64 Dean Street, London, W1D 4QQ
Harden's says
Replacing Victor Garvey's Spanish restaurant Rambla is Victor Garvey's Californian restaurant Sola.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“THE place to go for top-class Californian cooking in London” – Victor Garvey’s Soho five-year-old may be “eye-wateringly expensive” (“the price, ooh la la!”) but serves “top-notch cooking well deserving of its Michelin star”. “SoLa is that rare place that sources genuinely top-class ingredients and cooks them to perfection”: presenting them in either a 10-course tasting menu for £139 per person, or 17-course tasting menu for £229 per person. There are also drinks pairings to the above (at £170 and £230 per person) and a “fabulous” wine list drawn mostly from the US (and primarily, but not exclusively, from the West Coast). Despite refurbishment two years ago, the café-style ambience is the weakest link in the experience.
Summary
“Slightly unorthodox” but “exceptional” Californian food “made with super, luxury ingredients” and backed up by “an interesting and mainly Californian wine list” mean Victor Garvey’s acclaimed four-year-old is “the place to head for in Soho for an out-of-the-ordinary meal”; and some believe “it should have two stars from the tyre men”. (“Highlights included flambéed langoustines with a dashi broth and foie gras; and that rare thing, a grapefruit dessert with jelly, sorbet, consommé and meringue”). If there’s a reservation, it’s about the “small and cramped-feeling” space, which critics feel “for a VERY expensive meal has really no sense of occasion at all” (“it is essentially an unremarkable café in Soho with staff who might have been officiating at some kind of sacred ceremony in a High Temple!”).
Summary
“One of London’s finest gastronomic experiences” – Victor Garvey’s “slightly unorthodox” Californian in Soho (’SO’ho via ’LA’) had its late-2019 debut slightly stymied by Covid, but is nowadays “consistently serving some of the most interesting food in London, using exceptional produce”; and with “brilliant ideas and concepts in each dish”. Staff are “chatty” – “overly so” for one or two diners, but “passionate and knowledgeable” to others – while the setting is “lacking atmosphere” or cleanly designed according to your taste. Dishes inspiring comment have included “amazing extra-large langoustines”, “superb tuna and caviar” and a “delicious grapefruit dessert”.
Summary
“Superb in every way!” – Victor Garvey’s decision to close his “small” tapas restaurant Rambla (RIP) and to transform it in late 2019 into a highly “original” top-end venue has paid off. The idea is to celebrate ‘the modern cuisine of America’s Pacific West Coast, bringing a taste of California to Soho, via LA’ (hence the SOLA name, geddit). In practice, this means a plant-filled interior; a strong, well-priced list of Californian wine; and high priority placed on “exceptional ingredients” (with an emphasis on seafood). “It delivers all you could want from a top-end London restaurant whilst still feeling like you’re dining in a small local bistro”. The “creative” cooking is “freshly seasonal” (e.g. “exceptional tomato salad”) – “the only drawback is the £139 tasting menu price tag, with no £89 prix fixe option available to weekend diners”. In January 2021, it earned the first Michelin star for an American-cuisine restaurant outside of the US.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at SOLA?
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £60.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £7.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 20.00% |
Restaurant details
SOLA Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Simply sensational cooking. We had the pre theatre menu and every single thing was cooked perfectly. The langoustine was a particular highlight, but there wasn't a mistep throughout the whole meal. I've only rated the ambience as a 3 as there was a function in the main restaurant so we were down in the private dining area and got a table by the staff door which wasn't ideal, but was explained before we arrived and a complimentary glass of champagne offered. We will return and dine upstairs"
"Excellent all rounder "
"One of the best restaurants in London. Friendly and attentive service from the start. Food was all of a very high standard, especially the langoustine starter, and chocolate and caviar dessert. Amuse bouche and petite fours were also excellent. The room is small and intimate but beautifully decorated. All in all, a near perfect experience. "
64 Dean Street, London, W1D 4QQ
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
