As Told Over Bar Solita Brunch
A few weekends ago, one of my old roommates and I were thinking about where to go for brunch. ‘Tis the season of Richmond Brunch Weekend, so I sent her the list of options we had (I like to eat at participating restaurants and scope them out beforehand so I can make more informed recommendations).
From there, we narrowed it down to Bar Solita, the newest RVA Hospitality (the family of restaurants that include Max’s on Broad, Tarrant’s Cafe and Tarrant’s West) restaurant featuring Mediterranean vibes, tapas and pizza. Bar Solita is also one of my favorite spots for happy hour and brunch (it’s a crowd pleaser).
Bar Solita’s brunch menu reflects all of that, featuring a little bit of everything. When I was perusing the menu the night before our visit, I had my eye on the Old Bay chicken biscuit, breakfast empanadas and a jumbo shareable cinnamon roll. We decided to make a reservation in case it was crowded, which it wasn’t.
When we walked into Bar Solita, the first thing I noticed was how light and playful the environment was. We got seated right by a window in a colorful booth. Quickly, our waitress came over. I started the day with just some water and skipped the coffee since we were going to the Graduate after to grab a cup of joe. To drink, I had my eye on the season shrub mimosa, but it must have been pretty good because they didn’t have any left.
I decided to do a bloody Mary instead, and sprung for the build-your-own-option. I mean, why not if you get to customize it more, right!? I did have a holdup on having to actually make my own, though. I’m not a great bartender.
Luckily, really all you have to do to make your own is tell someone else what to do, which was lovely. The cart came over and I sprung for two olives, several pickled veggies and made it spicy.
Then came the challenging time — settling on what to eat. My friend doesn’t like the breakfast portion of brunch, so she decided on some pizza. I decided against the chicken and crepes because it was the most expensive dish, so I thought I’d save it for Richmond Brunch Weekend so more money would go to Massey.
I still couldn’t figure out what I wanted though between the empanadas or the chicken biscuit. I was overthinking it a bit in that everywhere has chicken biscuits, so the empanadas would be more original, but my tummy really wanted to do the chicken biscuit. Like the good eater I am, I convinced my roommate to split the chicken biscuit with me so I could have both.
Old Bay Chicken Biscuit
The chicken biscuit got served first, and I was almost falling out of the booth with excitement. The biscuit was tall, piled high with thick chicken breast, mixed greens and spicy honey. While I hesitated to order the chicken biscuit because it was ‘just’ a chicken biscuit, this was much more than just a chicken biscuit. I’m a sauce person, and they were generous with the spicy aioli. The biscuit was perfectly cooked and not just dusted with Old Bay, but fully seasoned.
Soon, the breakfast empanadas made it.
Breakfast Empanadas
The breakfast empanadas were stuffed with bacon and eggs and garnished with spicy aioli, cheese and cilantro. The empanadas were delicate and delicious, but the spicy aioli was really the selling point for me. If I were to re-eat this entire meal, I would have eaten these first. They were good, but the chicken biscuit was still on my mind. Also, if I were to order just one of these dishes, the chicken biscuit would have been my choice because it’s much more filling.
Will I be back to Bar Solita? Heck yes! There was a time there when I went to Bar Solita four times in two weeks.
Bar Solita is a top recommendation from me, and a place I frequent for brunch and happy hour (holler at those pizza rolls). And if you ask Cazey, he would also recommend Bar Solita as a prime happy hour spot.
Make a reservation for Bar Solita for March 21+22 and celebrate Richmond Brunch Weekend with the Flamingo Brunch. 15 percent of all proceeds will go to lifesaving cancer research at VCU Massey Cancer Center!