More than you can eat
Vicky's is part of the horrible trend in dining to provide more food than you can eat. It would be more acceptable if the food were so spectacular that you didn't feel badly about the value. Avoid this place unless you are on an expense account and are too drunk to taste the food. Warning: there are no appetizers and there is a order minimum of an entree ($24 ea.) per person (AMEX not accepted)    [09 Apr 2001 20:16:11]

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Recommended Dishes: It's hard to screw up a steak!

     ­transom   

Excellent food at fair prices
The ambiance of this restaurant is extremely relaxing and warm. Best of all, it is not pretentious--a real turnoff for me in restaurants. It was also sparkling clean.

The food was excellent. The steak melts in your mouth and was cooked exactly as ordered. The artichoke appetizer was awesome as was the tomato and onion salad. Bread pudding for dessert was outstanding.

Service was attentive without overdoing it.

While there, I noticed that there were a lot of "regulars" coming and going. I understand why. If I lived in the area I would certainly be a regular customer.

Overall, the restaurant serves great food at very reasonable prices in an inviting atmosphere. I loved it.    [12 Feb 2004 11:25:39]

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Recommended Dishes: Steak, artichoke appetizer, fried shrimp, bread pudding

     ­Donna   

Extremely Bad Service
Ordered their "special" Mahi-Mahi. The fish came out cold and rubbery, was sent back and cooked again - still cold and rubbery. Was offered another selection and chose salmon, which came out frozen in the center.

The General Manager was belligerent towards our party and suggested that there was nothing wrong with the fish, it was our problem. No apology was offered and we were told that there was nothing he could do, other than not charge us for the fish.

It is a shame that the manager acted the way he did. Two of the other people in our party had very good entrees, the Chicken Pot Pie was terrific.

Another member of our party also had partially under-cooked fish, perhaps fish just isn't their forte. Their bread was a winner, but after our experience with the manager we will never return!    [25 Jan 2006 00:57:41]

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     ­Anonymous   

We had a GREAT time
We visited this restaurant and were late for our reservation, on a very busy Friday night, but the manager squeezed us in without hesitation. I ordered the salmon entree and my wife had the veal chop, both were fantastic. Along with a few sides and a bottle of wine, we had a great evening. The service was above par and the restaurant for being 18 years old was in sparkling condition. Overall we will definitely be going back on our next desert vacation.    [01 Nov 2006 19:28:02]

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Recommended Dishes: Salmon, Veal and steamed artichoke

     ­Michael   

Don't Bother!
Had heard good things about this restaurant, but we were sorely disappointed. The menu is lacking in ingenuity and appeal. The waitress explained that there were some specials, but these were old standards -- certainly nothing special. The salads were satisfying enough, but the tomato and onion salad was one huge slice of tomato paired with another huge slice of onion. This was certainly nothing I would serve to guests, much less expect to get in an upscale restaurant. It probably took five seconds to prepare. The scallops were described as huge and delicious, on a bed of spinach, with mango salsa. When they arrived, there were four scallops and they were tiny! On top of that, they were rubbery and dried out. It was obvious they had been overcooked. But the worst part of it was that they were totally tasteless. My husband had the chicken and ribs and both were very dry. Thank goodness for the barbecue sauce. Our friend had the garlic shrimp and, although the shrimp were quite large in size, again, the dish had absolutely no flavor. The other person in our party had the scallops and his were also dry and rubbery. I was unable to eat my meal and the waitress was very apologetic and removed the meal from the bill. Nonetheless, for the four of us (remember, I did not have an entree), the bill was $150. This is unacceptable for food that was subpar. None of us will return because the cost was excessive for such poor preparation and presentation. This is NOT a special restaurant and there were hardly any patrons. Perhaps others have had a similar experience? The ambiance was distinctly unappealing, with decor to match. There is nothing in our experience that can recommend this restaurant for anyone for any occasion.    [02 Oct 2008 05:12:49]

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     ­Bev   

Vicky's of Santa Fe . . . Stay Away !
Vicky's of Santa Fe, which is located in Indian Wells, just west of Palm Springs, certainly belongs in the desert, it is nothing more than a big mirage. When you visit their web site, you are greeted with soft music from the ivory keys; a calm, relaxing atmosphere is what one is expected to embrace. However, in reality, it is a loud, noisy clattering of dishes and glasses, along with servers, bus persons and patrons coming and going by your table as if you were in Grand Central Station. The next misconception is their menu. For some strange reason, over the years, they have built a reputation of having huge portions at reasonable prices. Well, maybe that was the case 20 years ago when they first opened, but certainly not now. I visited Vicky's recently in 2009 and ordered the rib steak; my wife ordered the scallops. Her scallops at $24.00 were not jumbo, but rather medium, at best; they came with the added bonus of being frozen, not fresh, bland tasting, and what seemed to be boiled, not grilled; it looked nothing like the pictures in their website. Now, I have been to a la carte restaurants many times and expect prime beef to come by itself on a plate garnished only with a sprinkling of parsley. However, I didn’t expect the portions to be minuscule, but Vicky's came through again with another mirage. In reality, their 20-ounce rib steak at $32.00, advertised as cooked in garlic butter, is 12 ounces at best, not cooked in garlic butter, but charred to a near burnt-like perfection. Of course, if they advertised it (on their paper place mat of a menu sitting on an unclothed table) the way it is actually prepared, no one would order it. This restaurant is located in one of the wealthiest cities in America, so I guess their patrons don’t mind being ripped off. I guess they are either too drunk or rich to care. Either way it is a shame that Vicky's cannot be honest and state the actual portion size of their food and how it's prepared and keep 20-year-old photos out of the viewing public. If you do decide to go (you will be disappointed, though), one word of advice: when you enter the front doors, which are actually located in back of the restaurant, you will be smack dab in the bar. Don’t worry, though, the restaurant is about 40 feet to the right. It took me around five minutes to realize this. The architect must be one of Vicky's rich and drunk patrons, or at least drunk. Be honest, Vicky's, with your menu and advertising that’s all I ask. One other thing I ask is, since you’ve been in business for 20 years, what year exactly was it that you started ripping people off?    [18 Feb 2009 01:00:06]

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Recommended Dishes: None

     ­Anonymous