Blue Stem Martini Lounge

They are back open!

If you love a damn good martini and an experience, come to Blue Stem Martini Lounge! This is not your average martini joint. Picture dive bar converted into selling upscale martinis. And when I say dive bar, I mean it. It smells a bit musty at a first sniff (if you ask me, it’s better than the old beer smell you find in many other bars), has every other light bulb missing (possibly why the bartender resorts to her mini LED flashlight when figuring out the tabs), a blasting Jukebox, and a mysterious, dark back room.
I strongly recommend sitting at the bar, handing your credit card in to start a tab, and letting the show begin. Meet Lefko, a Greek Mistress martini maker and part owner who has 16.5 years of experience and demonstrates this by her rad vulgarity. Once you make your martini selection from the list — don’t ask Lefko what she recommends because she created them all and hence loves them all equally — and watch the magic happen before your eyes. Soon you’ll be sipping on the smoothest martini you’ve ever tasted while in a trance. Partially because they use high-​end liquor, but also because Lefko has all glasses lined up with ice, knows the recipes to the tee, and test sips each and every drink with a straw to make sure it meets her high standards. Don’t be in a hurry or come in with a large group because each drink is made to order. Also don’t be a macho man and think you’re too good for a martini until you have tried one (then there’s beer available afterwards). If you ask me, the martinis are like crack (a bit cheaper I imagine at $ 16 each) – I’m addicted… it keeps me coming back for more! This is your one and done kinda place. Thanks to Nicole V., I have had many drunken nights here…
A few words of wisdom:
–Want something sweet, popular and a beginner, go with the Pear Martini. It even comes with a slice of pear in it.
–If you’re a cosmo kinda gal, you’ll love the White Cosmo which is smoother and cleaner than your average cosmo.
–Want something potent, go with the Pomegranate.
–Want something refreshing, I’d recommend the Special Delight (Peach), my personal favorite and summer drink.
–Want something unique that will blow your socks off, I’d recommend my second favorite, the Amaretto Martini.
–Want something for dessert, there’s no other way than the Chocolate martini which is white chocolate with loads of chocolate syrup glazed over the glass.
Martini Menu:
Pear
Berry
Mango
BlakBeri
Pomegranate
Raz Cosmo
Special Delight (Peach)
Tropical Breeze (Pineapple/​Cranberry)
White Cosmo
Ameretto Martini
Banana Martini
Beau Berry Martini
Chocolate Martini
Cosmopolitan
French Kiss

A martini dive bar? What?!
The boyfriend and I were intrigued by this place after passing by many times. I looked up Unilocal reviews and was scared, but we decided to give it a try. Lefko definitely is a character but she has always been nice to us. Her martinis are excellent! I’ve tried quite a few but my favorite is the pear. They don’t taste like booze at all. They taste like juice, but not in a sickingly sweet way.
Drinks are pricey but the martini glasses seem to be a little bigger than what you usually get at bars. Service can be slow, but Lefko is the only one making drinks and she takes her time perfecting each one. Sometimes she will give us shots of leftover drinks which can be dangerous!
This is one of my favorite places for a chill evening. I never start my night here before going elsewhere because it will end after two of her potent and delicious martinis!

Will you have fun here? Yes. I guess that’s important, right?
There is martini for everyone here, and Lefko knows how to sweet talk even the shyest of patrons. She’ll make the night entertaining, no matter how somber the event.
But I find the prices outrageous for the divey atmosphere and quality of drinks. I’m really sorry to say it, but they’re pretty normal martinis, and some will cost as much as 14 dollars.
I remember getting the bill once for me and a friend, and it was 65 dollars. For a couple martinis each. Just too much for what I drank.

Sure, the martinis range from $ 11 – 15 a pop, but damn are they worth it. They’re so smooth you don’t even taste the alcohol, and Lefko uses good quality ingredients, such as Belvedere or Grey Goose vodka (we asked). She’s a very engaging and sweet lady; when we talked to her, she obviously took a lot of pride in her drinks (her motto is that she can take anyone and turn them into an alcoholic), and her suggestions were helpful. My friends and I had the Pear Martini and the White Cosmo — delish.

This place is really quite unfortunate. I find the five star reviews baffling.
The staff is freindly, but the bartendress claims to make «drinks so smooth you can’t taste the alcohol». Boy, she really nailed that. It was like there wasn’t any in there at all! Amazing!
Steer clear.

Super Meh. I was excited to try this place, as I thought it’d be quirky and fun and sassy.
It was a cardboard box that serves drinks. One in our party wanted a classic Martini, which includes bitters. First the proprieter didn’t think that was the classic recipe (it is) and then when served, it was as if she invented it.
It’s really just a box that serves booze. Maybe I’m missing something, but it wasn’t all that impressive or quirky. Myself, I love a good hole in the wall with a lot of character, this just wasn’t it.

