Red Chair Martini at Red Chair Lounge, Our Drink of the Week

Jessica Ford

​There are three reasons to go to a swanky hotel bar: well-crafted cocktails, no crowds and stiff pours. The Red Chair Lounge, inside the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, may be walking distance from Main Street, but it's clear you will arrive to a completely different crowd. The Red Chair Lounge is the type of place you go to for a few drinks with friends or colleagues after work. You can enjoy the lounge's tasty appetizers, play a game of pool and actually be able to have a conversation.

The Red Chair Lounge's house specialty, The Red Chair Martini, really only qualifies as a martini because of the glass it is served in, but that shouldn't take anything away from the deliciousness of this cocktail. This martini is made with custom-crafted, strawberry-pineapple infusion, Patron Citronge and Chambord. It's garnished with a strawberry that has been pushed through a chocolate stick.

Although it's a bit pricey at $12, the Red Chair Martini is about enjoying a strong, well-mixed cocktail in a relaxing atmosphere. And as you suspected, the lounge got its name from the oversized, red lounge chair that sits as the focal point of the bar; if you're lucky, you can claim this chair for the night as you sip on drinks and eat garlic fries.