Bonavida Mar Mikhael: I finally found a bar in Beirut that serves great food

Bonavida, smack in the middle of the Mar Mikhael nightlife bar scene, has emerged with a delicious “tapas” menu to satisfy our late night pre- and post-drinking cravings in Beirut, Lebanon.

Bonavida Restaurant Design Beirut

The “tapas” offered at Bonavida aren’t actually the traditional Spanish tapas from Spain – they’re more like fusion “appetizers” that go REALLY well with a drink, especially their signature Sangria.

Bonavida Bar Restaurant Design Beirut

We arrived at around 9pm on Sunday evening, so it wasn’t too crowded.

The air conditioning made it rather cold inside. We opted for seats closer to the street, which was fine since Bonavida is partly open-air.

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Architecture Design

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Interior Design
Couch and non-bar seating further inside

Dinner with Drinks at Bonavida Mar Mikhael

The menu on Zomato at the moment isn’t updated, so here’s the food menu as of June 18, 2017.

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Beirut Menu

Nachos and homemade salsa landed on our table before our drinks even arrived – thank you, Bonavida! I asked for some guacamole to go with it. The tomato salsa is delicious and super addictive.

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Nachos

T and I had Sangria and Chateau Kefraya Blanc de Blancs from their white wine selection.

I loved the little chunks of mango in the Sangria – I believe they were out of apples?

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Sangria Pub

we ordered:

The “tapas” we chose happened to come in servings of 5. However, others offered at Bonavida come in 4s, 6s, and 9s.

We started with the Chicken Mushroom Tapas (14,500 LBP) – 5 cooked fresh mushrooms topped with grilled chicken, tomato sauce, and a generous amount of mixed cheese. It was delicious!

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Mushroom Chicken

The Mexican Chicken Tacos (15,500 LBP) were our favourite – 10/10. Bonavida drifted a little from the “tapas” theme with this one. The 5 mini taco shells were generously filled with grilled chicken, bell peppers, and onions, and topped with (lots of) mixed cheese. The taco shells were so easy to eat since they weren’t super crunchy; they had just a slight crispiness with a smooth bite from its softer-in-texture ingredients. The tacos are served with guacamole and sour cream.

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Mexican Tacos

The Beef Tapas (15,500 LBP) were layered as follows: baguette slice, dijon mustard, caramelized onions, bell peppers, beef slices, mixed cheese. The caramelized onions were a bit too generous, albeit tasty. The bread was a little tough; however, the beef and accompanying ingredients were soft enough to allow us to get 2 bites out of the tapa (3 smaller bites in my case). The cheese was generous to say the least. I would say that these tasted like our beloved Lebanese “Philadelphia” and “Fajita” hybrid sandwich. Try them out!

Bonavida Pub Mar Mikhael Tapas

Smoked Salmon Tapas (16,500 LBP) were the simplest of all – smoked salmon, cream cheese, lemon, fresh dill herbs and capers. The only comment I have is regarding the bread which I also mentioned for the Beef Tapas: it’s a little tough to eat.

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Salmon Pub Food

It took a while for the food to get to our table; however, the dishes arrived hot and we really enjoyed them.

So Bonavida, if this is what you’re offering, please do take your time! Definitely worth the wait 😉

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Pub Tapas Food

No Dessert?

Unfortunately, Bonavida doesn’t currently offer dessert.

crying gif

Our waiter, Mohamed, informed me that they’re coming up with some new sweet treats for us soon! We will definitely be back to try them once they’re available!

Final Verdict?

Our evening spent at Bonavida was the first time in a while that T and I both really enjoy the entire experience when it comes to Mar Mikhael nightlife.

The staff members are very friendly and helpful.

I would recommend all the food we ordered to anyone who decides to give Bonavida a try! Guys, this is a first for me to not exclude any menu items from my recommendations, so yes, they were really that good.

Other perks include free wifi and happy hour from 4-8pm.

I would come back to Bonavida in Mar Mikhael Beirut for their delicious food, refreshing drinks, laid-back ambiance, and great music. T agrees. Highly recommended!

Bonavida Mar Mikhael Tapas Food Bar


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Bonavida Mar Mikhael Beirut

Address: Armenia Street, Mar Mikhael, Beirut District

Contact: +961-3-086222

 

For opening hours, check out the Bonavida Facebook page or Bonavida Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Unless otherwise noted, all posted content and photographs are owned exclusively by me. None of the content / photographs may be reproduced, modified, recirculated, commercially exploited or reused in any form whatsoever without my prior written consent.

Restaurant design photos (those that are not watermarked) were sourced from Bonavida Zomato page.

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