This place was gross! For starters, we ordered the bruschetta, usually one of our favorite Italian appetizers. This version was oily, sloppy, soggy tomatoes served on un-toasted overly large slaps of french bread. It was terrible. Thankfully, our server was extraordinarily slow and absent, so we hadn't even ordered our main course yet. At this point we decided to split before we wasted more money on nasty overpriced food.
Review Source:I ordered the Penne Ala Arrabbiata with a side of the garden salad. The pasta was good, but could have had more flavor. I chose the Penne Arrabbiata specifically because the menu said it would be spicy. Unfortunately, to my very Indian palate conditioned with red hot peppers and masala, it felt severely lacking. Also, the waiter didn't show up to ask if I wanted the check for almost 25 minutes after I was finished - mind you, I was the only one at the table. This despite me resorting to such subtle gestures as placing my silverware at ten and four o'clock, pushing the plate slightly away, leaning back with legs crossed etc. When he finally showed up and brought the check, he didn't come back to get my credit card for a while. Eventually I had to have another waiter take care of it.
Overall it wasn't an awful experience, but it could have been better.
Meh. Not bad, but not awesome. Started with portabella mushrooms which my husband liked. To me the sauce was waaaaaay overwhelming. Too much something. Wouldn't order them again.
I got the spaghetti alla puttanesca, which was tasty. Lots of olives and capers. My husband had the frutti do mare. He said it was good but didn't come close to the equivalent that he had at Maggiano's in the Chicago area last weekend. Maybe that was the problem....we were comparing this place to Maggiano's.
The bread they serve while you are waiting for your meal was really good. Two large rolls. Like the size of large hamburger buns. Tasty. Also, the pasta portions were ginormous.
The service was nice and the atmosphere was nice in the downtown area.
Love their food. Don't know what everyone is whining about. When I eat here for dinner or get takeout I love the seafood alfredo & their eggplant. The rolls they include with the meal are delicious as well. They appear to have a vast wine selection. Excited to try some of their wines after my baby is born. Friendly staff, just wish there were more places to park nearby. If there were, I would probably eat here more often. Got takeout on Valentine's day and ordered two pasta entrees and a ceasar salad for under $30. Very generous portion sizes. I'll be back :)
Review Source:Big portions, very attentive service, okay food, and some of the nicest servers and bartenders I've ever experienced.
For an appetizer, I got the calamari fritti. It had the perfect level of fried crispiness without being soggy and included a nice ratio of tentacles and large body/mantle pieces. The marinara served on the side was good, but I was very disappointed to find that the other side was non-other than ranch dressing with Frank's RedHot sauce. Some kind of homemade sauce would have been much better than a bottled variant on ranch.
For my main dish, I got the eggplant alla parmigiana. It also had a nice crisp without being weighed down. It had a number of big chunks of freshly pan cooked mushrooms that really added to the dish. I had enough leftovers for another two meals.
But, the best part about Victoria's was the service. When I walked in to try and find a place at the bar, the place was slammed with business. Despite this, I had a glass of wine within 5 minutes of sitting down and an appetizer within 15. Overall, the front staff took great care to make sure my experience was as positive as possible.
My experience with Victoria's is the same as everyone else's: the service is great and they try hard to keep you happy, and the portions are huge, but those and their location are all that works in their favor. Â Cold clumps of pasta with sauces as bland as Rochester itself are what you're going to be served. Â If you're in the neighborhood you're better off heading to whatever restauarant has popped up in the 300 First space, Pescara, or Jasper's. Â Better yet, wander south a few blocks and get some correctly al dente pasta at Twigs.
Review Source:This place makes my tits hurt. I go there, sit down, and as soon as our server comes to greet us, my tits start throbbing. I went to see a doctor about this and he said to avoid Victoria's from now on.
Fuck that! I love Italian food, and I'm not about to give it up just because I have a little bit of tit pain.
As for the food itself, it's not very good, but when your only other choice for Italian is Olive Garden, it's easy to choose this place (though I must admit, Noodles & Company is probably slightly better than here, and it doesn't make your tits hurt).
