Viva Michoacan

better than lindo or bonito combined. Why did it close!!!

I am so sad this place closed. This is a travesty. Best hamburger beef tacos. Best food. Best everything. Always busy. Why did it close? I am so sad. Everything I love always closes. What a shame.

Great place for authentic Mexican cuisine! We eat on a Saturday at the beginning of the lunch hour. We were immediately greeted and seated at a booth.
The menu is expansive. My only complaint was the restaurant is dark and the print is small so for those of us sight-challenged…life line please! :)
The margarita selection is nice! We tried the tamarind and the prickly fruit on the rocks. Both were great. For $ 12 you can keep the glass. The chips are ok. I like more seasoning, but the salsa and beans were good. All come as a complimentary appetizer.
The service was prompt and attentive. We got the carne asada tacos and the chicken cognac. Both were cooked perfectly and arrived piping hot!
Oh! And did I mention the live Mariachi band? Beautiful music that really sets the tone for an excellent dining experience.
This place is top notch and deserves 5-​stars!

I ordered the Chimichanga chicken by it self with sour cream and guacamole. delicious food

Love the margaritas. Love the camerones al cognac. Love the flan.
This is one of my go-​to happy places.

Similar to the other Michoacán restaurants in the valley. IMO though it’s not quite as good as Lindo on West Flamingo. The atmosphere is authentic enough but for some reason the food just misses the mark, even though it’s suppose to be the same thing. I almost always get the Camarones Sarandeados… yum!
It’s by work so I will still go if the mood for Mexican strikes.

Ah, Viva.
One of my favorite Mexican spots in Henderson is way overdue for a review and I’m here to deliver. From the get-​go, the place feels very low-​key yet festive in the sense that I am getting a taste of what a Mexican restaurant might be like down south with all the art and deco placed around the restaurant. The waitresses usually dress in a festive manner as well and helps to set the mood when dining in.
As far as the entrees, the menu is quite extensive. Majority of the time we roll through for lunch and get down on the lunch specials which is about ~30 dishes deep. I’m a big fan of the camarones al mojo de ajo and the huevos rancheros but there are so many things to consider that I occasionally step outside of my box to try something new. Regardless of what entrée you choose to commit to, it always comes with a side of chips, salsa, and bean dip. The real highlight here is the salsa. Delish! I always look forward to getting down on the red salsa here and most certainly get down on a second bowl of chips if I have the room to spare in my tummy. Also, besides the aforementioned sides, the entrees come with a bowl of sopa de fideo. Simple yet a very nice introductory touch to the meal. By this point, with all apps considered, I am at least partially full or near there. However, I definitely make space to get down on my entrée’d flavors of the day. The specials come out to be no more than $ 9.99 before tax. my kind of price (and the food is definitely worth backing that price point up).
OH, don’t forget about the bar section that sits right inside the door of the restaurant. Usually, they have drink specials as long as you sit in the bar side of things. There are a bunch of TVs situated above the bar so you can get your daily fill of all things sports while chugging down a nice cold cerveza or sippin’ on an iced out guava margarita. GUAVA MARGARITA?! Haven’t seen this anywhere else and you’re very welcome for the tip my friends. No matter what your flavor is, the bar is definitely a good place to cruise at casually with friends or even if you are adamant about stopping by Viva for a solo mission.
Also, they have live music. Not sure what nights (I thought it was just the weekends but heard of a possible Wednesday or even an sporadic Tuesday) but they always have good entertainment regardless who is playing the night you are there.
Kudos Viva Michoacan! Hopefully I’ll remember to try out the patio sometime and grub out while the weather is nice but, anyway, keep up the good work. I’ll be back soon enough.

There is absolutely no reason to dine here for Mexican food… it is non descript… no pride in preparation or presentation. It is just bland food. Service is very good but that does not make up for bad food… from the chips to the finale’…bad…and very noisy with screaming and misbehaving children.
Try Lindo Michoacán on Desert Inn… is was good but hope we can even find one that is better… it is an easy 3 star

