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Zimm's Martini & Wine Bar
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- DJ
- Best Nights:
- Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
17 reviews for Zimm's Martini & Wine Bar
This business is a Yelp Sponsor
3/18/2008
6/21/2008
12/8/2009
11/21/2009
2/15/2008
2/15/2008
5/3/2009
1/16/2008
2/15/2008
2/21/2008
2/15/2008
5/14/2008
12/8/2008
3/31/2008
1/11/2008
12/26/2007
11/30/2007
One of the Business' Favorite Reviews What's This?
So maybe had I still been living in Houston would the prices here have bothered me. Paying what I have in California and Hawai`i, I actually found this place to be quite economical.
Love the couches, love the decor, love the staff (they were really cool, surprisingly so), love the music (that said, it starts getting louder the later it gets till you slowly realize you have hearing damage). It does seem to want to say "I'm an upscale bar," but they won't kick you out for wearing blue jeans (did not plan on going to this place, so that's exactly what I was wearing).
So the comfy/cozy/chic/urban/trendy might not appeal to all, but it certainly has its night and is a nice change from the typical scene. Can be spooky on exit, it is Montrose, but the night I went it was pin-drop quiet in da hood.
i love starting my night here with a couple drinks and meeting up with friends before heading over to the MFA together for the various openings and parties there. this is also one of those places that i like ending the night at. the dj is good, the crowd is pretty and interesting, but not pretentious.
i love the ambiance of the place. it makes me feel prettier just being there. i really don't need my ego stroked, i just think they've done a good job of attracting a great crowd for years. what can i say, i appreciate a little glamour with my cocktail.
Overpriced but since I didn't pay. I enjoyed it more!!!
I've been in Houston for a long time and pretty much been to most hot spots but I can't believe I never checked this place out. Usually when I go to a yuppie/upscale bar, I expect the D-Bag bouncer, fake line at the door, attitude, etc. With Zimm's, the Door guy actually said "Welcome to Zimm's, enjoy your evening". I was shocked!
I knew that the martinis were going to be $10 each, so I opted to go with a few non-martinis beforehand. I was pleasantly surprised to see my tab at the end showed that each of my vodka sprites were $4. Not sure if that was a mistake or not, but I was a happy camper.
The service was really, really slow but after I found out that all the bartenders "called in sick" on the same day and the sole guy behind the bar was actually the bar manager who had to cancel his V-day plans. After hearing that, I had a lot more sympathy for his plight and didn't mind waiting 10 minutes for my check.
So the real highlight of the evening was my mint chocolate chip martini. I'm not a martini drinker and I'm not even a huge lover of sweets, but it just sounded too good to pass up. It tasted like a Girl Scout's Thin Mint in liquid form. With a bit of alcohol. Okay, with a lot of alcohol.
The parking was awful, but to be expected. The decor was fun and trendy with huge paintings on the walls. The clientele was interesting--mostly 30s, up-and-comers. I felt like this was a grown up version of Ra Sushi which can be a good and bad thing. If you're looking for a place to be seen and feel sophisticated, this is the place for you.
$10 dollar martinis??!? Take a date here if you want to impress her with your good taste. But if you're just going to hang with friends, I myself prefer the cheaper joints with $1.50 beer on tap, and that's not here. Definitely an upscale lounge.
With that said, I love the way the place looks. Comfortable couches, dim lighting, tasteful decor. It even has a "makeout room" in the back! The crowd seems to be a bit older, mostly mid-30's. If you are looking to escape the college crowd, this might be a refreshing change of pace for you. Maybe half the men were in suits, but I didn't feel out of place in my jeans - anything goes, really.
Come here for the Mint Chocolate Chip Martini. Everyone at the yelp event last night agreed that it was the winner. The first girl to order this drink passed it around and let the rest of us taste it, and we were all sold. It is delicious! It tastes like melted mint chocolate chip ice cream, and it is stronger than it tastes.
Parking was a problem. Either you fork out money for valet parking, or you wind around the back streets behind the bar trying to find street parking. There is street parking if you look for it, though, I didn't have too much trouble finding a spot.
