Review
The Victoria House, or The Vic as it is known locally, is situated on Queen Street in the heart of Tramore. It is the oldest and most popular pub in the town and offers everything from a quiet pint to live music and great food.
The restaurant upstairs is well known for wonderful steaks and great seafood. We visited early on a Friday evening and were pleasantly surprised at the contrast between the truly old world pub you enter into, and the nautically themed restaurant on the upper level with superb views over the promenade. It was a busy evening and between the subtle background music and the buzz of friends catching up there was a great atmosphere.
We were soon seated upstairs and first we decided on our drinks. The wine list has a good selection of six house all individually priced by the glass, and of course there is the full bar selection available. I ordered a vodka & slimline tonic while my better half had a pint of Heineken, and our daughter had an orange juice.
Specials of the evening were displayed on small black boards which were placed on the tables; a 16oz T-bone with all the trimmings at €26.95, or a hake fillet with shelled prawns and a salsa verde for €19.95. I knew immediately that these were what we would order, but of course read the menu to see what other tempting dishes were on offer.
There’s a choice of small plates which included salt & pepper squid, bruschetta or St Tola goats cheese, all priced around the €8 mark. Classics also made an appearance such as a fish pie for €16.95, home made beef burger at €13.95 or a vegetarian option of roast stuffed pepper for €13.95. With a further selection of steaks, curries or stir fries the menu was complete.
I started with the crab cake which was very generous and delightfully was more crab then potato. It came with mango, coriander and chilli salsa and rocket, and was light and fresh. Fred had the seafood chowder, one of his favourite starters which he was very complimentary about. It was full of fresh fish and creamy in texture, more of a meal than a soup and served with homemade brown bread. Keisha decided to try the hot & spicy chicken wings for a change, another generous serving served with a blue cheese and a pickled cauliflower dressing.
To follow mine was always going to be the hake special which definitely lived up to all expectations, it came with cherry tomatoes on the vine, shrimps and a creamy mash. The 16oz T-bone was also ordered; I am always concerned this is going to be an ‘eyes bigger than belly’ scenario, but it was very good and surprisingly all was finished, especially as it came with all the trimmings so was a large plate by anybody’s standards! Keisha had the surf ‘n turf, an 8oz sirloin served with skewered prawns, which was perfectly cooked, and both steaks came with a pepper sauce and twice cooked chips which were crispy outside, and light and fluffy inside.
We took a bit of a breather after all that food, but desserts were tempting, were all priced at €5.75 and offered a choice of warm chocolate brownie, Baileys & chocolate cheesecake, lime cheesecake or Eton mess. We decided to share the Eton mess, a delicious mess of berries, meringue and cream beautifully presented.
With Elaine at front of house and Bobby in the kitchen they are a winning team, and you are sure of a great night. With Tramore now so easily accessed from the motorway The Vic is worth a visit if ever in the vicinity.
