as follows: 1 At least three of her emails started with apologies for her late responsiveness. 2 Her emails were confusing and unclear to me at least; I actually made that comment during one of our exchanges. 3 There was a suggestion that if I was not prepared to concur with the very limited menu options, I should look elsewhere. Really poor public relations, I would suggest. Not impressed! 4 For a party of eight (8 people where I am expected to pay a minimum spend/charge of $1500, to have little to no choice for three of the four courses seems ridiculous. I’ve had the good fortune of traveling all over the world and enjoying fine dining experiences at excellent restaurants globally, and I regret to say that my estimate of Vida on this occasion is . needs to do better. A simple five minutes phone call to another equally good, fine dining establishment in Carmel resulted in a firm reservation for eight people being made with no restrictions. In fact, they expressed clear surprise when I inquired about limitations on menu options due to the size of our party. Therefore, in sheer frustration, I moved our event from Vida without hesitation. To date, I have had many good dining experiences at Vida, but this particular encounter has tainted my view of their establishment. To their credit, their general manager reached out to me to address my concerns but quite frankly, it was a case of too little, too late.

Amazing food, amazing ambience, amazing service. I visited from California and this was by far the best American cuisine I’ve had in the US

Excellent and Fun.. Worth the visit.!! Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

We really enjoyed our meal and experience at Vida. Alex our server really was one of the best representations of a restaurant we have had the pleasure to be waited on by in a long while. He was very informative, accommodating and attentive. His meal suggestions were on point. He set an high expectation of the food, and the kitchen delivered. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4

Had a great time meeting a long time friend there for my birthday. Tim, our server, was knowledgeable, and easy going. The food was amazing to say the least. If you're willing to try the foie gras, the husk cherries are divine. In general the staff are extremely personable, and honestly, Vida would be my first suggestion for anyone looking for a nice restaurant downtown. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $100+ Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Recommended dishes: Duck Breast Parking space: Plenty of parking Parking options: Free street parking, Valet