I saw this on AOL’s City Guide and STILL can’t believe it. Nic’s Restaurant & Martini Lounge is serving up “first dinner” 25-cent martinis for the month of October in celebration of owner Larry Nicola’s 25 years in the restaurant business. Basically, any guest who makes a dinner reservation between 6-8pm this month will get his/her first martini for 25 cents. And at Nic’s their fun and fanciful martini menu is extensive, 80 varieties extensive–like “Where’s My Effen Martini?,” “Lemondrop Blush,” “Windex,” “Tangerine Dream” and “Chocolate Kahlua Flan.”

I’ve never had dinner there, just some apps and that was ages ago so I’m not going to pretend that I remember it. But the LA Times seems to like the food there:

[Owner/chef Larry] Nicola’s New American cooking is infused with any number of ethnic influences, which keeps it interesting and contemporary. Starters include deliciously rich gnocchi with morel mushrooms in Champagne cream, peppered ahi with grapefruit, soy and tamarind, and Nicola’s famous sauteed oysters on spinach with walnuts and garlic. Grilled rib-eye, sesame-flavored salmon with ginger beer butter, and rack of lamb are available as entrees.

And if you don’t want to take advantage of this dinner special, come for the popular 5-7pm happy hour where the martinis and cocktail food menu are discounted, with items in the $7-$9 range.

This Beverly Hills supper club/martini lounge is a great place to throw a little party as well with its different settings to accommodate your needs: an “opium den,” dining room and outdoor patio. And if you throw a shindig for 8+ people during happy hour, for $10 a person, you get five appetizers (drinks not included).

453 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 550-5707
Cross Street: Santa Monica Boulevard

Very Random Note: In my search for martini images for this post (before settling on one I took awhile ago) I came across this really cute Web site called Martiniart.com about all things martini–art, barware, martini party planning, and recipes! Yup, chocolate martinis, fruity martinis, exotic martinis, wacky martinis, non-alcoholic martinis (?), etc.