Vivi Eatery

This was my first trip here. It's the first place I've seen in Riverside that serves Japanese Curry. My only comparison for taste is when I had Japanese curry in Japan at Coco's Curry House (which, the lovely woman working has informed me they're an international chain and have locations in so cal) but I digress; I loved it! The curry flavor is more mild than an Indian dish in my opinion and has a sweetness about it. Japanese Curry is fairly kid friendly in terms of spice; all three of my kids have eaten and enjoyed it. Vivi serves more than Japanese Curry if you're looking for something different. My next trip will be tonkotsu ramen (forgive me if the spelling is incorrect) as I picked up a ramen addiction on my Japanese trip as well. The place is very nice and contemporary with a moderate amount of seating. They also serve beer and wine. The draft beer selection consisted of about 8 varieties although I had none at the time. Onto why I gave 4 instead of 5 stars: The hours are a bit rough. Business opens at 3pm and closes at 11pm. The late start makes it a great option for students as it's within walking distance of UCR but a poor choice for anyone working in the area looking to grab a wonderful lunch. If the ramen is as amazing as the curry this will be the only Japanese restaurant I go to TL;DR: eat here. It's good

Nicely laid out little restaurant close to UCR. Food is decent. Had their tonkatsu ramen $9.95. they added a bit of chili oil to the broth, but does not overwhelm the taste of the pork bone broth. It was decided that it tasted better than the other ramen places around the university. Also had the Vietnamese ice coffee. It was done the original way, dripped, and so took up to 20 minutes to be served. They did not add too much condensed milk. The resulting taste retained more coffee taste, vs Lee's Sandwich's oversweetened ice coffees, and felt less thick when drinking it.

Really great vibe here, I've been coming since there soft open. The bank mi is delicious! Great beers on tap and the house coffee is amazing (better than Starbucks for sure). I was made to try the fried shrimp by a curious customer and it was very delicious and I never eat shrimp! Sports on the tube or if your lucky cartoons ;p And chill music to vibe to. Come on down!

Really enjoyed Vivi Eatery. It's clean, has great service, a variety of menu items, and pretty tasty! It's more of a comfort food destination for all your Asian food cravings from California rolls, KBBQ dishes, ramen, milk teas, mochi ice cream, etc. They have a great ambience and I can definitely see myself coming in for a late-night snacks with friends or to just catch a game. The food itself is pretty good, not necessarily amazing, but they make up for it with great variety that I'm sure everyone will find something that peaks their interest. We got the California roll and I personally got the shio ramen. Surprisingly, the California roll was really good! It was definitely prepared fresh and the rice still had a pleasant warmness. As for the shio ramen, I thought it was solid. The chasu seemed a little on the lower quality side but otherwise the dish was flavorful. Our server was very helpful and patient for her new-time customers. She also treated us to some mochi ice cream on the house!

Heavily recommend the Vegetarian Shaking Beef: it's surprisingly good, and not too salty. Pretty laid back atmosphere: the bar tenders (waitresses? not sure what to call them) are super friendly. They're basically social butterflies, but if you're introverted don't let this discourage you: they don't force their conversation onto you. Huge shoutout to Jackie and the manager (whose name I forgot to ask) for helping me find an ale I like, and for helping me with a scene I'm writing.