Sola - BRYN MAWR

Phenomenal execution of ingredients and splendid attention to the flavor profile. Dishes were unique and exquisite. I came for the Tuesday Tasting Menu. The chef offers a four-course meal with impressive selection. The chef began the meal with a small amuse bouche: A blended soup of beets and chèvre. The beets were a deep red of the freshest variety. The earthy chèvre balanced out the acidity of the beets quite well. We then had bread with a sweet cream butter. The bread was pleasantly crisp on the bite and soft on the inside. Not spectacular, but this is good bread with even better butter. I selected the crab cake, scallop, short rib, and Orā (New Zealand farmed) Salmon. The crab cake was impossibly flaky. Upon forking, the cake flake into sturdy, yet tender flakes of succulent lump crab. A crisp layer surrounded the meat. This was some excellent execution. The scallop was also extremely well-seasoned, large, and served with a perfect char. The scallop was placed on a bed of creamy and acidic risotto. The short rib was incredible. It was that perfect savory connection of fall-apart and tender. The chef is not afraid to leave on some of that deeply flavorful fat. He hid the whole, generous chunk under a complex bbq-like demi-glaze. This was probably the best short rib I 've ever had. Very impressive execution of the meat. Definitely, order this peasant dish. The salmon was likewise excellent. It was well-seasoned, tender, and juicy. For the final course, I chose to complete this ecstatic experience with the flourless lava cake and hazelnut ice cream. The ice cream was excellent. It was smooth, creamy, and deeply nutty. The cake was super chocolatey and well-executed in texture.

I had the pleasure of eating at Sola Byob and had a wonderful experience. My husband and I decided to try the tasting menu because that is what adventurous people do! The tasting menu was made up of a 6 course meal for $75 per person. Here is a breakdown of what we had: 1. Amouse Bouche Roasted Mushroom and Barley Soup The flavor was robust and quite nice! It was reminiscent of a sweet and sour soup. My husband and I aren't the biggest fan of mushrooms but these mushrooms had just the right amount of flavor and texture. We both enjoyed this as a way to whet our taste buds. 2. Butternut Squash Baklava I thought this dish was very creative. It was made up of pistachio, goat cheese, and truffle vinaigrette. It was presented like a dessert dish. The butternut squash added sweetness to the dish and enjoyed the flavors. I do wish they added a bit more crunch to the layers. Baklava is made from a flaky pastry. This dish seemed more like a sweet lasagna. I still enjoyed it nonetheless. 3. Seared Day Boat Scallops escargot, seaweed pasta, and beurre rouge This was my favorite dish from the tasting menu. The scallop was nicely seared. The seaweed pasta was out of this world! I thought I would be overwhelmed by the seaweed flavor, but that did not happen at all. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. The beurre rouge was buttery, rich, and just luxurious. So delicious! 4. Black Diamond Mussels dashi, basil, ginger, bonito flakes This dish captured the essence of the ocean. The dashi had a very seafood flavor, as it should! The bonito flakes add a great savory touch to the dish. I liked that this dish was simple so that you could enjoy the flavors of the ocean. 5. Duck three ways This dish came with a roasted/panfried duck breast, duck prosciutto, and duck confit. I don't frequently eat duck so I don't think I appreciated this dish as much as I could. I felt like I was overwhelmed by the duck, because it has such a game y flavor. This was a very heavy dish and by the time i ate everything off the plate, i was feeling stuffed. 6. Creekstone Farm Stiploin I enjoyed this dish quite a lot! The meat was cooked very well to a perfect medium rare. The foie gras sauce was absolutely delicious. I did notice that the blood from the meat had seeped into the potatoes, so there was a red pool that had formed at the bottom. This tells me that the meat should have rested a bit more. I still very much enjoyed this dish! We had a palate cleanser sorbet before dessert was presented. It was a bit on the sweet side but it was delicious! 7. Poached pear stuffed with goat cheese. The flavors that were presented for dessert were quite interesting. The more I ate it, the more I liked it. I liked that it was different and flavors I never had before. I do wish they sweetened the goat cheese a little bit because it felt almost like a sweet and savory dish and less like a dessert. Our server, Ali, was amazing! The ambiance is very cute and charming! I also felt like Sola Byob did a great job in terms of portioning the menu. By the time I finished everything, I felt satisfied. I did not feel so full to the point that the smell and look of food made me want to explode. Thank God for that!

