Blue Martini

I'm so happy that this crap-hole of a place is finally out of business. The owners were failures as human beings and deserve what is happening to them. I can only hope that they all have a miserable life running away from Uncle Sam. The gubment always gets theirs, one way or another! Pros: Out of business! Cons: Everything else! more

I have went to the blue martini on a bunch of different occasions and I always liked the atmosphere and music. Pros: Really good blues music more

I would give this bar zero stars if i could. The only positive reviews on here are written by management and workers. This place su#ks. The waiter's have no common sense. We have gone in with a party of about 20 and everyone complains about the service. Very rude waitresses and idiotic bartenders. They usually have no management in place after noon, so they pretty much are unaccountable to anyone and do whatever they like. . Outrageously expensive and have no clue on how to treat customers. Management doesn't care how the place is run or customer feedback. This bar would be the next place to be shut down in Raleigh, as they are similar to other bars that think they are greater than their customers. CUSTOMERS ARE THE FOUNDATION OF ANY BUSINESS!!! Please SAVE YOUR MONEY BY NOT GOING TO THIS PLACE. You will be better of making your own drinks at home!!! Pros: NONE Cons: EVERYTHING more

My my...where to start. First off, and most importantly, the negative reviews I read before going to this place was so right on the money! And quite honestly, I had hoped that my experience would be better but it was not. Service is much to be desired and I don't say that lightly. After setting at a table for 20-30 minutes in the back where I viewed a few other bigger tables were to accommodate a groups, I made my way to the bar. Standing around for a couple of minutes, I finally got the attention of one of the waitresses that whizzed by me and asked if I could get a drink. The answer yes as she pointed to the bartender that was unaware of my presence. Um, I was at the bar standing between three empty chairs. Hmmm! Asking if I could just run a tab and go sit back down the answer was no; I'm OK with that and then wanted to order my appetizer then because no one had showed up at our table YET...remember? Oh, and while waiting on the first drink and putting in my order for the appetizer, well I was nearly finished with the first drink and quickly ordered another; not knowing when I would get a chance at my table. I saw the waitress that was serving the other tables in our area and asked when would we get waited on, she told me she would check to see whose turn it was. HUH? After complaining of that when I ordered my second drink, a lady beside me, clearly management, asked who it was and I told her. However, after I got back to my table another waitress approached in the area of our table and gave us all a glaring stare? The bartender is a little cocky in which, I didn't mind but when I didn't get a break down of my bill and scribbled on it trying to identify and make sure I wasn't over charged, he more or less approached me abruptly at my table to THEN try to explain. What it boils down to, it was ladies night w/ $5 Cosmos; don't think any waitstaff in most of your restaurants will give you their undivided attention. Pros: I'll get back to you on that...I'm still in amazement they are still in business. Cons: Parking deck across the street was free that night...ticket dispenser wasn't working! :) more

This is a follow up to the earlier review I gave when my girlfriends and I came out to BM in July 2008...I am a business owner myself, hence I understand things like customer service, the difficulty and stress of advertising and running a business. I run a medical practice, but no matter, I suppose I am just another person complaining to the Blue Martini. I sent a certified letter to the owners after our experience and also called several times. I got NO response. It's sad, I used to go there often and I run a women's social group with over 500 women aged 21-40. Everyone I know is aware of what happened there and no one has returned. It's nice that the staff have made reviews here to try to make it sound like a great place but the reality is that 25 girls had the same experience, those 25 will tell their friends who will tell their friends, etc. etc. The experience was awful but what was far, far worse was the lack of response from the management. Even if they weren't concerned about losing our business, to not even acknowledge myself or the rest of the women who called/emailed, etc. is just plain awful. Clearly the customers are of very little concern to the staff/owners. But thankfully, the staff and their friends can always come on citysearch to put in a nice review reminding you of how great the service and prices are-hah! Most of the positive reviews on this site are from people who clearly work there, the rest-mostly negative-are from actual patrons ;) Enjoy! Pros: Nothing Cons: Everything more

