• Assortment of Spanish Cheeses with Quince Preserves (cold) $7.50 (shared)
• Fingerling Potatoes in Garlic-Chile Alioli (cold) $5.00 (shared)
• Goat Cheese Fritters with Honey (hot) $5.00 (shared)
• Selection of Grilled Spanish and Portuguese Sausages (hot) $9.00 (shared)
• Grilled Chorizo with Peppers and Red Wine (hot) $7.50 (shared)
• Shrimp “a la Plancha” in Sherry Sauce with Serrano Ham (hot) $9.00 (shared)
• Grilled Scallop with Tomato and Cumin (hot) $8.00 (shared)
• Roasted Pepper Salad (cold) $7.50 (shared)
• Dessert Tapas (Kir Royale with cassia foam, chocolate flan, orange marshmellow, almond cake) $8.50

Everything about Solera is beautiful. I had high expectations this restaurant it is owned by the same people who own La Belle Vie in Stillwater. All my expectations were met and then some. First, the decor is just beautiful they have held back nothing in decorating this restaurant with some of the most beautiful material. From the entrance to the back room, there really isn't a bad spot. (Well, ok the bathroom was a bit hard to find and when you finally got there it was nothing to write home about).

The food was not only beautiful presented, but also was excellent in every way. To me tapas is the ideal way to eat a meal, as one can try a variety of things, it is like ordering a bunch of appetizers for your meal, which is perfect, although it is a departure from most restaurants in this city.

I enjoyed every single tapas that we had. My favorite was probably goat cheese fritters followed closely by the assorted cheeses. I also really enjoyed the chorizo and the scallop. But even the others while not my favorites in this grouping were excellent.

The dessert was perfect as well an assortment of small bites of great sweets? Also it was served with a miniature kir royale which is one of my favorite drinks, so I was very pleased and content.

Just looking at the menu and knowing that this restaurant serves tapas one would probably think that this is a great large group place. I would agree with that in theory as you could try all the more dishes, but you would need to make sure that everyone in the group was on the adventurous side of eaters as every dish seemed to have an exotic ingredient or two and if you were with an eater that needed to know exactly what every ingredient was this would not be the place, also everyone in the group would need to be comfortable with the idea of no one large entree concept of eating, which may narrow the field even more.

However, with those two caveats I would recommend the restaurant to anyone, it really was a great experience.

• Assortment of Ice Cream (white pepper, pistachio, espresso) $6.00

Solera is hard to figure out. There were some excellent dishes, but others did not live up to our expectations. I was very happy with the selection of Spanish cheeses; each one was a delight. I also enjoyed the sausages, which were gamey but flavorful, though the price on the dish was on the high end. I liked the roasted pepper salad, but the server could have moved this choice up and served it first or second in the order. I also liked the grilled scallop more than Renee; I thought it was perfectly done and tasty. It was also fun to take apart the shrimp (not for the faint of heart with those beady eyes staring at you) and the Serrano ham was awesome. I was less impressed the other two tapas we tried that night: the fingerling potatoes (boring) and goat cheese fritters (fried nothings).

The desserts were excellent. The three ice creams were on the expensive end for just three scoops of ice cream. But they were unique and delicious, making them a worthwhile choice.

I have to admit, if we were to go back, I would order the cold tapas first (one or two each) before ordering the hot tapas (total of three cold + hot per person). I was happy with the server’s suggestion that we try three or four tapas per person to make a meal. At an average of about $7, that’s $21 to $28 per person. I would recommend going with three and deciding if you want another tapas and/or dessert.

Another note, this is a popular restaurant that was packed the night we went. I thought that this might be a slow night without a big show in town and the holidays over. But I was happily surprised to find a crowd enjoying good food, reasonably-priced wine, and company. For serious Twin Cities diners, this is a mandatory stop.