Vita Nova Restaurant

Vita Nova is the University of Delaware’s student-operated fine-dining restaurant, offering an award-winning lunch buffet Monday through Friday and elegant five-course dining Wednesday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters. It is a University of Delaware tradition and an extraordinary dining experience.

The Vita Nova Bistro is open on select evenings and is available for events year round.

Both dining rooms are located on the second floor of the Trabant University Center, 17 W. Main St. in Newark, Delaware. Reservations are required.

Menus

View this week’s menus on Facebook. (No account needed.)

Hours and Reservations

Vita Nova

Vita Nova welcomes our guests back on Sept. 3 for the fall semester. We will be closed on Nov. 5 for election day and from Nov. 25-29 for Thanksgiving Break. Our final date of service will be Dec. 10.

Lunch M-F with reservations from 11:30-12:30
Dinner W-F with reservations from 5:30-6:30pm

Reservations can be made through OpenTable, by calling (302) 831-0500 or via email at vitanova@udel.edu. If booking for more than 4 guests, please call or email.

Bistro

Private dining arrangements can be made in the Bistro by calling (302) 831-0500 or emailing vitanova@udel.edu. (We do not accept online OpenTable reservations for the Bistro.) This space is available year round with food and beverage service through Vita Nova or UD Catering.

Equipped with projector and display screens, the Bistro offers a unique atmosphere to host meetings, receptions and other events. Please email for availability and more info.

Parking

The Trabant Parking Garage is adjacent to the Trabant Center and requires that you pay upon arrival and enter your license plate number. The PassportParking mobile app can also be used at the garage. For more information please visit the Parking Services website.

Gift Cards and Cookbook

Vita Nova gift cards and 20th Anniversary Cookbook are now available for purchase online.

Connect With Us

• Sign up for our email list to be the first to find out about our special events.
• Visit us on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about our students and operations.

News

• Delaware-area Students Were Livin’ La Vita Nova This Summer at UD - For four weeks this past summer, 48 local children ages 11-13 were Livin’ La Vita Nova during the University of Delaware’s Culinary Camp presented by the Department of Hospitality and Sport Business Management and Vita Nova restaurant.
• Livin’ La Vita Nova Culinary Camps Return This Summer - When Vita Nova, UD’s student-run restaurant, brought back its summer camp, registration filled up quickly. Here’s a sneak peek inside the camp.
• Welcome Back To Vita Nova! - Vita Nova had to pivot because of COVID-19 and set a goal to maintain great food and great service. Two new executive chefs will see to it.
• Lifelong Lerner: Carly Burns - Carly Burns, a member of UD’s Lerner Class of 2022, shared her favorite UD memories, how she has grown during her time at UD and her plans following graduation.
• This Spring at Vita Nova - UD’s student-operated and managed restaurant Vita Nova is accepting spring reservations.

A Learning Laboratory

The hospitality industry values students who have applied their knowledge in hands-on environments. Vita Nova serves as a learning laboratory for students in the Lerner College’s Department of Hospitality and Sport Business Management.

Each student gets a diverse educational experience by rotating through 17 different positions both in the dining room and in the kitchen. Students gain invaluable culinary, service and management experience in this learning lab.

In Latin, “vita nova” means “new life” or a new beginning, a particularly appropriate name since Vita Nova is the last applied classroom experience for each HOSP student before beginning a new life in the hospitality business.