Sol y Sombra
Category: Tapas Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Upper West Side462 Amsterdam Avenue
(between 82nd St & 83rd St)
New York, NY 10024 (212) 400-4036
- Nearest Transit:
79th St (1)
81st St (B, C)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
15 Reviews for Sol y Sombra
Nice atmosphere, reasonable prices (we got a pitcher of sangria and 6 tapas for about $90 including tip), reasonably good food (although we weren't big fans of the cold marinated quail). Also, even though the place was busy and there were people waiting to sit, the servers never made us feel rushed.
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NYC tapas restaurants tend to dish out big plates of hype to go along with the small plates of food. While the hype is sometimes warranted, it's nice to to occasionally enjoy hype-free tapas.
Enter Sol y Sombra, a solid UWS tapas with very good red sangria, outdoor seating, medio del calle tapas.
The Calamares al Ajillo (garlic squid -$9) has great flavor and decent texture. The Biftec 'al Chef' ($12) is more a 1/2 entree than tapas but is recommended. The peppercorn sauce pairs well with the grilled steak (could use more peppercorn though) and it even comes with some tasty fries. The Tortilla Espanola ($5) was just so-so. Liked the house dessert - Torrejas ($7) - which tasted like a really cinnamon-y french toast.
So if you're uptown and looking for a place to decompress vs impress, this one's worth checking out...
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My fiancee and I had just seen Vicky Cristina Barcelona over on the East Side, which put us in the a insatiable mood for tapas. This place is just three blocks south of our place on the UWS, so we hopped a cab back home and grabbed a table.
The atmosphere is great -- open-air seating, darkened interior, etc. We got two glasses of wine to start, and they brought out this little potato salad and olives tasting plate.
We only ordered four tapas, so this list is a little short.
The croquetas de pollo were a disappointment. I tend to judge all tapas on places I've eaten at in Spain, or Jaleo's in D.C. These just don't match up. Too much potato/fritter mix inside.
The setas al ajillo (garlic mushrooms) were, however, tremendous. Scoop some of those on a slice of bread and tuck in.
The veal meatballs were also a favorite with us. So was the jamon serrano, which is served bruschetta-style with bread and tomatoes. The night ended, like always when I eat tapas, with flan. Good, but a bit of a citrus aftertaste.
I can't say enough about the service. At times the waiters doubled-up on our table, but we never waited for anything and the food came out in layers. One of my pet-peeves about tapas restaurants is how some places bring out everything at once.
All in all, not a bad way to spend a night out.
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After an afternoon of walking from the Bastille Day festivities, me and my friend couldn't find a place we could agree on. So kept walking from East to West. Despite having tapas earlier in the week, Sol y Sombra beckoned us to try it out.
The atmosphere was lively despite it being early evening/ late afternoon. The sangria is bomb-diggity! Hands down, one of the best I've had in the city.
We ordered the Pollo Al Ajillo and Almejas Marineras (clams) which were okay and my marinated quail dish (Cordones es Escachebe) was neither good nor foul. I expected something different. We steered from the typical tapas dishes so maybe this is where I went wrong. Perhaps I should stick to my usual orders, sometimes the basics are truly the best. Their filet mignon (I spotted at another table) looked really good. Perhaps I should try that the next time.
Service was good and I truly appreciate it when I get good service. It's a good scene for Amsterdam and W. 82nd.
I'd come back to start my night off w/ sangria there for sure but I'll head to Tia Pol to get my tapas on.
We went her late last night (about 10:30 pm on a Saturday night) and this place was definitely packed!
I'm only giving it 3 stars because ultimately I think if I was in search of tapas again, I'd try somewhere else.
We had 3 tapas:
1. The Tortilla Espanola ("the spanish national dish", golden omelette of sliced potatoes, eggs and sweet onions)
2. Albondigas (spanish style meatballs (veal and beef) in a vegetable sauce with carrots, leeks and celery)
3. Croquetas de Pollo (chicken croquettes with home made tomato sauce)
I would say the Albondigas were the best of the three, followed by the Tortilla Espanola, and the Corquetas (which seemed to be coming out of the kitchen left and right) were a disappointment. We each had two glasses of red wine (one good and one that tasted like it had cork in it). I would have liked to taste the Sangira to see if we should order the obviously popular pitcher, but the waitress said they make them one pitcher at a time and couldn't offer a taste. Too bad, but I guess a good sign that your sangria will be fresh! (??)
So far my review doesn't sound that great, but the ambiance was really lovely, and everyone around us seemed to be having a great time so I am going to be generous and assume that we just didn't order well.
Our total cost for the 4 glasses of wine plus 3 tapas was $67.80 (including tip). Not quite as cheap as I would have liked, but for the UWS and four glasses of wine, not too shocking.
