The Victory Lounge [0] is the kind of bar I could visit every single night of the workweek without complaint.
It's not that the Eastlake joint has a rich atmosphere or a prime location, or that its cocktails are exemplary; in fact, it's just a fancied-up blue-collar neighborhood bar located next to a screaming freeway, and its drinks are just okey-dokey. But it's the Victory Lounge's average quality -- its complete and utter lack of remarkableness -- that makes it worthwhile.
Think about it. When was the last time a plain old bar opened in your neighborhood? A joint without a fire pit, midcentury modern furnishings or a peerless selection of Flemish liquors? While I admit that such bars have their place -- indeed, some of my favorite bars in this town are at least lightly themed -- there's something to be said for places like the Victory, which will be shaped over time by its clientele.
The former Lobo Saloon was remodeled with an eye to both aesthetics and efficiency -- there isn't a surface in the place that can't be refreshed with a splash from a bucket of soapy water, the mark of a true utilitarian bar. This place will look exactly the same ten years from now, and it will still draw a crowd.
That's not to say that the Victory isn't much to look at. It's a handsome establishment with durable leather bar stools arranged along an L-shaped bar, a series of hardwood, bench-style seats along the walls, two large plasma-screen TVs and tables lined with no-nonsense black Formica. A few pieces of art hang on the walls, as does a photograph of Paul Newman from "The Hustler," fittingly placed over the pool table. Gone is that "skeezy kinda joint where punk rockers could mix it up with irate bike messengers," as my girlfriend once said of the Lobo. In its place is a bar that's the equivalent of a plain white drink napkin, ready to be doodled upon and soaked in gin.
The staff of the Victory is personable and does its job. You seldom have to wait more than 30 seconds to be acknowledged and served, even when the place gets busy. (The Victory is within walking distance of El Corazon [0], the Mars Bar [0] and the Lo_Fi [0], three bustling venues that produce fair-sized overflow crowds.) The tap beers are Red Hook ESB, Peroni and Bud Light, and the top shelf is filled with the usual suspects -- Bombay Sapphire, Ketel One and Glenlivet. This is a place to get decently mixed drinks at better-than-usual speed -- a level of performance that many Seattle bars can't match on a happening Saturday night.
The Victory does have a pair of modest amenities. First and foremost is a small outdoor patio, neatly wedged against the intersection of Eastlake and Republican, that affords a rail-thin view of Queen Anne. (If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine that the sound of passing cars on Interstate 5 -- close enough for trucks to drive over your lap -- is that of gently rolling waves. The booze helps in this regard.) And during the nightly 10 p.m.-to-11 p.m. "power hour," the price of the Victory's already inexpensive beverages is cut in half.
Pretty much the only thing about the Victory Lounge that dips below glorious is its MP3-style jukebox. Its interface is confusing, and as my bartender sadly noted, "there's no Beatles on there, or Neil Diamond." It does, however, have Al Green, AC/DC, Miles Davis and Hugo Montenegro's pop-dance version of "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly," which is good enough for me.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
