Review: Bar Martinez boasts thoughtful cocktails, an intimate space and a bathroom fit for the pope

I’m in a bathroom in Highland Park at 11 p.m. on a Friday night. The walls are painted deep red, and the room is lit almost exclusively by prayer candles. Pictures of Jesus line the walls, including one shadowbox image backlit by a single bulb. A black toilet looms in the corner, directly opposite a full-length mirror. As I pee, I look in the mirror, judging myself or having Jesus judge me — I’m not sure. A live version of “Christian Lady Talkin’ on a Bus” by Blaze Foley coos through the speakers. 

On the other side of the wall, in another world, with a different playlist, is Bar Martinez. Meant to be intimate, with space for only 30 people or so, the bar hits a unique blend of upscale and accessible I’m honestly not sure I’ve seen before. The menu, made up of classic cocktails with a light twist, is curated yet unpretentious. The black ceiling and tiled bar feel glamorous, but the license plate and pictures of cats on the walls make it feel homey. 

Bartender and owner Travis Oler met chef Terance Estrada in New York, and it shows. There’s a certain old-school, unspoken coolness about Bar Martinez, like how Oler carves all the ice for the drinks from large blocks he freezes in the basement of the building. Or how the pickled vegetables on the Preserve Plate include cauliflower, asparagus and beets. Or the bathroom. 

The bar is partially named after the Martinez, a drink invented in the mid-1800s made with gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur and bitters. Bar Martinez swaps the liqueur for pickled cherry brine — perhaps a nod to those preserved veggies. 

The Famous on Paper is a take on a Naked and Famous made with mezcal, aperol, cardamaro, Punt e Mes and lemon juice. The herbal liqueurs are a mix of bitter and sweet on the tongue, and the mezcal kicks in at the end to finish with a sweet and smoky aftertaste. The Freezerac is their take on a Sazerac, served in a frozen rocks glass. 

In Oler’s own words, by design, “the cocktail program is pretty simple.” In an age when new-era gastronomy and unexpected flavor combinations reign supreme, it seems risky to name your bar (and curate your menu) after a drink so classic it’s a precursor to the martini. But it works. We’re also in an era of increasing global uncertainty, and there’s something quite comforting about going back to the classics. 

It serves as a reminder that generations of people before us made it through, and we will, too. And that, in times of doubt, sometimes a little gin helps.

Bar Martinez
515 Euclid Ave, Des Moines
Open 5 p.m.-1 a.m., Wednesday-Monday; closed on Tuesdays

This article was originally published in Little Village’s May 2026 issue.