Victor's Italian Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Neighborhood Institution with Deep Roots

Victor's has been part of York, Pennsylvania since May 1984, when Harold and Eunice Fitzkee opened an Italian restaurant inside a former brick church built in 1905. The building's history runs even deeper — it began as a place of worship, passed through decades as a grocery store and a bar, and finally found its most enduring identity as a destination for Italian food and genuine hospitality. Local legend holds that the Fitzkees named the restaurant after the first chef they hired, a man from South Philadelphia who never showed up for the job. The name stuck anyway.

In 2007 the restaurant changed hands, and by 2017 Mark and Marie Sindicich had become sole proprietors. Under their ownership, Victor's has grown into what they describe as a relaxed reflection of an Italian trattoria — a place where the menu changes with the seasons and highlights local products whenever possible.

The People Behind the Kitchen and the Cellar

The Sindicich family is central to what Victor's has become. Mark, a Certified Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers, built the wine program from the ground up. That list has earned Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for five consecutive years, and in 2024 it was elevated to the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence — a distinction that places Victor's among the world's best restaurants for wine. Mark's approach is deliberately inclusive: he stocks and recommends bottles to suit any palate and price point, from a value-priced Chianti at the bar to a high-end Super Tuscan paired with the chef's latest seasonal feature.

In the kitchen, Executive Chef Raine Sindicich — Mark and Marie's son — took the helm in spring 2024. A Penn State graduate who navigated a difficult post-pandemic job market before returning to York, Raine has honored the restaurant's beloved classics while quietly introducing his own signature dishes. Front of house is led by General Manager Kent Walker, who first walked through the door as a busser in 2014 and worked his way through every role in the business while earning his degree.

Marie describes the atmosphere at Victor's the way she would entertaining at home: patrons move freely between the dining room, the bar, the patio, and the bocce court, stopping to see friends along the way.

Food, Wine, and a Sense of Place

The Italian cooking at Victor's is rooted in familiar pleasures — dishes like Shrimp and Clams over spaghetti, house-made linguine with sautéed shrimp and creamy pesto, and the long-running Chicken Piccata that has been part of the menu since the beginning. Every Monday, the kitchen serves a straightforward classic: spaghetti and meatballs with Caesar salad and warm artisan bread. Desserts rotate seasonally, with cheesecakes and rum cake among the recurring favorites.

The bocce court and La Bella Patio give Victor's a character that goes well beyond the plate. Live music, a Somm Series of wine events, and a genuinely warm staff round out an experience that has kept regulars coming back for decades — and continues to draw new guests looking for Italian food done with care and a well-chosen glass to go with it.