We headed out to the river this week to try out something different, Viva & Aviv by the River. It is a pretty cool little place. I would describe Viva & Aviv by the River as a trendy hipster place in a tourist location. They obviously get a lot of tourists there, but it is a great place for expats and locals alike. Like they say in real estate, location, location, location, and they have the location. It is right on the Chao Phraya River just across from the Icon Siam in River City Shopping Complex. The view is really nice at sunset and the temperature dramatically cools off after the sun drops. You can see the fountains at Icon Siam across the river, the dinner boat cruises passing by, and you can even hop a little boat ferry over to the mall from there, so that’s pretty cool.
Viva & Aviv by the River is set up with some unique décor. They have a giant moose head coming out of the wall, some custom paintings and stencils of iconic figures like Jimi Hendrix and Che Guevara, and old boat rope riggings and pulleys hanging from the ceiling. On the deck by the river they the trees lit up with lights and fedora hats hanging from them.
It looks really cool. This place is screaming Instagram. I’m sure you can get some pretty wicked shots there at sunset and night. I thought the atmosphere was great. The music was bumpin’.
It was just a really nice place to hang out and have a few beers.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t sell alcohol when I was there so we tried some of their virgin cocktails like the Viva Flower. It’s a mix of Rose syrup, Lemon Rancho, aloe vera juice, and chrysanthemum tea. The Virgin Zap which is a Mango fruit mix with Habanero lime, Lemon Rancho, saline solution, and ginger ale. The Thai Pina is another one. It is a combination of Pandam syrup, Lemon Rancho, coconut and pineapple juice. They may sound a little crazy but they were pretty damn good.
The food wasn’t bad either.
The Caesar salad was fantastic. It came out with fresh crisp lettuce smothered in creamy caesar dressing with lots of crispy fried bacon on top. Very nice, indeed.
I tried the calamari. It was cooked right, lightly fried and tender, not overcooked and chewy.
We had a couple little designer pizzas. The chorizo and black olive pizza was good. The chorizo was cut in big thick slices.
The seafood pizza big mussels, shrimp and squid. I thought it was great. The dough is nice and chewy.
The Som Tum Spaghetti was a nice spicy pasta. Then I tried a couple classic Thai dishes.
The Pad Thai Goong, your traditional Pad Thai but with huge Tiger Prawns cooked perfectly.
I also had the cashew chicken, Gai Phad Med Ma-muang. It’s a stir fried chicken with cashew nuts cooked to a tourist taste so you won’t have to see a paramedic after eating it (not too spicy). Viva & Aviv by the River is exactly what I would want if I was visiting from out of town.
Conclusion
The staff is friendly and attentive. They went out of their way to make a pretty fancy chocolate milkshake for my daughter. I don’t normally frequent these parts of town, but have to say, maybe I should. It is a really great spot. I would definitely go back to take it all in on a nice night. I am glad I got over there and appreciate the management for inviting us to come check it out. Thanks and We will see you again soon!
