Happy Hour at Van Goghz: Martinis and More in South City

By Mabel Suen on Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 7:00 am

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Sausage sliders with mozzarella and tomato sauce at Van Goghz. | Photos by Mabel Suen

The Place: Van Goghz Martini Bar & Bistro (3200 Shenandoah Avenue; 314-865-3345)

The Hours: Happy hour is offered Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.

The Deals: $2 off martinis, $1 off beer, $3 shots, $4 bombs and $2 off appetizers.

The bar.

The Scene: Van Goghz occupies a corner at a cross-section between south city neighborhoods, offering up hot eats and an ample selection of beer and spirits to sip on. True to its art-themed moniker, colorful paintings of people adorn the walls of the two dining rooms, with a glistening semi-circle of a bar to tie it all together.

Art on the walls.

The Food: The happy-hour deal applies to everything on Van Goghz's appetizer menu except for its "olive flight." Options include a "spud bouquet," sliders, stuffed portabellas, stuffed peppers, a cheese-sampler plate, crab cakes, chicken wings, hummus, potato skins, spinach-artichoke dip and edamame.

Did Van Goghz make the grade? Find out on the next page.

Tater tots.

The Verdict: Several of the appetizers on the menu utilize sausage as a main component, and we sampled two of them: stuffed peppers ($7) and sliders ($8). The stuffed jalapeno peppers seemed to be missing the cheese filling mentioned in the description and overall, the petite dish could've used some sort of sauce to give it the oomph that it needed. The sliders similarly did not come out completely as described but still satisfied our appetites with a juicy Italian sausage patty atop a soft pretzel bun.

Mango Malibu, mango Schnapps and pineapple juice martini.

At such a high price point, we'd skip these appetizers and grab some drinks instead. Van Goghz offers more than fifteen martinis in every shade of the rainbow, though they're more of a sweet treat than a proper way to imbibe. For something a little more low-key, consider grabbing a beer to pair with a "spud bouquet," ($3) otherwise known as your choice of regular fries, sweet potato fries or tater tots served hot and crispy in an amply-sized cone-shaped holder.

Happy hour at Van Goghz doesn't exactly have us hooked, but it's worth mentioning that it does excel in the vegetarian offerings department. For the rest of us, there are also more affordable daily specials to consider including $5 burgers on Mondays and $6.99 steak dinner nights on Wednesdays.