Vivo Latino

Latin American restaurant
Gluten-free options
Lunch
Dinner
Brunch
Open Late
More
This vibrant spot offers a warm welcome and attentive service, with staff and chef dedicated to accommodating gluten-free needs. The lively atmosphere is enhanced by authentic Latin music, creating a great ambience for a safe and enjoyable gluten-free dining experience.

Good to know

1

There were gluten-free choices actually listed on the menu.

2

Bottomless brunch offers excellent value for money.

147 Cowbridge Rd E, Cardiff CF11 9AH, UK
2.4km

People are saying

O
Amazing food. Bartender was very accommodating towards us with gluten free options and made the drinks very quickly for us.
R
The staff is very helpful and kind, but overall, I would say it is a stretch to call this "authentic" Mexican cuisine. I cannot speak to the other Latin American cuisines that are represented because I know Mexican food in particular. The food isn't bad, it's just not what I would consider authentic Mexican cuisine, it's a fusion of British and Mexican cuisine. Just for background, I have lived in Mexico (both the north and the south), I have visited the Central part of the country on various occasions, and I am familiar with various fusion versions of Mexican-American cuisine (Texmex, New Mexican, Mexican-Californian) and Mexican-Asian cuisine (e.g. Baja cuisine). I am one of the few people that my friends from Mexico actually trust with cooking authentic Mexican food from different regions when they just don't feel like cooking. One of the tell-tale signs that this is British-Mexican fusion and not authentic Mexican cuisine is the extensive use of wheat flour instead of maze in certain dishes. Wheat flour substantially changes the flavor of the food, even when it's 1/2 and 1/2, the taste is very noticeable (maze will turn slightly sweet when cooked, but flour still has a slightly uncooked taste to it, even when part of the flour tortilla is charred). What I have gathered from talking to the staff is that using wheat flour in dishes which should never use them (e.g. tacos are always made with 100% corn tortillas in "authentic" Mexican cuisine) is a consideration based on practicality: the flour adds gluten which in turn adds pliability to the tortilla. This is an indication that either the maze was not properly nixtamalized (this is the process which makes regular maze from the cob the type that you can actually form into a tortilla, i.e. masa harina), or the more likely issue is that the 100% corn tortillas are drying out when they are shipped and needed to be properly rehydrated and grilled before serving to regain their pliability. That being said... when I want authenticity and cannot buy the proper tortillas a the store, I mix my own masa and water to make my own tortillas with the tortilla press that I bought in Mexico.

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