Victory Brewing Company

Victory Brewing Company is a brewery in Downingtown, PA that produces some of the most hearty, delicious and strong beers to be had in our fine nation today. Your author is privileged and grateful to be able to drive only a few minutes to savor Victory beers from the tap, sample their menu, and bask in the camaraderie of their brewpub clientele. But, there is one incredibly massive fly in the Victory ointment, and I aim to address it here – not because I’m upset about one meal but because I am proud to support this great local business and it grinds my gears that I can’t reliably take friends or family there to dine because the foodservice is horrible!

Click here for our most recent visit (Grade: A).

My wife, friends and I have probably dined there at least 30 times over the past several years and I have observed a huge decline in service and food quality in the past 2 years. Rather than belabor specifics or write a ho-hum review, I have composed a list of tips for the Victory diner in the hope that this will improve their experience:

1. Dine at the bar. This is the most important tip as I have observed that the bartenders are consistently helpful and the very design of the long bar at Victory makes it impossible for the bartenders to ignore you. Plus, the bartenders are pleasant and fun, which is not so common from the regular Victory waitstaff. All of the other tips in this list are assuming that you are unwilling or unable (because it’s crowded) to dine at the bar and must take one of about 25 4-top tables in their carpeted open dining space.
2. Bring your own utensils and napkins. One of the most mystifyingly consistent service mishaps that Victory commits is to serve you food with no utensils or napkins. I have had this happen at least 5 times in the past year. If you bring your own, you’ll have no need to wave down your waitron while your food gets cold. Most recently, we ordered their Trice Fries appetizer (leeks, sweet potato and potato fries) and had the privilege of enjoying much grease on our fingertips before we were able to flag down some napkins.
3. Don’t expect your order to contain the ingredients seen on the menu. The most hilarious incident of this happened a couple of weeks ago when another order of the Trice Fries came out containing only sweet potato and potato fries. When we were eventually able to ask our waitron where the leeks were, he told us that “they must be out,” to which my wife quipped “oh, are these the twice fries then?” He gave us a dead stare then asked us if we wished for them to be removed from our cheque. We did. Lest you think that I base this tip on this one occurrence, trust me, this happens often. The wife and I consistently order 2 or 3 of the menu items and we like to think that the kitchen staff is trying to “spice up our lives” with the variety of ingredients that appear on the table.
4. Ordering your food in any sort of specific sequence is futile. It doesn’t really matter whether you’d prefer salad or appetizer first, or a side with your meal, the sequence that your food will be delivered to your table is calculated by the diameter of a cat’s butt over the chance of rain. The food will arrive when the runner deems it will arrive – your preference is not a factor. Furthermore, it is extremely common to have entrees arrive after appetizers have been out for 2-5 minutes and are less than half-eaten, giving diners the opportunity to prioritize their meal: “Do I want my appetizer to get cold while I eat my entree or do I want my entree to get cold while I eat my appetizer? Hell, I’ll just scarf them both down as fast as possible!”
5. Be prepared to wave like a 6th grader. Waitrons vary on this but in my experience the customary eye-contact with nod to indicate assistance is desired is often too subtle. Raise your hand high in the air and wave it back and forth like you know the name of the 7th planet. If desired, say “OO! OO!” to complete the flashback to days when you really, really wanted to get someone’s attention.
6. Hot food is not assured. Not sure if this is a kitchen or runner problem but it seems that every time we dine with friends, someone’s food comes out lukewarm or cold (when it’s supposed to be hot). Worse yet, I’ve seen maybe three dishes come out that clearly had been waiting under the lamps for a long time and were crusty, dry, and unappealing. We get around this by ordering hot apps and entree salads most of the time.
7. The customary “everything OK?” after food is delivered … is not customary at Victory. If it were, it’d be a great opportunity to get napkins, utensils, and to send food back that was cold or missing ingredients. But, it’s not. I believe that the waitstaff views the delivery of food by the runner as completion of the foodservice cycle as they often will not return until you have finished a beer. Thus, if you want to talk to your waitron, drink your beer as fast as possible.
8. Avoid dining on Sunday. This is generally a good rule for all foodservice but we’ve definitely noticed a lower level of service and reduced quality of food on Sundays. In general, dining is better at Victory when they’re busy and are staffed-up with their “A” team.
9. It’s nothing personal. If you get a waitstaffer that is flip, detached or looks pissed, it’s not you, it’s them. We’ve often commented that Victory could try a Dick’s Last Resort angle, with waitstaff intentionally rude and standoffish because they’re already halfway there. This certainly doesn’t describe all of the waitstaff, and in truth some are very friendly. The others act like they’re too cool for the job and that your order degrades them personally.

