Martinis in Valpo

Love this place! The food is excellent. This is the reason for repeat visits. Huge list of martini’s. Seems like each time the service is slow or awkward at the start but improves after that. Food full of flavor. Acoustic guitar & singing sets a wonderful ambiance. Check the web site events calendar for schedule.

Possibly the best bloody Mary ever had, and my mixologist was Stephanie… Not only was the all-​around mix of the drink good but the toppings were phenomenal in the bacon is top notch… Goodbar good bartender good people in general… I’m definitely going to be back for some of those delicious hangover cures

To start, I will say that the food was very good. However, I would only recommend going there by yourself and not if you expect to dine with anyone else. There was 4 people in my party and each of us received our entrée at a different time. 20 minutes passed between the first and second person receiving their entrée, and 10 more minutes after that before the next entrees. The third and fourth people did receive their entrees at the same time, but one was the wrong meal (brought shrimp instead of chicken). It was then another 20 minutes before that person received what they ordered.
So overall, there was 50 minutes between the first and last person receiving their entrees. Their excuse was that they were really busy. In my opinion, even if you are really busy, a party should receive all their meals at the same time since they reason a group does go to dinner together is to dine together. I will not be back.

Several of us went to Martini’s as a «Christmas dinner outing». We had been there before and parked and entered from the back, East side, to avoid the bar which is known to be smokey. Our waiter was excellent. Knowledgeable, friendly, prompt. Alerted us to the fact that one of our member’s steak with mushrooms would take 15 minutes and we elected to eat as a group and started with appetizers — WHICH WERE AMAZING! We all ordered from the Sr menu and found it less expensive but very generous portions. Great experience.

This is definately one of the best kept secrets in Valparaiso… food is incredible, good service and the owner’s make certain everything is top notch! Love this place!!! Everything is homemade goodness… even the dressings and desserts are home-made…exceptional! We love to dine here!

Great food great service. Staff very knowledgeable of all phases of great service! Highly recommend this place.

Food and environment is AMAZING!!! Those most honest five stars I’ve ever given! Try anything on the menu and you will leave wanting to come back the next night

Stopped in for dinner. First observation was how Smokey it was at the bar. Lots of older people chain smoking at bar. I don’t have anything smoking but I’ve definitely gotten used to most states banning it inside. Martinis has an extensive drink menu with a large variety of wines, beers, and cocktails. I ordered an old fashioned. I found the drinks to be a little weak and the old-​fashioned had a pink glow which made it look more like lemonade than an old-​fashioned. That being said the bartenders were polite and friendly. I was a little surprised by the bartenders response to an older man who complained about the beers being warm. I suspect he might have been a regular that they were used to, but I thought the bartender was a little rude with his sarcasm («well sir, the drinks were in a cooler»). The bartender had some suggestions for food and I ended up getting green pepper soup (pretty good) and their scallop pasta special. Scallops were amazing and the pasta was very creamy with a good amount of heat. The sliced baby tomatoes were a little too mushy for my taste but I really enjoyed the plate. Two drinks (one was a tall vodka soda) and entre cost me over 40 bucks so it was a little pricey for what I got. I wanted to stick around for Wednesday night karaōke (which apparently can get pretty busy) but the smoke was getting to me and I was fairly tired. Worth a look if visiting Valpo.

Good food cheap on Wednesday date night.
Outside of that the bar has a very unpredictable vibe. It really has no crowd identity. One time a preppy pretentious crowd. Another time a artsy trendy hipster crowd. Another time it’s biker crowd. Another time it seemed to have a little bit of a thug crowd. You never know what to expect. The staff is ok, but they never remember you and seem to have an edgy attitude.
Last I gave a lower rating because I came in and stood at the bar for a few minutes before even being acknowledged. I don’t like feeling like I have to fight to get a bar tenders attention. On a slow night.

Good food, drinks and service. And Tricia, our waitress was wonderful.

Went here on a Friday night with some friends for a kid free girls night out. I had such a good time and was pleasantly surprised with the food. I had a ribeye with a blue cheese sauce and it left my mouth watering for more the next day. Also had stuffed mushrooms which was delicious and even the side salad was excellent. Service was great even for as busy as it was. The only thing that wasn’t too good was the bruschetta… Is wasn’t «authentic» if that makes sense and kinda bland. We sat by the bar which I was hesitant about because there’s smoking but the exhaust fans did a fantastic job. I had made the mistake of washing my feather down coat that morning which unfortunately led to it shedding feathers… to our amusement the fans were actually sucking the feathers up to the ceiling and through the fans. The band was great and played great music. Definitely gonna go back

I love this place!
My absolute favorite thing to eat for lunch is their pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries! Really, really good!
There are a lot of unexpected options (high end entrees) for dinner… especially for a town like Valpo! My favorite for dinner is the coconut shrimp… very, very good. I regularly recommend to friends! They also have nice outdoor seating in the summer!

The best lunch around! I love the wraps and the chicken focaccia sandwich is my all time favorite! The soup and salad bar is great! They offer fresh fruits, vegetables and salads along with 4 different soups. You can add the bar to your lunch entrée for only $ 1. Great deal!

Food was amazing! Definitely some unique things to choose from like avocado fries, stuffed olives, or focaccia sandwiches. Can’t wait to try some of their other stuff! They also have a large beer selection to choose from, try the Stella Cidre if you like ciders, they just got it in.

