B Bar at Bontá Italian Restaurant & Bar

Somerset

Cocktails, deals and little bites

First published on 10 Jul 2012. Updated on 6 Sep 2012.

One of the island’s longest-running continental eateries, the Bontá group – run by chef Luca Pezzera and Serena Lim – has added a modest bar space outside the original restaurant. It doesn’t amount to much more than a few extra tables with sofas and cushy rattan chairs – but the well-ventilated, 20-seater chillout space, alluringly shielded from the main roads beside it, could prove popular on Mondays especially, when cocktail prices are pushed down to $6. For such a small enterprise the drinks list is nothing if not comprehensive, with 27 cocktails to complement its Italian wines, ranging from classics like Negroni and Manhattan to specially curated drinks like Asian Temptation (lemongrass vodka, lemon and lime wedges, passionfruit) and (sic) Naughtyness (vodka, white cacao, Frangelico, maraschino syrup), which both go for $20. You’ll also find Pezzera’s own ten-strong selection of piccolo mangia served up here: moreish ‘little bites’ that include giant green olives marinated with thyme and vinegar, marinated red chilli pepper filled with tuna and capers, fried Portobello mushrooms stuffed with scamorza and anchovies, and a tangy Parma ham wrapped around asparagus. Bar bites $12-$18; cocktails $16-$20.

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