Solstice Winter Bistro — Restaurant in Fraser

Our family opted to eat here for our last evening in the Winter Park/Fraser area. We were more than disappointed with our food. The first course was a pureed red bell pepper soup with coconut milk. Although the majority of our party did not care for it, my son and I found that it was the best part of the meal. The presentation was very nice and it had the flavor of Thai Tom Yum soup. The twist here: it did not go with anything on the menu. Two of us decided on the braised short ribs over spaetzle. After about 15 minutes, the server returned to tell us they were out (very small restaurant with 2 waitstaff hard to figure how they did not know what was unavailable). We selected the stroganoff with beef tips instead. The noodles were cool to touch and dry. The beef was warm but tough and chewy. Two others selected the prime rib. It was a generous portion but seemed like a "reheated" piece of beef. Little marbling, not too flavorful. My son had a tuna/pesto bowl which he did not like (he brought the leftovers with because it was $30 and he did not want to waste it). My niece ordered the mac and cheese with pork belly. Yes, this was on the tapas part of the menu but: the pasta was bow-tie and crispy, almost to the point of some type of burnt cheese cracker. The pork belly was dry, overcooked. The best find: my youngest niece ordered buttered noodles from the kid's menu. She devoured them. My son said our meal experience "changed the vibe of the evening." What a downer to end an otherwise fantastic...

This is one of the more bizarre dining experiences I have had in recent history.

We showed up on time for our reservation and were seated. We were then approached at our table, saying there was a mix up, and one of the waitstaff said (verbatim:) “we’re not going to ask you to leave.” After showing them our confirmation text of the reservation, they then left us alone, and all of the hospitality went out the door.

First off, we were never apologized to, and from there, the service failures continued. As folks who have worked in hospitality before (like 30 years of experience), it was flabbergasting - we couldn’t have felt more unwelcome.

During our entire meal, the waitstaff was bickering with one other. It was very uncomfortable to hear and witness. The tapas situation was weird… we ordered 4 tapas, and it was accompanied by 1oz of cheese and a weird random green onion. For roughly $60, the plates seemed quite small. We ordered entrees and value was way off. The food was eh. Not worth the $250 we spent for 4 people. We typically spend far more than that with this group of wine and foodies, but this was disappointing, and honestly why we didn’t order more food.

While we did not have wine, note on the wine list: Pretty obvious that RNDC just paid to have their products be the whole list. No wine person should go here expecting something they won’t see at any grocery store.

Had high hopes. Unfortunately not the golden gem we needed in...

If you haven't eaten here do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a meal here. Don't let the exterior fool you because even though its in a shopping center the inside atmosphere is welcoming and well decorated. We were warmly welcomed and the service was great. Answering questions, helping with special dietary restrictions, offering suggestions all without us feeling rushed. Thanks for taking care of us for our date night Liz. The food came out coursed with great timing. Oh and the food was amazing! We both had the shrimp and scallops pasta but mine was made gluten free friendly with rice noodles. The combination of flavors, with great texture and cooked perfectly. Honestly some of the best scallops Ive ever had with a light crust and cooked to perfection, not a hint of rubberyness that you get when they are overcooked. Melt in you mouth amazing. The sauce had fantastic flavors but wasnt overpowering. Im writing this review the day after and still thinking about my amazing meal. I read that they have prime rib nights on Wednesdays so I think we'll have to come back and try that! Sioux and Tito thank you for hosting us we'll be back soon. Please thank your kitchen staff for treating us to such...