SOL Mexican Cocina

Stopped by for Sunday dinner after having tried the Newport Beach location. Parking is in the structure adjacent, they will validate up to 90 minutes which I think is a little short if you are dining with a large group but doable with two people. I ordered the carne asada quesadilla after trying the chicken one at the Newport location previously. I gotta say I liked the chicken one better, feel like they skimped with the carne asada. The flavor was good nonetheless. The chipotle sauce is delicious and the avocado sauce is solid as well. A tad expensive for a quesadilla at $21 but the portion is generous and it comes with two sides of your choosing and I got the red rice and beans. There is also spicy slaw and quinoa salad available for side options. Red rice is seasoned well and delicious, beans were okay. The chips and salsa they bring out for you in the beginning is tasty. Service was great, food arrived quickly and waitress always made sure everything was up to par. Dining room is very nice to look at. Overall solid dinner outing.

Absolutely the rudest general manager! There were 9 of us but we had mistakenly reserved a table for 8. He absolutely Wouldn't add another chair after we had already sat down and ordered our food. He claimed there were no chairs available. He basically told us take it or leave it. There was an obvious empty chair at the table next to us . All we had to do is ask for that chair and they graciously offered it to us. The manager could have done that but he preferred being rude and almost kicked us out . His name is John. Super rude!

Friday Happy Hour! Here for a good time not a long time!!HH: good happy hour menu with $8 house margs and $10 specialty. Including some good items (food below) My first drink {don't judge} cucumber jalapeño margarita was extremely tart, but the bartender tasted it agreed! Made me another one. That was really good. Next, I had the watermelon cucumber margarita which was really good as well not too sweet but refreshing and the house margarita was good too.Food:Fish street tacos: happy hour serving comes with two tacos. The fish itself was cooked perfectly, and there was some pico on it, but it was way too much dry cabbage thrown on top. The cabbage should have been made into some type of slaw and provided some moisture. 3/5Shrimp esquites salad: light and refreshing. Shrimp didn't stand out as flavorful, simply mixed together as a salad it was good. 4/5Best part is the chips and salsa! They have a warm black bean type salsa and traditional/pico. I would go back for additional drinks and just to have chips and salsa. Bar was not full! Nice windows behind the bar to see the outside patio. Logistics: parking available in a paid garage. Sol provided validation for 90 minutes. For each additional 15 minutes, it is $1.50.

My husband and I came here for our anniversary and were seated right away and quickly noticed how *loud* it was in there. The live music was nice but just way too loud. And it seemed like there was a business event. The noise level made it difficult to hear ourselves and talk to each other. When we got seated, the hostess asked us if we were celebrating anything, and we mentioned our anniversary and she asked us how many years. She told us that she would let the server know. My head went to "oh yay, free dessert!" We met our server and he shared that he's aware of our celebration dinner but then they switched him with another server within minutes. We ordered our dishes, and 10 minutes later, our server let us know that he forgot to put our order in. Okay, no big deal. They took away our utensils from the appetizers, and the forgot to bring us new utensils when we finally get our food. Second time, that's fine, letting it go. The food was delicious and my husband and I were talking about how happy we were that we came here. My favorite was the chicken demadres.When we asked for to-go boxes , server forgot about us again. When we asked for the check, he forgot about us AGAIN. And I am not making an assumption, the server literally apologized for forgetting each time. For 15 minutes we waited for the to-go boxes and check. I was quite shocked how forgetful this server was. And I saw that maybe he had a few tables, but did not appear to be overwhelmed at all.After being asked if we want the dessert menu, my husband and I asked ourselves what was the point of the hostess asking if we were celebrating something, how many years was the anniversary, and informing the first server about it? 5 stars for the food. 4 stars for the ambience. 3 stars for the service, and I probably would go lower, but I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt that it was an off day for the restaurant. I would love to give this place a try again because the food was amazing, but if my second experience is anything like the first, it would be extra disappointing.

