11 new St. Louis bars we love

BY BILL MORAN // SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 |

When you want to get away without actually getting away, visit the Bonito Bar in University City. Technically, the bar shares the same space as Frida’s restaurant, but the room has been designed to give the bar its own identity, with a curved marble bar, fish scale tile work and gold ceiling. The drink menu includes wines by the glass and by the bottle and a limited selection of beer. The real stars of the show are the cocktails. Sitting at the Bonito Bar gives the sense of being on vacation with fresh, citrusy signature cocktails like the hibiscus margarita or The Bonito, a blend of rums with a blood orange aperitif, pineapple, lime and agave. The classic cocktails include a daiquiri of the week, a black Manhattan, Pisco sour, and a Devil’s Margarita made with tequila, Ancho Reyes, lime, agave and red wine. You’ll also find mocktails available to coincide with the increase in demand for these types of drinks. Food is prepared by Frida’s, so you can expect vegetable- and seafood-forward dishes with items like burrata caprese, Mediterranean salmon, coconut curry and seared ahi tuna salad.