Victor's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Spring Garden Township

Overall our experience at Victor's was good, but there were a few key shortcomings that prevent me from giving this restaurant more than three stars. If I had to summarize our visit with one word it would be this: disappointing.

First the good: Excellent service, good appetizers and salads, charming atmosphere, plenty of outdoor seating (though we sat inside). The rissoto is excellent according to my mother, who got that for her entree.

The not-so-good: After what we all agreed was delicious toasted ravioli as well as Summer salads, our expectations were riding high as we were served our entrees. As stated above, my mother had the rissoto. My wife got the linguine with shrimp while I had the Veal Marsala. And, as I hinted, this is where things really began to fall apart.

My wife's dish was overwhelmed with garlic to the point where that was all she could taste. And this is a woman who loves putting more garlic in than is called for in recipes. Also, there was a pool of melted butter in the bottom of her bowl. This dish calls for a lemon-butter garlic sauce, and this was the attempt at it. There was virtually no lemon present in the taste. In fact, the garlic was so overpowering and the butter pooled like an oil spill at the bottom of the dish that she couldn't even finish the her meal. And, though the menu specifies house made pasta, my wife couldn't really tell the difference between that and store-bought pasta. That's a red flag right there.

I ordered the Veal Marsala, since I like wine-based sauces, and the veal was pan-fried. Unfortunately, the sauce was extremely watered down. I'm not sure why, but some of it must have come from the spaghetti which was placed under the veal. Imagine extremely water down brown gravy and you have a close idea. I couldn't even taste the wine in the sauce. Whoever put it on the plate also thought it would be a good idea to completely douse the pan-fried breaded veal in this watered down "marsala soup" turning what I imagine were once were crispy breaded pieces into a soggy mess that, texturally speaking, looked like it came from a cafeteria. It's about as botched an execution of a classic dish that I've ever seen. It really just seemed like nobody was checking the dishes as they left the kitchen and someone was just making their best guess that this is what it was supposed to be like.

With both meals at $20 dollars a plate or more, all of the above is simply unacceptable. Our "standard" is Carrabba's, which as laughably chain restaurant as it is, manages to consistently produce excellent food for the masses at comparable prices for what we ordered. In fact, Carrabba's comes in at about $5 less per plate and is, in my estimate, superior to this place. Which is sad because small higher-priced restaurants like this seem like they would offer equal or better quality with a cozier atmosphere. And I'd actually be willing to pay extra for that! But unfortunately that was not the case. Everything that was relatively easy - from the bread and oil, to the toasted ravioli appetizer, to the Summer salads with berries and goat cheese - was all really good. And that which required skill to execute - our entrees - was sorely, sorely lacking for my wife and I. I can't really speak to my mother's dish as I never tasted it and am going on her word. My wife and I, however, were talking all the way back to our home in Enola about how disappointed we were.

Bottom line: I can't in good conscience recommend this place based on the prices of the dishes versus the quality we received, which is sad because everything else that was excellent makes me want to. But, as I said, I just can't. That's...

So very disappointed with our first visit to Victor's Italian Restaurant. As fairly new residents to the south central PA area we had received multiple recommendations from new friends & neighbors that Victor's was the place to go in York for Italian fine dining. We had been told that this restaurant was in an old converted church. Our first let down was that this building has been renovated so many times over the years that this structure has lost it's ecclesiastical character and is just very loud inside due to all the added hard walls and ceilings. Our server was quite pleasant but made herself very scarce throughout our meal. Surprisingly, the most disheartening part of our meal was the food preparation. Quality of the ingredients was very good, but what the cook (certainly not a trained chef) did with those ingredients was completely thoughtless. Starting with the appetizers the bread of the brushetta was burnt black before being covered up with tasty diced tomatoes and hand made mozzarella. The calamari was overly fried to a crisp that the calamari was tough and tasteless. My wife's fettucine was nicely cooked but the chicken was was charred and so tough she could not cut through it with the butter knife she was provided. The pancetta in my daughter's plate of radiatori was overly cooked and tough, and the meatballs in my son in laws plate of spaghetti were burnt black and charred to the point where he could not eat them, although the marinara/pomodoro he was served was very tasty to him. I had ordered the risotto because it is one of mt favorite dishes... when prepared correctly. This was not one of those occasions. The rice was very overcooked and mushy. The texture of the risotto was not creamy, it was more of a rice soup that reminded me of cream of wheat cereal swimming in a bowl of milk. The scallops that came in the risotto were nicely seared, but the insides were over cooked, rubbery, fairly dry and tough to chew. I would think that an upscale restaurant like Victors would have a head chef in the kitchen that performs quality control over the cooking and the prepared dishes leaving the kitchen. This was absolutely shameful upon the kitchen staff to allow 4 burnt or overly cooked meals all to the same table. I could understand one ill prepared item occasionally slipping through the cracks, but 4 plates all on the same order? That is absolutely disgraceful by the kitchen employees toward the owners of this restaurant and shows a lack of competent supervision and integrity in the kitchen for the reputation of this restaurant. We also felt like our server was trying to rush us out of the restaurant. I'm almost saddened that we left her a nice 30% tip considering her lack of attention to our table and the rushed attitude. UPDATE: Just spoke with our neighbor. She tells me that she had some very bad indigestion (diarrhea) problems the morning after she ate at this same restaurant, and that she was also very disappointed with the preparation of her risotto and...

Ok - so Victors is one of those places I have been coming to many times, over quite a few years. For us Victors often gets forgotten or overlooked, I think in part because of its location - it's not exactly out there in the limelight and as a result we often forget it is there, however they are open on Sunday and if you're looking for somewhere of quality to go - Victors is the place.

Everything here is treated properly; they have a beer selection that is carefully thought out for the food that is served as well as the season - and a wine list that is unparalleled. Victors bar is superb - with an ever changing array of artisan made cocktails that are sure to please just about any palate. On the weekends there is quality entertainment here that is often wonderful.

Victors offers first rate food, service and drinks- period. Their menu changes seasonally which is really a good thing. As you have already read it is in an old restored church which is really nice, but honestly starting to feel a tad dated. It the summer I have eaten outside in the afternoons and it is just delightful.

Victors is absolutely without a doubt one of the finest restaurants in York. I love the menu here from the delicious marinated olives to a fine charcuterie plate - a delicious selection of Mediterranean alternatives. They serve up the favorites…Veal Saltimbocca and Chicken Piccata. Somehow I can't escape the feeling that it just isn't hitting on all 5 stars as compared with some other offerings. Feels just a little overpriced, I don’t have the sensation here when I leave - that I just can't wait to return like I do for some of my other favorites.

Please don’t get me wrong - Victors is wonderful and everyone in York should come here for a delicious traditional Italian meal, for a special occasion or a romantic date night - we will be coming back as long as they...