I was in the area for work and out on a nice evening walk when I stumbled upon Sol in a sea of business towers. I sat at the bar for Taco and Tequila Tuesday. I intended to just stay for a drink and continue on my walk. But, the bar was nice and the food and drinks off the special Tuesday menu were super tasty and well priced. It was nice having small plates as I enjoyed my margaritas. Live music was also really nice. Bar staff were super nice and attentive. I'll definitely try this again the next time I'm in the area.

Nice upscale Mexican restaurant with yummy chips and salsas. I like that they bring out lime and salt with the chips as well. I like being able to salt my own chips liberally without bothering others. I have been for lunch a couple of times and it's convenient and reasonably quick for business lunches. The atmosphere is friendly and lively.

Opted for patio seating since we had tons of kids & knew they'd be loud. Chips with beans & salsa on the house. For drinks, their Michelada & margaritas were good. Got their table side guacamole (3/5), coconut calamari (5/5), chorizo con queso dip (5/5), & the grilled sweet corn (they cut the kernels off the cob tableside - 3/5). Entrees, shrimp salad esquites was bomb & plenty to share between two. Sol beef fajitas (pricier side & only a few slices of meat) but good flavor. Short ribs barbacoa was delicious. Taco plates were also good. We got a wet shrimp buritto which we enjoyed. For kids meal, chicken tenders & quesadilla is always a hit. Good service. Love the modern minimalist desert vibes. But pretty pricey. Also surprised it showed up as El Torito on my credit card statement. Lol. So it's basically El Torito but fancier. Parking garage has tons of Tesla super chargers, if that helps you decide to eat here or not. Lol.

SOL Mexican Cocina was originally founded by Matt Baumayr, Rich Howland, and Deborah Schneider. I was fortunate enough to experience the Newport location back in 2009. Chef Deborah Schneider, whose fresh interpretation of Coastal Mexican dishes made an impression on the local dining scene. Their love for Sol came out from surfing trips down the peninsula. Wood-grilled tacos, fresh seafood ceviches at roadside stands, freshly caught fish and lobster to grill over driftwood fires sparked their passion for the creation of SOL. Now, XPG Cypress based Restaurant group behind El Torino, Chevys, Acapulco, Las Brisasm Who Song and Larry, Sinigual fresh acquried SOL in 2019. Fast Forward more than 10 years later, this SOL location continues to attract local Irvine residents and corporate employees. Ambiance (4/5): Beautiful modern and coastal atmosphere. Huge open space and great for groups. There is a bar with good selection of cocktail, margaritas, and martini. Service (3/5): Service was adequate. It would have been great if they notified us about the 2 hour validation for parking beforehand. Food (3/5): Items we tried were beautifully plated. However, the items we tried mostly did not stand out.

4+ A large restaurant that serves Mexican food and seems like it's good for groups. The service was good and very attentive. I thought this place was very nice and it has that Orange County aesthetic. I'm not sure how to fully explain it, but it's along the lines of just what you might see as a nice restaurant that's attached to a hotel or something. I met up with my colleague here for appetizers and drinks. We ordered a few of the coconut calamari, some tacos, and a few glasses of bourbon.If you look in the right place, you can find a really good value for some awesome bourbons. The food was great. I can't complain there. The spot is definitely a good place for catching up with people or business dinners and lunches. As a matter of fact, I think there were three or four different groups that were there for work related purposes at the time we were there. In terms of parking, I think this area is tough to find parking unless you want to pay lots of money. The restaurant does validate, but if you stay a little over, then the pricing could rack up really quickly.

Came here for my company holiday luncheon. We had reservation and were seated once arrived. The restaurant is decorated nicely and quite big. Parking is validated up to 2 hours. We ordered guacamole and grilled sweet corn appetizer to share. Both were good. I ordered grilled wagyu steak for my entree. The steak came sliced and cooked perfectly. Grilled scallions and jalapeños along with the tomatillo salsa, cilantro chimichurri and avocado worked amazingly well with the steak. Every bite was heavenly. This was served with borracho black beans and red rice. I didn't try the beans since I am not a fan of beans in general. The rice was ok. We stay past 2 hours and I ended up paying $6 for parking. Most places in Irvine do not charge for parking. I was surprised this place does.