Opera and Cheese at Victor’s Café

My family and I eat out a lot. It is common for us to have disputes on what place we will go to because we all have different tastes in food. We were trying to find a place that all of us would enjoy, and we found Victor’s Café.

We decided to go there on the eve of my 22nd birthday, and I will say that I was not disappointed. I was personally expecting a small restaurant with a few seats and tables, but this place has two floors and both are really spacious. This Italian restaurant has a variety of pastas, fish, and what must have been the best antipasti of my life.

We started our evening with a cheese plate that included manchego, blue cheese and a smoked gouda; a burrata with roasted peppers and garlic crostini; and some bruschettas.  The burrata was creamy and oozy, and it was perfectly paired with roasted peppers and toasted bread. The mixture of the textures and flavors made this simple plate delightful and something we couldn’t get enough of. The cheese plate was my favorite hands down, specially paired with the Chianti the waitress recommended.

Following the antipasti, each of us got our plates. I went for some cheese tortellini, and even though it was very simple, it was quite tasty. It comes with a light aioli sauce and pine nuts. It was definitely has been one of the best cheese tortellini I have ever had.

The Pomodoro Basilico was the first plate of pasta I tried at this location. It has fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and tomatoes. Again, it was so simple, yet the explosion of flavors was perfect. The chunks of fresh mozzarella on the garlic-y olive oil, and the tomato pieces with the pasta, made this a plate that I will definitely go back to.

Prince Igor is another plate you must order when you visit Victor’s Café. The pasta comes with vodka blush, salmon and asparagus. Both the salmon and the asparagus were cooked to perfection- not too dry or too moist. The sauce was superb as well. I am not a big fan of tomato sauce at Italian restaurants, as I often feel they are not fresh, but this vodka sauce was nothing like the ones I have tried before. You can tell that every single ingredient on the sauce was fresh and meticulously put together.  I can guarantee you this plate of pasta will not disappoint you.

We also ordered the ravioli with mushrooms in a gorgonzola cream with nuts and tomato. Although I am not a huge mushroom lover, I have to say that this plate of pasta had the perfect balance between the mushrooms, the creamy gorgonzola and the tomato. It was not overwhelming at all, and actually made me wonder why I didn’t order this plate in the first place.

The best thing about Victor’s Cafe? The waiter and waitresses are opera singers. Yes, that is right, the people serving you food are professional opera singers who perform in front of the whole restaurant every 20-30 minutes. These people do not have previous experience waiting tables, yet the attention was superb, and the performances were beyond good. They actually give you the chills when they start singing. It was beautiful to listen to the story behind each of the pieces they were performing and seeing the passion of the singers when they presented their songs was mesmerizing.

My experience at Victor’s Cafe ended with a Happy Birthday song, performed by ALL the Opera singers. Because we already ordered dessert before announcing my birthday, they went out of their way to give me a cup of whipped cream with chocolate drizzle as my birthday cake. How amazing is that?

Jewtina Tip: keep conversations light so you can truly enjoy the opera.

Teenu- Disfruta -Enjoy!