I emailed the Victory general manager on most of these issues in April, and he responded politely. But, sadly, we’ve seen no real change in service levels when dining at Victory (read the email exchange).

We understand that Victory’s core business is its wonderful beer but Victory is inhibiting our ability to evangelize their brand by providing consistently poor service that discourages us from bringing friends and family. We have high hopes that this post and other diners’ feedback will help them improve their service and continue to grow.

One final tip – I have fueled a number of parties on Victory Beer with great success. If you have the opportunity, by all means do so but bear in mind that many of their brews have high alcohol content (in comparison to mass-market brews) and the weak of constitution should exercise caution. Mix the strong ones with the milder ones in the cooler lest you be called to clean up an unfortunate mess later in the night.

Update (~11/9/05): Afternoon visit, ate at the bar and everything was pretty good. Our soft pretzel was burnt, but not enough to merit sending back. Ratio of potatoes/sweet potatoes/leeks in Trice Fries an unsatisfactory 65/30/5 (ideal, according to much discussion with wife and other patrons, would be 45/45/10). Grade: B-

Update (11/27/05): Lunchtime visit, ate at the bar, great service and food was good. Ratio of Trice Fries an improved 50/45/5. Tried the Onion Wheels and liked them – nice seasoning in the breading but the ranch dresssing on the side was anticlimactic. Tried the Braumeister Pils, an incredibly intense Pils with a finish like a crescendo on your tounge – wow! Grade: A-

We also bought 4 cases of their beer at the store in this visit and had a humorous exchange with the girl at the counter:
Me: “where are the hand trucks?”
Staffer: “ummmmm, out by the door, I think”
(my companion goes to look and returns)
Companion: “no hand trucks there … the bartender said she didn’t know where they were either”
Staffer: (continues to ring up our $100+ worth of beer … no response to absence of hand truck)
Me: “um … okay … can you help us find a hand truck?”
Staffer: “hm, I can call my manager?”
Me: “sure”
Staffer: (radios manager and asks for hand-truck)
Manager shows up momentarily with hand-truck.
Point being – we’re buying 4 cases of beer at ~$30 a pop. It should be a given from a customer service standpoint AND a liability standpoint (what if a customer slips while shlepping out multiple cases?) that a hand-truck is supplied and I’d even suggest that if the buy is 3 or more cases that they have one of their staff handle the shlepping. It’s worth noting that when my companion asked the bartender for the hand-truck, the response was “I don’t know where they are” not “let me ask” or “I’ll see if I can find one for you.”

Update (11/28/05): A friend weighs in with this quote after reading this page: “You’re one pissed off dude! But I completely understand and have had the same lousy service myself for many many years…” I counter this comment by telling him it’s “tough love” – I just want Victory to be as good as it can be.

