Solera

Ambience : 8.3
Food : 8.8
Service : 8.3
on a scale of 1 (worst) - 10 (best)
based on 14 Rater comments
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900 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Phone: (612) 338-0062
Fax: (612) 338-8871
http://www.solera-restaurant.com

In the great tradition that is tapas, the hot and cold small plates available for sharing at Solera are inventive and focused on flavor. Check out the Chorizo Stuffed Dates with Smokd Bacon, Grilled Asparagus with lomo and mahon, and Shrimp Tetilla Croquestas. Nationally renowned chefs Tim McKee and Josh Thoma offer tasting menus which are known among the Eating Elite as the chance to try cutting edge and innovative dishes, for a remarkably affordable price. Sip sherry from the Cities' most extensive list or better yet, book the Moorish Alhambra room for 10 of your very best friends.

Rater Comments

6/24/2008
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $60.00, Visited 4/2/2008
Ambiance 7.0, Food 8.0, Service 6.0
Solera is one of my favorite restaurants. However, this time when my girlfriend and I went there before going to the Jersey Boys show, the service was somewhat mediocre. The tapas we ordered (patatas bravas, goat cheeses fritters, etc) were great as always but a few items were brought out very quickly and then we had to wait for a long time before the next two dishes arrived. At the end, we had to rush through our dinner to make it to the show.

10/5/2007
Dinner, Number in party 3, Check total $79.00, Visited 9/27/2007
Ambiance 8.0, Food 10.0, Service 9.0
Solera was hustling with the d'town pre-show crowd on a Thursday night. a lot of neatly dressed 30-50's filled the 1st level. Our table shared a $25 spanish red and 7 plates in our collective ranked order from favorite: goat cheese fritters, veal meatballs, olives, deviled eggs, shrimp croquetas, calamari, grilled bread with serrano ham. Efficient service, we made it in time for Ryan Adams' uninterested performance. Solera was truly the highlight of our evening. Highly recommended! We'll go back!

7/3/2007
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $86.00, Visited 6/30/2007
Ambiance 7.0, Food 9.0, Service 7.0
Very tasty late night snack. Went there at 9:30 p.m., pleased to see the restaurant still about half full. Highlights included cocoa-chili braised beef short ribs, oxtail terrine, and coriander crusted pork with cabrales cheese. Solera continues to offer interesting combinations, a stellar wine list, and streamlined, intelligent service. Delicious sangria (by the pitcher – an economical way to go) is also highly recommended. It's a perfect date destination for people who are passionate about food.

7/3/2007
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $120.00, Visited 6/9/2007
Ambiance 8.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
One of our very favorite restaurants as you can dine on a variety of tapas for reasonable prices and receive excellent service in a lovely dining space. This is a treasure of a restaurant!!!

12/4/2006
Dinner, Number in party 20, Check total $1130.00, Visited 12/2/2006
Ambiance 8.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
Solera is one of my favorite restaurants in the Twin Cities and this visit was as enjoyable as my previous ones. We had a big group for a holiday party event but the waiters did an excellent job of serving us. The tapas were for the most part delicious. The only item I was a bit disappointed with was the Paella, which was not as flavorful as I would have expected. The price was very reasonable and overall we had a very enjoyable evening.

6/30/2006
Other, Number in party 1, Check total $30.00, Visited 6/16/2006
Ambiance 8.0, Food 10.0, Service 8.0
Actually just stopped for tapas and wine before the bicycle races. The food is beyond just "well prepared", it's excellent. Wait-staff is friendly and knowledgeable (all the wines are Spanish in origin). For value, go during regular happy hour or from 11p-2a for late night happy hour...$2 Tapas...same as the "spendy" ones, but smaller portions. Indoor dining includes not only regular tables, but bar areas where you can watch (and learn) from the chefs on one of the grill lines.

4/28/2006
Dinner, Number in party 4, Check total $110.00, Visited 4/23/2006
Ambiance 10.0, Food 10.0, Service 10.0
Solera is consistently one of my favorite places. The servers are more knowledgeable about the wine and menu than in most restaurants. We split an order of paella (normally for two) plus three tapas and a bottle of tempranillo. Then we split two orders of the dessert tapas, which is like art that you can eat. Wonderfully satisfying, everyone was happy.

