Ok, being from this area, there's not a heck of a lot of places to go. I've tried giving this place a chance for improvement a few times, hoping the next time it will be better....I'm done waiting. Waiting being the operative word. Sure the tapas are good, but the service is horrible. Their staff is in constant change, which should be the first warning. The manager really doesn't seem to care what goes on with his service staff and here are the examples why:
My first experience there with friends we sat at a table in the bar area and it took aprox. 15 minutes for anyone to even acknowledge that we were there, crowd size was minimal at best. After flagging someone down, they sent a waiter over to take our order. We ordered a few different tapas, a cheese sample for $9 the slices of cheese were so tiny it was enough for one taste, artisan bread and a salad. We placed our wine order, selection is good, but we didn't get the drinks served for another 10 minutes which didn't make sense since the bartender wasn't busy filling any orders. We dropped over $120 on Tapas and wine? What??
The second time I arrived was on a Thursday eve at 8pm to meet a friend for a glass of wine, there were only two other couples there at the bar, and the dining room was empty,.While sitting at the bar awaiting her arrival, the female bartender was into cleaning the bar and ignored me, When she did come over I mentioned that i was waiting for a my friend, and ordered a glass of wine. She asked, "Well do you think you're friend is going to want beer, because I'm going to close up the taps. Â Uhhh it's 8pm?
My friend arrived, she ignored her also, she was more preoccupied in closing at 8pm then working. I paid for my wine and told my friend, forget the drink here, lets go someplace else.
And so it goes, same stories, different days hoping this time they'll get their act together. But I will NOT be giving them one more penny, especially after the last visit.
Saturday night, dining room was busy, bar tables were not. We chose to sit in the bar. The table was dirty, after 15 minutes of no acknowledgement, we got up to get a rag to clean the table, someone finally came over. We placed our drink order, 2 martinis and a margarita, 20 minutes later the drinks were delivered. At this time the bartender was slightly busy so we let it go. When the waiter delivered it he plunked them down and left. After a while we ordered a second round, the restaurant was now empty except for a few tables, 20 minutes later when they were delivered i said to the waiter,"We thought you forgot about us" He abruptly stopped putting the drinks down in mid air and said, "oh, do you want me to just return these then?" Â He then tried to recover by blaming the bartender by saying, well if i were making these you would have gotten them sooner"....
I did a lot of waitress work when i was younger and service like this is unacceptable. No apologies, just threw the bartender under the bus. I said yes, return them and we need out bill. The kicker is, the owner/manager, in a t-shirt, Â saw the whole thing and didn't even try to approach us. We got the bill, and guess what, yep, the drinks we sent back were on the bill. We called the waiter back over and asked him to please remove them, he did, we paid, we left, and we won't be back. Strike three. they're out. We left and went across the street to Antonio's restaurant, which was busy, and yet they acknowledged us immediately, the waitress was extremely pleasant.
Next time you want Tapas, make the drive to go somewhere else. Don't compromise yourself, even if you have a coupon!
A couple next to us at a wine dinner recently was from Woodbridge. Â Since we had a voucher for Solun, we asked if they had been there. Â They had and said it was just ok. Â If you want great tapas, they said, you should go to Ibiza in Hamden, which I can say is quite good.
Since we did have that voucher and were in the area, we decided to try Solun anyway. Â There was a bit of a crowd at the bar and we were quickly seated by the friendly hostess. Â We sat in the dining area closer to the bar, which is nicely decorated with primary colors with black trim (kind of like Ibiza). Â Instead of plain tables, there are table cloths and a leather table cover. Â That's different, but it works.
Before we get to the meal, a few quick things. Â I asked the waiter if he had any recommendations or any favorites. Â He said something like if you want to know what's good, just point to anything on the menu. Â I'm being picky, but I think the wait staff should be able to come up with some suggestions or diners' favorites instead of the 'everything is wonderful' line. Â
After asking for bread, a saucer was filled with olive oil on the table and one small, cold slice of cracker-sized bread was dramatically served to each of us from a basket with tongs. Â The bread was actually fine, but it would have been much better warmed up. Â Plus, we had to ask for salt to put in the olive oil. Â Warm a bunch up, put it in a basket on the table with salt and skip the whole presentation thing.
Our first tapas was a salad with frisee lettuce, white truffle oil, dried figs and cranberries, goat cheese, and a Parmesan crisp. Â It's very nicely presented and all the ingredients taste great together. Â
The second tapas was grilled shrimp served atop a guacamole and sliced beets (a bit of a riff on one of my favorite Ibiza tapas). Â The shrimp was excellent and again all the ingredients came together nicely.