Update (12/28/05): Ate tonight at a table with the wife and 4 friends. It was very busy and our waitress was visibly stressed but pleasant. I mentioned our past experiences with service and one of the friends insisted that their service was always excellent and that she, the husband and kids ate at Victory 2-3 times a month. I said that I hoped that was the case but wasn’t too surprised when 2 entrees came out with the wrong sides and one entree was incorrect and had to be sent back. When the corrected entree returned (a salad), it was without dressing. After flagging down our waitress, she brought 2 dressings. On the upside, everyone got silverware prior to food, the waitress asked us after the food arrived if everything was OK, and our nacho appetizer was exceptional with a delicious mango salsa that I hadn’t had before. Drank the Unkle Teddy’s Bitter (hand drawn) and it was delicious as always. Followed that with some Prima Pils and also found that satisfying. I used to think Prima was a “lesser” Victory beer but I find myself going back to it again and again (especially if I don’t want to get trashed on Old Ho’ or Golden Monkey). Grade: B-

Update (2/19/06) – Victory’s 10yr Party: We attended the Victory 10 Years New Party on Friday, as well as the Chili Challenge today. Their claim to “party of the decade” wasn’t too far off the mark – none of us had ever seen so many people at Victory before. Extra tables were set up beer-hall style and the doors to the warehouse were open with an auxilliary bar set up in there. A dance floor was set up between the beerthalon events and a movie screen projected their DVD in loop throughout the night. We caught the mini-bycycle events which were a riot as patrons pelted the contestants with tennis balls. They were serving their original food menu, which, one vegeterian among us noted was 60% veg as compared to the fewer veg selections found on their current menu. The 10-Years Alt was absolutely delicious. Our friends, some of whom had worked at Victory in the past, regaled us with tales of Bill & Ron and the company, while Bill took a moment on the microphone to thank everyone for Victory’s success, a tearjerker moment. However, neither the camaraderie nor fun could stop the intoxication of the crowd so last call was made at 10:45PM and shortly later the patrons were aggressively run out (IE “you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here”). Not sure if this was the right move but we witnessed one elderly fella in a satin Semper Fi jacket take a header into some barstools then to the floor. Unresponsive to his friends calls to get up, he had to be dragged up, revealing a laceration across his nose and on his scalp – he was utterly wasted. Speaking to a waitress we know today, she confirmed that last call came early because of the crowd’s drunkenness and shared with us that fisticuffs (complete with a glass facial) broke out later. No stranger to barroom shananigans, I had a great time (and was a touch intoxicated myself but assure you I wasn’t driving) but feel that Victory should consider how to handle this going forward for big events. One idea might be to start the event later so that people don’t have 5+ hours to get wrecked.

Update (3/27/06): Another friend weighs in: I read some of your articles about Victory, and I have to agree the service there completely sux! Just so you know, I stumbled upon a new way to have the best of everything, it’s called “Take-Out”! Sure, it throws them off a little, since their operation is not designed to fully understand this concept. I call them up about a half hour before I’m ready to eat and order a large pizza for pick up … grab a 6-pack of Hop Devil at the same time and I’m off and running…

Update (4/3/06): More reader feedback: Stacey and I went to Victory Friday night, we sat at the bar and I ordered the Brewer’s Penne . . . it was pretty good, but the ratio of roasted peppers to penne was way off. By the time I was done with the pasta, there was still half a plate of roasted peppers left. I’d say 75% red peppers to 25% penne. I would have preferred more pasta and less roasted peppers. I didn’t have to ask for utensils and the bartenders were very timely with our refills. Grade: B+

Update (5/19/06): It had been a long time since we had tried sitting at a table and I thought it only fair to give them a try and to let you know how things went. They went just great. Our waitress, Mary, was super-nice, attentive, and stopped by often. We had our utensils and plates well before the food showed up and all the food came out in the right order, and cooked properly. Very impressive performance – the icing on the cake being St. Boisterous, Throwback Lager and Tripilsner . The Boisterous was delicious and full-bodied, the Throwback was refreshing and crisp, incorporating “a small portion of brewer’s corn to recreate an ‘industrial’ lager of the turn of the century.” The Tripilsner was so intense that I had to drink half and it (like many Victory beers) blew my taste buds away. My companion also ordered her old favorite, Whirlwind Wit, which is always a pleasant drink. After some discussion we also identified another Victory tip: order their small beers (14oz.) so that you can try more different varieties. Grade: A