3.5 Star
After trying a michelada from Captain Tom’s in Houston, TX, I was hoping to find a michelada that is as good here. Last night, I told my husband that I wanted one. He suggested Viva.
They offered two types of michelada, with lime or preparada (with clamato juice). I ordered the preparada but my husband override my decision and asked for two with lime with dos equis. Our drinks came out and I was disappointed. Not the delicious michelada that I was hoping for. We asked for more lime wedges and it definitely made it taste better, but still, not the spicy tomatoey, limey michelada that I craved for.
For dinner, I ordered menudo (only offered on Sat and Sun), and my husband ordered lengua plate. They gave us a bowl of soup to start our meal, and it was pretty good. I only ate ¹⁄₃ of my soup and took the rest to go. There was an abundant of tripe in the bowl. My husband’s lengua was very tender. One of our favorite item of this restaurant are is the tortilla. Oh, forgot to mention that they also give you chips, salsa, and bean dip to snack on.
The staff is very friendly, funny, and attentive.
Overall, I really want to be a fan of Viva because of the awesome staff. However, I have to give it 3.5 star for now.

Wasn’t a fan of this place. Sent my food back because the sauce was watery. We had to ask our server 3 times for fricken tortillas. Never coming back.

Awesome food. From their steak to their seafood platter. Bacon wrapped shrimp is delicious. Definitely recommend this place to everyone.

Very good red chile sauce. Their red chile is hunks of grilled steak marinated in the sauce. Green pork was great too. & their flour tortillas were handmade. Will definitely come back here when we’re in town again.

Wow. This place is amazing. I got the cheese enchiladas lunch special. The red sauce was soooo flavorful. And the beans too. My dad got cow tongue tacos (he said they were delicious) they weren’t on the menu in a taco form but he just asked and they said sure… That was nice of them! My husband got the El Pastor tacos and I had a but and mmmm mmmm good!
I’ll be coming here again. My dad already comes here a ton… Apparently they make outstanding margaritas…

This place has live music, a patio you can sit at on a nice day or night, and decent food. We also came in on a night where they were setting up for what looked like a big upcoming party. I’m not sure if they throw their own fiesta but we weren’t really given a fiesta-​like or decent service service. Or maybe they were just busy making all those empty Christmas present boxes and sorta forgot us.
The chips and salsa came out first, the beans were re-​fried and the red salsa wasn’t as spicy or your typical pico de gallo. The frozen margarita from a machine was weak and the margarita on the rocks (hand made) was weak too.
Couple items to talk about:
Pollo Al Cognac, so heavy with the sour cream in the sauce. It could be good but the day I had it I was not in a heavy cream sauce type of day and I thought the sour cream was put on the side.
Pollo A La Parrilla, nice broiled and simple. Served with two flour tortillas.
We also ordered two tacos and don’t expect your typical taco bell yellow hard shell tacos. The tacos are more deep fried tortilla shells.
This place is worth a visit as it’s one of the few decent Mexican food places in the area.

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Walked in and were seated no problem. Place was pretty empty for a Friday night. Husband ordered a beer (they only have bottled beers) and a shot, I ordered a margarita. The waitress sounded quite annoyed when I asked her which flavors they had… I tried looking through the little flip book menu, but it was so filthy, it left a disgusting… greasy feeling on my fingertips.
The décor here is covered in dust. My husband pointed it out at first, and I didn’t think of it… I thought it was just part of the plant. until I saw that some parts of it were «fuzzy» and other parts weren’t… Yum.
Their chips and salsa… I was not impressed with. I don’t like re-​fried beans anyways, and the other salsa just tastes like smoke. One dimensional. So, I asked for some Pico De gallo, expecting some flavor.
WRONG.
I used the lime from my margarita, along with salt and pepper. It made it edible.
Both of our dishes were lukewarm… not hot.
The fried ice cream came with some crappy fruit preserves on it, that tasted like it was old from a tin can.
The only saving grace in this place is the fideo soup… despite its unattractive color.

The Food:
— Complimentary chips were a little stale but the salsa & bean dips were good
— Made-​to-​order guacamole was very fresh & easily customizable. You could omit any ingredient or request more of any of your favorites
— Cocktails were refreshing
— Carnitas were good but not impressive
— Coca Cola steak was delicious all together but the sauce by itself was a little too sweet
The service was a little slow but it didn’t matter too much because we weren’t in a rush. The server seemed to pick up the pace & friendliness as the meal went on so maybe he had just started when we got there.
Overall, this won’t be a regular stop for us but something to add as a option when in the area.