I usually don't eat alligator, but my wife and I decided to give the calamari a shot again. It was okay. I've had better. When I was in Texas a few years ago visiting Pearl Harbor we tried alligator jerky, and I've gotta say, I like it in jerky form much better. Â
Onto the entrees! I got the something blah blah blah ravioli. My Italian isn't that great, but ravioli must mean snot-filled pasta, because that's what it reminded me of.
The saving grace was the dessert. Mmmmmmmm! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was a scoop of whipped cream - a true Italian dessert.
I would gladly suffer through the agonizing pain in my tits just for a bite of that whipped cream again.
If you like big, sloppy portions of mediocre Italian food, this restaurant (or Olive Garden) is the place for you. Â The pasta was very disappointing (I feel that I can make better pasta by buying cheap store brand and boiling water). Â The service is decent (not wonderful). Â The ambiance is also decent. Â Avoid, if you can. Â Rochester has much better to offer!
Review Source:If you like Italian cuisine, avoid this place. Â The food here is heavy, tasteless, and microwaved or re-heated, the exact opposite of what one would expect from an "authentic" Italian restaurant. Â Victoria's is an example par excellence of what I call the Rochester culinary inversion principle, viz., food that anywhere else in the world would be regarded as terrible is thought of here as great provided, of course, it's piled high on your plate. Â The last time I was here after a long absence I ordered something simple, angel hair pasta with meat sauce. Â It came to the table cold, with spaghetti rather than angel hair pasta, and actually tasted quite nasty. Â I don't want to think where the sauce came from or how long it had been sitting around in a can or plastic container. Â The owner seems like a nice person, but niceness alone doesn't get it done in the kitchen.
Review Source:This is a lovely place, with golden walls and fine service. The food, though, is merely mediocre. Salad was fine - it's a salad. The vegetarian pasta dish was a soggy mess of tomato sauce, olives, and turds of cheese, without any fresh vegetables on it. It looked like something a college student could make, not a fine Italian diner. The chocolate cake was moist and sweet, as a cake should be.
Overall, not a terrible place, but a place to go for decor (or if you're next door at the Mayo Clinic, as odds will be), not for the food.
After reading other reviews, we went to Victoria's not sure if the experience would be positive or just mediocre. Happily. we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
Our server, Alicia, was a gem. Attentive without being cloying, she certainly added to our enjoyment. Obviously well-trained, with a helpful and friendly demeanor, she offered menu suggestions, presented the dishes well, and kept the coffee flowing!
The fresh baked rolls were delish, salads attractive and fresh with yummy house made dressing, and the pasta dishes a treat.
Patron's Choice far exceeded expectations. Veggies perfectly prepared on a bed of pasta. The container of freshly grated Parmesan added to the mix. Home made gnocchi were wonderful. Made us think those advertised as home made in other Italian eateries we've visited we're actually frozen. These were the real deal. Great meat sauce and freshly grated Parmesian  enhanced the top notch flavor of the gnocchi.
Mosticholli (sp) also a hit. Again, the meat sauce and cheese were a hit!
Although we have carry out containers in the fridge (portions were huge), we're already looking forward to a return visit.
Amazing. We were in Rochester for 1 week and could not resist coming back here a second and third time. For a small hospital town Rochester has a fairly incredible variety of food, and Victoria's was a bright spot even amongst the others.
The decor is tacky, but the food is great. Fresh tomato sauce and crispy vegetables are what I remember most.
From looks/curb appeal you will be hooked during the summer months. Â I had the salmon with orange sauce. Â I asked for the orange sauce on the side as it was an orange flavored Alfredo sauce. Â While I would stay away from this type of sauce it was a necessity with the salmon as it was very well done/dry. Â The vegetables were sauted and were in a light oil based sauce that was very salty. Â for me it worked because I mixed it with the pasta for overall flavor and it was yummy. Â The portions are very large and they come with soup or salad. Â The salad was nice and really hit the spot. Â I asked for Mozzerella and really think it came from a bag in the back versus a fresh piece of cheese.
I should have followed the previous reviews and chosen another option.
Victoria's I love you................your pasta, bread, and cocktails make me very happy....i have eaten here many many times and never had a bad meal....chicken marco polo, cannalonni's , gnocchi, raviolli, meschi's chicken---you will end up waiting for a table if you do not make a reservaton......