So far, so good, but maybe we should have stuck with the tapas. Â Lamb chops were a special tonight and were ordered medium. Â Instead they arrived fairly well done. The waiter did offer a new serving, but we declined. Â To make matters worse, the mashed yucca and berry puree did not taste nearly as good as we imagined. Â Sea bass, however, was nicely presented and tasted fine. Â
Based on our experience, I would recommend Solun for its tapas, which would rate four out out of five stars, instead of the entrees, which would probably rate about two stars. Â Service was helpful and very friendly and the bottled wine prices were quite reasonable. Â With the design and presentation of many of the tapas and other dishes, clearly there is talent in the kitchen. Â With a bit of tweaking, Solun could become a solid choice in the area.
Absolutely wonderful dining experience!
Moms had been raving about this place for a few months, so it seemed like the obvious choice for her birthday dinner on Saturday.
Four of us rolled up right around dinner time and were seated immediately in the dining room closest to the bar. Service was attentive from the get-go: from Carlos (the owner) inviting us inside and welcoming us warmly, to Neil the multi-tasker, to Edwin (apparently mom's favorite waiter) to everyone in between, we were treated like very special customers.
It turned out that mom loved this place so much she didn't even have to open the menu. We ordered a full gauntlet of tapas (albondigas, empanadas, potatoes & pork just to name a few) and every dish was better than the last. Our entrees, too, (two paellas: one seafood, one meat, lamb, and chicken) were delicious. To end the meal, we ordered dessert (tres leches cake and the fondue bites) which was the perfect end to our incredible meal. Everything was prepared and presented with care. Flavorful, satisfying, and just about anything you could want in a tapas experience.
It's disappointing to hear other diners' experiences were not so stellar because as I said before, the service was out out of this world. Everyone was so accommodating and each special request was granted with a smile.
If I didn't live so darn far away, I'd be back to Solun in a heartbeat.
Highly recommended.
We have been to this restaurant several times, introducing new couples and spreading positive reviews by word of mouth.
We went by ourselves the first time for lunch and we were impressed.
The second time we brought a group of friends for dinner after raving about it, the service was poor and drinks unbearably strong. When we, after coming up with the courage, asked to have our drinks diluted, the waiter brought the manager over. We explained the situation and the manager immediately became defensive and developed an attitude towards us. Either way, the drinks were diluted and we carried on. Also that night, we had a friend with an allergy, which she of course mentioned first thing...they had to have brought out and taken back her dishes (tapas) several times before getting it right. We left that night semi-disappointed...more embarrassed that we let down our friends.
After this event, we decided to give it another try, since the food was pretty good and we had coupon (from groupon). My husband and I had a nice dinner and left happy.
We then made another bad decision...invited a different couple to the restaurant. Service was the slowest we had experienced...which we didn't consider a bad thing since we were in good company. We eventually were asked what we wanted for drinks. While looking over out menu, our friend was starving....they had always brought out rolls the previous times. We finally caught the waiter and asked for rolls. When they came, we dug in...I unwrapped my utensils and found food crusted between the fork, I didn't say anything.
Our friend cut into his roll and was surprised and grossed out to find a used glucometer strip. With 3 out of the 4 of us being nurses...it was known that a diabetic person must have been testing their blood sugar while making the rolls. ABSOLUTEY DISGUSTING!!!! After debating whether or not to say anything, we told the waiter who got the manager (same manager as before)... he approached...already in defense mode...we again explained our situation and he said they didn't make the rolls at their restaurant and proceeded to say that it was funny. My husband replied that it actually wasn't funny, and the waiter left to "look into it". He never came back or even looked at us through the rest of our dinner. We were not offered anything to make up for this experience, not even a free drink for our hungry friend who could not eat his roll, not even an apology.
We paid our bill, tipped the waiter 20%, since it was not his fault...but we will never go back again and we will tell more people about this bad experience than we told of our previous good/ok experience.
Thank you solun for handling our situations so poorly!!
I don't know whether to say that Solun is still experiencing growing pains or what is the problem with staffing and quality of service. Last night was exceptionally slow and poor service. Note that we have eaten here many times, so we've dropped $120 to $250 here about a dozen times.
The food is almost without exception top-notch, innovative and welcomed. It may be pricey, but I think it is worth it from the edible side of the bill. Last night the chicken was tough and overcooked even when we ASKED that it not be overcooked. The steak was also overcooked. This is not normal!
What was obvious recently was that they were understaffed and some staff was new. I don't know if this was an unusual situation, but I have seen them understaffed before. On this occasion the owner was filling in as best he could.
