Pictured: The watermelon salad at Lono Tiki Bar. Photo by Heidi Stone.

You won’t see Lono Tiki Bar from the road, but this hidden treasure is more than worth the visit. Located poolside at Osprey’s Bentley’s Boutique Hotel, you won’t need a room key to access Lono’s inventive creations, such as this summer-ready salad whose eclectic mix of ingredients blends to delicious effect. The watermelon salad combines marinated feta, pickled onions, fresh-sliced jalapenos, heirloom tomatoes, microgreens and of course, juicy chunks of watermelon. Executive Chef Thomas Thompson (a Bird Key Yacht Club alum and inventor of the salad) and his staff painstakingly prepare each ingredient: the tickled-pink pickled onions spend two days in a press drenched in balsamic vinegar and sugar while the marinated feta soaks to perfection in an olive oil and oregano mix. The “dressing” is simply white balsamic vinegar boiled down to a light syrupy reduction and paired with a grilled lemon. The result is a dish equal parts sweet, salty, bitter, cool and tangy.

Pictured: The watermelon salad at Lono Tiki Bar. Photo by Heidi Stone.

Lono Tiki Bar at Bentley's Boutique Hotel, 1660 South Tamiami Trl., Osprey, 941-966-2121.