Review Source:On a Monday evening, we were wandering around and my son and daughter were having a hankering for some Italian food. Â We found Victoria's and wondered in. Â It was about 7:00 PM and it was pretty quiet inside. Â You enter into the bar area and the waitress weaved us around to the back somewhere to smaller dining area. Â
Both my son and daughter love the Fettuccine Alfredo so they ordered that. Â My wife and I were looking more for appetizers, so we got a sampler plate then I ordered some crab cakes and she got the cheese ravioli. Â
The appetizers were, well, OK. Â The crab cakes were, well, awful. Â I get better crab cakes at Costco then the ones here. Â The place reminded me of Olive Garden. Â Nothing overly horrible (except for my meal of crab cakes), but nothing standing out either.
Unimpressive, overrated as others have mentioned. But I will admit, it does take a pretty amazing Italian restaurant to impress me. I feel like most of the dishes I get at an Italian restaurant I can make just as good at home (and I am by no means a gourmet chef). Anyway... the food here is nothing exciting. Large menu, large portions of pasta... at an acceptable price, but by no means a steal.
Review Source:One of the most over-rated places in Rochester. Unimpressive, unimaginitive, uninspiring food. Will not be returning.
If you have any type of dietary restriction, steer clear. They have bacon in every dish, and will not mention it. Fine if you don't mind, but across from a medical center that caters to a clientele from around the world? I consider that incredibly tacky. Secondly, unlike most restaurants in the area, they will not accommodate your preferences. If you love pasta with cream sauce and bacon, you will probably like this place. I guess that's why Victoria's is still around - that's a large segment of the population. However, I urge you to push your comfort zone and go anywhere else in the city. Even if you're a bacon lover, try The Loop, Chester's, or Newt's. You'll find far more interesting twists on classics, alongside some old faithful menu items too.
My wife and I have eaten here a handful of times and have always enjoyed the meals. The cozy bar area is a nice place to have a cocktail or two before dinner and it's also an option for those desiring an appetizer or full meal.
We've sampled only a tiny portion of their giant menu - salmon, pasta, chicken, seafood ravioli and steaks - all have been solid entrees. The only downside to eating here is that we're from out of town and always visit in connection with a Mayo checkup so, we have no place for the inevitable leftovers. As a side note, Victoria's is just a block from the Mayo Clinic.
Prices are reasonable - even the steaks. Friendly service.
dammit this place is really good. I had my good bye gluten dinner here. was off the charts yummy. chicken parm with a pink sauce. pink sauce is pretty much the best thing ever. it's alfredo sauce and red sauce together. Â EFFFFFFFF it's yummy. Â when you arrive you get a planet sized individual warm crusty piece of bread. so so good. I also shared a dessert. tiramisu. YUM! made from scratch and it shows. yum yum yum.
Review Source:Still the same after 7 years.. Sometimes good things DO last.
Victoria's gets 5 stars from me. Â Are they the most sophisticated Italian I've ever had? Â Well... No. Â BUT there's something to be said about the feeling you get when you walk in the door. Â The way the food is cooked in that warm, satisfying style.
Hot, soft bread is perfect for sopping up flavorful sauces. Â Try the hose made Manicotti with "Special Sauce". Â Portions are well sized and the wine selection is outstanding for the area.
I only spend time in Rochester when I'm on business, so I'm mostly eating alone. Â A seat at the bar yields great service, welcoming bartenders, and a good pour.
One of my favorite Rochester spots, and one I return to again, and again, and again.
Good Italian food, especially if you wanna feel like a classy broad who "lunches".
I'm updating my review for Victoria's. We went again for a second time last month and the experience was horrible. The service was EXTREMELY slow and the food was soaked in oil and butter. Neither my husband nor I were able to eat our entrees and we didn't bother taking the food home. We won't be back,
For Italian food in Rochester, MN. This is my favorite place.
