Dini's Martinis and Desserts — Restaurant in Swansboro

People read reviews for different reasons so i will keep this short and sweet. Staff, food, music, and the drinks make a great combo for a night with friends/coworkers/solo date. Drinks, Music, and Atmosphere will give 5 stars. 3 star review here because we went on a night that had music playing and EVERY table was reserved...no biggie...so we sat at the bar with a party of 4-5, but were refused a later option for a table (because they were all reserved)... so one would assume its a packed place ALL night with reserved out tables. BUT half of the patrons with "reserved" tables didnt show up at all (interesting), and we were there for at least three hours eating/drinking/catching up, asked if we could move to one of the clearly empty tables that no one had been placed at for 3 hours, and it wasn't manageable by said staff. The cherry on top of this drink was the fact that a family that was obviously close to one of the staff, walked in and was placed at a "reserved" table and the woman exclaimed "OH we even got us a table how nice" to the staff and was so delighted that she was the lucky gal that magically got a table she didnt even know existed. Long story short - the reservations are made up and they do not exist, aka you can simply remove the silly "reserved" sign on the table and BOOM - its yours! Just not the best customer service experience when there were clearly empty tables that no one even sat at for 3+ hours but they were reserved for family/friends of the staff whenever they mosied on in to the local hang out spot. Perception is reality. For reference we were there during peak hours of 6:30-9ish PM...

What a great place in downtown Swansboro. On recommendations from a family member, we got there right when it opened. I ordered the Chai Tini, and my wife ordered the Carmel Chocolate Martini. Excellent!!! We all ordered flatbread with chicken, chicken and ranch, and meatball. Incredible flavor and fresh ingredients. The pesto and beer mustard offered such a variety of tastes.

The atmosphere and decor are unique. To a degree, you feel as though you have stepped back in time. Great feel to this cozy Martini bar.

Shout out to the bartender and co-owner Emily did an outstanding job. Whitney, our server, was so kind, informative, and attentive. Finally, Bergen, the chef, did an awesome job preparing our meals. Shout out to Bergen, who is still in high school. All 3 deserve kudos for a great experience.

GIVE...

Wow! There was nothing negative about our experience. In fact, I stopped eating and drinking to write this review. We had two different mules, a southern and Carolina Blue and they were both delicious!

The Chicken Bacon Ranch flatbread was awesome!

The staff is friendly and very attentive! They have the bar from the Lexington Hotel of downtown Chicago, a place that Al Capone frequent. We were shown the bullet holes and cigarette burns in the bar! Our water glasses were always full, and the staff made suggestions about our order and they were on point!

We are going to stay...