Sol Agave - santa monica — Restaurant in Santa Monica

I love Dine LA. Every year I peruse the listings, compiling a list of new (at least to me!) restaurants; every year I find new favorites. Sol Agave is one of these such finds.

I was enticed by the "award-winning" jalapeño-cream soup and "famous" carnitas, so Sol Agave made my shortlist. I wasn't really craving Mexican food last week so I kept putting off trying it; looking through the list today, it caught my eye. I always click through from the Dine LA website to see what else is on the menu as my partner often opts not to order one of those options. I noticed that Sol Agave was open 'til 10 p.m. so I made a reservation for 9 p.m. since we had a late lunch.

We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation, but we were seated right away. There were a smattering of tables occupied inside and out, but the bar was where the action was. Out came chips accompanied by salsa with a slight kick (that was all me) and refried bean dip (which I let my partner have, begrudgingly!). I noticed we weren't given a Dine LA menu so I asked the waiter when he came to take the order. He said he'd have to talk to the manager; I was confused. He came back with the news that the Dine LA menu ends at 9 p.m. It was 9 p.m. on the dot but I wasn't in the mood to argue even though that sounded wrong (I even told him I planned on ordering the same main anyway). I checked the Dine LA website after he'd gone and--sure enough--it said 3 p.m. 'til closing. When the waiter came back I showed him. He said the manager would come over; she didn't.

So onto what y'all probably want to read about: the food. If in doubt, get the carnitas; it's as good as advertised. The pork wasn't too dry or fatty, and I got plenty of it. It's a straightforward dish, with a side of black beans and rice. I can't wait to have my leftovers for lunch tomorrow. My partner got the chicken fajitas and he was perfectly satisfied (he didn't finish either but it wasn't enough to bring home).

The bar cleared out just after 9:30 p.m. and as I debated dessert I looked around and saw a handful of tables still there, so we decided to go for it. We saved just enough room to split the butter cake, which was divine! A note on the presentation: it arrived with a burning incense stick laying atop the vanilla ice cream, which was an interesting touch. The cake was the perfect consistency, not too dense or crumbly. The chocolate mousse was a fine complement, not overpoweringly sweet. Next time I think I'll ask for the vanilla ice cream on the side though.

A couple came in after the bar crowd left and were told they had 10 minutes to get their order in (their ceviche starter arrived at 9:50--it looked delicious--and their main arrived as we headed out the door at 9:55).

I talked to the manager after. She said that there was a miscommunication, that they didn't realize Dine LA runs 2 weeks, that Dine LA got the hours wrong. They've had over a week to sort that out by now though? She also said that their opening hours are wrong on Google and Yelp--where I made the reservation--as they actually close at 9:30, but the hours listed there match the Sol Agave website; that part is entirely in their control.

I would've given Sol Agave all 5 possible stars had they honored their Dine LA menu or done literally anything to compensate for the inconvenience. I honestly would've docked another star for the flimsy excuse for customer service had the food not been awesome. I'll come back, but probably before 9 p.m. Maybe I'll even try that...

A true taste of Mexico. I was visiting the area during a cold spell and found myself with a craving for a hearty chicken soup. One of the prior reviewers said that the chicken soup was delicious. They were absolutely correct, and there’s so much more to rave about.

I walked into Sol Agave and was greeted by a familiar environments. Having recently visited Mexico City, and being from Texas, the design elements felt familiarly warm and welcoming. The restaurant is modern and sleek, but not overwhelmingly so, as there are rustic and nautical elements that add to the character and charm of the restaurant. The employees were just as welcoming, and several team members greeted me and made sure I was comfortable. For the record, I was very at home in the tufted leather banquette they sat me at!

Even before we get to the actual food, they brought out some chips accompanied by salsa and bean dip. Typical, right? Wrong - the bean dip is truly delicious and you must try. Just be careful to not overindulge as this is just the beginning and you don’t want fill up before the main event.

Now for the food. The chicken tortilla soup was absolutely delicious. Even if it’s hot outside, you should consider getting it because it’s that good. It’s packed with flavor. For the meat lovers,m, you’ll be happy to hear that the soup is packed with chicken. For the vegetable lovers, you’ll be glad to hear es lo miso para las veduras. It’s got some peppery heat to it, so consider that before you order if you’re spice sensitive. As a Texan with Cajun roots, peppery heat is a positive in my book. I also got the chile Colorado, which was also delicious. However, my appetite was no match, and I took half of it to go, which I enjoyed for lunch the next day.

The thing that makes the experience here so special is that all of the details are right. The food, the service, the design aesthetic. And the music really wraps everything up in a bow. The dinner soundtrack included me dejes solo (daddy yankee), no me conoco (JHAYCO) and asesina (brytiago and Darell).

Thank you so much to Nico and team for making my dinner so special. A must visit...

So I’m not sure if it was just our luck or what it was but my group and I were not impressed. We were extremely disappointed with our visit to the restaurant. When we arrived, the place was empty and it took a long time for someone to come to our table and take our order. We ended up having to wave someone down after waiting for at least 20 minutes. When the waiter finally arrived, we ordered a few drinks - two watermelon margaritas and one margarita flight - as well as some guacamole and chips because we were starving. We asked the waiter if they had a regular guacamole, as the one on the menu included lobster and carnitas, which we don't eat. He assured us that it was no problem and he would bring us a regular guacamole. However, just a few minutes later, he returned to inform us that there was a power outage and they couldn't make our margaritas. We asked if he could at least bring us the guacamole and chips since we had been waiting for over 45 minutes. Before we could even finish our request, the power came back on. After an hour, our drinks and chips finally arrived, but there was no sign of the guacamole.

To make matters worse, the drinks were terrible. They had no flavor and were the worst-tasting drinks we've ever had. My friend who ordered the margarita flight said that each drink tasted worse than the last. When we told the waiter that we didn't like the drinks, he gave us a negative look and wasn't very friendly. We asked if we could change our order to the frozen coco, which we were told was a lot tastier. He returned with the manager, who brought us the guacamole sampler instead of the regular guacamole we had ordered. When we pointed out the mistake, the manager and waiter just looked at each other and the waiter said it was his fault, but didn't apologize or try to make things right. The whole experience was so frustrating and disappointing that we didn't even bother trying the food. We just asked for the check and left, vowing never to return to this...