Small Victory — Restaurant in Austin

TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY STEAL YOUR MONEY!!!

I have never gone onto Google to post a bad review but unfortunately I felt I had to after the way we were treated the other evening at Small Victory.

My friends and I ordered a cheese board which took almost 40 minutes for us to receive even though we were the only people ordering any food in the bar that evening. When we politely asked where our food was after waiting 30 minutes, the manager told us that we "ordered a lot of food" and they only have one person working in the kitchen which is why it was taking so long. We placed an order for 1 order of meat and 1 order of cheese. There is no way it takes almost 40 minutes to slice some cheese and meat.

Honestly, if the manager had said, "I'm sorry, let me go check on that for you." you would not be reading this review. Instead we were made to feel like idiots for ordering "a lot of food" and then asking where it was after 30 minutes of waiting. At the 35 minutes mark we decided we no longer wanted the food. It was late and we didn't feel like waiting any longer for 4 pace of cheese to be cut in half. When we told the manager we wanted it taken off our bill she said, "Too bad, you already paid for it."

Not only did she not even try to be accommodating but when we checked our credit card bill the following day, they had added at $20 tip to the bill!!! THAT IS STEALING!!!

I have been in the restaurant industry for 15+ years and know how situations like this should be handled. I have NEVER been treated the way like I was at Small Victory. My friend who was with me is also a restaurant manager and she was blown away by how the situation was handled. She told me she would have been fired if she had treated her guests like we were.

Unless you enjoy being treated like garbage and having your tip amount change by the staff, DO NOT GO TO...

I have officially fallen in love w/this little hidden "speakeasy"-ish bar! And the "small" in the name is no joke! This place is very small, but I think it only adds to the charm! Some friends and I discovered this place on a recent dwntwn Austin cocktail safari in search of the "punch bowl".

I am a total sucker for antique cocktail recipes (actually I'm just a sucker for anything w/a cool or fascinating (his)story behind it) and the Philly Fish House punch was supposedly a gentlemen's club recipe from around the late 1800s. So, being a lady, I loved it even more since I would not have been able to sample this libation 100+yrs ago!

The punch was served in a fabulous antique looking porcelain punch bowl atop a matching pedestal and came with adorable matching cups! It came with a fancy ladle and lemon slices and this huge square ice block to keep it cold and fresh. It tasted like fabulously refreshing alcoholic lemonade and was strong enough to know it was boozy AF, but sweet enough to be dangerous!

We ended up drinking the remnants of the punch directly from the bowl as the ladle could not scoop it out. It really was good to the last drop!

The staff here are great as well without a hint of pretension you get at a lot of other "speakeasy"-type bars. You can tell they have a loyal following of regulars and if I lived closer to downtown, I would mind making this a place where everybody...

Fantastic little 'speakeasy-style' bar in the Congress Historic District.

Similar to Garage, Midnight Cowboy, and a few other place in town, Small Victory is a hidden 'speakeasy-style' style bar with very little to indicate that it is a bar from the outside facade. You'll find the door just to the left of Slake Cafe.

Once you go up the parking garage style stairs and enter through the interior door, you'll find a long, thin space with a large bar, plenty of seating, and a large table at the back for larger groups.

This place is expensive, but the drinks are very high quality. I have tried a specialty cocktail from the menu, and a martini here. Both were fantastic. The wait / bar staff is usually extremely busy but very friendly and helpful. They are definitely willing to suggest a drink (even off menu) based on your preferences.

Finally, they also offer various nibbles that are quite good. They have nuts, cheese boards, charcuterie boards, and a few other items available.

In short, this place is expensive, but the quality of both the food and the drinks, the atmosphere, and the added mystique of being a 'hidden location' all combine to make any visit here more than worth your...