After a great meal you must have a great drink. I walked in to this small bar to meet up some friends. The manager approaches me offering us one of the booth areas. I told him that we were a large party so he went out of his way to accommodate us. Once settle the celebration began. I have to say I like martinis, but the martini selection at Zimm's is amazing. I have one favorite martini "Dirty Martini Shaken not stirred." I never go wrong with that martini but the chocolate martini is one of the best tasting martinis at Zimm's. Come out and celebrate with your group or with your partner. This is must go place.
My first time here was on a cold, late Sunday night (since Sonoma closes at 10) with a few friends and it was mostly dead. One of my friends knows the bartender Ross and I found out he's also wine distributor and a cool guy. Ross hooked us up with something fruity and strong to warm our insides.
The bar itself is trendy cool and we were listening to trendy cool music. The bar is the focal point (as expected) and it is surrounded by many chairs and leather couches all arranged so there are small and large sitting areas. There is also a more private back area with more couches and chairs. Outside are several patio tables and chairs on a patio (ha! where else would they be?).
The drinks are varied and plenty. They have a small but good wine selection, an excellent selection of bottled beers, and almost any martini you can think of. I'm not sure if they have food or not... some people consider beer food (Me and the Monks that make it).
The one Saturday night I was here, the crowd was good when I arrived. Then about 20 minutes later, it was packed with trendy cool people ordering trendy cool drinks. Lots of pretty people. If trendy cool is your thing, this is the place to go.
I like it here and as most places, the earlier you get there, the less crowded it will be. Even if it is crowded, it is a fun crowd.
Parking is behind the bar and you can enter through a nondescript white door.
I really liked the atmosphere at Zimm's. The warm colors and low lighting gave the place a nice ambiance. Though the low lighting and glass tables were not a good combination, the possibility of spilling drinks is very high! The drinks were good, but pricey. As the night went on, the music got louder, loud to the point where you can't hear the person across from you.
Parking...oh my. Small vallet parking lot, but other than that you have to park on the street, so be very careful of the no parking signs.
Overall, the place is pretty nice, but not for everyone.
Zimm's isn't bad. The atmosphere is very nice. It has soft mood lighting (especially nice if you're looking to be a little romantic with your honey), lots of comfy leather couches & chairs, complete with fluffy pillows, & outdoor seating for you smokers. They definitely cater to a more upscale, yuppy-type crowd. My only complaint about the atmosphere is the music. They have a DJ "spinning" tunes (ie: guy with a mac laptop playing songs off iTunes) that are so loud, especially as the night goes on, that it's hard to hear the person next to you. I also didn't care much for the selection of music being played. With the way this place looks, I expected the music to be more blues/jazz instead of the semi-techno/dance stuff they played.
The martinis (of which there is an entire binder full of styles to choose) are definitely pricey at $10 a pop. If I'm going to pay that much for a drink, it better be darned good. Sadly, the ones I had could have been a lot better. Of the three I ordered, the best by far (& almost worth the $10) was the chocolate martini. Delicious! I'll admit I'm tempted to try some of the other flavors to see if they're as tasty.
Because of the area, parking is limited so you might do well to valet your car or take your chances parking on the street. Make sure to keep an eye out for those dreaded no parking signs. A friend didn't see one (apparently semi-blocked by a tree branch) & got a ticket.
I'll definitely give this place another chance some day, but it wouldn't be my first choice of places to go to meet my friends for drinks. I'd really give this place 2.5 stars for now, with the option of 3 after my next visit.
(By the way, I'm not sure if this was a fluke, but when I settled my tab at the bar, they held double the amount of my tab on my credit card (actually it was 2 identical charges). When the final charge went through 5 days later, the 2nd identical charge was still being held on my credit card & I had to call my bank to get them to clear it.)
You know, I want to love this place, but I just can't. Having said that, let me first bring up the things that I like about this bar.
The space itself is really nice with lovely colors. There is a good amount of couches, chairs, and tables spread throughout the place for you to sit. The couches and the chairs are really comfortable too, which is always a plus. There's also a decent sized patio, though it's usually dominated by the smoking crowd.