I like the atmosphere here - I like to bring friends there when they visit from out of town. It always gives them a good impression about Raleigh. It's a tad too loud, but it adds to the ambiance, I guess. I've never had a problem with the drinks being weak. I don't think I'm a lightweight, but that's just my two cents. Pros: Drinks, crowd, ambiance Cons: a little too noisy more

cheesy crowd trying to impress each other. just kinda lame. Maybe it was an off night. I'll try again later but seemed weak. Pros: cool decor Cons: cheeze more

I would just like to say that I love this spot and I hope to be there this weekend. The staff is nice and will work with you If you get a drink that you do not like. With a choice of 70-80 Martinis you can't go wrong. If you go on Monday you will be able to test drinks while paying only 1/2 for the Martinis. The music is great also with bands that really sound good. Tasha and I hope to see you there, I'm the black short dude with the sharp haircut and nicely dressed with a magnum in my hand made by Tara. Pros: Great Staff,Great music, Tara and Samantha rocks! Cons: None really,drinks a lil high but the glasses are bigger compared to other places more

Well first let me say this is by far my favorite place to drink here in Raleigh! I know you see these other 2 reveiws and see all the atrocity, but let me point out there both young girls complaining about ladies night!! Specifically their complaining about not getting their free appatizer immediatelly. Now I'll be honest im an adult male who is looking for an upscale place to go where im not gonna have to deal with the rowdy, breakneck kids who just got there drinking liscence. I'm letting all those reading know that if you love good live music (jazz mostely), and your looking for a place that by far does not make a weak drink... infact most of the time I will have to ask Todd, Chris, Tara, Rob, Ian, Elizabeth, or Kelly, these being the fine bartenders, to add more mixer to my drink. Want a great martini, go to the Blue Martini. I personally reccomend the Bein Ian, as I'm a Crown Royal Drinker. I do have to tell that the Menu has changed and you wont get these tappas, but the hummas is awesome. Now on to the customer service portion of my post. All the ladies that take care of that place are wonderful, they are for the most part highly energetic, extremelly charasmatic, professionals. They are all more than qualified at what there doing... As a testiment to these girls, I'm a seasoned (more than a decade)pro in guest service, and can say I have never had a problem with service or weak drinks. Mondays is one of my favorite nights to drink there, half priced martinis! All in all I have to say that the bar is great, the managment is outwardly friendly, and the drinks are top notch made by seasoned tenders. Heres my personal reccomendation, If your a proffesional looking for a place to meet after work, where you and the boys/girls can have a relaxing time with nice surroundings, this is the place. Many of the city's highly influential (i.e. largest money,decision makers) drink there, aswell as the after office friends. Please excuse the little girls whines!! Pros: Great Drinks, great bartenders, Love Voodoo Flute, Chop Shop! Cons: The bar can get crowded, The young drinking crowd, this isnt always a problem tho, just wednesday late night. more

The following is a letter that I sent to the owners detailing a horrible experience that I had at this establishment. Myself nor my friends who als... more

