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Trattoria Vittoria
30 E. Victoria St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 962-5014
- Category: Italian
- Hours: Lunch: Mon - Fri 11:30AM - 2PM + Dinner: Mon - Sun 5:00PM - 10PM
- Chef: Executive Chef Stefano Cepak, Sous Chef Roberto Prelazzi Owners, Giovanni Comin & Sofia Gallina
- Price: $20+
- Serving: Lunch & Dinner
- Reservations: Yes, recommended
- Map
- Web Site
- Menu
- Write a review of this location!
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Reviews by the General Public
Will not be back
Reviewer: RJ
from Antelope, CA
We had reservations for 4 at 5:30 on Nov. 25, 2015. We were seated right away, but the staff seemed preoccupied with other things. Our waiter seemed like he did not want to be there. No smile, no "Hello. How you folks doing tonite?". Just "business". We quickly got the feeling that most of the attention was going to "regulars". Three pasta dinners were ok. Just OK. I ordered the veal scallopini with marsala. VERY BORING! Bland flavor. It did not taste like the flour coating was even seasoned and it crumbled off as soon as I cut into it. And the Marsala tasted harsh instead of blending into the background, probably very inexpensive stuff. The veal had No taste at all. We travel to Santa Barbara twice a year. Needless to say, we will not be going to this restaurant again.
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Yet another great meal
Reviewer: Mike
from Danville (formerly Santa Barbara, CA
When I'm in town, love coming here. Had a great server last night, Rigo, who had the right SB balance of professionalism, humor, and friendliness. My wife had her standard mushroom pasta, always a winner. I had an absolutely great pork tenderloin special. I think Trattoria Victoria is a great value. Topped of the evening with their super tiramisu. Can't get much better than that for a SB getaway
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Wonderful
Reviewer: Victoria & Ernie
from Santa Maria, CA
In Italy they say Pima, for the best. In my humble opinion as an American of Calabrese Italian heritage, who, with his currant companion Victoria, also of Sicilian, Italian heritage praise Trattoria Vittoria very highly. We have enjoyed some very nice Italian food experiences through our journeys and Trattoria Vittoria is an added treasure of Italian tastes. From the warm greeting to the excellent food and polite service, every moment during our last visit was enjoyable. The Pinot Gregio wine paired exceptionally well with the Salamone alla Griglia and the Gnocchi with the delicate tomato sauce. For desert a Vanilla Semifreddo and the last sip of our wine prompted the desire to return again soon, and we will.
Arivedecci e Grazi, tuti a Trattoria Vittoria
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Trattoria Vittoria is a gem
Reviewer: Lee
from Santa Barbara, CA
I love the relaxed friendly atmosphere of this place, along with the consistently delicious food. It's traditional Italian done well, with vibrant flavors. Proprietor John knows his wines well enough to carry excellent local boutique wines like Whitcraft Syrah, which pairs beautifully with the rich flavors of eggplant parmesan--done here without the heavy cheesy grease that can ruin the dish. To top it all off, the service is unfailingly fast and friendly.
There's a popular Italian restaurant across the street-- Ca Dario. It's got good food but it's noisy. I'll take Trattoria Vittoria oover it every time, for equally good food in an atmosphere that makes you want to stay late and come back often.
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not good italian food
Reviewer: brittney
from Santa Barbara, CA
first time there(i am a local) place looks nice. however was some of the worst italian food i have had. we had a party of 4 eggplant parm-was suppose to be lightly fried eggplant.eggplant soggy,very greasy oily.when i think of good italin food it starts with the olive oil, this tasted like corn oil. with a poor marinara, tasted out of a can. gnochhi-super small portion
( about 15 pieces for $17) that tasted like flour, no flavour of potato. caesar salad-poor no extra virgin olive oil. some bottled dressings would have been better. our entrees ranged $17 -$18. a plate and $10 for the caesar salad . waiter said the portions were "very large" was not the case. the salad was dinner size (almost enough for one person)and the main entrees left us still hungry. even the olive oil on the table for your bread was poor quality. one of the staff said he didn't know what pesto sauce was. all of us foodies, some italian, some chefs. all have eaten at all the other italian places in S.B. and sorry to say , this was not a good one. in fact most other places in town at that price are way better and the ones at 1/2 the price are way better.left really bummed out.