The drinks are a mixed bag. They are pretty good with a decent amount of alcohol in them - not the watery drinks you get in lots of trendy-type places. However, they're $10 a piece which is definitely on the high end for a martini, especially ones that are good, but not that good.
The thing that I really dislike about Zimm's is the music. Not because the music isn't good - I like it just fine - but because the DJ always has the music cranked. There can be ten people in the bar and the music will be at the volume that you would expect if there were a hundred people in there. With the music that high, it makes conversation with anyone other than the person next you - and sometimes even them - next to impossible.
Basically, Zimm's isn't a bad place, but it's too loud if you expect to talk to the people that you've gone there with (which I do) and the drinks are too expensive. I'd rather go somewhere else for cheaper booze and some actual conversation.
I love this type of place, loungey with dark couches you can sink into and enjoy. A coworker brought us here for the chocolate martini, which was delicious. However, she mentioned to the waitress that they usually have chocolate shavings and a chocolate straw as part of the drink, and the waitress was really nasty to her, saying "Well we don't do that any more, OK?"
Her nasty attitude continued, so we left, but I do have faith that this is a good place otherwise!
I was invited to a happy hour here only to realize that I had been here before! (Happens to me a lot, lol...) The interior of this place is pretty distinctive/unforgettable: it's an oblong rectangle in shape, it has cartoonish looking windows, and the funky furniture is set up in little mini-living-room-like settings. Lots of purple. I'd say this is a good place to bring a date for drinks after dinner. Drink prices are a little steep by Houston standards, and I remember thinking the size of the glasses were on the small size as well! Double whammy. Parking is not that convenient but doable when its busy inside, as there is only a small parking lot in the back. After that, it's street parking and another lot a couple of blocks away. (But the parking situation is still far better than downtown Houston.) Bartenders could also be nicer/friendlier.
I agree with Keith D's review (11/30/2007). Indeed, I concur with the positive parts of what most previous reviewers have said, so I won't belabor those points here. Zimm's is a perfect place to relax after work, but I usually leave when the trendy crowd starts to arrive & the DJ starts his set.
It's rare to find a bar in this city that handles wine and mixed drinks with equal aplomb. Zimm's does it & adds a nice beer selection to the mix as well. The prices are comparable to other moderately swanky places in the area.
If I could change anything, it would be the parking situation. I hate to valet park, so I'm usually parking on the street a block or two away.
This place is an upscale lounge. Which is why I'd never been here until some friends insisted on coming here for drinks. I arrived first, on-time around 9 pm, and wandered around while waiting for said friends. It wasn't very busy yet, but almost every table indoors was reserved. The bathrooms were clean, but it was weird to me that the trash can in the stall contained toilet paper and there was no other place to deposit, er, feminine items.
Drinks were on the pricey side for Houston. We didn't stay very long, but the place easily got packed later in the night. Clientele seemed like young professionals in their mid-20's to 30's trendily dressed. There's valet parking available and some street parking in the neighborhood. I'd come back for drinks early in the evening, but wouldn't want to stick around to watch yuppies getting trashed.
This place is pretty chill and laid back, but be prepared to pay a little more per drink, as it is a more upscale place. This would be a great starter bar because it gets packed late in the night, and the wait for your next drink increases. But zimm's offers a bunch of seating areas with leather couches and chairs. These areas can be reserved but i am not sure how to do that, cause i am non-VIP. Also on the weekends a DJ comes in to play trance and house if you are into that.
Grown professional women comparing bras and cup sizes, shirts over the head; adults losing themselves in the fake star ceiling of the back room; maxing out credit cards on chocolate martinis: It's A Wonderful World at Zimm's on Montrose. We've celebrated birthdays, holidays and just plain old hang-with-friends days here. We come when they open and leave when the "trendys" get there. Comfy, uber cool muzik (I've given them a couple CDs BTW) and next door to some of the city's best food. Do Zimm's. Do it now, but take your time when you get there.