Let me just start by saying that the owner/​bartender of Blue Stem, Lefko, is a mad scientist (of the best kind). I have no idea how she does it, but she manages to make the most ridiculously tasting martinis I’ve ever had in my life (this is not an exaggeration). I had 3 of these bad boys: White Cosmo, Pear, and a berry flavored one (can’t remember the exact name). What really impressed me is that the majority of the martinis are clear. Lefko has learned the art of mixing both flavored vodkas with regular to produce the smoothest martini possible. How? It’s a mystery to me.
What I loved just as much as the drinks was the atmosphere. Like my friend, Meg, said below — it was super unassuming. Lefko also added to that with her fun stories and over-​the-​top personality. I really loved that you could tell she was passionate about what she does — and who doesn’t love that! She even gave my friend a 4^th martini on the house to share with the table — too sweet.
I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to have another martini again.
You have spoiled me, Blue Stem.

Shaken or stirred, martini making is a fine art. All it takes is too much of this, or too little of that and the entire drink is ruined. So when you find a bartender who can concoct perfect potions, you’re going to be a repeat customer. Sure, they’re about $ 16 a pop, but you’re done after two.
Lefko, the owner and bartender, is so sweet. She always greets my friend and I. We snag front row seats for the martini mixing and study the menu carefully. I don’t know why we bother. She knows we love the pear martinis and convinced us we shouldn’t stray. As she said, «If you came in here for pear then it doesn’t matter how good the others are, you’re going to be disappointed if you don’t get what you have a craving for.»
We order up two pear martinis and they are even better than I remember. As we’re taking our time on the tinis, she pours us little samples of leftover liquor from other orders. Now we’re able to get a little taste of what else she has to offer. Banana resembles a popsicle, French Kiss is the perfect blend of vanilla and vodka.
Having satisfied our appetite for pear, we decide to be bold and split a Razztastic. It’s sweet, it’s sour, it tastes like blue raspberry. Most of the cocktails resemble their respective fruits, but even the candy coated flavors are good. And right as we finish it, there’s Lefko filling up the glass with another sample. She returns and asks how we liked the strawberry. We’re perplexed. I said, «Strawberry? We thought it was apple.» Now all three of us our confused. She said, «No, that’s strawberry.» My friend chimes in, «Well, whatever fruit it is it’s delicious!»

It’s not that I won’t ever pay $ 12 for a cocktail, but here’s what you gotta have:
–A bartender who really knows their sh-​t.
–A bar that never runs out of anything
–A cocktail waitress who is either hot or cool — he was neither.
Also, the drinks shouldn’t come out one at a time, right?
I’m just sayin’. They were the ones who set the bar high.

A true gem, that Blue Stem.
After a fabulous dinner at Bonsoirée that ended on the early side, I decided it was too soon to go home and waste a nice outfit, so my friend and I ended up here after seeing a huge-​ass line at Violet Hour.
Got there just past 9 and there were just a few people seated at the bar. I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was in there because I didn’t feel like having to shout at my friend to carry on a conversation. We grabbed a table by the window.
Soon after, the famous Lefko approaches us and starts describing all of her hand-​crafted martinis. Each one sounded better than the last. I just told her to bring me something sweet, but not too sweet, and not too strong.
My friend got a White Cosmo and Lefko made me a blueberry-​pomegranate martini. They were some of the biggest martinis I’ve ever seen. I literally tasted no alcohol, and I am usually very sensitive to the taste. But it was in there. Boy was it in there.
Lefko came back a few minutes later to make sure we were happy with our cocktails, and indeed we were.
Lefko is a self-​taught mixologist who clearly has passion and takes pride in what she serves. A thing of beauty is a joy to behold.
She kept bringing over extra martini leftovers that she had made for other patrons so that we could try them. They were all spectacular.
She won’t put anything in her martinis that she doesn’t deem worthy. As she proclaimed of other martini joints: «You can taste the hate in their drinks. In mine you can taste the love.»
True dat, Lefko.
We exchanged more friendly banter with her and then she decided it was ok if we left, but only after promising we’d return. She even told us about the super-​secret parking so we wouldn’t have to pay a meter next time. This is a woman who takes cares of her clientele.
Lefko has earned herself another devotee.

Alright… let me set the record straight. I went to the Blue Stem Martini Lounge on a cold night… and waited 30 minutes, in the cold, for the #80 bus. I was anticipating to get a little tipsy and have a great time with friends and have some big, strong martinis.
HOLD UP!
The martinis are big, but they are not strong. I’ve had better martinis at Houlihans for 50% of the price. The owner/​waitress/​bartender/​cook/​cashier is a rather unusual lady. Her service severely lacks for her sense of pride. I’m assuming she doesn’t staff anyone else… because nobody can do it like she can. Well, she does it by drinking a portion of every martini. She was nothing short of wasted by the time we left.
We had a medium sized party and it would take so LONG to get drinks, more drinks and be able to order that you never were able to get a buzz going. Just very peculiar. It’s a great place and has appeal. The service HAS to change if she expects to make it in the Chicago foodie business.
We eventually left and went to Rocks in Lakeview.
I’m going to Houlihans next time if I want a martini that is cheap!. .. . ha!

