Sol Toro Restaurant — Restaurant in Montville

Im going to paraphrase my experience as it was a lot that happened. On November 9th myself and three other African American women decided we would try to dine in at Sol toro after leaving a breast cancer awareness event and grab some food and drinks. When we were at the hostess desk, we were told that they didn’t have any open seating until 8:30. Which was fine. We were offered a seat at the bar. There was a group behind us of 4 Caucasian women. As soon as we stepped away they asked the same exact question we did, started off with the same response of, “well we don’t have any open tables until 8:30 but, actually we can seat you now.” There was a fake scroll of her iPad, a mention of a cancellation, not even two minutes after we asked without checking to see if the party was even there. When the hostess noticed I watched the interaction and was approaching to make a comment, she sent a manager to go call for the table after the party was being seated. In a rude voice she asked me if she could help me, and I asked for a manager who was coincidentally standing right beside her. When I spoke to the manager, Andrew Bengtson (who will be the one to answer my review) gave me a response that said, well, “things change in a matter of minutes. A table probably opened up from the time you guys asked to the time the other party came in.” I emphasized That I understood That, yet she never actually checked to see if there was an available table but dismissed us to the bar almost immediately, where as she scrolled through her iPad to check her seating chart which was a difference in service. If there was a possibility that within two minutes a table reservation was going to be canceled due to a no show, she could have and should have informed us being that we wanted to dine in. I also let him know that she offered the party the table before she even checked to see if the party was waiting in line or not. The hostess butted in and said she sent the manager out to check, and so I asked The manager in question, Did he go out before or after she offered up the table? He could not answer my question and said he couldn’t not remember. He then goes on to say, “Well she doesn’t have to offer you a table, it’s left up to her discretion, on who she decides she wants to offer a table to bring that you don’t have a reservation.” So I called Him out on the fact that he lied to my face, saying that she followed protocol when in face she did not because she can pretty much do whatever she wants regardless. I told Him I didn’t want to have the conversation as it was leading to an argument and wasn’t going anywhere, I just felt it was unprofessional of his hostess to discriminate against customers, and walked away. He got loud and aggressively followed me out of the restaurant and was yelling at my back. Other customers had to step in and stop him from following me on the casino floor including two of the women with me. Another customer who witnessed the interaction, came up to us and apologized as she seen the whole thing and felt like she would not be dining with them for the evening and her and her party left to dine elsewhere. This was the most unprofessional dining experience I have Ever attempted to have in my life. I will Not be spending my money here and I will Make sure to encourage other POC to stay away from this place as well. The hostess refused to give her name but she was a young lady with ginger hair I believe and freckles or blemishes...

Editing my initial review with more detail.

We visited Sol Toro for a friends 40th birthday party, for which we had a contracted reservation. TLDR - the manager and hostess ruined the experience by refusing service to my wife, claiming she was drunk.

We got off to a rough start, as when our birthday girl and friend went to check in, as the hostess made an off color comment about one of our friends "Needing to sit down". We thought this was strange, but ignored it. We chalked it down to it being a busy Saturday night at a popular restaurant. Host stands can get slammed.

Once we were seated, the hostess told us to make sure we "kept it down" because there were other tables around us. This made zero sense, as we sat quietly with friendly conversation. No one was drunk, or behaving in a manner other than one would expect for people excited to eat and celebrate our friends birthday.

We ordered a round of drinks - which the waitress took, after which the manager came and informed the birthday girl that my wife had been flagged and would not be served.

We went over to discuss the situation with him, what lead him to the decision. He said she "Slurred her words" while ordering the drink (which was not the case - my wife has a minor speech impediment).

In attempting to address this with the manger - he would not budge, would not listen to reason and frankly could not care less about the situation. I asked if they had video or anything other than just their "Feeling" to show that anyone at the table was drunk, loud or generally misbehaving - they could not provide any proof or evidence to that effect.

It seems his hostess decided that she did not like our party, and was going to make sure we did not have a good time.

My wife - naturally embarrassed and flustered, fled the restaurant in tears. I followed her out, after giving the manager a few choice words for his total lack of professionalism or process.

Honestly - We are responsible drinkers who keep ourselves under control, we were excited to celebrate our friends 40th - and the team at Sol Toro ruined what should have been a lovely evening.

I would caution anyone enjoying a night at the casino to visit one of the other establishments here. Fortunately - Ballo was able to accommodate our table with no reservation (And no issues) and gave us a wonderful time.

These guys can suck a bag of...

Extremely Disappointing and Racially Insensitive Experience

My husband and I visited this restaurant around 3:40 PM today to celebrate my birthday weekend, and from the moment we walked in, the experience was terrible. Despite the restaurant being nearly empty, we were seated right next to the restroom. As more people arrived, we noticed a concerning pattern – all the white customers were being seated in the booth area, while we didn’t seem to fit that demographic, were placed in less desirable locations, including the area near the restrooms.

I politely approached the red-haired hostess to request a seat change, as we didn’t want to eat near the restroom. She, standing next to the manager, claimed all she could do was move us one table over and gave an excuse about a server being assigned to that area, even though we were the only ones seated there while others were given booth seating. It became evident that we were being treated differently based on our race, which was deeply upsetting.

When our food arrived, brought by a Hispanic food runner, we continued expressing our concerns, only to find a long piece of hair in my meal. She apologized and took the food back, and our waiter came to express her concern apologies, promising that the manager would come by to speak with us. But the manager never bothered to approach us, despite clearly being aware of the situation.

While more white customers were continuously seated in the booth area, we remained stuck by the restroom, feeling ignored and disrespected. When the waiter informed us that the meal would be comped by the manager, it felt hollow and insincere. The manager should have personally come to address our concerns, but he didn’t. Instead, as we were leaving, he half-heartedly said “sorry about that,” clearly lacking any real accountability or interest in making the situation right.

This was one of the most racially insensitive and disappointing dining experiences I’ve ever had. The hostess seemed more interested in her phone than ensuring customers were satisfied, and the manager completely failed in his role. It wasn’t just about the free meal – it was about basic decency and respect, both of which were sorely lacking.

I will not be returning to this establishment, and I strongly advise others to be wary of the blatant disrespect and racial profiling we...