Lets start with a few phone photos of the menu I’ve encountered on my first two visits to Solera. It is subject to change, as it’s a paper menu and not laminated. They also haven’t posted a menu online yet. The dishes are all Spanish named with English descriptors underneath each entry. They are very serious about being a tapas bar.
A quick note, another guy at the bar went for one of the tasting menus, and it was easily dinner for three, heavy hors d’oeuvres for four. Tapas means small plates, but these really aren’t all that small. On to the sangria. They offer three varieties. Red, white, and rose. They are all delightful.
I must admit that I felt almost as much relief as happiness when I sat down and ordered my first sangria and started off menu discovery with an excellent bowl of gazpacho. When you have that much anticipation for a new place opening, it raises the stakes for possible disappointment. I’ve missed out on a couple of other attempts to go tapas in Baton Rouge, and so many places have gone in and out of this corner of Southdowns since the old bar named Southdowns shut down many, many years ago that I’m not going to waste any time at all checking out everything on this menu. So far everything I’ve had has been great. The gazpacho was smooth and creamy and the sherry was a nice touch.
Each of the four toasts was excellent. If I had to pick one, I’d go with the mushrooms and herbs. Also, if you are afraid of a goat cheese anchovy combo, you should stay away from that one because both flavors are strong and vital on that toast.
The chickpea and mushroom fritters with salsa were also very good. The mussels were presented in an outrageously savory saffron butter, but the star of the show was the gin cured salmon with grated tomato, shaved onion, and chopped olives. It was like a perfect sushi dish where all the flavors enhance each other to the point of ecstasy. Luckily I was on the white sangria at the time and that also paired perfectly with the salmon. I could see going there early one afternoon and having just the white sangria and the salmon for a quick pick-me-up before heading home.
I promise to keep you all updated as I work through the menu, but you should really bypass the vicarious and go check it out for yourself. You will not be disappointed.