I’m gonna say it– I have had better martinis. Where? Fulton Lounge, Marty’s, NoMi, and Violet Hour just to name a few. But can I belly up to the bar in a track jacket and a mismatched fedora to cover up some rumpled hair at those other spots?
No– they’re either too swanky, hip and/​or are frequented by in-​the-​right stylish gay men who would rip me apart for leaving my condo looking so disheveled. As in, «honey, you could have at least taken a mascara wand to those anorexic lashes!»
Right? Right.
Blue Stem is a dive martini bar, whatever the hell that means. I can’t think of another bar that it could rub elbows with in that category. So why bother? Lefko is cool. She doesn’t have a filter. And I dig that.
3 hours and 45 minutes ’til it’s officially my birthday. Where do you think I’ll be sneaking a midnight martini? You got it!

Lefko is wonderful. She let Carolynne r. and I try a bunch of different flavors before ordering. After the first one, we just told her to make us what she wants. It was all good.
I’m not much of a Martini drinker, but I really enjoyed everything that Lefko made us. She is the Albert Einstein of Bartenders. Pure Genius.
Not only is Lefko a Genius when it comes to mixing drinks, she is a total sweetheart as well. She kept telling us that she would make us something else if we didn’t like the batch she had made. The large, buzzed, Martini grins should have been a dead give away that we loved what we were drinking.
The bottom line is that if you are looking for the best martini in town, in a cozy atmosphere, you need to go see Refko at the Blue stem. It is a relaxing experience that we desperately needed after a hard week at work.

Michaelia F., Theresa C. and I came here last night to celebrate my new job. We read a couple of reviews that said this place gets hoppin around 10 so we decided to come in early to be sure we got a table. I was actually kind of surprised that there weren’t that many people there when we arrived. We got a table right away and had some time to soak in the scenery since it took almost 15 minutes for the bartender to take our order. I like the feel of the bar — it’s small, cozy and nicely decorated. Very lounge-​y — just the right amount of lighting to feel intimate and classy. There was a ton of nice art on the walls — I love photography so I had a nice time taking a look at all of the prints for sale in the bar.
The bartender took our orders and suggested a new, non-​menu martini to one of my friends. One friend got the mango martini, one friend got an awesome blueberry martini, and I got the berry martini. Everyone liked their creation except me. It wasn’t that the berry martini was bad, I just expected it to have much more berry flavor. The martini was overpowered by the flavor of pineapple (not a berry) and it wasn’t the most pleasing experience. Not bad, but not very good. Everyone else really enjoyed their martinis and I would have liked to try another.
If you’re expecting quick service, don’t come here. Or maybe sit right at the bar. There’s only one bartender and she makes killer drinks — they’re delicious and strong — but she takes her time and she has a lot of customers to serve. I ordered another martini but it took so long that I’m pretty sure she forgot to make it (but still charged us for it) so then we decided to leave. We hadn’t really planned on hanging out here for several hours so I think the bartender was disappointed that we weren’t staying longer. Yeah, I kind of wanted to but I didn’t want to wait another 30 minutes for a drink.
All in all, the drinks are stellar and there’s a lot of creations that aren’t on the menu, but it takes a little while to actually get a drink. It’s worth the wait, for sure, but if you had just planned on hitting this place up before you go to another bar, expect to wait longer than you expect. The drinks are pretty pricey but Stoli looks to be their well vodka, so it’s totally worth it. And the bartender was super friendly and funny so that and the tasty drinks made the waiting worth it.

