[Revisited]: Bonito
By Oliver Greene, Apr 1st, 2009 | In Dining
Bonito emerged on the dining scene last summer, and although they scored points with the expat and Spanish communities for their great patio, their fairly priced wine list, and their value-packed Brunch Special (250rmb for buffet, a la carte, and free-flow red, white, and sparkling wine on Sundays), the inconsistency of the food itself divided diners, and the restaurant was overshadowed by el Willy in the ¡°Great Spanish Tapas Food Craze ¡¯08.¡±
It seems that a year later Spanish cuisine has been supplanted by Mexican as the taste for 2009, and despite the fact that the city¡¯s attentions are elsewhere, Bonito has made great strides in correcting their short-comings in the kitchen with the hiring of a new Barcelonan chef.
When I first ate at Bonito last year, I liked the food, liked the atmosphere, and loved the wine prices, but when it was all summed up on the bill (around 200rmb-350rmb per person, depending on how lavishly you roll), I could tell I probably wouldn¡¯t be back too often. With my diminutive income, prices like that constitute splurging -- something I only do once a month on payday -- and I only have a very small rotation of restaurants that I feel warrant spending that kind of cash.
If you only have one expensive meal per month, you want a success rate of 100%.
Anyways, I heard they¡¯d gotten a new Spanish chef and so I wanted to try it out again to see if it could make my short list. Bonito is one of those places that you want to succeed because it¡¯s a nice atmosphere, great design, relaxed management, and most importantly, they don¡¯t gouge the shit out of you in wine mark-ups. The restaurant offers several Robert Parker-approved wines with great points that elsewhere cost a good 30% more.
On the menu: appetizers for 58rmb to 78rmb; soups and salads for 50-60rmb; two pages of tapas -- traditional and ¡°with a twist¡± -- for 50rmb to 70rmb; mains at 150rmb to 170rmb.
Size-wise, there¡¯s a lot on there without it being overdone. Creatively, they¡¯re offering a few standards and building on them according to a year¡¯s worth of feedback, dish by dish (i.e. Andalusian Gaspacio).
For starters we went with two selections on their ¡°Tapas with a Twist¡± section, ¡°Spanish Bull¡¯s Tail with Wine Sauce¡± (58rmb) and the ¡°Petit MacBonito with Foie, Onion Rings, and Rosemary Mayonnaise¡± (52rmb). The former was strong and tasty, rich without being overbearing. To my knowledge there isn¡¯t any other ¡°Bull¡¯s Tail¡± dishes in Shanghai, and it's definitely a great highlight of their menu. The ¡°MacBonitio¡± is a little mini hamburger with foie as the ¡°cheese¡±. It was tasty, although perhaps it was an instance where the pay-off was more is the novelty of the dish.
For main courses, we had the ¡°Codfish with Garlic Mayonnaise and Spanish Vegetables¡± (138rmb) and the ¡°Baked Lamb Ribs¡± (148rmb). Both were ¡°wow¡± dishes that dominated the conversation between me and my partner, and we ended up discussing how good the food was and nothing else (i.e. ¡°wow, this rosemary tastes fantastic¡±). Both dished conveyed freshness, singularity, and an adept balancing of flavours and textures.
Long story short, it was one of the finer meals I¡¯ve had in a while, and evidence of the talent of the new chef felt apparent to me. I feel justified to put Bonito back on the short list and am looking forward to my next visit.
Price-wise, a meal at Bonito will still be a once-a-month thing (unless I get a raise), but it¡¯s definitely in the mix of my favourite restaurants in town -- especially with the weather getting better and that patio opening up.
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