Vino e Vivo

We went as a small group of six and ordered a bunch of things, all delicious. The flavor combinations were so good, especially on the scallop dish.
Our server was familiar w the wines and able to recommend us a good one based on what we liked.
10/10 will go back.

The food was the best we've had in New Hampshire. The atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. The service was second to none. The dining room is small which makes the service incredibly personalized. Definitely a new favorite. Make a reservation, if you appreciate great food, I guarantee you'll love this place!

What did we wait so long to go here for? With it being so difficult to find a good restaurant in New Hampshire, this place stands out in front of the pack! They take their time with building a great wine list. But the food…artfully prepared, with amazing flavors! Run, don’t walk!

It's my new favorite spot! Chef’s Table offers the best in food, flavors, expertise, and creativity, ensuring a fantastic experience for every customer. Tony impresses with his excellent wine expertise, providing detailed descriptions for each wine. Chef Paul, Sous Chef Jon, and their creative kitchen team do exceptional work, making every dish delightful and memorable. I couldn't be happier with the overall experience—they consider every detail and flavor. You'll only truly know if you give it a try.
I just loved, definitely coming back.

What a gem! Chef Paul and his crew have crafted an amazing menu and everything from the staff to the ambiance is spot on. Will be going back very often!

May 2024: very much enjoyed another dinner at vino e vivo:
Crispy octopus - our favorite
Wague steak tartare - enjoyed the flavor combination
Aged foie gras - good
Beignet - too sweet for me
Summer 2023: What a gem! The dishes were very creative and incredibly flavorful. The menu consists of half a dozen small plates to share and the main entrees (also quite small). We had three small plates to share as appetizers and two entries. It was not too much food.
The patio is on the river, nice view, nice breeze, very enjoyable. However, there is not much protection from the sun or rain.
I enjoyed it alit, definitely will be back for another dinner.

May 2024: Had the following small plates:
Crispy Octopus. Blow away good, still our favorite.
Wagyu Steak Tartare. We both loved it
Aged Foie Gras. Very good. Didn't love it as much as the others.
Beignets. Very good but too sweet for an appetizer. Skip next time and order two crispy octopuses instead.
Main course was scallops and duck. Both were excellent. The asparagus in the scallop dish was unlike any asparagus that I've ever had, it was my favorite part of the dish.

2023: They have a terrific outdoor deck next to the river, great view and a pleasant breeze.
We had three small plates to share and the Moxie duck breast. The mall plates were beignets, octopus and braised lobster mushrooms. We liked them all but my favorite was the octopus. We both loved the Moxie duck.

This is the best meal I have ever eaten. I have been 2 times just to make sure it is the best. Doing the chef's table is the best way to enjoy an expertly constructed and imaginative meal. The complimenting wines make the whole experience. The staff is some of the best I've ever met. The chef's , bartenders, servers, and owner all make you feel welcomed and valued. Yes it's pricey, but this is an experience you won't soon forget.

Our server was Miranda, and I haven’t felt so welcomed at a restaurant (or, hell, anywhere) in years. She offered wine suggestions and when I admitted I didn’t know much about wine, brought me several to taste. There was never a hint of judgment or condescension. Miranda seemed genuinely happy to share her knowledge and I loved the chance to learn more.
The food was the best I’ve had, maybe in my life. But it really was the service that made this place stand out. My mom said she hadn’t enjoyed a meal out in a restaurant so much in a decade.
Miranda, without asking or making a fuss, let us know she’d moved the reservation after ours to give us a bit more time. That small move meant so much to our experience in letting us savor the food and wine.
Thank you Miranda, and the owner, for such an excellent meal and a memorable and welcoming experience. I’ll need to save up to go back, but it will be worth it, and I can’t wait to return.

My husband and I had an absolutely amazing experience at the chef's table last night. It was an experience that we had booked 8 months in advance! Each course and wine pairing was absolutely delicious. From the detailed descriptions of each course by James Beard award semi-finalist Chef Paul, and the detailed stories of the wines from Casey, it was quite possibly the best dining experience I have ever had. We enjoyed watching all the action in the kitchen and the engaging conversations with Chef Paul and his his sous chef Jon. Tony, the owner, was welcoming and engaging, always checking in on us to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. I kept telling my husband how amazing each course was and that I didn't want it to end! We enjoyed it so much that we made another reservation for the chef's table. They're booking into August, and I can see why! So in summary, run, don't walk to Vino e Vivo.

The best meal of my life. Eight amazingly delicious courses. Each one exquisite.

This has to be one of the most interesting and engaging date nights! To start things off, my husband and I arrived to see my name on a little board and a seating facing right into the kitchen just for us; the tasting menu is just for one couple at a time. The chef and staff were very engaging, we had such a great time talking and learning about the food, the place, the area, anything! And the food, well the food was incredible. The dishes were beautiful and imaginative, not to mention delicious.

My favorite was the pate on top of a little waffle, which sounds strange, but was so flavorful! They also brought us pickled herring for a course, and it literally melted in my mouth. The cheese course was cheese inside of warm beignets! The wine pairings were, of course, on point, as one would expect.

We had such a wonderful time that we ended up staying almost 3 hours, and the number of courses seemed to just be up to the whim of the chef, way more than I anticipated, but it was just the right amount of food. The service was perfect, I will certainly be back once the patio opens!

Enough good simply can't be said about Vino e Vivo. It was just one of those experiences that you wish you could relive every night. The food was incredible, the knowledge of wine that the staff had was nothing less than baffling, and I found myself learning quite a bit throughout the evening which I always enjoy. The passion for their craft was obvious, and we were fortunate to partake in the results of their hard work. Would recommend to anyone, without any reservations. Well, you should still definitely get a actual reservation, there's a reason this place is this popular!

