Solea Restaurant & Tapas Bar

Since we had such a great time in our trip to Spain last year, we wanted to relive the experience by trying out a local Tapas restaurant. We went to Solea in Waltham for lunch. There were a few seats outside of the restaurant, but we decided to go inside of the restaurant. There is a bar area, which is decorated with a lot of ornaments. The home-style ambience is very welcoming and warm. It felt like we were in a small restaurant in Sevilla.




We ordered two tapas as appetizers. Our first dish was the Albondigas a la Trufa, which was Lamb Meatballs served in a Sherry Foie Gras Cream Sauce and garnished with Black Truffle. There is only one word to describe it, delicious! The choice of lamb instead of beef to make the meatballs made this a bold dish with a strong taste. The foie gras cream was extremely rich and creamy. The black truffle added just the right amount of saltiness it. This dish was so good that we used the rest of the foie gras cream as bread dipping sauce. Our second dish was the Chuletillas, Baby Lamb Chops with an Apricot Glaze. Yes, you can tell that we love lamb. The lamb chops were nicely grilled and the sweetness of the apricot glaze matches well with the strong taste of lamb. The lamb chops were good, but it was overshadowed by the lamb meatballs.

As main course, we decided to try the seafood paella, which is the most famous dish in Spain. The seafood paella was excellent, with the freshness of the seafood all dripped and simmered into the rice. It was a good portion which is enough for two people. The only downside to this dish is that the seafood is too overcooked and chewy. We would definitely rate this paella higher than the one from Toro Restaurant in Boston.

After the two tapas and the seafood paella, we were so full that we couldn’t try the dessert. There are over 40 different tapas served at this restaurant. I would recommend big parties to go to Solea so that everyone can try a bit of everything.

HOKAT Rating: 85/100

Address:
388 Moody St, Waltham MA 02453

(781) 894-1805
http://www.solearestaurant.com/