Reed: Sapphire offers modern martinis and more

Sapphire strikes a balance between classy and casual for fans Caroline Merrill, Kara Eastridge, Kevin Cox and Amy Rose, from left.

Sapphire strikes a balance between classy and casual for fans Caroline Merrill, Kara Eastridge, Kevin Cox and Amy Rose, from left.

Fashionable friends Kristin Keith, Shannon Frith, Lori Blanken and Joe Cooper, from left, gather for an evening at Sapphire.

It's a ladies' night out at Sapphire for Megan Courtney, Keri Stophel and Adria Tutton, from left.

Mandy Seals and Eric Williams hang out in a cozy nook at Sapphire.

With the New Year finally in full swing, a few of us decided to get out and spend an evening somewhere downtown. After running through the short list of options I hadn’t visited in the downtown and Old City area yet, we decided to spend a sophisticated evening at the self-styled “Modern Bar and Restaurant,” Sapphire.

Located right next to Downtown Grill and Brewery, Sapphire sometimes gets passed over when bar-hopping through the area, not by any fault of theirs, but mostly due to personal preference and habit. Just like any bar in the downtown area, parking is going to be an issue on any of the busier nights during the week.

Sapphire does not usually have a cover. But on the off chance that they do, it shouldn’t run you much more than $5. Sapphire is certainly a slightly more stylish affair than most of the bars in the area, with most of the crowd drawn from Knoxville’s successful 20-something hipsters. You probably won’t see too many T-shirts and jeans.

Sapphire has a comfortable setup, with plenty of tables and the traditional bar seating. They also have quite a bit of local art on display in various areas of the bar. One of my favorite aspects of Sapphire is that there is smaller, more intimate seating between these displays.

Even with the large Saturday night crowd, Sapphire was easily able to accommodate everyone. We were immediately greeted by our server just after sitting down, and the service was more than adequate, especially considering the large crowd.

Sapphire has a few HDTVs sitting above the bar, playing whatever flavor of sporting event is on during the evening. On Friday and Saturday nights, Sapphire features DJs from 10 p.m. until “whenever.” One of Knoxville’s better DJs, 4matiks, can be seen at Sapphire most weekends.

Sapphire also attracts a random assortment of local bands, mostly during the week. The music Saturday night was fairly loud, and speaking usually turned into yelling, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind.

There are plenty of drink options at Sapphire, which prides itself on its varied selection of cocktails, martinis and wines. I was in more of a beer mood and decided to go with Blue Moon on draft, which I later found out was an unusually pricey $5. My friends Kim and Mary-Beth decided to go with a rum and coke and vodka tonic, respectively, each costing a more reasonable $6.

Sapphire’s original cocktails include the To the Moon Alice and the Oedipus Complex. For those who want to give someone a real surprise, or who just likes to spend money, the bar also offers the $350 Sapphire Martini made with Bombay Sapphire. It contains an actual 2.25 karat sapphire. (How many more times can I say sapphire?)

Sapphire has some competitive specials throughout the week, starting with Monday’s full-day Happy Hour. Tuesday offers half off bottles of wine under $100, while Wednesday and Thursday feature $5 martinis and mojitos respectively.

While Sapphire isn’t the type of place I would hang out at every night, the unique atmosphere and wide variety of drinks make it the perfect spot for a fun, classy night out.

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