One of the Isle of Man’s most striking cafes, perched on the edge of the TT course at the 31st Milestone, has spent months preparing for the chaos, crowds and camaraderie of the world-famous motorcycle races.

Victory Café, based inside a former Cold War Rotor radar station overlooking the Snaefell Mountain Road, is already deep into TT mode – and it’s not even practice week yet.

And in truth, it’s much more than just a café.

It boasts a small cinema, a main room that doubles as a stylish café and event space, and a shop offers exclusive Victory Café gear and rare biking brands not found elsewhere in the island.

Co-owner Vicky Quirk says the build-up to the event begins as early as February, with weeks of careful stockpiling, slow cooking, and schedule reworking to get the unique venue ready.

‘It is really exciting, because we all love TT, and it's such a big part of our calendar,’ Vicky told Media Isle of Man.

‘The build-up is brilliant – a lot of the racers pop in when they're over for pre-TT testing. A lot of the newcomers are taken around and stop in. We get a really good vibe going.’

Vicky outside the Victory Cafe as preparations continue for Isle of Man TT 2025
Vicky and Sid the dog outside the Victory Cafe as preparations continue for Isle of Man TT 2025 (Media Isle of Man )

In the run-up to TT 2025, Victory Café even closed its doors for a few days to finalise preparations.

‘We've been getting ready since February,’ Vicky explained.

‘The closure last week gave us time to go through all our stores, get final orders in from Robinson’s and Agrimark, and just tick off the last bits on the to-do list.’

And those orders are no small matter.

‘We get a tail-lift truck up with all our drinks, takeaway containers, cups – everything. It’s a massive stock-up,’ she said.

‘But we don’t buy in frozen food. That’s what makes us unique – everything we serve is fresh and locally sourced.’

Since the start of the year, the café team has been slow-cooking Manx brisket and pork shoulder, serving it in Noa Bakehouse buns with homemade barbecue sauce, Manx chips, and fresh salads.

Inside Victory Cafe, a former Cold War Rotor radar station overlooking the Snaefell Mountain Road at the Bungalow
Inside Victory Cafe, a former Cold War Rotor radar station overlooking the Snaefell Mountain Road at the Bungalow (Media Isle of Man )

Even the cakes are prepared months in advance.

‘Our kitchen wizard Julie has made around 3,000 portions of cake, all cling-wrapped and ready to go in the freezers,’ Vicky added. ‘Bikers love cake!’

Staffing also undergoes a complete rethink during TT.

‘We actually reduce our front-of-house team,’ said Vicky.

‘Normally we do table service, but during TT we move to a queuing system with collection points and a food hatch.

‘It’s all hands on deck behind the scenes – there are just four of us in the kitchen serving thousands.’

Beyond food and racing, Victory Café’s Cold War history adds a fascinating twist.

‘It was built around 1956 as a Rotor radar station,’ Vicky explained.

‘It would’ve been a receiving site during the Cold War, monitoring signals for incoming threats.

‘There’s so much history here – we’ve even got a cinema and workshop in the old rooms.’

The Victory Cafe has proved popular with visitors, this shot taken from a previous Isle of Man TT (-)

For anyone thinking of visiting for the first time, Vicky’s advice is simple: ‘Come. It’s brilliant.

‘You can hang out all day, watch the racing on the big screen, have a nap in the cinema, and chat to people from all over the world.

‘It’s such a brilliant festival for the island – for locals and visitors alike.’

The TT madness is coming fast – but up at Victory Café, they’re more than ready. Or so they hope.