Solera — Restaurant in Bay of Plenty

I will be the first to admit that when it comes to dining I am hard to please. I am very well travelled and have eaten at some of the most incredible restaurants in the world. Some of which are also the most basic but what is most important is the taste, the love, the service and the flavours.

Food 4/10

Service was great 10/10

Drinks were great 10/10

Food was unfortunately a major let down, the flavour combinations just do not work 🙄 I have been told about this place by my bestie for months and this was our pick for our one night out while I was visiting from overseas. Super let down.

We spent close enough to $400 that tbh we really just did not enjoy the food. The rest of the night was awesome and the girls on the floor are doing a fantastic job, but the food…. You boys in that kitchen need to check yourselves. There is such a thing as “too much truffle oil” and dessert is something that you should just not mess with but you did.

There were 3 sweet items on offer but nothing appealing enough in flavour combinations to order as they all had savoury aspects to them. After a punchy course of mains the last thing we wanted was more of the same in a dessert.

From my 26yrs international hospo experience this comes down to young chef egos trying just a little bit too hard to go outside the square with flavour combinations, it’s an over reach and they have forgotten the age old rule that “simple is best especially when executed with perfection”.

Most dishes ranged between $10-$30. Each were prepared to be shared so the portions are quite small which would have been perfect if the favour combinations were on point (which AGAIN they were not). The courgette dish had an Indian inspired sauce that was just so overpowering and the sauce on the celeriac dish was pretty much the same, too overpowering.

Out of the 8 dishes we ordered we could only find 2 dishes that were really great. The mussels and the venison tartar were top notch in every way 👌 The other dishes were either way too over flavoured, too salty, and had some weird after taste and for me they all just totally missed the mark.

As for atmosphere, the open kitchen is a great idea but the seating layout was not the best, with tables jammed in so close to each other it was very difficult for our neighbours to enjoy their romantic dinner together whilst listening to our tequila and tinder conversations at the same time. There was literally only about 40cm between each small wooden table and we were hard pressed against a cold, unpainted cement wall. Music choices were good. Lighting was perfect.

The bathroom was clean. One toilet was out of order and the second one had issues with the lock.

Sorry boys, I hope this was not your best work. Strip back your menu, keep it simple, test your recipes with randoms who will be honest, offer a decent sweet dessert, ease up on your reductions, give our waitress a hi-five as she was awesome, fix your bathroom and put in more love🫶

I’ll be coming back in September...

We decided to try Solera after recommendations from colleagues, and we weren't disappointed. This is one of few places in Tauranga/Mt Maunganui that has food like this - the kind of presentation you might expect from high end places. The food is artistically and beautifully presented, with taste to match. The only item we felt didn't match the rest was the cauliflower; in the other dishes the taste infused the whole, whereas the cauliflower appeared somewhat bland in comparison, in that the sauce packed the strength of flavour of the other dishes, and the cauliflower was, well, cauliflower. We had a vegetarian with us and the options weren't great - what is available is vegetable sides to the mains, rather than a dedicated main choice or two for those who don't want/ like meat. So unless that is an issue for you, Solera is definitely a place to try and come back to. We tried two of the desserts, which were also delicious. Solera is the type of place where you might think 'I don't like that', but when you try it, you are surprised at how nice it is. They have a good selection of drinks and some really interesting cocktails. Service was great and unobtrusive. The music was a little on the loud side for us at times. Putting aside personal tastes, Solera is definitely a 5/5 and a pretty unique dining experience in the area. Recommend and we will be...

Once again, a lovely meal at this establishment. The oyster starter was almost sensational. Finally, a different topping to a vinegar based on. This had a mix of horseradish for piquancy, with finely chopped celery for a cool textural bite, mixed with juice, which may have just been oyster juice. So pleased I ordered them. The potato side was crunchy and tasty and went well with the perfectly cooked snapper, cooked with crunchy skin and nestled on a bed of sauce which complemented it perfectly. The snapper was the freshest that I have eaten for some time and was cooked to perfection. So soft as it should be but difficult to achieve. Thumbs up to the kitchen. The ginger dessert was also very nice. Very interesting and not too sweet or too heavy. What I like about this place is that it is not too noisy ( a bit smoky perhaps and one of our people was coughing a bit due to the smoke from the grill/fire) and the service is on point. I also like to go to places that serve innovative food for taste , not to fill up one's tummy. Solera will continue to be my favorite restaurant in Tauranga as long as they keep up this style. Highly recommend Solera if this is your type of...