Popular Mexican restaurant ¡VIVA! announced weekday lunch service this summer, adding to its brunch on the weekend, and that means more of the dishes that made this place from chef Ray Garcia such a hit.
What should you look for? Well, the barbacoa melt at both brunch and lunch combines short rib and smoked Gruyère with a little chipotle Thousand Island and escabeche; and the lunch menu spotlights the torta, a bolillo stuffed with carnitas, black beans, quesillo (a cheese) and flavor-filled guacamole.
You can find the chicken enchiladas on the lunch and dinner menus, and they are filled with cheesy goodness, with both requesón and feta. Or try the king salmon, which comes with sweet corn, chorizo and vadouvan spices.
If you are heading into weekend brunch, ask about the bottomless sangria—if you want to ease up on the alcohol, try an agua fresca, which lifts with the tastes of coconut and cucumber. But you can order bottles of tequila, mimosas and champagne if you’d like.
Seafood is big for all meals at ¡VIVA!, and the restaurant is known for the ceviche, with yellowtail and cucumber in a spicy leche de tigre. Shrimp cocktail is concocted with Clamato, cucumber and avocado, while the coctel mixto includes octopus, shrimp, snapper, scallops, cucumber, avocado, radish and cilantro.
And although carnivores will find a ton to eat here, like chicken tinga wood-fired quesadillas, barbacoa, steak, duck mole, and ancho-rubbed lamb ribs, vegetarians haven’t been left out; enjoy grilled pineapple, beet salad, heirloom tomato salad and a tamal with kale and poblano. And the beans here are vegan as well.
Churros are favorites for many to end with, and these come with a chocolate sauce to accent. But the unusual pastel de camote, a sweet potato cake with fruit, may tickle your fancy with piloncillo and stone fruit. And playing off the classic cake, the tres leches flan comes with berries and a cookie crumble.
Resorts World Las Vegas, 702.676.6020
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