I have a saying, you can always tell how good an Italian restaurant is by their Lasagna.....it was great! It wasn't dry, it had incredible red sauce and the portion was huge! Their house salad was excellent with their homemade Italian dressing. Great selection of wine and beer. Very surprise of how little of Italian beer was available for choice though! Only one, Peroni, which is one of my favorites. But really, when you have 10-15 beer varieties, you think they would offer couple more, after all they are a great Italian restaurant.
PS. The menu is to big. You would need to spend a month or so just to go thru it, although you could have a new item every night.
I was at Mayo Clinic 3x in 2010 and went to several different places for food when I was tired of eating my food that I brought with me from Illinois or that I purchased locally at the Super Target.
During the summer downtown Rochester has an outdoor market every Thursday where they close the streets downtown behind Mayo Clinic and bands. Thursdays on First & 3rd features a weekly outdoor market of over 100 combined food, arts & crafts vendors and live entertainment every Thursday throughout the summer. Victoria's had food during both of the weeks I was there. I do not know if the portions are different from what they serve in the restaurant.
I had the INSALATA DE CAPRICCIOSA Mixed lettuce, fresh
tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, cucumbers ala pomodoro,
garlic, virgin olive oil, fresh basil, grilled chicken breast in
our house dressing with toasted crostini...................10.95 on the current menu. My portion was only 6.95 so perhaps mine was a lunch pricing or outdoor market pricing? Either way the salad was wonderful, perfect farm fresh vegetables and organic chicken.
I also had the BRUSCHETTA AL POMODORO ª Fresh
tomato, basil, garlic & virgin olive oil on toasted
crostini ..................................................Â..............6.95 which was only 3.95 in 2010. Perfect texture and tomato melted in my mouth
The food was OK. I worry when I see a menu that has so many items that it looks like a Russian novel. How can all that food be freshly made? I had the Pasta Putenesca which was OK. My wife had manicotti which was good.
Our waitress was clueless. It's been a long time since I've had someone make so many mistakes in the course of one meal. To top it off, my bill had an extra item for another $20 on it.
I won't be going back. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either.
This place is overpriced and the food doesn't match the cost.
I got a piece of plastic in my food and our awesome server dropped the cost so I added a star.
Yes, believe what i just said. If it weren't for our server this place is one star worthy.
They need to stop worrying about the decor and worry more about what they are serving. I was really disappointed because i thought I was going to have a really nice meal.
Did I already say our server was nice?
In a word: Â icky. Â
I went here with my family for a late Saturday lunch to celebrate my mom's birthday. Â First off, the hostess didn't even greet us or say thank you or goodbye when we left. Â It was pretty much dead in the place so it's not like she was busy, just stuck up (it is Rochester though and pretty much everyone there acts like an a-hole). Â
There was a huge fly buzzing around our table that would not leave us alone the entire time we were there. Â EEEEEEWWWWW!!!! Â Also my brother in law's silverware was quite dirty. Â Not a good way to start off a dining experience.
I ordered the homemade manicotti with special sauce (marinara with alfredo) and a Caesar salad to start. Â The salad was so disgusting because the lettuce was completely soaked in dressing. Â I usually like some salad with my salad dressing, maybe that's just me though? Â The manicotti came and it was the most unappetizing entree I think I've ever been served. Â It just looked like this giant log drowning in a pool of alfredo sauce. Â I took a few hesitant bites and thought hell to the no! Â The marinara sauce was awful, and the amount of alfredo sauce on the plate completely grossed me out--it literally covered the whole platter and was at least an inch deep.
I swear to God, Fazoli's has better Italian than this place. Â Don't waste your time, money, or the calories.
My family has been coming here annually for 10 years or so. Â The menu is exhaustive, the wine selection is excellent, and the service is attentive (although usually a tad slow).
I always have a seafood meal and the only thing that keeps this place at 4 instead of 5 stars is that the calamari portion of the entre is always overcoiked and tough. Â Boyond that, everything else is perfect!
The bread is worth walking over glass to get! Â Make sure to ask for cheese and balsamic to add to the bread and olive oil (I can make a meal of that by itself!!!!).
The only Italian places in Rochester are Victoria's, Bilotti's and Olive Garden. Â Of these, what would I recommend? Â Olive Garden if that tells you anything. Â The food here is just lousy. Â I judge based on the basics - good marinara sauce. Â Victoria's doesn't have it, so you can imagine how the pasta dishes can't possibly be good (they aren't).