3/3/2006
Dinner, Number in party 3, Check total $140.00, Visited 1/19/2006
Ambiance 7.0, Food 5.0, Service 6.0
We had lots of tapas, but the one that sticks out was the tortilla espanola, which should be a simple potato omelette. Here it was undercooked goo, slathered for some reason with an insipid and utterly unnecessary aioli.

3/2/2006
Other, Number in party 2, Check total $20.00, Visited 2/5/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 6.0, Service 6.0
Solera is pricey for sure, but then again so are tapas and so is downtown. I went for tapas with a friend and, yes, the food is ridiculously expensive. That being said, be sure to sit on the roof in the summertime. It's Moorish decor and breathtaking view of the city are really enjoyable. It's quite the experience.

11/21/2005
Other, Number in party 2, Check total $35.00, Visited 11/19/2005
Ambiance 8.0, Food 9.0, Service 10.0
The Spanish get it. Tapas that is, the perfect little bits good any time. We stopped in a little after 11 after a party where the food was scarce, and snapped up three lovely tapas and a some wine and mineral water. First, the Spanish cheeses with quince (membrillo) were perfect little bites of cheeses other than manchego, which are hard to come by. A blue, a tiny bite of something sweetly savory, and mahon, I think. Then there was see-through-thin manchego and jamon serrano on bread. The bread was a little heavy on the crushed tomato, but the jamon was among the best I've had. Like candy. Finish was a spicy beef tenderloin on skewers. It came with a completely unnecessary yougurt sauce, but was so tender and flavorful, it made a perfect little topping to bread all alone. Vichy Catalan water, which actually tastles like something, unlike American mineral water, and a glass of Rioja topped it all off. This place is just about as good as it gets in Minneapolis. My only complaint: turn down the music a bit.

10/31/2005
Dinner, Number in party 3, Check total $160.00, Visited 10/22/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 10.0, Service 9.0
Solera provides a unique atmosphere and dining experience unlike any other in Minnesota! The two-sided tapas menus serves up everything from goat-cheese stuffed peppers to duck and even rabbit. While dinner at Solera will cost you more than the average dinner in downtown Minneapolis, it's worth it! Be sure to ask your server for their favorite wine recommendations as they are knowledgable and friendly. In the summer, be sure to check out their roof top bar with unmatched views of the skyline!

8/4/2005
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $95.00, Visited 8/1/2005
Ambiance 8.0, Food 8.0, Service 8.0
I rarely order entrees; I'm a grazer. So Solera's eight course tasting menu of tapas was my cup of tea. All but one were tantalizingly tasty and the one that wasn't, got promptly returned to the kitchen and replaced with a better model. The rabbit with figs and the itty bitty baby soft shell crab were our favorites. The sherry flight tasting was a great finish.

7/23/2005
Dinner, Number in party 5, Check total $210.00, Visited 7/22/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 10.0, Service 9.0
Three of our guests, first timers at Solera, thought it was the best restaurant food they've had in Minneapolis. We split up about a dozen tapas and a couple salads and two delicious, but inexpensive Spanish wines. We particularly liked the cod croquettes, the serrano ham and manchego, and the oxtail on croutons and patatas bravas. The grilled asparagus and scallops were the best. My only bitch is I couldn't finish it off with a Spanish brandy. An Amontillado sherry is not a bad second, though.

7/5/2005
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $160.00,
Ambiance 10.0, Food 10.0, Service 10.0
This was my birthday dinner, and was a blowout- you can dine very nicely at Solera and spend a lot less. There are several wine choices under $20. Each tapas dish that arrives at the table is a gem. Take a bite of anything (please try the croquetas with cepe mushrooms) and flavor after flavor appears, each one joining a well-choreographed dance. This is art. It also happens to be damned good food, in case eating art is not what you are about. Maybe the best restaurant in town.

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