The martini has forever been a symbol of celebration. It’s the cocktail for the hard day, the power lunch, the old-school steakhouse dinner, and those nights where you just want to feel a little bit fancy. It’s elegant, timeless and let’s be honest — you look pretty damn good holding one.

It’s crisp, refreshing, and somehow always feels right for the occasion. Not that the martini ever went out of style, but I feel like I’m seeing it everywhere again these days. Maybe that’s just my orbit, but I’m completely here for it.

I love the ritual of a pre-dinner cocktail or that first drink before settling into a bottle of wine. Hell, I love a martini anytime it feels appropriate, which honestly can be pretty often.

The martini is this massive world of choices, and that’s part of what makes drinking one so much fun. It’s one of the few cocktails where you can truly tailor it exactly to your taste. Shaken or stirred. Dry or wet. Olive or twist. Gin or vodka — or maybe both. When you start getting into the different styles and brands of spirits, the possibilities feel endless.

Can you imagine trying to customize an Old Fashioned with that many variations? The bartender would probably stare at you sideways while slowly pointing toward the door.

But at its core, the Martini is beautifully simple: spirit, vermouth, ice, and garnish. That’s it. A few ingredients that somehow create this entire universe of possibilities.

The Martini Capital of the World

A while back my wife and I went to London on vacation and fully committed ourselves to running the martini gauntlet. And why wouldn’t we? London has such a deep history with the cocktail, especially dating back to the 1920s when it really became part of the culture.

One stop we absolutely had to make was Duke’s Bar, which might be one of the most famous martini bars in the world. Legend has it that Duke’s is where Ian Fleming found inspiration for James Bond’s famous “shaken, not stirred” line, although technically Bond was drinking a Vesper, but we can save that conversation for another day.

At Duke’s, the martini is made tableside and it’s beautifully simple. Frozen gin or vodka, an ice-cold glass, a few drops of vermouth, and then the spirit gets poured straight from the freezer. A fresh lemon peel gets twisted over the top so the oils hit the surface and that’s it. No shaking. No stirring. No dilution. Just ice-cold booze served with intention and confidence. It’s clean, powerful, and honestly kind of perfect.

And while you’re in London, you have to make your way to the Connaught Bar, where the martini service is next level. It’s theatrical without being over-the-top and incredibly thoughtful. They even use their own house gin and prepare everything tableside with a precision that somehow still feels relaxed and welcoming. You understand very quickly why this bar is considered one of the best in the world year after year.

Three Houston martinis

I have different martini orders depending on where I am, what mood I’m in, and what kind of night it’s shaping up to be. Houston has some spots that are absolutely crushing it right now.

First up is The Marigold Club, which has a true dedication to the ’tini. They offer five different martinis on the menu, and every single one feels intentional and polished. If you’re a gin martini person, go for the Marigold Martini which uses three different gins to balance all those botanical flavors together beautifully. If vodka is more your thing, the Mayfair Martini uses the same thought process with multiple vodkas layered together for texture and balance. They really take this stuff seriously in the best possible way.

During Golden Hour, served daily from 5-6 pm, you can grab a martini for 10 bucks, add a shrimp cocktail for $12, and suddenly life feels pretty damn good.

Then there’s Navy Blue, where I recently sat down and immediately got distracted by joy when I opened the bar menu and saw an entire section titled “The Martini Program.” It felt like finding a treasure map. The whole thing is designed so you can build your own martini, and they even offer mini versions so that people can experiment a little bit without fully committing. It’s smart, playful, and delicious. Order some Clams Casino while you’re at it and settle in because that’s living right there.

I’m not usually an espresso martini guy, but if that’s your lane then you absolutely need to get over to J.A.M Viet Kitchen & Bar for their Vietnamese Egg Coffee Martini. This thing is wild in the best way possible.

Egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk get whipped into this rich luxurious foam that sits on top of a Vietnamese coffee martini. It’s decadent, delicious, and one of those drinks you immediately start texting people about after the first sip.

In conclusion

To me, the Martini just symbolizes fun. Simple as that. It’s celebratory, a little indulgent, and always tied to a good moment.

It happens all the time when my wife and I sit down at a bar. Maybe I order a Negroni because that sounded right in the moment. But then I hear that unmistakable sound of the cocktail shaker working away behind the bar, and I see that cold frosted glass waiting for that silky smooth pour.

Suddenly I’m sitting there thinking…Damn it. Why didn’t I order a Martini?

Have fun out there and be safe. Cheers.

----

Where’s your favorite place in Houston to order a martini? Let Chris know by emailing chris@chrisshepherd.is.

Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $15 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2 or on YouTube.

Photo by Arturo Olmos

Martinis are $10 from 5-6 pm at The Marigold Club.