Back in November 2011, I visited this place and gave it 5 stars. Since that time, I have been here a few more times. If there was a way to give a place 2.5 stars, I would now give this place that rating.
You may be asking what caused this place to go from 5 stars to 2.5 stars in my opinion. Please let me answer this burning question for you.
Since November 2011, their menu changed as well as the staff. This place now seems to follow the Lindo family and what once seemed like a stand alone even if it were not, no longer carries itself as such. It is a more of a chain like Misty said six months ago.
The food quality has changed some and now it is a crap shoot on whether you will get a good meal here or not. Sometimes the food is really good and sometimes it is just ok.
The most interesting part of this entire change, is that they always seemed surprised you are there. They still have the buffet on weekends, but the service has gone way down. Getting a seat never seems to be a problem here, but getting service, now that is another story and may cause this place to drop to a solid 2 star in the near future.
We went there this morning and the servers always seem surprised that people actually want to eat here and showed up to do so. On this visit, it was like they only had one server to cover the entire place inside and out, with one helper for drinks and food delivery. I asked for coffee for my drink and the waiter forget like three times. Our chips ran out and we were NEVER asked if we wanted more. I asked for Habanero sauce for my food and he forgot again twice. My coffee ran out and after seeing him come around several times to other tables to see if they needed anything, I finally called him over and asked for more coffee. Yes, he forgot.
After I asked again and he forgot again, he finally came back over with the pot and apologized for taking so long. I guess he realized he forgot again.
This place is ok for the food and price, but the service is has gone way down hill to like I said, they are almost always surprised people actually come in and they are always understaffed. I don’t understand the logic of a place that opens the door for business, gets the business almost every night, is packed on weekends and yet does not realize they need more staff. I will give this place another chance, but there is a MUCH better place just down the road in a casino which has much better service, way better food, the chips are awesome and you serve yourself the salsa and chips so if you run out at this place down road, ITS YOUR OWN FAULT.
But my review is not about that place, but about this one and if the service does not improve, people may start looking for a better place…

I’ve never been disappointed coming here. In fact, I like it much better than its sister property Lindo Michoacan.
We’re always seated by a friendly hostess and the chips, salsa and bean dip are always a few seconds behind us. I love their bean dip & chips… they must be sprinkled with crack because I can’t stop eating them!!!
They have a huge menu which you can sometimes get lost in so I stick to my favorites. Generally the beef chimi or the flautas. Every entrée comes with a cup of fideo soup (tomato based with noodles) which I love. Their Spanish rice and refried beans are tasty and their main dishes never disappoint. The servers are friendly, efficient and speak enough English that I can understand them. Every night we have been they have a mariachi band that plays. My daughter gets a kick out of them and loves to run up and throw dollars in their sombreros :)
To me, this is one of the best places in the valley for Mexican food. It’s tough moving here from Cali and trying to find a place that lives up to our restaurants back home. This will do just fine…

I loved this place from the moment i stepped in. The ambiance is enhanced by the vibe — very positive. The people who work here enjoy their jobs, and it shows.
The food is quite honestly the best mexican ive had in vegas. Period. The menu was varied and pretty extensive, including traditional fare as well as seafood and more exotic dishes. I had the pollo con crema, which i havent even seen offered anywhere else, and it was sooooo good! Only $ 15! Hubby had the chilis relleno and chicken enchilladas. He agreed it was also the best mexican food hes had in vegas, and hes lived here for fifteen years! The prices were reasonable and i really liked the kids menu which included cheeseburgers & chicken strips, so imperative when dining with picky kids! I really enjoyed our table-​made guacamole as well. Some of the best Ive ever had. It included fresh cilantro. Mmm!
The service was excellent, we never had empty drinks or dirty plates. A note on the hostesses too: they were polite and genuinely warm. This is something i often find lacking in vegas in even the finest restaurants. The Mariachi duo went from table to table and were also very personable.
In general the whole vibe here was very positive. So kudos to you, viva Michoacan! We will be back AND we’ll bring friends!

My friends invited me out to «the face» for lunch. I was wondering what the heck the face was, and they told me the name of this place. Then I got here and realized what they were talking about.
I haven’t been to Mexico, but it seems like you might expect a restaurant there to look like this (see TC S.‘s photo). Service is friendly enough and pretty efficient. I got the burrito lunch special with beef, and it was pretty darn good. The plate (which comes out hot — careful!) has burrito that appears relatively small, but that’s because the beans and rice and whatnot are spread out on the place and are intended to be eaten with utensils. I also greatly enjoyed a sample of my friend’s fish dish (forgot what it was called), and apparently they make some good shrimp as well.
I’d definitely recommend this place for anyone who wants something a bit higher class than Del Taco and more authentic than Chipotle