I travel frequently to different cities for work and always look for a special gem that delivers good food for a good price and has home style unique dishes to offer than the norm that I see in most restaurants. Victory Cafe delivers just that. Affordable yummy food at a good price. Nothing fancy but always unique dishes that taste great. I have now had dinner here once while staying at the Hampton across the street and now I know why the hotel refers people over to their restaurant in EVERY room on their "where to eat" cards. Well done guys.
Review Source:Victory Cafe is hands down one of my favorite places in Albany. Their daily lunch specials make the work day so much better! I also have been able to throw a few private parties in the upstairs, absolutely lovely and the food is spot on every time. Â To make the place better they have GREAT staff, they have been there for years, which says A LOT about a restaurant.
Review Source:My boyfriend and I tried this place for the first time during restaurant week. The bar was very crowded but the dinning room was nice and quiet. The menu for restaurant week was great. I had their chicken and risotto that was amazing and I was a huge portion!! Ate it leftover for today. Their stuffed mushrooms were a great appetizer and spicy too. I'm looking forward to trying their regular menu now!
Review Source:"A Victory for the Reuben"
by Josh K.
In those darker days of Pearl Street, when underage clubs and SUNY meat head bars dominated the bar scene, Victory Cafe was always a relatively pleasant and convivial watering trough oasis amidst its more chaotic  neighbors (cough Big House/Skyline cough Mad River).
Nowadays, Victory Cafe is a nice play to go for a low-key dinner, or drink. Â It's even better to go for lunch (when there is better weather than this cold, windy March). Â Then, you can sit outdoors and enjoy the hustle and bustle of downtown Albany before heading back to the office.
I came here last weekend, not for the bar, but because it was St. Patrick's Day. Â It was getting late, I was hungry and thirsty, and I knew all the regular "pubs" would be too crowded. Â While looking at their online menu, one entree instantly appealed to me: the Reuben Pizza. Â That and Guinness.
Smothered with melted Swiss cheese and sprinkled with caraway seeds, the crusty and chewy crust of my Reuben Pizza at Victory Cafe was an appropriate St. Patrick's Day treat. Â Thousand Island dressing as used in lieu of tomato sauce, and the requisite corned beef and sauerkraut made up the toppings.
Served with much gusto by the friendly waitress, the pizza hit the spot.
Sure the crust to cheese ratio was uneven, the corned beef a little chewy, and the beer selection leaving much to be desired; however, when accompanied with large, hand- breaded and cut mozzarella sticks (wedges more like), I got my one quarter Irish heritage on quite contently.
My attempt to eat dinner at the victory cafe resulted in a loss of my business for the establishment.
We walked over hoping for a nice quick dinner at what I assumed from their reviews would be tasty. It was not busy, the tables were full outside, but inside was empty yet we still had to wait 10 minutes just for menus. And the waitress did not apologize or offer a reason for our wait.
After waiting another 15 minutes will still had no drinks and no one had taken our dinner order so we gave up and left without even ordering.
The victory Cafe is a great place to grab a drink and have it on their outside patio which has ample seating. Â Or have dinner, in which I did. Â The salad was great, the house dressing was very good. Â Baked ziti was up to par and the sausage and peppers were very juicy. Â The owner is very personable and the prices were extremely reasonable. Â It has a private area upstairs that you can host parties. Â It has its own bar and huge screen tv. Â Even though the choices for the upstairs bar are not the same for the common bar downstairs, I would still highly recommend this cafe to book a private party
Review Source:I'd give 2.5 if I could. Â Victory Cafe is OK. The specials are a good deal. Â The salads are good for lunch because they are huge, but when you add a protein and it becomes $12+, it doesn't really seem like what you get is worth it. Â The biggest problem at VC is that you will wait forever for food. Lunch hour will come and go. Unacceptable.
Review Source:I was disappointed. Â I had the chicken and andoule sausage with fettucini, roasted red peppers, and okra in Cajun cream sauce. Â The sauce was good (if a bit salty)--cleared my sinuses out, anyway. Â The veggies were from a jar/frozen, which was okay. Â The thing which appalled me, though, was the processed chicken and rubber-texture sausage. Â Might as well have been eating lunchmeat and hotdogs.
Review Source:I was recently here for a high school reunion party upstairs.
The main downstairs area is relatively generic and non-descript. I would go if I felt like going to a very casual place on a weeknight. Probably has a decent neighborhood crowd.
The upstairs is a bit nicer. It has its own bar and plenty of space to set up appetizer tables. The bar tender was very good, remembered what people were drinking, and was not stingy on the alcohol.
We had a few different pizzas, wings, mexican bean dip, and crudites as hors d'oeuvres. I was slightly buzzed by the time I had any food, but the bean dip and the pizzas were surprisingly good. Not that I didn't expect them to be good, but they were much better than I would have imagined.
I'd go back.
Good Lunch Spot. My review basically echos Ryan M.'s.
