What to Eat on Michael Mina’s New Bar Menu

The Japanese-style Kobe sliders are quite delicious.

Since reopening his eponymous restaurant in the former Aqua space last fall, Michael Mina has revamped the bar menu to accommodate a lunchtime crowd that’s more in the mood for a nosh than for the prix fixe, power lunch they still serve in the dining room — a formal, expense-account affair which is all but a thing of the past elsewhere in the Financial District. The bar menu, by constrast, offers some delicious bites that are just this side of haute, like the lobster pop-tart (a twist on a traditional Lobster Newberg, in puff pastry, and a miniature version of Mina’s signature pot pie); some delicious crispy duck leg tacos with pickled onions; and some outstanding, Asian-inflected sliders served on sliced-open, griddle-toasted steam buns. See the menus below, and a slideshow of a few of our favorites.

Note, the bar menu is available at lunch and dinner, but the dinner version eschews larger plate options in favor of a couple of sharable platters and raw bar items.

Bar Menu - Lunch

Bar Menu - Dinner

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Mina’s Asian-style tuna tartare is a signature of the restaurant, oft imitated, and remains a great light lunch item.

These delicious tacos are garnished with pickled onions and topped with smoked tomato creme fraiche.

The lobster-stuff pastry is served with a brandied lobster sauce.

This top-notch pasta dish features prosciutto, arugula, and chanterelle mushrooms in a chanterelle cream sauce.

These perfectly delicious sliders are oozing with umami and Asian flavor, like ginger, scallion, and miso. Their served on sliced-open, griddle-toasted sticky buns, and topped with kimchi aioli. We’re told that the FiDi guys who come in after work tend to order two plates (four sliders) apiece, to make for a full-size burger dinner.