St James Lounge

Definitely the best martini lounge north of chicago beautiful place and excellent drinks, super service

I tried the martinis at St. James with my boyfriend and I was highly unimpressed with them. I started off with the Peppermint Martini and it was good, however, it had chunks of ice in it.
My boyfriend wanted a hot and spicy martini, so the bartender made him a «hot momma.» It included 2 olives. It did not look good when she presented it to him and when I asked him how it was, I could tell by the look on his face that he was not enjoying it. There were chunks of ice floating in this martini too. The drink pouring skills from the bartender need work.
Next up was the Johnny. It was Gin with a splash of scotch. Yuck! I watched as she poured 8 shots of Gin into the shaker and it made me cringe. I could smell the pine needles. It was so bad that neither one of us could drink it and we politely passed it forward and asked for something else.
He ordered a Bloody martini and said it was OK. This martini came with 3 pickles, as a garnish and also some ice cubes. Were ice cubes a theme last night?
In the spirit of the Christmas season, I ordered a Poinsettia martini. I left ½ of it, because it just wasn’t worth drinking.
I love bourbon. I asked if they had any martini’s with bourbon in them. She told me she could substitute bourbon in for something else. That was all the help I got. Hence, no bourbon martini for me.
Looks and presentation mean a lot when making martinis and these lacked both.
The bar itself is very cute and clean. My boyfriend was not happy when the bartender wanted to run his card without telling him what his total was. He had to ask a couple times in order to have her print a receipt for us. Why?
Martini’s are my favorite things to drink, so I may be a bit of a snob, but I surely will not be returning to St. James.
I spend ½ of my time in Green Bay and ½ in Appleton, so I will continue to frequent The Standard and Co in Green Bay (I’ve never had a bad martini there and their drink list is 10x more impressive than St. James’) and when I am in Appleton, I will head to Deja Vu on College Ave.

My wife and I have been stopping here for years. Good martinis and the free popcorn is tasty. Michelle the owner/​bartender is friendly and engaging. Place is dimly lit and has a somewhat cozy/​romantic atmosphere.
They have more than just martinis (beer/​mixed drinks) if you prefer. The martini list is pretty long. We like the raspberry burst and sandy smoothie the best.
Wednesday night is $ 5 martini night! Not all are available at the price but I believe there are 20+ to choose from. Also, they have karaōke some nights of the week; though I think it moves nights done times so call to ask.