Kristauf’s Martini Bar

After a long day of lobbying at the Capitol in Salt Lake, nothing takes the edge off like a delicious martini! Kristauf’s was so great, my dear friend Jon and I came back the next day — and were recognized by the staff. Yes, this is a place with friendly service, where the barkeep will remember your face — and favorite libation.
Over our two visits we sampled:
Crisp Pear $ 8.50 — Grey Goose La Poire, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple Juice & Champagne
Love Potion $ 8
Skyy infusion — Dragonfruit, St. Germain, Pineapple, Cranberry & Orange Juices topped with Sprite.
Effen Martini $ 8
Effen Cucumber Vodka, St. Germain, Sprite & Soda Water
Konsummate Kristauf’s $ 8.50
Finlandia Grapefruit, St. Germain, Honey Water, Lemon Juice
All were great — and at $ 8.50 for top shelf liquor — what a deal! I’m used to San Diego & San Fran prices — where those same drinks would have cost $ 16. Kristauf’s is a hidden gem!

I kind of totally love this place. We came in here as we waited for a table at Takashi. 5-​star service, a Martini that’s basically Thug Passion, and a laid-​back atmosphere with good music… yes please. Will definitely return.

The bartenders claimed my husband never charged anything on his card. I didn’t see the bartender look at his cards once. I started questioning them and they had an attitude about it. Then the bartender decided to ignore me to the point that I told my husband to cancel his cards with the bank and leave this place l. Btw… we double checked with the previous bars and places. The music was great and I was enjoying my time, but the customer service from the bartenders was horrible. The bouncers were courteous and respectful.

Such fantastic flavors of martinis. The menu had about four pages of all the flavors! The martinis are expensive, but I suppose you get what you pay for. So if you’d rather have a drink than a meal, then so be it!

Love the atmosphere and love that I can come here while waiting for my table at the sushi joint next door. The bartenders are always fantastic and recommend some really good drinks that aren’t listed on the menu. My fav place to go to for my cocktail needs in the Salt Lake area.

Excellent signature and classic cocktails, wonderful customer service, and a very classy atmosphere makes this a staple of Salt Lakes downtown nightlife. Regardless of how busy they might be or how far out of the way it is I make sure to visit every time I come into the city.

Great ambiance, good crowd and the staff is awesome with
their service.

The bartenders are amazing and the drinks are great! It’s a bit of an older crowd and can get cramped but it’s still a lot of fun. Get the Moscow Mule.

If over priced, watered down martinis are you thing, then this is the place. Typical urban bar with YUPPIE/​hipster clientele and lousy service. Can’t here yourself think much less the person next to you. Better off buying a bottle of booze and drinking at home, alone, with the light off!

I loved the «loungy» relaxing feel. It was very laid back however, it is a small place and can get very crowded fast.
I ordered: Love Potion, Espresso Yourself, Sex in the Morning and a Kimmie Come Lately.
I wasn’t a fan of the Kimmie Come Lately. It was very sour and strong. I’m usually a fan of sour but this drink, not so much.
I highly recommend Expresso Yourself and Sex in the Morning. Especially if you like coffee. It was super delish!
If you like fruity drinks, try the Love Potion.
I would 100% come back.

Two hour wait at Takashi flew by at Kristauf’s. The drinks were tasty and the staff was friendly. Wes is an excellent server, he made sure everything was completely to our liking. I’ll go back next time I’m in town for sure.

Came here a couple weeks ago with some friends who love it. I’m usually more of a dive bar gal so was a little apprehensive. But we had a blast. Great drinks, great music, fun place to be. They offer so many martini options, and none are bad. Also lots of beers and wine, something for everyone. We’ll be back real soon.

Ahh this review is a year late lol. Anyway, had an awesome time. The bartender, I think his name was Wes, made us a bomb ass martini that not only tasted good, but was strong AF! Wes is the man, he hooked us up! He was also very cool to us too, no «I’m a bartender, and I’m cooler than you» feeling at all.
I felt like there wasn’t that much room to maneuver in the place, maybe its not wide enough. That shouldn’t keep you from coming though. We stumbled upon this place around 11pm, looking to get drunk and listen to music, and that’s exactly what we got. The crowd was diverse (not just one race or age) and the music was a mix of today’s hits and some hip-​hop (probably the norm for a Saturday night).

It’s very lounge– ish and i love the interior. I came on a weekday so it wasn’t busy but I’m sure they are busy during the weekends. I liked their martini selection because it quite vast just like the Red Door. I tried their peach martini and it wasn’t overly sweet which I appreciated. I want to give this place four stars but I need to familiarize myself with their drink menu a little more. Also, try their Apple martini ! It was delish.

It is the best martini bar I’ve been to in SLC, but I’ve been to two. My husband went there while waiting for a table at Takashi, just like everyone else. We loved it. It’s not a place to go out, but is a good place to have a cocktail while waiting for a table, or for bar hopping. The drinks were good, a little sweet for me, but my husband likes them that way. The menu was great, so many drinks to try. The drinks are strong, which is great. We will be back for sure.

Great martini bar with two tv’s in case you need to catch a game while enjoying a Kristauf’s Mule (grapefruit vodka in a Moscow Mule). Great place to drink on a nightly basis or while waiting for a table at Takashi. Usually have a DJ for dance music on weekends. Chips and salsa is the only food available.
Wes and Cody are great bartenders who can make all the great libations you can think of.

after picking up my parents from the airport, they were starving, so we went to takashi. it was about an hour wait (on wednesday around 8:46 PM) so we decided to wait at a bar. i usually go to red door, but it was a few blocks away and i didn’t want to risk losing our table from taking too long to get back, so we decided to try kristauf’s martini bar.
our bartender/​server was very friendly and attentive. unfortunately that’s the only positive thing about this place. we got three different drinks and they were not good at all. i ordered the lemon drop for myself, the vanilla bean expresso for my mom, and a fruity drink with no artificial flavoring for my dad (the bartender made something for him). no one liked their drink and it was very disappointing. the expresso one was super sweet and my mom, who adores coffee, decided not to finish her drink. my dad’s drink tasted like diluted soda and was so gross. my lemon drop just didn’t taste right and i let my dad finish that one.
from now on i’ll wait at the bar inside takashi.

Delicious, fairly stiff drinks.
Atmosphere and attitude both need major upgrade.
OK, so I had two delicious martinis with friends here, after a long day of drudgery. I enjoyed my cocktails in terms of flavor, but the atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired. This was definitely a «we think we’re cool but if we were in an actually cool city we’d be out of business quickly» type of thing. The seating options were meager and uncomfortable. The service seemed sarcastic. If I would have felt comfortable there, I would have gone there for liquor multiple nights in a row during my 8 nights in SLC. Instead, I only went once.
I’ll try again next trip, but I’m hoping there’s a total interior do-​over in the interim. The space has a lot of potential, but that horrible seating needs to go!!! At the prices, they need to make the place a lot better looking and a lot sexier.

I can always count on this martini bar to satisfy my cocktail needs while I am waiting for a table at Takashi. My go to cocktail: A FILTY DIRTY martini made with Bombay Sapphire and some of those awesome blue cheese stuffed olives. Bryan the bartender was on it!

Worst martini I’ve ever had. I ordered it ‘slightly’ dirty, and it tasted like I was drinking salt water. Plus, if you are going to only pour an ounce and a half, don’t charge $ 12!