Vita Nova

5 STAR DINING EXPERIENCE ON CAMPUS?
Perfection is the name of this game on the University of Delaware’s Newark Campus.
These people are being trained in «Attention to Detail,» and «Excellence in Dining».
I went for lunch and «LOVED IT!», can’t wait to go back for dinner!
Had the BEST lobster salad ever. Their lunch buffet is not to be missed. The staff, and manager are «SPOT ON!». If you ever wanted to experience a true gourmet meal experience, and could not afford to, here’s your chance. These are students in Culinary Arts, Hotel & Restaurant Management, and boy do they execute what they’re their studying well.
You park in the parking garage, cross the street, enter a building where students are lounging and studying. Go up the stairs to enter a «Marvelous Dining Experience!». Their Wine List is Extensive, and offers great wines, at great prices. Tips are not allowed. You MUST make reservations for dinner, and they also use «OPEN TABLE» for reservations. Their hours and dates are limited, so go to their website and check for availability.
I am really glad I went, and look forward to many return visits!
ENJOY!
Chef Gary Curry

Incredibly friendly staff. You can really tell the students are trying their best. They add on gratuity automatically. I’m assuming this is because it’s a student ran outfit? It’s a shame as I would tip more. They really go out of there way to create a fine dining experience complete with a coat check, wine pairings. I thought the cooks were full time culinary students, but I found out that after one or two culinary classes, they are only cooks at the restaurant for half a semester! Terrific food quality for such in experienced cooks. They do a really good job of taking the heat off the kitchen by only having one seating and doing salads table side.
Overall the food is very good. While it is fine dining, it’s not pretentious but classic gourmet dishes like pan seared duck and sea bass. Quality meats served with a purée and vegetable. The palate cleaning sorbet before the main course and the nitrogen post dessert strawberries had us smiling. Unfortunately there were a few minor blips in our service where they left butter on the table, we ran out of water, they left our plates on the table until they brought the next course. Etc. In their defense they mentioned they were completely booked at 44 so it was a major service for them. We will definitely go back and I would highly recommend. I look forward to updating this review with 5 stars soon.

My wife and I went here on our 1^st anniversary. The food is fantastic and the service is impeccable. The people that are teaching these students must know the best technics for the food industry. We were very satisfied.

i LOVE Vita Nova! I’ve been there with my wife and with friends on several occasions. This is a restaurant school, and it’s wonderful being pampered by very polite students as they learn the trade of not only preparing excellent dishes but first-​class serving as well. I will keep frequenting Vita Nova at least once per semester.

Outstanding! The students of the U of Delaware hospitality school have done a magnificent job. We were lucky enough to be there for the lunchtime buffet, which gave me a chance to try everything. The salad with pears and poached salmon were as good as any I have ever had. The small popovers were perfect — just crusty enough, tender inside, and with divine little pats of cinnamon butter. Chicken with craisins was excellent. And the desserts! A lady in front of me in line bypassed the small dessert plates to bring a dinner plate over so she could take some of everything on the table and I envied her ingenuity. Service was not exactly polished, but attentive and well-​mannered. And the price was so low at first I thought it was per person. The best meal for the price I can remember.
My only criticism was the tea. It is always a disappointment when an exquisite meal is followed by a pedestrian tea, and Lipton is as pedestrian as it gets. Please, Vita Nova, try Numi, Mighty Leaf, or, ideally, something more upscale like Silk Roads or Seven Cups. Then your tea will be the match of your superb food.

This is not really a wonderful restaurant or a terrific buy, but people love it because 1) it is fancy in a way that intimidates criticism, 2) the student servers are always interesting to talk with. The restaurant is run by the University of Delaware hotel school.

Hmmmm… First one to go less that five stars here, but then for that matter, at least to date, I haven’t given ANY Newark eatery five stars yet!
The food, is indeed, consistently excellent, and it is without question one of the classiest dining establishments in northern Delaware. I eat there about twice a year: sometimes dinner, but usually the lunch buffet. Food is always well prepared and beautifully presented. During my most recent visit, the fish (trout, I think?) was light and moist and wonderful.
But… there are a couple hiccups. One, it IS part of the UD restaurant management program, and as they should be at this stage, the wait-​staff is sometimes a little rough around the edges. Charming? Usually! But sometimes a little awkward or even amusing, as well. It’s the point of the establishment in the first place, to create a ‘lab’ where students learn the decorum of working in a top-​flight restaurant, but it has made for a few interesting meals.
Closely related is the fact that the place is ridiculously busy ALL the time. Usually you need reservations well in advance; sometimes MONTHS in a advance. And, of course, when the semester ends, that’s it for the next few months.
So knowing all that, it’s still a very nice place for a really fine meal. A real treasure here in the UD community!

We had driven past U of D many times, but didn’t know that this wonderful restaurant was there until recently when friends of ours were given a gift certificate for it. They came away with rave reviews, so we headed back there with our friends on Friday. Food and drinks were excellent, and service even better! The students servers and chefs did a great job, and we all had a wonderful evening. This would be a great spot for a special occasion, but it was a good value for the money, and we’ll be back.

Blew off Bill Cosby during Parent’s weekend at UD to dine here. Great choice! After a flight of stairs you leave the downstairs fast-​food Trabant food court and step into a beautiful room and upscale dining experience. The students greet, cook, and serve under the watchful eye of Bernd Mayer. The restaurant is so good you actually forget this is part of the UD curriculum. Delicious food, beautifully presented, and very reasonable. Good wine selection too. If you’re a UD parent you simply must try Vita Nova before your progeny graduates.

Student-​run and it’s pretty awesome. The big negative is that the hours are a bit funny and it’s tough to get a table for lunch. It’s in a bit of a strange place (2^nd floor of Trabant University Center) but that adds to the charm. Service is always good as the students are rotated throughout the semester — a couple weeks serving, a couple weeks cooking, etc. Always have had a good experience here.

Back for a second time on 10÷22÷10. This time, as a solo diner, I ate at the Darden Bistro (the restaurant’s wine bar — and no reservations needed). I enjoyed fabulous, friendly service (thanks, Danielle!), delicious food (Caesar salad followed by lamb tortelloni), and a couple of nice glasses of wine. For anyone passing through Newark on the nights that Vita Nova is open, I recommend taking the time to sample this special experience.