We celebrated my Dad's 80th, and it was wonderful! We were welcomed with a bithday card signed by the staff, such a lovely gesture. The service was great as always, very knowledgeable and helpful. We started with the biegnet, braised shallots, a scallop crudo and aged fois gras. They were all amazing, but the scallops really stood out with a bergamot sauce and grapefruit that made the dish really flavorful and fresh. For main courses, 2 of us did the scallops and the other two did the duck, and everyone was really happy with our choices (with the obligatory plate-sharing of course). I really loved how the duck was cooked and the savory bread pudding with escargot was genius! We all had the chocolate cake dessert ,no sharing there, and loved the tahini ice cream! Thanks for a perfect birthday evening!

I found this place because I was searching for a chefs tasting table. They ended up being booked out for a year so I figured just regular reservations would suffice.

I booked the bar and was so glad I did. We got there and there was an anniversary card hand-signed with little congratulatory messages from the entire staff. So sweet.

We did a bunch of small plates. I don’t know if I remember everything but it was all fantastic. They also brought out other dishes compliments of the chef. The chef came out twice and just chatted with us. My husband asked him about sunchoke because he’d never heard of it, and he literally went back to the kitchen and came back to show us what it was. The sous chef came out too. The owner and the bartender tag-teamed serving us and everyone was just so friendly, informative, and just so pleasant to be around. Everything was plated like a work of art. We literally stared at each plate in awe because of how pretty it all looked. Every dish was fully explained when they presented it.

We started with charcuterie and it was amazing. Three meats I haven’t had before, all house made. House made pickles, jam, and crackers. A mustard that was out of this world.

For our small plates we had:

- crispy octopus with a squid ink tuile and some sort of amazing potato fondue. It was the best octopus I’ve ever had. We ordered it twice.

- steak tartare with quail egg and potato croquettes. So tender and such an amazing mix of flavors.

- duck fat beignets. We got these twice. The first was a sugar coated beignet with Serrano (I believe) ham, goat cheese and a jam. The second was foie gras with goat cheese and grapes. The sweet and savory and salty all together was a complete shock to my system. I’d eat them daily if I could.

- hay smoked carrots with cecina, black garlic and port poached pears. This was compliments of the chef and was just such an amazing surprise.

- salmon crudo with grapefruit, bergamot and freshly grated horseradish. Such an interesting mix of flavors. The salmon was served raw so the grapefruit was a great tenderizer. It was so buttery and fresh.

- fois gras served with sunchoke cake. Yes, cake. The cake was sweet and moist and felt dense but was really light. Absolutely amazing. I don’t know if that even makes sense but that’s how I can describe it. Best fois gras I’ve ever had.

- ricotta tortellini- also compliments of the chef. The dough was so tender. The ricotta was so smooth and creamy. It was served with garlic scapes and almonds and mushrooms that were perfectly cooked.

- we ended up getting a cheese plate at the end as well. All three cheeses were so different and perfect. Also served with the crackers, jam, and a different mustard.

For dessert we ordered a layered chocolate stout cake with a black sesame tahini ice cream. It reminded me of the most elevated chocolate peanut butter dessert you can imagine. They also sent us three other ice creams: roasted almond, fois gras, and mushroom. Everything was so creamy, perfectly sweet, and flavorful. Just absolutely stunning.

I’m drooling just reliving it in my mind. I cannot wait to go back.The owner informed us about the outdoor seating along the river during the summer and how on Wednesdays (I think) they do fresh oysters that are caught that morning and the person who catches them delivers and shucks them as ordered.

This was the most wonderful anniversary dinner and truly one of the top 5 dining experiences I’ve ever had, no questions asked. Such a wonderfully unexpected food gem in Exeter! Our sincerest thanks to every single staff member that made our night something we will talk about for a very long time.

Absolutely divine dining experience! We made a reservation which I highly recommend. Our table was marked and ready for us with a lovely card wishing us a Happy Anniversary. Not only was our waitress great but all the staff were amazing and you can tell they all work well together!
I am a very picky eater- decided I would venture out and try something and I was so glad I did. I had the duck with delicious Quince (so yummy!) With escargot bread pudding and cauliflower. The chef combined these in such a beautiful way everything was delicious. And their wine recommendations were on point!
We will definitely be back!!!
For anyone who has never been it is tucked in the alley way a bit so can be trickier to see.

The absolute best dining experience on the seacoast - and for an extra special experience, book the chef’s table. The food is impeccable and the service is flawless. I would live there if I could ;)

Absolutely. Unbelievable. Bravo to the chef(s), the service, the wine, the music. Spending a night having dinner here felt like I was in NYC at one of Anthony Bourdain's top picks. With the Lumineer's playing in the background and the most delicious cote du rhone accompanying the multi-dimensional flavors of a PERFECTLY cooked duck.... what more could you ask for from a dining experience? Nothing. everything is PERFECT here- but only for those who can truly appreciate a restaurant worthy of being nothing less than exquisite.... Can't wait to go back.

I have traveled the country and to many parts of the world. The quality, creativity and presentation of the food at this absolutely charming restaurant rivals any 5 star restaurant anywhere! The proprietor, chef, staff are all welcoming and friendly. You will feel at home! Excellent wine bar too!

Chef Paul and his entire kitchen staff have created something so special here. The food is some of the best I have ever had. We have now frequented their Chef's table at least 6 times and every time we walk away stunned at the creativity that comes out of this tiny kitchen. The owner, Tony is just an amazing host and his entire staff are always attentive, knowledgeable and able to make terrific suggestions. The only thing for those who have never been, the menu of small bites is terrific. The entrees tend to be limited to 3-4 items of what they are highlighting in season.