Parc’s menu swap proves martinis in Philly are getting dirtier

Last November, Parc switched the martini listed on their menu from their Nicoise martini to Le Dirty Martini ($16), a straightforward Wheatley vodka-based cocktail with a heavy splash of olive brine and garnished with pitted queen olives.

For those of us who were fans of Parc’s pink-hued Nicoise martini, served in a nick and nora glass and garnished with a much smaller olive, the switch came as a surprise.

You can still order a Nicoise martini off-menu, which is technically a dirty martini, as it uses olive brine, “as I was utilizing crossover [items] from the kitchen,” said Mark Murphy, the director of bar operations for all of Starr Restaurants. “But they may not have it quickly at the ready.”

Now, on an average Friday night, Parc is serving over 80 dirty martinis.

“Dirty martinis have quickly jumped to our biggest “off-menu” order,” confirmed Murphy.

Readers noted that the Inquirer’s guide to Philly’s best martinis skewed towards dirty martinis, rather than a classic version. But with data in hand, it’s clear that Philly’s martini tastes have actually changed, and that we are getting dirtier.

“Over the last two years there’s about a 33% increase in dirty martinis ordered,” said Murphy, who regularly scans Parc’s off-menu sales and realized that he should probably just put a dirty martini on the regular cocktail menu “to meet guest expectations and help bartenders with their speed of service.”

Murphy has noticed customers move away from specialty cocktails. “With a food menu, you can only order what’s on the menu. With a wine menu, you can only order what’s on the wine menu. But with a cocktail menu, you can order what’s on the menu or you can say, ‘I will just have a dirty martini’ or something else.”

Murphy believes that this increase in attention to classic cocktails is a “cost sensitivity thing that has happened with rising prices. If ten years ago, you or I walked into a bar or restaurant and saw something on the menu that had a good number of ingredients we weren’t sure about, but the cocktail was $12, we’d go ‘yeah, sure, let’s try this $12 drink and see what happens.” But $12 is no longer the average price of a cocktail, and more often, we’re seeing cocktails around $20.

“So when drinks are not accessible, even in terms of simplicity, I think people are wanting value for what they know they can spend $16 on and get three ounces of vodka in a glass with brine that tastes good,” said Murphy.

Even while Gen Z is drinking less or zebra-striping (alternating alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks), “according to Parc (and other Starr restaurants) not massive amounts [less] as the articles might indicate,” observed Murphy. “What I notice a bit more is a shift in sales. Some away from wine, and some away from specialty cocktails, and more towards…wait for it...dirty martinis (and other simple standards).”

He also acknowledges that there may be a change in customers’ palates. This trend is the least trendy of trends, but it does align with a propensity towards savory cocktails – a thread that has been winding through more avant garde cocktails, like Almanac’s konbini-inspired ones.

Coupled with the explosion of popularity in Del Frisco’s social media-dubbed “girl dinner,” which features half a dozen oysters, truffle fries, Caesar salad, and a dirty martini (though you have the option to get a different cocktail), dirty martini consumption is truly trending.

Though, admittedly, this is not necessarily the case at every single Philly establishment. I checked in with Fiorella, famous for the dirty pasta water martini ($17) and they reported a wavering in sales over the years (they sold 5116 of the cocktails in 2023, 4500 in 2024, and 4667 last year). Their brown butter old fashioned remains their most ordered cocktail through the years.

And what cocktail beats out Parc’s Le Dirty Martini in terms of sales? It’s their Cafe Parc or espresso martini ($17) with vanilla-infused Wheatley vodka, Amaro, and Caffe Borghetti coffee liqueur. Dirty martinis might be on the rise, but espresso martinis aren’t going anywhere.