Victor Cafe

Victor Cafe
1303 Dickinson Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147
Monday – Thursday: 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Friday: 5:00pm – 12:00am
Saturday: 4:30pm – 12:00am
Sunday: 4:30pm – 10:00pm

The Victor Cafe is a music lover's rendezvous.  It features Italian cuisine complemented by performances every half hour or so of opera by the waitstaff. The restaurant is over 95 years old.  It has a rich history not just in opera, featuring such greats as Joan Southerland, Luciano Pavoratiti, but also is famous for its camero appearance in the Rocky Balboa movies.

The Victor  Cafe started as a record store which is significant because above the entrance there is a dog sitting in front of a phonograph player, symbolizing the history of the restaurant.

The restaurant is perfect for a birthday or celebration as the Victor Cafe rendition of the "birthday song" sang operatically is unforgettable. Several tables were having birthday celebrations on the day we were there.

Cold puree of roast pepper with garlic. Tasted similar to gazpacho.  Nice start to the meal.

Victor Salad* Iceberg lettuce, tomato, and hardboiled egg in our house Gorgonzola cheese dressing.

Cannelloni Fresh pasta stuffed with ricotta, spinach and veal, served with marinara and béchamel $17. Béchamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is made from a roux and milk. It is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine. It is used as the base for other sauces.  Roux is flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces.

Chicken Cacciatore: means "hunter" in Italian. In cuisine, alla cacciatora refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style" with onions, herbs, usually tomatoes, often bell peppers, and sometimes wine. Cacciatore is popularly made with braised chicken or rabbit.

My favorite dessert- creme brulee of course. Not bad here.

My uncle got the Strawberry panna cotta. Pretty good choice here.  In all, the restaurant had above average food, nothing to write home about though.  However, the big plus is the live music performances and if you are an opera aficionado or music nut, this is your spot.  Even the music / record industry history adorning the walls is enough to keep you busy for hours.

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