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We'll do it again!
Reviewer: Ernest & Victoria
from Santa Maria, CA
We've lunched here before and will do it again because the Trattoria Vittoria destination is certainly worth the drive from Santa Maria. Arriving shortly after opening we were greeted warmly and were seated at our favorite table for two.
The very friendly and capable crew made us feel like family as they took our order, poured the Chianti Classico and looked to all our wishes. Our light lunch of Toast Italiano and Pollo Milanese was excellent as was the service and atmosphere in a now very busy noontime setting. The food, service, and ambience are "Prima" and we plan to return soon.
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Excellent Everything
Reviewer: Ernie & Victoria
from Santa Maria, CA
We visited Vittoria's four monthe ago at the recomendation of a friend and were immediatly happy with the ambience, welcome and seating. Lunch included soup of the day and our selections,
with a nice glass of sangiovese were excellent as was the service. We tried to dine there two months later on a Saturday, didn't know they were closed then and were sadened at missing another delightful meal. But today we did it again and everything was just as before, excelent atmosphere, food, wine and service. The Tiramisu dessert makes your heart sing.
We will return often. SALUTE!!!
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Blown away: real Italian!
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
OK, I gotta go with Eddie Spaghetti and Mari L; what happened with "spork" i have no idea. We recently came back from 2 months in Italy, the whole length twice with Sicily included, and were jonesing for Italian. Trattoria Vittoria was as Italian as any place we visited there, and with food better than most. Ottimo! Perfetto! Magnifico! We started with Breasaolo on arugula, and it was huge and just great. The extra-virgin olive oil offered was perfect, and we poured it on. Then I had spaghetti aglia/olio, al dente with a bite of garlic and red chile pepper, and she had ravioli of prime rib with a pink sauce called "aurora". Fabulous! The wine pours were huge, and the Sangiovese was deep and complex. The whole bill for 2 was $70, which compared favorably with the same meal in, say, Sorrento. Cheaper than a plane ticket to Italy, and damn near as effective. He/she who is not pleased at Trattoria Vittoria can't be pleased anywhere...
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Great Italian Food
Reviewer: Eddie Spaghetti
from Santa Barbara, CA
Hey everyone Eddie Spaghetti here. I too, am curious of Sally Spork the dork's review. First, how can you possibly call it American Italian when the executive and sous chefs are from Italy. Additionally, look at the top of the page, they're all Italians. Furthermore, any Italian chef would be out of his or her mind and shunned for putting BUTTER in linguine vongole. Extra virgin olive oil is the name of the game, baby, unless of course it's when you cook it at home (luckily "Spork" isn't Italian so you get a pass to use butter ;-) ). I've eaten here so many times and the food comes out exactly the same every time. It's simple Italian food without any frills or surprises, the way it should be. The servers get in the weeds sometimes however that usually prompts me to walk up to the bar and order a glass of wine to sip on while I wait!
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Try things more than once.
Reviewer: Mari L
from Santa Barbara, CA
To be a semi-credible food reviewer or critic, as the person mentioned below, you need to visit the place at least more than once unless they did something as unforgiveable as setting your table on fire or spilling table wine over your new Forever 21 cream-colored clutch. This way your words develop from true reflection and not resentful and hasty pretentiousness. The other person who cooks- if your clams were truly that bad, really go tell them. They’re not mind-readers. Oh, and a forum? How about at least talking (and not down) to the manager in person. To be fair, the food isn’t spectacularly interesting but it’s about the overall experience. I’ve visited at least 3 times, this last time in early August. The service was well-mannered and they’re genuinely attentive in dealing with some dietary restrictions (2 lactose people & 1 no-salt due to cardiomyopathy). My ratings would more be closer to 4 stars for the food because of the pea soup.
Insalate Cesare – simple, flavorful, not overdressed. With Anchovies – I asked for extra and they happily obliged.
