Beginning today, Monday August 24th, STIR Martini + Raw Bar is celebrating its grand opening with an all-day week long happy hour through Sunday, August 30th.
The happy hour menu will feature $1 and $3 Northwest and Asian influenced seafood appetizers and half-priced oysters. Drink specials are also featured: Specialty Cocktails for $6, house red and white wines for $5, and draft beer for $3.
I had the pleasure of enjoying what STIR has to offer a few weeks ago, and the experience was fabulous! The evening started off with STIR’s signature Deconstructed Martinis. They come in 3 varieties that accommodate different palates: sweet, herbal, or savory. The herbal variety was the most interesting – strong gin mixed with cucumber puree, mint, and lime; my favorite was the savory variety – vodka complete with olive juice and blue cheese stuffed olives.
The restaurant is primarily set up as lounge seating or for casual lunch, so having an intimate dinner or big group dining experience could be challenging. The booths sit low, with tables even lower, but there is some additional seating in the back of the bar with higher tables and stools.
We enjoyed a variety of cocktails throughout the night and our fair share of food as well. I highly recommend the Beef Udon, which I hear is becoming a popular favorite. The beef tenderloin is seared and cooked just right, and the shiitake mushrooms add to its full flavor. I also can’t say enough about their dessert. We tried the green tea, deep-fried Ice Cream Tempura and the Sweet Gyoza. Both were to die for! The flavor explosion was a unique one that left me wanting to order seconds. I will certainly be a frequent visitor at STIR Martini + Raw Bar.
Although the food was well portioned and priced, the interiors lack “energy”. The seatings are uncomfortable for dining and the overall ambience is dull and cold, with many ‘dark’ spots, even during the day. The combination of the LED-light art pieces and the random wood panels on the back wall does not work with the overall concept of “STIR”, which to me says ‘hip’, ‘energy’, ‘movement’, ‘lounge’…It’s unfortunate especially for a brand new lounge in Bellevue (to have missed it so badly)…Will see you at Joey’s or Earl’s!
I went to STIR again last night, and I can’t say enough about their green tea Ice Cream Tempura. It’s now part of my top 3 favorite desserts ever, and it’s so simple! Our service was great. I agree the the atmosphere feels a little cold with the white and blue lights. I much prefered it when all of the lights were a purple color.
Will have to try the beef udon. Went a couple of weeks before the grand opening to just get a sense of the place, and liked the idea behind the deconstructed martinis. I tend to like my drinks more straightforward, but I get their concept. We were sitting at the back, since we had a larger group, but I think the next time I go, I will sit up at the bar, as it’s definitely more lively around happy hour.
I love the decor at STIR and it’s a much more civilized crowd, by all means go to the meat market at Joey’s where they water down your drinks. At least STIR knows how to make a decent Manhattan and their food is excellent.