They were busy when we were last there. That says something good. However, we went without water for a long time, had to ask repeatedly for bread and didn't get it till the end of our tapas appetizers and they missed out on selling us another bottle of wine by not bringing it till we were ready to leave.
We were repeatedly told the bread is in the oven. Well, I think most of it was being burnt because it sure didn't come out to our table!
In defense of the young bartender/waiter, who virtually didn't know how to open and serve a bottle of wine, he was overwhelmed. One person waiting on tables, making mojitos from scratch, serving wine and drinks to a packed bar area, almost all by himself?
So, owner, manager, waiter, commis, I hope you can correct the staffing issues.
My friend and I decided to go here after I purchased a groupon. Â We had both never been there, so we went to the website to look up the address. Â While they have directions from various parts of the county, no address was listed. Â I knew it was located in Woodbridge, yet the directions indicated you get off the Merritt in Trumbull. Â When we called to check if their directions were correct, we got a snotty, "Yes, they are." And then the person hung up. Â So we followed the directions and ended up about 3 miles down the road from Sikorsky--in Trumbull. Â Uh, no. Â So we googled an address and hiked all the way back up to Woodbridge, When we finally got there, there were only a few people there (though it was only a Wednesday, I thought this a bit strange). Â We were once again informed that the directions on the website were perfectly fine (this time with a rather depreciating smile). Â We were immediately seated at a table--where I promptly stuck my hand in food from the previous occupants of the table and was completely skeeved out. Â I immediately went to the bathroom to wash my hand and informed the waiter the table needed to be cleaned again. Â I have the shivers thinking about it even now. Â We ordered pretty quickly since we have tapas a lot at Barcelona and while they came out quickly, they were nothing to write home about. Â We tried the caipirinhas as well, which were equally lackluster. Â When we were ready to leave, we had the hardest time getting the waiter's attention, as he was wrapped up in some TV show that was on air in the bar area--we could see him just staring at it from where we were sitting. Â I also want to mention that he only came over a few times, and they were far between. Â THEN, when he actually did run our credit cards, he forgot about the groupon so he had to void the transaction on mine and run it through again. Â Thanks, buddy, for putting an unnecessary $80 on hold in my checking account. Â Maybe if he had been more into what he was doing and less into the TV that would not have happened. Â I think next time I'm going to read reviews before I buy a groupon, because even at half price, I found Solun severely lacking.
Review Source:I am glad I did not read the reviews prior to going out on a date night with my husband. I am also glad that the restaurant apparently did read the reviews. We found the staff very attentive, from the moment we arrived and were pleasantly greeted at the door, until the moment we left. The service was at an appropriate speed. This is not a fast food restaurant. Items are made to order, presented beautifully and piping hot. The four hot items we ordered were brought in 2 groups of 2, progressing from milder flavors to more involved flavors.
The salad was delicious, albeit perhaps a bit overpriced. The wine was wonderful and inexpensive.
I would have liked another piece of bread, to soak up the yummy sauces, but my waistline is happier it wasn't offered.
I will definitely return, and hope our experience is the norm and not an anomaly, a big improvement from prior reviews.
We should have read the reviews before we came here and saved ourselves the trip. Â We sat at the bar and although a bartender was there, he just spent his time wiping/cleaning until we finally said umm hello can we get a drink? Â How can someone be so clueless? Â We tried about 7 tapas and none were mentionable. Â There is no reason to go back to this restaurant. Â On a final note, I dont understand how the owners are not aware of the poor servce, I take it that they just dont care enough to make it better.
Review Source:We tried this restaurant because we happened to be nearby at dinner time...  We got a pitcher of red sangria, baked goat cheese, empanadas, and a pork crostini thing.  The sangria was not good, my fiancé said it tasted like cleaning products.  The goat cheese wasn't bad but it was like $7 for two pieces of cheese and some tomato sauce.  There was a guy walking around with bread and he gave us one piece and some tasteless olive oil and never came back.  The pork wasn't very good. The empanadas were pretty good but we had to send them back because the inside was still frozen...  Overall, never going back!
Review Source:I'd like to give a no stars rating, but it just isn't possible to do that. Â We tried Solun this past summer and really enjoyed it. Â Last Thursday night, we went back and it was a pure, unmitigated disaster. Â We arrived at 7:30 and were promptly seated. Â A waiter brought us menus and asked if we would like to order something to drink. Â I told him that we would be ordering a bottle of wine and asked for a few minutes to peruse the wine list. Â More than 10 minutes later, he finally came back and took our wine order. Â Instead of going to get the bottle, he moved to another table where 8 women were ordering tapas. Â He was at the table for more than 5 minutes (probably closer to 10) taking the orders. Â Another waiter saw us just sitting there and asked if he could get us anything. Â We explained that the other waiter had taken our wine order but obviously had not yet gotten the bottle. Â Waiter #2 then allegedly went to retrieve it, but again, nothing......
