Casa Solmar

Loring

5.0

This was our first trip to Montreal. My wife & I are both foodies, always ready to try something new. We decided to walk, the streets were busy & there was little parking. We hoped to find something interesting & see if we could be successful as walk ins. & at that moment, in the historic Vieux Montreal, we came to Restaurant Solmar, specializing in Portuguese dining. The restaurant is not on street level & required climbing several steps to the second floor. I can't comment on whether there was an elevator or not. We had the place to ourselves! Our waiter, a well groomedprofessional was as polished as the wine glasses he was wiping down. The ambiance was intimate. A restaurant like this is meant for you to sit back, listen to the menu selections & the wine pairing. "Our chef is from Portugal," our waiter said, "& he prepares your dinner like he is still in Portugal." Now, that's what I'm talking about.I wanted the grilled octopus & my wife had the seafood paella. We went with a rioja gran reserva as recommended. Our dinner arrived beyond expectations. The wine worked wonderfully. Our lavish ncomments to the waiter prompted the chef to visit our table where he parted his only cooking secret ... "grilling octopus has to be low & slow, or it is too tough." He got that right.

Kristie

5.0

Great place to come & enjoy a sunny afternoon with great wine. Service was great

Andrew

5.0

Excellent wine. Excellent food. Excellent welcome.

Foodie

1 Review

5.0

Wonderful, wonderful experience. My husband & I visited there from Vermont last night & we had a truly great meal at Solmar. The staff was very nice, helpful, & friendly. The place was very nice, with white tablecloths & lovely blue & white peasant motif dishes. The live Portuguese music gave a good atmosphere, & the food was fresh & delicious. They started off by bringing us a basket of mixed very nice, very fresh breads, & a small bowl of really tasty olives. We ordered gazpacho to start us off. It was very nicely prepared & tasted as good as the best gazpacho I have ever eaten. I also had some oysters on the half shell, which were freshly shucked & very nice. For our main course, my husband ordered the shrimp in wine & cream sauce & I had the grilled squid. Both were beautifully prepared, nicely presented & very fresh & delicious. For dessert, my husband had a really fine tasting portuguese creme brulee & I ordered the Torta de Laranja, which is a very delicate cake, bathed in a to-die-for orange sauce. I must confess, it took all my self-control to keep from licking my plate... We don't care for alcohol, so we opted for a bottle of Portuguese mineral water called Pedra, which was very nice. All-in-all our meal came to C$ 105.00 plus tip. We consider it to be money well spent & plan to return again sometime soon. We recommend the Solmar very highly for its food, the excellent staff, the cleanliness & the great atmosphere. The service is a bit slow, but the leisure time spent waiting can be very pleasant if you are in good company.