Bar Solita — Restaurant in Richmond

I've been sitting on this review since my visit at the beginning of November. I hate writing reviews that are less than stellar, especially for places that have so much potential.

After seeing hype on social media about the new spot in RVA, we thought this would be the perfect spot to meet up with some of our other foodie friends for Saturday night dinner. We had an easy experience with the valet and a quick, friendly check-in with the hostess. Off to a good start! ....

The atmosphere is open and airy, huge windows all around and decorated fabulously. This only added to my excitement as we waited for our friends.

Once we were seated, we waited almost 20 minutes for a server to greet us. She let us know they were out of a few things, which was no big deal since the place was new and it was Saturday night. After placing our drink orders, we didn't see her again for another 20 minutes. We ordered three appetizers when she returned and asked to go ahead and put in entrees since she seemed to be busy and we didn't want to wait another hour to order. (And our cocktails still hadn't arrived)

I thought the cocktail prices were reasonable; we don't mind paying for a high quality drink, so we were anxious to try what we ordered. Disappointment ensued. All of our round-one drinks turned out to be less than mediocre. They sure looked pretty, but they were way off balance and underwhelming. We weren't expecting Jasper or Heritage quality, but we did expect a legit drink. I decided my next round would be a classic like a Manhattan because every bar should be able to make a solid classic.

I lost track of how long we waited for our apps to arrive, we were definitely getting hangry, but alas, they came. We shared Empanadas, Papas Bravas and Za'atar Spiced Feta. The appetizers were all super tasty, making the table excited again about the entrees.

We should have left after the appetizers. The entrees were all a disaster. One out of four of us had an entree that was pretty good, but the rest of us were sorely disappointed. The most disappointing had to be the Osso Buco because it was $35 and was not at all what that dish should be. Look at these photos ... you can almost see how flavorless it was and how it is definitely not what you expect from Osso Buco.

Now on to that shrimp pasta - hello? .... Where the heck is the sauce?! Everyone at the table just stared when the server put this dish down because it was legit a bowl of bone-dry noodles with rubbery shrimp.

My entree was the potato and squid ink pizza. I LOVE squid ink and was stoked to try this. Plus, how can you mess up pizza, right?! Wrong. Dry and flavorless. Everyone at the table tried it and agreed that the only flavor was salt. I should've been crying in to my mediocre Manhattan at this point.

Last entree was the breakfast pizza. We were all trying to eat this dish because it was the only entree at the table worth eating. Now I wonder if it was actually good or if the other dishes were so bad that we were all clinging to the hope of not wasting $200+ by the time we left.

We went in with the hopes of trying a couple of desserts after dinner, but after being there for almost three hours and such disappointing entrees, we couldn't spend another dollar.

I said that we would go back after three months to see if things have improved. I feel like there is so much potential here and we absolutely LOVED the apps (hence 3 stars instead of 2). There are just so many amazing places in Richmond, that it's hard to justify the gamble on spending all that money again and still being disappointed. Maybe we'll start slow with happy hour and...

This was my first, and likely only time, to Bar Solita. It was Mother's Day weekend. I made reservations, confirmed, and we arrived early. It is a beautiful space, love the open kitchen.

When we arrived I mentioned our reservation - the hostess gave me a funny look, asked my name again, and went to check another computer (I think). She came back and apologized, said they had no tables until 430.. We were welcome to sit at the bar, which had ample space, and eat there. I mentioned that high tops are uncomfortable for my back, as I am 5 months pregnant and she said she would notify us when a table was available. (But I made a reservation?)

I stood at the bar nearly the entire time. My mom got a French 75 and was happy, and the bartender made me a fruity something which was tasty, and took our food orders since I couldn't wait for a table to eat.

We both observed there were MANY tables open, just dirty. No one bussing or cleaning. So we concluded they simply, like everyone else, had no staff. We probably waited around 30-35 mins for our food, which felt like forever to me.

The hostess grabbed us to ask if we were still interested in a table (yes) and escorted us upstairs. (They asked me again my name and reservation time before seating us).

My mom took her water, I grabbed my utensils. As soon as we sat down, our food was there behind us. But my mom was missing utensils and I was missing my water. No one came to check on us when we were eating, so my mom flagged someone down for utensils and I gave up on water (and never received the decaf coffee I had ordered at the bar before we were whisked upstairs).

I had already paid for food and drinks at the bar, so when we finished eating we just left. Didn't feel like waiting an extra 30 minutes for coffee.

Anyways. Food was okay. Tres Leches Waffles for me and Shrimp & Grits for mom. Nothing unique. Shrimp & grits did not come with andouille sausage (per the menu), but the bacon was forgotten (definitely on the menu for this item). Wish I had gotten that shareable cinnamon roll.

Very lackluster...

I REALLY wanted to like this place. It came recommended and was excited to come. Photos looked great so I booked a brunch reservation for my sisters birthday. I seriously regret coming. The service was honestly so terrible. We were sat at a random high top and didn’t have a server come around for about 10 minutes. After that it just kept going downhill. About another ten minutes we finally got water and she took our order. Maybe our server put in our order late because we saw other tables around us getting their orders a lot faster than us and when we finally got the food it was alright at best. My fries were definitely just cooked but it was obvious the wrap had been sitting under a heat lamp and was cold. Another let down was that there was more arugula than anything else in my falafel wrap. Everyone else’s food looked alright but portion sizes were noticeably small. Honestly I called ahead and asked if they could maybe do a happy birthday song or something for her and I went in already telling the hostess that if they dont do that sort of thing I 100% understand, not every restaurant does that sort of thing but I was assured that they do a little cookies and song moment. I was holding out hope that when I asked for the check they would do it but we were quickly handed the check and ushered out. I was really disappointed and didn’t bother reminding any servers about it because at that point we all just wanted to go. I am giving them two stars to give them the benefit of the doubt because I looked at the reviews previously given for this restaurant and they are all quite high so maybe they just had a bad day? Super disappointed

responding No I was unable to speak to anyone. The front hostess’ shift ended (I’m assuming because brunch hours were over) and wasn’t there for a good 10 minutes before we left and our waitress’ visits were so few and far between that I didn’t want to bother waiting for anyone any longer than...