Bonafide
Bonafide does casual Mediterranean-influenced tapas, cocktails and specials throughout the week.
What used to be the Via Mercanti Food Shop has been totally gutted, and now features a communal table facing floor-to-ceiling windows that open completely to a breezy patio.
Black tiger shrimp ($15) are doused in a punchy chili garlic marinade and grilled. A stiff crostini is best used sopping up the oil that pools on the plate.
A few bites of asparagus somehow rack up a $9 price tag and a wedge of lime on the side seems unnecessary, but all vegetables do taste better smothered in a thick parmesan cream sauce.
Grilled oyster mushroom ($9) are a vegan option, and the price seems fairer for this meatier vegetable packed with more protein.
On the meatier side, bacon wrapped dates ($9) only come in an order of four, but they are stuffed with an ample amount of goat cheese and are wrapped in lots of thick bacon, all plated on a dollop of chorizo paste.
Sardines ($12) are stuffed with a mint, lemon, and olive oil mixture. They’re whole with bones, but it’s not hazardous to ingest some of the smaller ones within the crispy, briny fish.
A charcuterie board for two ($28) comes with about four different kinds of meats and cheeses from oily, thinly-sliced prosciutto to thick rounds of salami, and melty brie to crumbly blue.
The star of this plate is the hot coccoli, puffs of house fried bread that should come with absolutely everything here. At $5 on its own, I dare say this should be served at the beginning of your meal. Pinch some cheese in the airy, steamy bread and it melts pleasantly just a little.
A Cucumber Baddie ($14) is a fairly standard but refreshing cucumber gin cocktail with Hendrick’s, sage, cucumber, lemon, and mint, which goes well with the spicy shrimp.
The Guantanamera ($14) is similarly not reinventing the wheel, but has more heat and aroma with chili-infused Altos Blanco with St-Germain, lime and orange bitters.
Mondays and Wednesdays are buck-a-shuck nights from 5 to 10 p.m., with half price wine, $6 pints and $35 bottles of cava.
There’s also half price mussels and a build-your-own caesar bar on Thursdays, and interestingly, there’s an ATM-like Bitcoin machine in here.
Jesse Milns