Food is 3.5 Stars. Good to a little above good. Nothing over the top. A little on the heavy side with greasy pizza, usually a lot of mayo on the sandwiches. Fish and Chips is probably the most consistent lunch item and it's good
Friendly consistent and timely service, 4.5 stars
Great outdoor area and not too bad inside either. 4 Stars.
I came here with some friends after a wedding on a Saturday afternoon. Â Showing up at 7(ish), the bar was pretty empty, but as the night progressed the spot had a nice atmosphere. Â The bartenders were super friendly and always speeding in getting out drinks. Â I munched on some bruschetta which was quite delicious. Â
They have darts and a game machine up at the bar if you find yourself bored. Â I'd definitely come back here next time I'm in town.
Your standard bar with your standard bar food. Â Compared to other restaurant in Albany, this one is not a disappointment. Â You get what you expect and a reasonable price with friendly service. Â On nicer days, it is definitely a key spot to sit outside to enjoy the comfortable weather.
Review Source:Many a day have I take the trip to Victory for lunch. It's good spot for sure.
Like many places in downtown Albany it's best served on a warm day in the summer when you sit outside at tables under some shade and sip a cold beer. This is exactly the case for Victory. The waitresses and bartenders are usually college ladies with tons of personality. I like that in bar/restaurant staff...ya know when they are willing to joke around and mess with you a bit. They don't take work too seriously and they know you are just trying to enjoy yourself a bit on your lunch escape before you have to return to the second half of the daily grind.
The food is average to good but it's simple. They don't try anything crazy and every day there different are different lunch specials. Salads, burgers, and sandwiches. They also offer happy hour and sometimes lunch specials on beer. There's a few pub games setup like darts and erotic photo hunt if that's what you are into. Also, they have one of those exorbitantly priced per song jukeboxes. $1 per play? Seriously guys?
The crowd at lunch is a bit more upscale than the rest of Pearl St, although not as much as somewhere like Jacks or Franklin's towers. It's mostly politicians or office higher ups relaxing. NOTE: You won't see these people unless you sit upstairs or in the downstairs dining room. If you sit downstairs at the bar it's just us mere mortal blue collar state worker types.
The menu does include more expensive items and if you come here at dinner it's a totally different scene. I've only come for dinner once it was indeed pricey. I'm not sure if I remember but I think my steak was good.
BOTTOM LINE: Victory is great little lunch spot whether in the middle of winter or the summer(but best in summer). The staff is friendly and willing to talk/joke. The food is good not great but good. They do accept <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupons. So get yourself one! If you're looking for a different spot to eat or knock back a few drinks in downtown Albany, consider Victory it might be what you are looking for.
"The Vic" as it will always be known to me has hosted many crazy evenings for my friends and me as we partied ourselves into oblivion for our Albany Conquest post-game parties. Â The staff is supremely nice and always treated everyone I was with and me with top-notch service even when we were being a bit over the top (ok, just me). Â They remember your drink (even if you're just a weekly patron), can make conversation, and don't overcharge you...ever. Â The food is pretty good too! Â
The crowd is casual and not filled with the typical downtown "feel ya up" kind of people. Â It's a nice change from the usual scene downtown. Â And no cover! Â Even better!
I adore their black and bleu chicken sandwich - cajun spices on a blackened chicken breast with bleu cheese - mmmm - and their fries are out of this world. Â Since they have a rotating menu at lunch, I try to come here more for dinner now that I don't work right in downtown Albany since that way I know I can get my favorite sandwich. Â Also the bartenders are awesome, super friendly. Â Can get a little too crowded for my taste at lunch but I guess you can't fault them for being popular?? Â And when there is outdoor seating available in the summer, its sublime.
Review Source:while i enjoy the Victory, it is never my first choice. lunch always takes a long time (ok. maybe not As long as the Bayou but nearly) and they serve what most other places do - salads, burgers etc.
the burgers are always good and the salads are huge (why do we need so much? they don't really keep well.) sharing is a good idea again on these. Â their special pizzas are very nice however as well as the other specials. Â
the service is usually quite good even if it is slow (i get the impression that they need an extra person in the kitchen at lunch time.) and once again, it is convenient for downtown lunch dining.
What a nice spot. Â Came on a warm evening, and sat at one of the outside tables. Â Enjoyed a cold beer and a rather inventive pizza. Â
Black and Blue Chicken Pizza - blackened chicken with blue cheese. Â Apparently they also offer a sandwich version. Â It was mighty tasty. Â The crust had a nice chew and flavor. Â
What was nice about this place is that it actually had some character. Â It might not be fancy, but it knew what it was. Â And did it well, and did it with class.
The Victory Cafe is a delightful gem in downtown Albany. Â Here you will find casual dining with a number of constantly changing daily specials. Â These daily specials, along with the quality of the ingredients, are reason enough to become a repeat customer at this quiet little restaurant. Â The chef focuses on American cuisine, and utilizes a wide variety of vegetables, grains and techniques to present entrees which are more than just standard fare. Â The salads are bountiful and use the freshest ingredients, the pizzas are huge and hit the spot, and the entrees are delicious. Â Vegetarians also won't have trouble eating here as a few options are available.
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