Review Source:Victoria's holds a special place in my heart. My husband took me to Victoria's right before we started officially dating. After we started dating, we frequented Victoria's often.
Yes, the decor is a bit kitschy, but we got used to it and it kind of grew on us.
My husband's all-time favorite dish is Tortellini alle Noci (with nuts) - cheese tortellini sautéed in butter with pistachios, pinenuts, walnuts,
almonds, pecans, broccoli and cream. It is quite delicious, but if you order it make sure you server notes the "Noci" part as there is a similar dish with mushrooms on the menu.
My all-time favorite dish is Penne alla Arrabbiata - virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, kalamata olives, pepperocinis, capers, a touch of
marinara sauce & melted mozzarella. This dish is a great combination of salty and spicy.
I tried many dishes while my husband always ordered the alla Noci and never ended up with a bad dish.
But, do yourself a favor and save room for dessert. The panna cotta is sinful. Silky smooth and oh-so-creamy, this dessert will be gobbled up, but try to savor the flavor and smooth texture. I could eat plate after plate of Victoria's panna cotta. We even considered serving it at our wedding because Victoria's panna cotta is so incredible. I have yet to find a panna cotta that is better than Victoria's.
Don't you love it when you can smell a good Italian restaurant from a mile away?? That garlic floating in the air mixing with scent morsels of melted butter and cream and onions......
Well if you are anywhere near the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, you will definitely be able to smell this place from a couple blocks away. When we were parking our car, just smelling it in the garage, made my brother crave Italian food!!!
So of course we went, and this almost, overly decorated Italian restaurant is much much bigger than it looks from the outside. There are lots of booths and tables and they even have some classy italian music playing in the background!! Prices are average Italian prices and a lot of the entrees come with either soup or salad included.
I wish I got the salad, because I stole some of my brothers and his salad tasted better than the tortellini soup that our waitress told me to get....those were almost wasted carb calories I say....so get the salad kids. Eat your veggies here.
But our pasta dishes were pretty darn tasty. My carbonara was probably one of the most filling dishes I have ever had. I barely finished a quarter of it and I had hardly any room left for our wine! My brother got their tortellini in a meat sauce and he was pretty much in heaven (he loves the simple flavors because for me the sauce was pretty much perfect but again the tortellini just wasn't quite right...) But  my carbonara was full of flavor and I was glad to be eating a different type of noodle. I wish I had some of that carbonara sauce right now!
We finished our wine, but not our pasta and took the leftovers back to our hotel for breakfast the next morning, but one pasta dish would have fed both of us easily here!! Just avoid the tortellini if possible! Even if your waitress brags about it to you! False advertising hurts your taste buds sometimes heh
Kitsch was its name-oh. Tromp l'oeil technique was attempted on literally every surface of this restaurant. Again we selected this Rochester restaurant for shear convenience. We were seated promptly, given a choice of placement and were attended to promptly by our server. Each item on the menu sounded amazing.
The wife and I both ordered a glass of wine and an entrée, all four of which were delicious. Who knew that great Italian fare could be found up north?
I recommend choosing from their list of house sauces and combining with your favorite pasta. You cannot go wrong here.
Victoria's is an old-school, pasta and pizza place that is always packed. Â It's not cutting edge, it's not healthy, and if I could, I'd give it 2.5 stars, not three. Â
But Rochester, in case you haven't noticed, doesn't have a lot of options. And a lot of the options are far, far grosser than Victoria's (like Pannekoeken across the street). If you're in a hurry at lunch (or need to eat enough for a football team), you can get the lunch buffet --three or four kinds of pasta, all heavy affairs involving cream or cheese or sausages --and soup. Â If you want to go light, they have salads (always, always ask for dressing on the side in Rochester unless you want to ingest a whole bottle with a few leaves floating in it.) Â The chicken marco polo was hands down delicious --if again, you don't mind the coma-inducing heaviness. Â Since there's about 100 things on the menu, I have no idea how most of it is. Â But the things I've eaten have ranged from decent to pretty good, which means I ate there about 4 times in my 3 week visit.
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