Brian and his team are outstanding. My fiance and I visited for the first time this past weekend and we were certainly wowed. The two special appetizers that evening were Nantucket bay scallops and foie gras, two of my favorite things ever. We debated which to order and ended up passing on the foie since I had just had that the night before . We ordered the ahi tartare instead and although it was delicious, Brian, thankfully, recognized this as a mistake on our part and brought us the foie dish after we had finished our two appetizers!! We were so grateful he did because not only was it an amazing gesture, but the two obvious winners of the evening were the bay scallops and the foie dish. The foie paired with a hibiscus ? bread pudding and edible apple blossom SO good! was one of the best, most complex flavor combinations I've ever had. My dinner review is going to sound lackluster in comparison but I assure you everything was delicious! My fiance had the duck and I had the short rib. Both were flavorful and cooked perfectly. For dessert we opted with the very seasonal apple pie which came topped with almond ice cream. Apples are not my favorite fruit and pie, in the traditional sense, is not my favorite dessert. This dish was more of a tart and the apples were coated so well in cinnamon and nutmeg? and other amazing spices, it literally tasted like fall if fall had a flavor. Brian, again, helped us out and gave us a scoop of their honey ice cream on the side since he saw my eyes light up when giving us the list of ice creams. This sounds crazy but that honey ice cream was the best ice cream i've ever had. I love the flavor of honey mixed with butter and cream. It was so smooth and just perfect. order this if they have it on the menu!! long story short: we are 100% coming back and I'm sad I hadn't tried this spot before now!!

My wife and I had a very excellent dinner here. It was Wednesday, so the restaurant featured a seafood tasting menu, a four course meal for $55. The fish that night was lobster, one of our favorite foods, so it was an easy choice. The first course was lobster and cucumber gazpacho, delicately seasoned with basil. It was delicious and perfectly balanced. The half lobster tail was thinly sliced, so you could get lobster in every spoonful. Second course was lobster claw with artichoke heart. This also flavorful (the mushroom especially), but frankly there wasn 't enough of it to be able to combine all the different flavors in rotation. Third course was gnocchi with crumbs of lobster and roasted Brussels sprouts and small bits of apple. This was incredible, but, again, there wasn 't enough. Desert was poppy bread with sorbet and meringue. Very nice, and this was finally filling. The lesson is, when they say tasting, they mean tasting. I think the regular menu had larger portions, but I can 't say that for sure. The place attracts a nice crowd. Of the six couples who were there while we were there, half were regular customers, greeted by hugs and shown to their usual tables. People have a passion for the food here, and it 's easy to see why. The meal was also very quick. We were never rushed, but our desert was being served 45 minutes after we sat down. Getting the tasting menu probably played a role in how quickly we were served.

Visited: Wednesday June 15, 2016 6:30 PM I enjoy a variety of food but, not selecting individual dishes off a menu. Fortunately, Sola, offered a Prix Fixe of which I quickly agreed. Each course would be served on small plates and at regular intervals or as I requested. I agreed to regular intervals The first serving was the Watermelon crab salad two watermelon discs with crab and avocado topping with Thai pepper vinaigrette The second serving was the Chilean sea bass small roasted potatoes, crispy scallions, haricot verts, in light sauce The third serving was Duck breast perfectly cooked duck (medium rare) with a potato hash and bacon, glazed carrot and zucchini strips, in a light sauce The fourth and final serving was the Sorbet trio guava, strawberry, and raspberry The Prix Fixe totaled $39.00; I throughly enjoyed the meal. I sampled my lady friend 's Sola salad, baked tuna, and mousse; all were excellently prepared and delicious. Although there was only one server she was attentive and professional.