Vicky's of Santa Fe — Restaurant in Indian Wells

I’d have to give Vicky’s a solid meh. Some items we ordered we outstanding but unfortunately some items were absolutely not worth the price. The half-rate service drags my rating down even more.

We ordered several appetizers including shrimp cocktail , artichokes and the onion flower. The shrimp were fresh and delicious. The onion was fried so how can you hurt that. The artichoke, however, was not only plain (PS chef: you can steam artichokes with lemon or even salt for a delicious and tasty snack) the dish it was served in contained more water from steaming than dipping sauces!! The dipping sauces can use an upgrade as well: plain mayo or garlic butter. C’mon! Live a little!! Add some worchestershire to the mayo at least! Anyway, the dish of water made for an awkward and messy attempt to try to enjoy one of my favorites.

Dinner was only slightly better - while the entrees took close to an hour to arrive after our appetizers- most items were quite tasty. The only complaint from our party was the cheeseburgers were presented with only a tiny piece of cheese on half of the patty. The reason, according to the server, was people “complained because the cheese is so strong”. Well, here’s a thought: use different cheese!!! Whatever you do, don’t put a sliver of cheese on half of a “cheeseburger”!!

On the bright side - because our entrees took so long, we were presented with an assortment of desserts gratis. The carrot cake and chocolate fudge cake were delicious and our table had no problem devouring those. The cheesecake, on the other hand, was tasteless and boring. It tasted like it was pulled out of the freezer earlier in they day. Certainly not worth the calories for that one.

Now to my biggest complaint: I ordered the scallops. They were delicious and perfectly cooked. The accompanying fruit salsa and spinach were also quite tasty. The problem? The meal was too much for me to finish so I asked that the remaining half of my $30 entree be boxed up (along with the beautiful vegetable stack of portabella mushroom, assorted squash, eggplant and red pepper). The next day when I went to dig into my delicious leftovers, what did I find? It wasn’t the other half of my $30 entree!! Nope, just got the $15 veggie stack. Now - perhaps it’s just me, but if I ask for my uneaten meal to be wrapped up, I expect my meal to wrapped up!! Especially when I’ve paid $30 for six...

What a neat spot. Starting with FREE VALET. :-) Our friend recommended Vicky's having previously been- he really enjoyed John McCormick (it was obvious by the groupies that others did as well.)

Unexpectedly busy for a Tuesday evening. We came for Happy Hour (@ 5pm ) nabbed a seat (which you will not get unless you arrive early.) Nibbled on our goodies while we waited for the live entertainment (John McCormick & Shelley Scott Band.) It's fun to people watch, take in the PS culture and see so many smiling faces, but nothing makes me chuckle more than watching white people dance. ☺ (Sorry, but it is amusing.)

We were given a simple Happy Hour Menu (see photos), but you can also order from their main menu; potatoes gratin, a la carte veggies, appies, mac & cheese & other pasta's; salads, chicken pot pie + seafood & steak dishes.

Vicky's is a trio of 1) fine dining to your right 2) lounge & bar in the middle 3) live entertainment to your left.

I highly recommend Vicky's as a place to smile, dance, people watch & dine on reasonably priced/ decent food :-) Our server was really very good considering the high-pressure environment & hurdles of humans, seats & tables in her way.

(Ps. Being Canadian I love my Caesars; and while our waitress proudly proclaimed that they have Clamato & can make you one; you must instruct them on how to assemble your Caesar otherwise it will just be plain Clamato over ice. Tell the bartender you would like a CELERY salted rim + Worcestershire sauce + Tabasco & lime… or whatever you prefer in...

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! Rotisserie chicken was dry and tasteless with no sauce to go with it. Sent it back and got the pasta instead. The pasta was terrible. It was extremely salty and the sauce wasn't good. The pasta was not cooked enough. Meatballs and two sides of baked potato were luke warm and hard. Baked Potatoes were sent back and the replacements were also Luke warm and hard. Told wattress and all she said was, "well I got them from the oven" ...and then she walked away.

I then spoke to the owner of Vickie's and his response was "Gee, I'm so surprised, as our food is usually good. I told him that our food experience was not good. He didn't seem to care ...he didn't ask what table or which waitress was helping us or anything. He didn't do anything about it.

On top of this, after we sent back our pasta, then the waitress ignored us. She didn't come back to ask if we wanted any more wine or drinks, or even refill our water. Then 20-30 minutes later she shows up with our bill and walks away.

I left no tip for the waitress when we left, as she was rude to us on multiple occasions. Then the hostess (who forgot to put her pants on 🙈) runs outside the building into the parking lot after us ...quite upset and asks, "What name was on your reservation!" She didnt bother to ask what happened or why we left no tip. Obviously, she was upset that we didn't leave a tip and that was all she cared about. Unbelievably BAD...