Pea Soup – Very bright, non-cream based, tasted exactly like essence of fresh-picked peas! This was a surprisingly light and clean soup for summer. This was memorable.
Tortellini Con Panne e Prosciutto – Very tender and flavorful. They were able to accommodate a non-cream sauce, so I had it with a rich well-developed spicy tomato-based sauce. The pasta was decent – the bite and texture not very exceptional but definitely not heavy or bad. Definitely no Lean Cuisine here.
Branzino – We were told 2 ladies could share this so it turned out to be a little on the smaller side portion-wise, but moist and well-seasoned. They asked if we wanted it deboned in the kitchen which would’ve detracted from the presentation. Good thing one lady is an expert fish deboner and removed the skeleton intact like a pro.
Salmon – the no-salt dude thoroughly liked his grilled salmon. Simple, fresh, not overcooked & with steamed veggies al dente.
Cocktails- This place is known for its cocktails. Go ahead, have one or 2 or 3. They pretty damn solid. The waitress mistakenly confused the wineries and brought out first glasses of red when we wanted white wine, and she was very gracious in correcting it as well as the manager letting us keep the red wine and comping it (Instead of taking it and throwing it out, ha!).
In conclusion, it really depends what you’re expecting pasta-wise. A brazen boast from a layperson, I can make my own pasta in 15 minutes from scratch so I know what to expect getting it from a restaurant that is price-wise reasonable, flavor-wise satisfying & service-wise excellent and honest. Trattoria Victoria is more relaxed than the sardine-packed Ca Dario on a busy night and has a better variety as to their demographic than Olio Limone. The atmosphere is similar to Arnoldi’s minus the bocce. They’re service-oriented and you feel welcomed. You have privacy in a booth or perhaps a more joviality closer to the bar/open tables. It’s a more local neighborly feel, and guess what, all neighbors aren’t perfect. I don't feel cheated or unsatisfied when I leave here, which is what Ms. Spork's review suggests. I will keep coming back to patronize them and to enjoy good company, solid food and tasty wine & cocktails.
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The world according to Sally Spork
Reviewer: Charlotte
from Goleta
Sally, do not assume that people participating in this food blog are not savvy in the food world, have no palate, or have never worked in the culinary industry.....you assume that we're all a bunch of rubes, with no sense. You have assumed wrong. Regarding Trattoria Vittoria. You must have had an off night and should have taken your food back. It happens in every restaurant from time to time. I've had the perfect Linguini Vongole recently there. Lasagne, ravioli and gnocchi, all were cooked to perfection, sauces spot on. But what do I know? I learned how to cook in Emilia Romana..
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Trattoria Vittoria
Reviewer: Sally Spork
from Santa Barbara, CA
There are times when I wish (oh how I wish!) there was a website to submit reviews for restaurants by foodies that have cooking experience. This is one such case. Sigh. I did peruse the menu well before going there and really nothing stood out. And was skeptical about the rave reviews. Read on.
Atmosphere: Located off of State Street this place is a largish restaurant with lots of seating and an ample size bar. A relaxed atmosphere with a television playing old movies. An Affair to Remember was playing when we were there.
Service: We had to wait while they got our table ready: we had reservations. The waitress was okay, meh. Took our order and really didn't see he again until we asked for our check at the end.
Food/drink: Was with a party of about 6-7 and we all ordered different dishes, I can only speak of the one I ate: clams with pasta. Such a disappointment. I've made this dish many a times, first being introduced to it by two friends. Pasta while al dente it was dry as a bone. Where is the flavorful broth from the clams simmered in white wine and butter? Clams small and overcooked. At $17.00 a pop, I would have returned it instantly had I not been there for an celebratory dinner for a friend. Bread served: neither warm nor special.
Summary: This is American Italian dining: nothing more or less. Yes, you can order Lasagne and Spaghetti Bolognese, and you can also buy this as a Lean Cuisine dinner in the frozen section at the store. For Italian I'd prefer other places such as Ca Dario or Olio Limone. Or cook myself
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