The experience that my friends and I had at Blue Martini was pretty unbelieveable. Several friends tried to contact the management but got no response. I sent a certified letter to the owner and got no response, the letter is below and highlights what can only be described as a shocking display of some of the worst service I have ever received in my entire 30 years of life. Excerpts from the letter I sent follows: On July 9th,we had a group of 20 women attend ladies night at Blue Martini. After waiting almost 1.5 hrs for food/drinks, I approached manager Tara whose response was that we were getting the food for free-in reference to the ladies night special-and shouldn't complain. I explained that 1) The cheese plate I ordered was not free 2) despite the food special, her behavior was inappropriate.She couldn't have cared less.Around 9:45pm the majority of the women finally received the food they had ordered at 7pm. Some still didn't receive food until after 10pm which is over 3 hours for chips/dip, etc. Our waitress Kristen handed me a bill with 3 drinks listed. I politely reminded her that I had only ordered 2 drinks over the course of the evening. She stated that I was lying and that she remembered bringing me 3 drinks. After going back and forth in front of everyone about the drink, she walked away only to return a few minutes later with a new bill. In front of all, she stated,?here is your bill with only 2 drinks on it, i'm going to have to pay for the drink that you are refusing to admit to?.After this incident she refused to come back. We waited for roughly an hour for her to return at which point I attempted to hand her my tab and credit card which she refused to take. I ended up having to take my tab to the bar in order to make payment.I am shocked at the level of disregard that your staff showed on this evening. Obviously you can see how this would reflect poorly on your business which relies so heavily on word of mouth and customer service. Pros: nothing i can think of Cons: Everything-service, staff, prices, etc. more

I went to the Blue Martini for ladies' night and I have never had such a horrible experience -- ANYWHERE! I arrived to meet up with a group of friends at 7pm at which time I ordered a martini and an appetizer. The drink came 30 minutes later and the appetizer took 3 HOURS. After an hour and a half I asked about my food and the waitress told me she got confused and gave my appetizer to someone else. WHAT?! So I had to wait another 1.5hrs for spring rolls, which -- trust me -- were not worth the wait. My friend had a horrible encounter with management. She was told not to complain about the service because we were getting free food. If free food takes 3 HOURS to get to my table then don't give it away -- I'd be happy to pay for it if it arrived in a timely manner. Our waitress was inattentive at best. When she wasn't forgetting to put in orders, giving your order to someone else, or taking 30 minutes to get you your drink while she chats away with her coworkers at the bar, she was arguing and embarrassing my friends. She overcharged my friend for a drink she did not order and then all but called her a lying drunk when she insisted she only had two drinks. Trust me, the time she was taking getting the drinks out, if you had ordered 8 drinks, you'd still be dead sober by the time the bill came back. She adjusted the bill and marched back and yelled out to my friend "I hope you're happy, I had to pay for your drink!" She got so flustered, she walked away and left me and several others in our group hanging around for almost an hour waiting for our tabs because she refused to come back. It was so awkward and tense. I could go on -- I was there for almost 5 hours and all I got was 2 drinks and a plate of fries (faster than spring rolls) -- but you get the idea. Several of us called/emailed management and the owner and have gotten NO response. I wouldn't come back to the Blue Martini if they were the last drinking establishment on the East Coast and neither should you. Pros: none Cons: everything -- read my review more

I was excited before going to Blue Martini because it sounded like a great concept and looked good on their website. What A Disappointment! The drinks were terribly weak and the service was just terrible. I used to wait tables and I know what a hard job it is, but this was beyond excuse. And it really should not take over an hour and a half to get an order of hummus and pita bread! If the staff was polite and remotely apologetic I'd consider going back there, but this was beyond terrible and they seemed to think it was fine. Save your time and your money and go somewhere else - anywhere else! Pros: um, I liked the people I was with Cons: terrible service and weak drinks more

If you are looking for terrible service Blue Martini is for you. I went to Blue Martini with a large group of girlfriends and was extremely dissatisfied with the experience. I will not bring my service there again. There are so many places to go out in Raleigh, there is no reason to return there. The management was extremely rude when questioned about appetizers that took 2 hours to be delivered. The waitress clearly could not handle the large group taking 20minutes plus to serve each drink, often forgetting to place orders at all. The group of women was not rowdy and appeared to be the majority of the population at the bar on this particular Wednesday night, however we were not treated as such. I could not believe that the staff was so unconcerned about completing our orders and extremely accusatory in regards to questions about incorrect billing!! Blue Martini clearly has no desire or need for repeat customers or positive reviews. If you want to have a good night out in Raleigh, try one of the many other great bars and restaurants, Blue Martini is not worth your time. Pros: None Cons: Service, food more

