Early last week I ran across a claim on the part of a new establishment in Tacoma that would dictate my Friday-night destination:



Bella Vita Italian Restaurant and Ultra Lounge, which opened just a couple of months ago on Sixth Avenue near Pearl Street, claimed to have the best martinis in town.

Amongst so many other establishments in Tacoma, I thought that was a tall, shaken-with-a-twist order.



Thus, I did what any nightlife investigative reporter would do: I rounded up some fellow martini experts to put Bella Vita’s drink menu to the test.



Carmen Jones, The Husky, The Sherpa, Goin Back to Callie, Nate-Dog and K-Love joined me as we took over this ultra lounge after work to get the martinis rollin’.

For starters, Josh was our bartender, and was quite the gentleman and mixer.



Fortunately, each of us came to the bar with different tastes and expectations, which was perfect for sampling martinis because we all ordered different drinks and traded sips. With the exception of three, we covered the whole menu just for you lovely readers.

And the best news of all is that everyone agreed: each drink knocked our freakin’ socks off.



My personal favorite was the vanilla mojito. K-Love enjoyed the 6th Ave. and said it tasted like a sweet tart. The Husky was digging on the Effin’ martini and appreciated the fact that it had the perfect amount of olive juice flavor and wasn’t overpowered with Vermouth. Goin Back to Callie whipped out the espresso love martini, which was so good that I strongly considered double fisting it.



Another crowd pleaser was Josh’s personal margarita, which was light, refreshing, and 100-percent dangerous because it went down way too easy.

Nearly all of the martinis are $8, with a few coming in at $9, and I can attest that they’re worth every penny.



Clearly, something that we all agreed on was we’ll have to go back for a sit-down dinner. The appetizers that we had were excellent, the menu looked great, and the restaurant goers around us all seemed to be loving it.



OK, but now for the big question of the day: Does Bella Vita REALLY have the best martinis in Tacoma? I still contend that Monsoon Room does, HOWEVER, Bella Vita, please let me rephrase: This is definitely a spot amongst a short list of establishments that absolutely creates amazing martinis.



All of that aside, Bella Vita is worth your attention, but don’t just take my word for it. Put that claim to the test, and see what you think.



If your crew is anything like mine, you’ll have a great time doing so.



[Bella Vita Italian Restaurant and Ultra Lounge, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, 6108 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.565.1070]