We are long time fans of Martinis. Since the current owners took over, they have made gradual improvements to an old restaurant building that has been used hard for many years. We have always found the food to be excellent, and the service to be fast and friendly. We usually go on Wednesdays for the date night deal combined with a half price bottle of wine, accompanied by smooth piano and vocals. It’s hard to beat!

Average NW Indiana bar, decent on the weekend, dry during the week.

First time there. Will never go back. Smoke is awful. Dingy bar. I thought I was going to a classy place. Service awful. Took my husbands plate away while I was still eating. Then I was working on my pickle, she took my plate away. I didn’t want to finish the stupid pickle so nowhere to put it.
Again…the smell of smoke is disgusting. Felt like I was in a crappy stinky bar, which I was. Then the non-​smoking part in the back is better as far as smoke, but looked like a bad wedding reception set up.
I wanted to leave as soon as we sat down. My husband thought it would be rude. Well I don’t care about that any more. New rule. If I want to leave as soon as I sit down, I will.
Also I felt like it was a huge inconvenience for the servers that we were there.
I have renamed this place Fartinis. As passing gas smells better than I do right now (of smoke).
Horrible depressing place. Horrible atmosphere. Do not go here.

My Girlfriend and I are frequent customers here. There’s a few things you have to realize before trying this place. One: It is a bar/​restaurant, not restaurant/​bar. If you don’t want to smell like smoke or be around it, there is a nicer, non smoking section in the back. Two: It is very slow on weeknights. As a result of that, we’ve noticed the food is almost always not up to the par they’ve set for when it’s busier. –1 star for that. I’ve had one of the best New York strip steaks I’ve EVER had at this place. Unfortunately, they’re not very consistent. I also cannot finish this review without commenting on the quality of their Chicken Caesar Salad. Hands down the best I’ve ever had, highly recommended. Again, if ordered on a slow Monday or Tuesday, the chicken is overcooked, dry, and not as flavorful. If ordered on a busy Saturday, it’s absolutely perfect. That’s the one consistency I’ve noticed. The prices are appropriate, ~$ 50 for two people with two drinks each.
Edit: Martinis has been putting a lot of effort on improving things. I think the consistency has improved. There’s tons of events going on, everything from drag shows, comedy shows, to poker tournaments. They’ve updated the menu recently as well. Some things are great. The focaccia chicken sandwich is great! I recommend dipping bites in marinara sauce, yum! The grilled chicken & mushroom risotto dish is also great. However, I still want to leave it at 4 stars because I feel that the menu is a little lacking overall. Maybe it’s me, perhaps I’m just bored with the options, not sure. I feel like I just have 3 or 4 options that I rotate through. But again, that’s probably just me…
Still highly recommended and the only place to go to if you’re a smoker!

My wife and I went a few months ago because we wanted to try something different in Valparaiso. We arrived there and stood at the door for a little bit before anyone paid any attention to us. The booth we sat in felt like it seen better days and was recycled from another restaurant. Our service was poor as was the food. Im always baffeled when I go in a resturant and the food is horrible. Dont these owners eat their own food. The place needed a good cleaning and updating and the bathrooms needed to be totally redone. I would not recommend this place to anyone and they will never see me back anymore. I have been asked by many people if I ever tried Martinis because it was voted top resturant in Valparaiso, IN. and my respone is dont waste your time and money.

Oh Martinis… What shall I say?
Lets begin by prefacing this first:
1) I went on a Friday night which I guess is now considered «Forbidden Fridays» or something.
2) I am a HUGE electronic music fan and just got back from Mecca (aka Ultra Music Fest in Miami)
3) Last time I was at Martinis a crappy Beatles cover band played
I live in Chicago and my parents live in Valpo. I came home to see them and catch up with my high school friends. Per usual we all headed to Northside first and had a drink. Then, low and behold, they wanted to head a few building over to Martinis. I was a little shocked at first because I thought this place was a dive but then they tell me how there is a live DJ spinning house music, lines out the door, good looking people and people dancing… HOLD THE PHONE! Did I just say «dancing»!!! In Valpo?
We head over and sure enough there was good, current music being live mixed by a chick DJ (I love girl DJs). I was real impressed, there was a decent light system, a clean sound system and a few people on the dance floor.
Many a bar has long tried to capitalize on the Electro craze but they all fall into the same trap: Controlling who comes in versus paying the bills.
We got there at 11 and it was a clean crowd. Good people having good fun. While most could use a few dance lessons, I will never fault a group of girls going out on a girls night and just dancing for the hell of it.
And then midnight rolls around and the crowd gets a little more intense, a lot more crowded and not as clean. The groups of girls get a little more compressed and the dudes start creeping. As I said, I was out with my guys and didn’t have any girls to look out for so I was fine but the creepers weirded me out none the less.
When I went back to my car to head home I did a little Region trick, read the license plates. There were a lot of Lake County license plates and a diluted number of Porter County plates. If people from Lake County feel the need to drive all the way to Valpo to drink, I question their intentions.
Advice to Martinis: Keep it up. Electronic music is the only growth sector in the bar/​club scene; I would come back on a Friday to check it out again. Set a dress code though. The clients that are buying you high end Goose Island Matilda (thank you btw) does not wear hoodies to the bar, they don’t wear ball caps, they don’t put the tongues of their shoes outside their jeans, and they sure don’t wear white t-​shirts down to their knees. Keep it clean and you will be onto something big, let the trash in that is there to creep and not drink and you will be gone within a year.
(props to the creepy guy doing the robot wearing weight lifting gloves. You made the night perfect.)