I went there on ladies night with a group of my girlfriends. The service was the absolute worst that I have ever experienced (3+ hours for some to get veggies & dip), & the blatant rudeness of the staff was offensive to the point of shocking. 1st, management should have had more than one waitperson assigned to our area - she was definitely unable to keep up with all of the food and drink orders. 2nd, while I recognize that our waitress was overwhelmed and harried, there is absolutely no excuse for the manner in which she spoke to my friend, (and loudly, in front of the entire group of 20+ women no less)! When my friend informed the waitress that she had only ordered 2 drinks but had been charged for 3, the waitress said to her in a nasty tone, "Are you SURE? Because I specifically remember you ordering 3." My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I heard that - she was obviously calling my friend a liar. She then stormed off in a huff, saying that she would talk to the management about it. Upon her return she very nastily told my friend that they reduced the bill to 2 drinks, but 'thanks because she was going to have to pay for the 3rd one as it was coming out of her check'. My friend genuinely felt bad about all of this & attempted to apologize to the waitress for , but as soon as my friend reiterated that she had, in fact, only ordered 2 drinks, the waitress responded nastily, "WELL. I'm sure that's the way YOU remember it", and once again stormed off. Everyone from the group was dumbfounded & very uncomfortable. Our waitress would not return to our area, & was clearly avoiding our group(and glaring at us) even though many of us had yet to settle up our bills. Service was so bad even before this incident took place: 1 of my friends waited over 30 minutes for the waitress to return with her bill, but she had to leave & didn't have change so ended up just leaving $20 for a $10 bill. Pros: ? Cons: HORRIBLE SERVICE AND RUDE STAFF more

This is usually a busy place. We like to sit outside. If I was single, I would definitely come to this bar to meet men--the crowd always looks decent. The bar is busy, so we sit outside and let the waitress tend to us, but sometimes it still takes a while to get your drink. I do appreciate the large menu of martinis. Pros: menu, small bar, many tables outside, crowd Cons: prices, small bar more

Could be great... but smokey and crowded. Place smells like an old ashtray on slow nights. I've been several times but don't think will go back because of smell. Other than that the place would be awesome because lots of nice girls go there! Pros: Cool looking place Cons: Smells like an ashtray more

Went on a Monday night for 1/2 price martinis...no one NO ONE was there except employees milling around. Walked up and sat at the bar and was hard-pressed for service on a very slow night. Drinks were so-so. The place smelled like a dirty ashtray and the seats were sticky. Have been on weekends so packed you couldn't move much less get a drink...so either way this place isn't worth it. Pros: No cover, drink specials Cons: Everything else more

The first time I went was a busy saturday evening. It was crouded and smoky, but the martini's were excellent, and worth the money. I was hesitant to try again, but wednesday they have the best lady's night deal out there and we go all the time. It's a $5 cosmo (they have 5 types) and one free appitizer (there is a choice of 6 i think). The cosmos are very good, and the apps are delicious. The staff is pretty friendly ( I was waiting on my party and the waitresses checked back often and actually were very conversational) but it usually isn't very crouded, so perhaps that is the difference. Pros: Best Martinis around, great appitizers, weekday service Cons: parking, busy weekends, loud bands if you sit too close more

Absolutely unbelievable!!! As the previous reviews will conquer, the staff is unbelievably rude, not to mention outrageously unprofessional. We witnessed the bouncer viciously drag some guy outside, a situation that trust me, could have easily been avoided all together. When trying to get names or information out of anyone that worked there, they did nothing but turn their heads away from us, refuse to give their names, and then had the audasity to threaten us to be the next ones thrown out like that. Nice. I will never return to Blue Martini!!! Not only that, but I have already told several others about the experience, and the word boycott comes to mind. There are way too many other great bars in the Triangle that serve stiff drinks, not right hooks. Pros: Outdoor patio... Cons: unprofessional, dirty, rude staff more