In a Neighborhood That Feels Shiny, New and Often Contrived, Victory Bar Aspires to be None of Those Things

It’s been five years since Victory Bar snagged our first official Bar of the Year nod, and thankfully, little has changed in the interim.

(Leah Nash)
By Penelope Bass

3652 SE Division St., thevictorybar.com. 5:30 pm-midnight Monday-Thursday, 5:30 pm-1 am Friday-Saturday, 5:30-11 pm Sunday. Happy hour 5:30-7 pm Monday-Friday, all night Monday.

Established: 2007

It's been five years since Victory Bar snagged our first official Bar of the Year nod, and thankfully, little has changed in the interim. At the time, we praised it for what it wasn't: In a neighborhood that feels shiny, new and often contrived, Victory aspires to be none of those things. Its Orwellian, agitprop décor remains, seeming all the more prescient as the years pass. Its signature bourbon ginger cocktail ($8.75) is still spicy and fresh, the beer selection, which slants Belgian, still rivals that of any local beer bar in curation, and the food—from the juicy venison burger to the lineup of creamy housemade spatzles—is still some of the best pub food in town. Why fuck with a good thing?

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