116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
BarTini’s opens second location in Uptown Marion with more martinis, elevated entrees
Rapid growth begets new approach to entrées
Nov. 26, 2025 6:00 am
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MARION — A martini establishment is raising the bar with its second location in Uptown Marion.
After its January debut in the Kingston Yard development of Cedar Rapids, BarTini’s is quickly expanding with a second round further north.
But with a new kitchen and a new chef, it’s more than a happy hour watering hole.
The new location, opened in October at 796 11th St., upgrades its menu with new entrées and martini flavors in a new de facto flagship, where some items will be tested before being served in Cedar Rapids.
“We’re not out to be the next Cobble Hill, but at the same time, we want people to see us as elevated,” said owner Darin Beck. “It’s worth the trip for the food alone.”
If you go:
Address: 796 11th St., Marion
Hours: 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Thursday; 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Website: mybartinis.com
Phone: (319) 804-0823
Details: Find an expansive array of classic and creative martinis for any preference alongside a newly revamped menu of Mediterranean-inspired meze plates, entrées, grazing boards and flatbreads made from scratch. Martini prices average about $13; entrées average about $26.
Covering new ground
BarTini’s second round, opened about nine months after its first Cedar Rapids location, was not anticipated so quickly. But demand in Marion and availability of the perfect space expedited its growth.
The Uptown location, home to Bistro 319 for several years before a brief stint at Crab Attack Seafood Kitchen, became open after the latter’s closure.
“Properties like this don’t come around very often,” Beck said. “This was just a no-brainer, because the kitchen was already in place. It was just a matter of dressing it up.”
The new space is substantially larger but designed almost identically to the Cedar Rapids location, where mirrored panels from Spain line the perimeter walls.
Beck plans to make use of that extra space with a lineup of Saturday night entertainment, where he’ll test the waters with themed parties, live comedians and acts like dueling piano shows.
New menu
With a full kitchen that allows staff to approach food from scratch, a new menu has debuted in Marion at the helm of Chef Robert Bolden, a former Cobble Hill chef de partie who brings new perspective to the fledgling brand.
“It’s affording us the ability to do some really cool stuff on the menu,” Beck said. “We’ve really upped the food game here.”
A new flatbread and Italian focaccia will lay the carbohydrate foundation for a menu in place since Cedar Rapids.
Meze plates have received a major upgrade with selections like tuna tartare, kimchi pot stickers, duck bacon wontons and Greek meatballs that offer elegance and a new spark of engagement with each bite.
Bolden, who most recently spent two years specializing in sautees, pastas and pastries at Cobble Hill, revised the menu with Mediterranean plates that elevate BarTini’s approach to food while maintaining approachability.
“My thoughts were to try to bring up food that’s filling, but also nice to eat,” he said. “I’m helping others (on staff) learn more about technique and adding the culinary art aspect to it.”
The baklava, his favorite thing to make right now, features 33 layers of painstakingly assembled philo dough that offers warmth through sweet spices. On the savory side, philo transforms spinach and feta cheese into spanakopita.
Pesto for the basil chicken flatbread is made from scratch and accented with aged Parmesan. Pasta like the rigatoni and tortellini also will be made from scratch.
The lamb Bolognese, rich with thyme, rosemary and a red wine reduction, is further fortified with a chicken stock made in house.
Every dish served is taste tested before leaving the kitchen.
“I think people will appreciate the portion size and how much care goes into it,” Bolden said. “You can really taste it.”
A portion of Marion menu items will be served in Cedar Rapids.
New flagship
The Marion location will be a testing ground for some new dishes and drinks before they backfill the Cedar Rapids menu.
When the Cedar Rapids location opened, the owner and his staff spent upward of 500 hours formulating and testing a menu of about 100 creative martinis. That testing continues as the menu adds new options.
New drink standouts so far include the Lemon Cake with limoncello and Rumchata, and the Midnight Pear with muddled blackberries, pear puree and vanilla vodka.
But, even with over 100 different types of martinis, Beck said the classics and go-to cocktails still comprise the majority of orders — about 20 percent of menu items make up about 80 percent of sales.
Beck’s expertise with martinis dates back to 2005, when he founded The Stuffed Olive. He oversaw the brand’s expansion from Cedar Falls to Iowa City, among other locations, before he retired and sold his share of the company in January 2024.
Whether in Cedar Rapids or Marion, martinis have proved to bridge demographic differences.
“We found that you couldn’t really pigeonhole the brand, because everybody loved it for different reasons,” Beck said. “At the end of the day, the number one martini is the Dirty Bird.”
But no matter your kind of taste, the brand’s level of sophistication remains accessible.
“We are a little more sophisticated than the average bar, and we try to be,” he said. “But I don’t want to scare people off thinking they’ve got to dress up — it’s very casual here.”
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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