Victoria Gastro Pub — Restaurant in Columbia

We were ready to give Victoria Gastro Pub 5 stars after our first visit, but our second and last visit wasn't the greatest so I docked one star.

The first time we visited Victoria, we had an excellent dinner visit! Our server was super friendly and provided great service. He answered questions we had and gave his recommendations as well! We tried the Mexican Street Corn Flatbread, Fish & Chips, Lobster Grilled Cheese, Duck Fat Fries and a chocolate dessert I can't remember the name of. Everything was delicious!

We liked our first visit so much, we decided to go again! The second time we visited, it was for Sunday brunch. We visited and asked to be seated outside. We tried the Breakfast Egg Rolls, but we wished they had a sauce for dipping because they were a bit dry. I got the Lobster Grilled Cheese again, but it was really soggy compared to the first time I got it. Then, our second visit started going further downhill.

Our server was friendly, however, after we got our entrees, she pretty much disappeared. While we were eating, it started downpouring, and the wind was bringing the rain into the outdoor seating area. We were getting rained on and the table was getting wet. We waited to see if our server would come out and ask if we wanted to be seated inside and offer us assistance, but she was nowhere to be found. It wasn't until we got up and stood by the door that leads into the restaurant that another server saw us, opened the door and offered assistance. We asked him for the check because we just wanted to get home after being left out in the rain. We saw our server walk by the door and notice us talking to him, and THEN she came and offered to help us get our check. The situation was so odd, and we were put off by it that we haven't been back since.

Hoping it was an off day, and we might give them another try...

I've attended several lavish office Christmas parties over the years at Victoria's and been impressed, but have never dined as part of a small group. My recent experience with my two brothers was horrible. While the service was great, the food was horrible. If you're expecting pub-like food, you'll be disappointed. However, if you have the stomach to digest a 2,500 calorie, high sodium, cholesterol and fat-laden meal, this is your place.

We were celebrating my brother's birthday so he picked the restaurant. I arrived with a big appetite, having just played a round of golf. Since Victoria's is a pub, I imagined ordering something hearty, like stew with some greens. However, the menu (very limited selection) was anything but Pub-like food. Instead, it was a mish mash of disconnected dishes with confusing names and no logical theme.

Of the seven entree items on the menu, I spent 10 minutes trying to find something that had a modicum of healthy ingredients and the only thing that looked appealing was the smash cake, which is really a crab cake. It was just okay, but not close to the quality expected from a Maryland restaurant. The crabcakes I've ordered at other local restaurants like Stanford Grill or even Leelyns are much better.

The other selections were laden with sauces, cheeses, and some ingredients that needed to be defined. The salads looked decent but were overpriced. Finally, the dessert menu contained a mixture of items which made me wonder if I were in a French restaurant. We are educated men but had to ask what a "trifle" was.

Victoria's has been around for a long time so there is obviously a following of loyal patrons. Note to management- you may want to remove the word "Pub" from your name since it it misleading. Sorry for the bad review, but you sent me an invitation to post a review. ...

Friends brought us here for a great time, everything was awesome until I got to my second to last bite into my lobster grilled cheese. When I pulled the sandwich away there was a short black hair sticking out from inside the sandwich... I immediately lost my appetite. My husband let the waiter know just to make them aware, I'm sure some people would be a lot more upset or want something compensated for a hair in their food. The waiter apologized, and went to tell his manager. We felt like that was appropriate, until he came back to the table and offered us a free dessert and we politely declined. At that point, he jokingly began to insist that we should take advantage of the free desert. When we continued to assure him we were fine and I specifically had lost my appetite, he made it a point to tell us that his manager told him to say that all of the line cooks have shaved heads and wear hats. At this point, I felt like that implied that we were lying and they didn't want to handle the situation appropriately. Maybe they thought we expected the food comped, I don't know. But I do not feel politely declining the free desert to make up for a hair in my food was grounds to imply that we weren't honest. That's why I'm going to give this place a 3, which is a shame. A little kindness would have gone a long way in this situation, the comment wasn't needed. And there are cameras, so the manager is free to check and verify exactly what happened if...