The Victor Café 1303 Dickinson Street (Philadelphia)
We usually go to The Victor Café with a self-described ‘opera nut’ friend of ours. This little place, tucked into a mostly residential neighborhood in South Philly was opened almost a hundred years ago as a gramophone shop which morphed into a bar and then a bar/restaurant.
Dinner at The Victor Café is dinner and a show in one. All of the wait staff and, occasionally, a bartender or hostess, are singers. Many of them are students at Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts. At random points throughout the evening, you are treated to arias, duets and occasionally eclectic vocal choices—Czech aria, anyone.
The food is traditionally Italian, with multiple daily specials and a decent wine list.
The Victor Café is a great place for celebratory occasions or a night out with the ‘opera nuts’ in your life, though even casual music lovers will find it hard to resist its charms.