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Spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon here. Not too crowded, very authentic atmosphere (I've been to Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Malaga, Granada and bunch of other places in Spain). Nice selection of tapas, sangria, etc. Not sure what it would be like at night.
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Enjoyed chorizo and drinks here - good tapas selection and very reasonable prices; kitchen stays open fairly late for a weeknight, too!
Two pitchers of Sangria, 3 tapas plates and we were done. We had the salmon, chicken with ratatouille, and chorizo. All the food was good and the place was not too crowded. However, the seating was really close together. Anyway, it was a good place to get a bite to eat and not have to break the bank...and you can actually hear each other when you talk.
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Perhaps it was the night we went or just a fluke event, but I found Sol y Sombra to be disappointing. We went the night before the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which transforms the UWS to an extension of Times Sq, bursting with people (tourists) and gaggles of children waving balloon animals. All the restaurants were packed, so I was very pleased when the hostess at Sol y Sombra told us it would only be 10 min for the three of us. They were quick with everything (except water), so the service was fine.
The menu has a large selection of tapas, so we ordered 8 or 9 plates for the three of us and a pitcher of sangria (red). My husband, having spent some time in Spain, was pleased with the sangria and the atmosphere (he thought it very much looked like a lot of the places he would go to while in Spain). Of all the plates we ordered, the bistek 'al chef' was the best. In fact, it was delicious. It came with perfectly cooked fries and steamed vegetables. It wasn't very unique, but it was done so well that it became the highlight of our meal.
Disappointing was the queso manchego (the cheese was weak compared to others I have had in the past), mejillones marinara, croquetas de pollo and chorizo. I was really disappointed with the chorizo since it was one of my favorite things to eat! The gambas al ajillo and, again, the bistek 'al chef' were excellent. the jamon serrano was also very good. I didn't try the scallops, which everyone seems to love.
Overall, it's a nice place to try a multitude of dishes and if you're looking for Spaninsh tapas, it seems to have that authentic feel. I'm not likely to go back for dinner, but to split a tapas or two with wine, I can be persuaded.
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Friday afternoon, 3pm: "Can I have reservations for 6 at 7:30pm?"
Frazzled sounding man: "Sure!"
Friday evening, 7:15pm: "Umm... I don't think we can make it in time, can we move it to 8pm?"
Surprisingly calm sounding man: "No problem!"
This is what New York lacks - good restaurants you can get reasonable reservations on a weekend night without having to plan a month in advance. None of this "11:30pm is the first opening", or "we only hold reservations for 15min" BS. That's what's great about Sol y Sombra. Great, authentic, Spanish-style tapas that's down to earth for a phenomenal price.
Go to restaurant.com and print out a $50 coupon (you have to buy $100 worth of food) for $6, grab a group of friends last minute, add a few pitchers of sangria, and have a good time!
Try the calamares (hot) and the quail. Stay away from the salmon unless you like your fish tasting like brandy...
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This place is another one that you kinda forget is there. But once you enter, you remember why you are going back. It's clean, sleak, and the best looking Tapas bar (from the inside). The outside makes it look like a neighborhood bar though...it's odd.
I wish I could get their scallops recipe...I think it's the best I've ever had.
If they open the front up, this place transforms into what a Tapas bar should be...
Olive-oiley, sometimes slightly sour-ish (in a good way), fresh, tasty, small, filling paella. Definitely not cheap. Good ambience, lovely service. Paella, mushroom something, and shrimps in garlic sauce all delicious.
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Having spent a semester in Madrid in college, I am very picky about my tapas. Sol y Sombra was a pleasant surprise. It comes much closer to authentic Spanish tapas than many of the other tapas places i've been in New York. Food and atmosphere are both wonderful.
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very nice place. we ordered 6 tapas and a paella dish for our party of 4. all of the tapas were great (though i did not like the squid because of the texture but the calamari in garlic sauce was great). in fact, everything that had garlic sauce was great. the only thing I wish they did was warm the bread and the butter before it came out. cold bread and cold butter does not make for easy spreading. the sangria was also pretty good but not very strong.
The place:
Very clean and slick setup. I've been there twice and help like I could make it home. The lighting is brighter than I would like but the seating is spacious enough to avoid rubbing up on the neighbors.
The food:
Excellent tapas! I've had 85% of them and loved them all. Entrees are awesome as well.
The price:
The first time I went there was about $200 (with tax, no tip) for 3 people which included 2 bottles of wine and about 15 tapas. The second time was about $260 (with tax, no tip) for 4 people with one bottle of wine, a few beers, 6 tapas, 4 entrees and 2 desserts.
Overall:
I will definitely consider this place when I'm in the mood for tapas and an open place to catch up with a friend
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