I have met my match and she is a wild-​haired Greek woman. Somehow, I always knew this would be the case.
I’d read a lot about this bar before coming. I wanted to try it, but I was a bit afraid. Some of the reviews made it seem as though Lefko was the Martini Nazi and I knew that I would not have my isht together enough to NOT screw up an order and get kicked out. I was scurred. So, I brought along two friends who were even more clueless than I about how this place worked. I figured, if I brought along some folks who had NO idea what was going on, they would befall the wrath and I would sit back and shake my head at them, all disapprovingly-​like. Sacrificial lamb and all that.
We walked in and there were some people standing at the bar. Lefko was doing her thing. And we, we stood there. In the doorway. Motionless. «Man, am I not even going to make it to ONE drink before getting thrown out?» Lefko looked up and I played it off. I walked to the bar and asked for a menu. She gave me one and said she’d be with us in a bit. Whew.
I brought the menu back to the table and studied it vigorously. I knew what I wanted, but wanted to peruse the other offerings. Lefko arrived at the table. She pointed at me. «White Cosmo, please.» She points at my friend. «I’ll take a Pear Martini.» She points at my friend’s friend. «Uhm,» as she drums on the table, «I don’t know. I don’t like sweet drinks. I think I just want a dirty martini. Do you serve those here?» I went into survival mode. Much like Jerry was forced to disavow himself of his girlfriend in order to sup at the Soup Nazi’s table, I was ready to slide over one table and pretend like I rolled into Blue Stem solo. As I closed my eyes & braced myself, I heard, «I’ll make you the dirtiest martini you’ve ever had — and you won’t see it coming.» One eye open. Pat myself for bullet holes. We’re all still here? Right on!
Within two shakes of a lethargic lamb’s tail, we had our drinks. As she delivered the drinks, Lefko stuck around for our reaction. Me: (internally, «Juice! Yum! Yayyy!!») «This is quite good. Thank you so much.» My friend: «Wow. This is great. I can’t taste the alcohol at all.» My friend’s friend: «This IS good.» And the night went from there. Success.
Two closing thoughts: 1.) It’s not juice — as evidenced by my inability to move my legs or feel my lips after my third drink and 2.) don’t eat at the taqueria across the street. I think they served me dog tacos. I have *never* tasted «chicken» like that.

I like to think of myself as a martini connoisseur, for a plethora of reasons. As I tend to make a lot of lists in my reviews, just to spice it up, I’m going to use characters this instead of numbers and letters.
@ — -) — : I used to work at a martini bar, and also spent WAAAAAAAY to much time there in college and beyond. So much so that I think I tried about 90% of their 102 martinis, and managed to embarass myself more times than I care to admit (or remember). Incidentally, upon researching for this review, I just learned that my former martini bar was voted as having the best vodka selection. As this is in Reno, that’s not saying a lot.
*%*%*%*: Although it’s not my full-​time gig anymore, I still bartend and have the opportunity to make a LOT of martinis. I know it’s not an easy feat, and making stealthy delicious martinis is an art. One that I think I’ve mastered. I’ve also mastered the art of making disgusting tasting drinks that look cool. Try my Oil Slick sometime.
$^$^$^$^$^: I like foo foo drinks– those that are deceptively strong yet go down smooth as silk. And I like drink menus on the table, because apparently I’m a lemming and like to be told what to do.
)#)#)#)#)#)#): I am a big fan of places that serve food to absorb the aforementioned deceptively strong libations.
What puts the icing on the cake (or the lime or pear on the glass) is Lefko. She is one of the most amazing proprietors of a restaurant I will have the pleasure to meet– a cook, mixologist, and waitress all rolled into one– and does it in such an amazing way that it’s a pleasure to watch.
I was lucky enough to be bossed around by Rob (AGAIN– seriously, what is with this guy?), but I’m glad I did. I got to experience some of Chicago Unilocal’s finest, all in a chill atmosphere. If you’re expecting a Martini Lounge where you can pop your collar and douche it up big time (for the boys) or hike up your skirt, cake on the makeup, act pretentious and wait for said boys to get you drunk (for the girls), this is not the place for you.
For satisfying food, superb martinis, and first-​class service, come here. Try the white cosmo or pear martini– you won’t be disappointed.

Cocktails first. Questions later.
Lefko is one chick that takes her martinis seriously. I’m glad she does. Hands down the best martinis I’ve ever had in my entire life. Made with Grey Goose and God only knows what else, they are worthy every penny Blue Stem charges. Seriously. You can’t even taste the liquor.
Blue Stem is the perfect location to come with a fun group of people. Pump some dollars into the juke box, converse and enjoy the ambiance. It’s not exactly a rager, but let’s be honest. When you’re rolling 3 Lefko-​martinis deep, any place is a party.

I was persuaded to get off my couch from watching the Olympics and join some friends here «for just one drink». Over 4.5 hours later, I was so glad I had come. The drinks are not cheap, but Lefko, the bartender, puts thought and heart into making them. I let her make me one of her choice, and it was good, still not sure even what it was. My second was a white cosmo, and though I do not normally like cranberry juice, this was made with white cranberry juice and it was sublime. I definitely would have that one again. Part of the awesomeness of this place is Lefko and her personality – with a laid back, average bartender I don’t know that this place would be anything out of the ordinary.
I am a fan, and will be back!

Beyond being a pretty stellar bartender/entertainer…Lefko is an ego boost. I walked in last night and she looked at me and exclaimed:
«Girl, you are one bad ass, high class woman. I like it.»
Well thanks, I’ll now drink entirely too much vodka. Cheers. :)