Solea Restaurant and Tapas Bar — Restaurant in Waltham

It was 6:30 on a Saturday night and we had no reservation, but our friends said this was the best restaurant in Waltham and they wanted to share the experience with us. We work in human services and hospitality sectors, so we understood it might not be possible, but we asked about getting on a waitlist for a table for 4 near the open windows. The host responded with gentle but unmistakable exasperation and explained he couldn’t guarantee a timeline. We said we were in no rush and were happy to wait if it was possible, and if not, was takeout a possibility? The host could have given a simple no. Instead, he laughed incredulously at our questions, explained that the front of house was really busy (which was not apparent because Solea, like many establishments these days, wasn’t seating to capacity), and he told us the kitchen was going to be busy, too. We thanked him for the information, asked to go on a waitlist just in case, and inquired about looking at a menu in the meantime. After a little awkwardness when the host rebuffed us for attempting to review a menu outside out of the way, we decided to go to a different restaurant.

Here’s the thing: restaurants get busy, people working are often working in short-staffed situations, and sometimes customers are going to hear the word “no.” That’s all reasonable. Courtesy is free, though, it’s possible to communicate without condescension, and a clear but considerate “I’m afraid that’s not possible” would have meant deciding to try again the next time we were in town. Instead, this interaction wasn’t just disappointing, it left us feeling baffled, unwelcome, and a little embarrassed. Happily we were able to find another restaurant with great food, no wait, open air seating, and hospitality that left us delighted.

I’m sure no offense was intended, and I bet Solea can deliver a great dining experience. I wish our visit had gotten off to a better start so we could have had a nice memory instead of the disappointing impression were...

Simply one of the worst dining experience. Period. · Took more than 20mins for the waiter to notice us and get water on the table. · Another 20mins or so for him to take our order; and when he couldn't figure out what I was talking about, he started rambling gibberish in a condescending tone. Honestly if you don't know what a “mocktail” is, maybe it's time you consider a different line of work. · We tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe they're shorthanded or that our entrees just take longer. But after every other table that came in after us got served food(same as what we ordered) before us, we know this wasn't justifiable. We were the only asians there. Go figure. · The food finally arrived after what seemed to be like forever (over an hour at least). Food itself was okay; the sauce was on point, but definitely not worth the wait. And when I pointed out that they charged us for the bread basket that never came, the waiter had the nerve to insist the other way. He went on to blatantly snatch the bill out of my hand and stormed off. Just. Wow. · Also, note that this was outdoor seating in mid June during lunch time with such pathetic speed of service. My partner, who was patient enough to sit through the whole thing with me, got sunburned. He then kindly made the suggestion to the manager that they could consider installing some tents (like every other restaurant on the block). The manager rolled his eyes.

I've always wanted to try Solea since they seem to offer an interesting tapas menu, but after today I doubt we'll ever come back. There are numerous decent and legit Spanish/Latin American restaurants in town that bring good ambience, food and service together; sadly Solea isn't...

given the good reviews we saw on google maps and opentable, we had high expectations. however, we thought it was generally disappointing save for a couple bright spots.

Drinks - 2/5 Items we tried: blueberry ginger mojito - could have used a stronger ginger beer and more lime juice. not much blueberry flavor either. the flavor was almost watery. the intern - had a good flavor profile, but the chile de arbol vastly overpowered everything else. could have been much better than it was!

Food - 3/5 Generally disappointing. Overall lacking in flavor. Below are the items we tried:

plato de quesos - cheese was okay. the bread was pretty good I thought. ceviche - overcooked, bland flavor tortilla espanola - overcooked, and the spicy creme fraiche was a little overpowering albondigas de cordero - by far the best tasting plate we had. the lamb was flavorful without being too strong, and the meat was very tender.

Dessert - 4/5 churros con chocolate - pretty good

Service - 2/5 not very attentive. everything was very slow. the food came in a bizarre order. the drinks came after we were done with the cheese plate, right before everytihng else. the other three plates came all at once. the waiter made some comments intending to be friendly but they came off wrong. he also couldn't figure out how to pronounce my girlfriend's name after seeing her name on the credit card (Olivia; shouldn't be too hard to say, but we figured he misread it). if there is any risk of mispronouncing a name, just don't say it!

I don't think we'll be coming back...