Alberto Lombardi has spent decades building some of the most reliable dining rooms in Dallas-Fort Worth — Bistro 31, Toulouse, Taverna, Lombardi Cucina Italiana. His newest concept is a sports bar, which sounds like a left turn until you spend five minutes in it. Victory Tap Sports Lounge opened Saturday at 5973 W. Parker Road in Plano, and it brings the same hospitality standards as everything else the group has built — just with 32 televisions, two video walls, and a Formula 1 racing simulator in the mix.
The 7,600-square-foot room was designed around Ivy League athletic club aesthetics — warm materials, clean lines, comfortable without being generic — with seating for 250, an outdoor bocce court, and enough screens that there’s no such thing as a bad seat on game day. The kitchen takes the same approach: this is not an afterthought menu. The Victory Smash Burger, the Texas Burger with pepper-bacon jam and roasted jalapeño aioli, Birria Brisket Tacos, Steak Frites, Miso Cod, and a Rigatoni alla Vodka with crispy pancetta tell you this is a room where you can eat well without planning around it. The sushi program — Tuna Crispy Rice, oysters, the Parker Roll — is the detail that separates Victory Tap from most sports bars operating anywhere near this zip code.
Cocktails run from a frozen Red Card (St-Germain, watermelon, raspberry, prosecco) to the Kucklepuck, a Maker’s Mark Old Fashioned riff with a barrel-aged stout cordial and pretzel bites on the side. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — $1 off drafts, $2 off spirits and wine, and $10 bites including the Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs and Bang Bang Shrimp. Brunch runs Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Open daily for lunch and dinner. (469) 862-0101.
