There was a time when the bar inside a busy restaurant was just a pit stop before being seated. What a waste of space. A restaurant's bar should be just as significant as its dining room. I checked out Meritage and two fairly new restaurants where bellying up to the bar can give you the best seat in the house.

Meritage

Known for: The three-year-old brasserie in downtown St. Paul mixes French cooking with local ingredients.

The bar: Owners Russell and Desta Maree Klein recently took over the shabby convenience store next door and transformed it into an incredible cocktail den. With its zinc bar and leather booths, it has seating for almost 40.

What's to like: This is a Paris-style retreat where Ernest Hemingway would have happily drunk himself silly. The back of the bar proudly displays Meritage's war chest of a wine list. But the new stars are the cocktails, most of them dreamed up by Desta Maree and former Bradstreet bartender Mark Govich. They're playing with classics, new inventions and champagne-inspired cocktails. If you want something with a little bite, try "The Hatter" (Rebel Reserve bourbon, Chartreuse, Angostura bitters and Dolin sweet vermouth). While the restaurant is best visited on payday, the bar menu is more affordable. The smoked confit chicken wings ($8) melt off the bone. And the daily selection of oysters will make even the most squeamish bargoer a fan ($2-$4).

Did you know? The bar hosts seven kinds of absinthe. The bar limits one glass per guest, which is a good idea. We don't want anyone slicing off their ear, now do we?

Cocina Del Barrio

Known for: The first two Barrios feel more like tequila bars that happen to have really good Latin street food. For his new Edina location, owner Ryan Burnet knew a dancing-on-the-furniture version wouldn't fly with at 50th and France. Thus the inclusion of "Cocina" in its name.

Margaret Andrews, Star Tribune
Scusi

The bar: Call it what you want, this is still Barrio. Anyone worth his or her worm in mescal is going to want to sit at the bar. OK, so there are no DJs and there's less tequila, but that doesn't mean Edina housewives aren't packing this place like a Louis Vuitton fire sale.

What's to like: Edina needed something like this. While most of 50th and France is a ghost town after 10 p.m., bargoers were streaming into Barrio's blood-red interior well past midnight on a recent Saturday. The intimate squared-off bar almost gives the place a neighborhood feel -- like "Cheers" but with soccer moms in sequined jeans. The pared-down tequila list is well-curated. The dinner menu is expanded with various ceviches and tamales.

Did you know? Burnet said this is likely to be the last Twin Cities location before he tries to take the brand national.

Scusi

Known for: The people behind Groveland Tap, Longfellow Grill and Three Squares have turned the former Heartland in St. Paul's Mac-Groveland neighborhood into a cozy Italian joint.

The bar: Scusi's bar is completely separated from the dining room. The intimate spot features 12 stools and some newfangled methods for serving the vino.

What's to like: Who needs a cork when you have high-tech wine? Scusi uses a wine preservation system that displays two dozen bottles in temperature-controlled glass cases. Tap lines attached to the bottles dispense the wine like draft beer. And then there's the keg wine -- a hot trend on the West Coast and something co-owner Luke Shimp plans to do more of. As for food, the Italian plates are priced to share, from pastas and pizzas to various olive accompaniments. The full menu is available in the bar.

Did you know? While pumping wine out of a bottle might ruffle purists, Shimp said it's actually a great way to drink higher-end stuff, such as Chateau Montelena Cabernet ($35 a glass). "You're going to get a perfect glass of wine that hasn't been sitting around with oxygen tainting it," he said.