Bottom line - after sitting at our table for a half hour with nothing but 2 glasses of water, we got up and left. Â It is inconceivable to me that there was no manager...no host or hostess.....just two waiters that seemed absolutely clueless.
Parenthetically, having told a couple of other people about this experience, we were not surprised to hear of similar tales of almost absurdly bad service.
It is clear that the owners either don't care about the restaurant or have given up. Â It is too bad, as Solun could have been a very nice addition to the area, but there is no way we'd ever return. Â For tapas, we'll stick with our favorite venue, Ibiza Tapas!
We headed out excited to try something different. We've not yet done the wine and tapas thing, but we're open minded and I just love vino blanco. Our waiter, Tristan, was surly and offensive. He wasn't interested in serving our table of four. He told us that in order to do a tapas party, each person should order three or four things from the tapas menu and they would bring it out in waves. He said if we didn't order enough we may have to wait up to an hour in between tapas because he was busy with a table of 11 and some other tables. When we arrived, less than half the tables were seated and other waiters were working. Our companions ordered entrees, while my wife and I ordered four different tapas combined. Tristan was upset with our order, telling us firmly that it would not be enough.
I ordered the house vino blanco at six dollars per glass, my wife was interested in something sweeter, Tristan made a suggestion that my wife and one of our companions agreed to that was indistinguishable from the house vino blanco except that it was nine dollars per glass.
We were each served small bit of bread for our oil. Later in the evening we asked a bread-man as he walked past for more. He generously offered us two more small pieces each and Tristan lectured the man not to give out bread. It was an incredibly inappropriate moment and we sat there looking at each other like we were on a hidden camera show.
Our companions ordered steak and scallions with chickpeas. They liked the food. My wife and I ordered chicken and pork tapas, chorizo & wine, and ham croquettes. The first three were good, the ham croquettes arrived late and burned. My wife and I would have been satisfied with three tapas between us. 6-8 seems like too much.
We went out for a good time and we had a wonderful time despite Tristan. We can't wait to go out for tapas and wine again, but we are sure it won't be at Solun.
The variety is wonderful, the staff is friendly. Â Tapas offer a way to try many new flavors.
I have been here numerous times for dinner and more recently for lunch. The drinks are delightful. The menu has something for everyone and for all appetites. Â The staff suggestions are always delicious!
Very nice for dinner. Â Excellent for lunch.
We dined at Solun this past Friday night and found it to be average. Â We were promptly seated by the hostess and the waitress was very attentive and helpful. Â She was familiar with the menu and made recommendations based on what other customers have ordered and enjoyed. Â We ordered drinks and an appetizer which were delivered quickly to our table. Â I had a mojito which was perfect; my husband had a beer. Â The coconut shrimp app was okay, tasted like something you could buy at Restaurant Depot in the freezer section. Â Definitely not fresh! Â It took a hour from the time we ordered to the time our entrees came to the table. Â We did not complain and actually enjoyed the time we had to catch up on conversation. Â I heard another waitress tell her tables that they were short a chef hence the slow arrival of food. Â We were not privy to that information. Â I ordered the skirt steak and my husband had the short ribs. Â Both were delicious and well-prepared. Â My steak came with a three potato au gratin which was over baked. Â My husband's entree came with mashed potatoes that were tasteless. Â We opted out of dessert which was probably a good choice on our part. Â The table next to us ordered dessert and appeared to be quite small for the price. Â
Solun is a new establishment that is probably still working out the kinks. Â We will more than likely go back and are hoping for a better food and dining experience. Â It's so nice to have another restaurant here in Woodbridge.
We live pretty close to this place and were excited to try it out. I was pretty surprised how quickly the location had gone from a cheesecake bakery and restaurant to a tapas restaurant. Pretty quick turnaround...so...I'm hoping this place will turnaround again and possibly become a restaurant I'd like to frequent.
- Food was decent, but overpriced. I prefer tapas restaurants that offer you fixed price ordering options, e.g. 6 for $40, etc. Cheese plate was laughable with its ritz-esque crackers.
- No table bread? That was strange. I saw a few of the waitstaff carrying around a giant basket of bread and with tongs, placing a single piece on each diners' plate. Kind of stingy if you ask me.
- Drinks took F-O-R-E-V-E-R. We ended up ordering second rounds well before we finished our first round, because it really took that long to get to us.
- When we arrived the place smelled weird, like rubber and burnt deep fryer, and that's exactly what we all smelled like when we left.
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