Happy Hour: STIR tries to shake things up in Bellevue, with mixed results

STIR Martini + Raw Bar is the latest swanky cocktail lounge to hit downtown Bellevue. Or rather, it's ST/R, with a cocktail-straw motif in place of the "i."

The folks at STIR are filled with gimmicks, such as a 30-foot bar that lights up in shades of pink and green — that same bar is partly hollowed out and filled with ice, so you can stick your "cockta/l" into the ice pit.

STIR pays a lot of attention to its aesthetic, but it should have been more attentive to the taste of the drinks.

First, the good news: Its bar food — the pulled-pork slider with garlic fries, calamari and sushi, though safe and familiar, tasted fine and is a good deal at $1-$5.

With its electronica background and Vegas club décor, STIR is a beautiful bar for beautiful people. It also focuses on trendy cocktails.

But the alchemy of some of the signature cocktails didn't work.

Take its "deconstructed martini." Nice presentation. You might even want to pull out your cellphone camera.

It's a vodka shot with several choices of garnish, such as strawberry fig slurry, strawberry slices and candied lemon peel, each garnish placed on a dish and presented on a rectangular tray.

You assemble your own drink. This martini, though, doesn't come with vermouth. It also wasn't made with any ice, because — wait for it — the drink stays cold in the ice pit!

But in their quest for pizazz, the owners have forsaken some cocktail fundamentals.

Besides the chill factor, ice dilutes the high alcohol content and also helps balance the cocktail. Without ice and vermouth, you are sipping straight booze, and you will grimace doing it.

You will either be excited or appalled by STIR. Here's the litmus test: If you thought the "deconstructed martini" was cute and fun, then you probably will love everything else about STIR.

STIR Martini + Raw Bar, 10500 N.E. Eighth St., offers happy hour daily 4-6 p.m. and 10 p.m.-1 a.m., when bar food costs $1-$5 and beer $3, wine $4 and selected cocktails $5 (425-646-7847 or www.solsticerestaurants.com).

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com