“What does Solera mean?” I ask.
It’s my first time dining in the restaurant, located on the seventh (lobby) floor of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī Beach. Solera Waikīkī is still in its soft opening phase — its official branding starts on April 1, according to Ariana Tsuchiya, director of beverage for G.Lion Hawaiʻi — and is the re-branded La Vie, the hotel’s former French-inspired fine dining concept.
“When I was thinking about Solera, I thought about how both (executive) chef Mel (Fogata) and myself lived all over the world around the world, but we’ve always come back to our roots,” Tsuchiya says. “It’s like a blend of all these nuances together.”
Tsuchiya explains that solera is a wine term that means fractional blending.
“When you’re making something like a sherry or champagne, you take all of these different vintages and you blend them together to make a new house blend,” she says. “That’s called the solera system. When I was thinking about Solera — tradition and innovation, blending different cuisines together — that’s how we came up with the name.”
Instead of featuring French cuisine like its predecessor, Solera focuses on Hawaiʻi regional cuisine and local flavors with a blend of global influences.
“The menu has a little bit of chef’s flavors and local flavors,” Tsuchiya says. “He’s Filipino, so dishes like the ‘ahi kinilaw calamansi are near and dear to his heart. But he also lived on the Mainland, so you have dishes like Johnny cakes. He’s taking all of these different flavors and tying them in with a sense of place and local products.”
The eatery features an a la carte menu, along with a Solera tasting menu ($125 per person). The tasting menu features six half-sized portions of the restaurant’s best-selling appetizers and entrees. It’s a popular option for date night — and for getting a sampling of the eatery’s signature dishes — but we decided to stick with the a la carte menu this time.
I enjoyed a sample of the eatery’s cornbread Johnny cake ($26) at a recent event, and we were fortunate enough to get another taste during dinner, compliments of the chef. Johnny cakes are a staple in Southern cuisine and usually comprise baked or fried cornmeal flatbread. This version is like an elevated pancake topped with caviar, honey brown butter, egg mousse and chives. It’s smooth, buttery and ultra-luxurious with that caviar.
This play on a Caesar salad features baby romaine, Sweetland Farm tomme, seasoned breadcrumbs and creamy turmeric dressing. This fresh dish boasts nice, crispy textures — thanks to the panko breadcrumbs, which are a play on traditional croutons — and embodies spring.
“He (chef) likes to experiment with different types of umami,” Tsuchiya says. “Instead of having anchovies in his Caesar dressing, he uses turmeric, so it’s nice and healthy.”
I love the local beets ($28), which comprises Sweetland Farms chevre, local beets and local sea asparagus, spiced macadamia nuts and vinaigrette. The bright chevre complements the beets’ roasted flavor well, and the spiced macadamia nuts add a nice crunch.
Since seafood came highly recommended, we opted for the Kona kanpachi ($50). It’s served with baby fennel, white bean, moringa and Ho Farms cherry tomato ragout. The fish is salt brined, resulting in a delectably crispy skin, which contrasts nicely with the flaky, tender fish.
I’m usually a huge fan of dishes that feature chicken from J. Ludovico Farm. The North Shore farm raises chickens on pasture and they’re moved regularly on new pasture to optimize health. In my experience, poultry dishes from this farm are always super tender.
This dish featured a generous portion of chicken, served with Japanese sweet potato and charred broccoli. I appreciated how this dish was still filling without resulting in an immediate food coma.
The seafood “risotto” has been a favorite among customers so far, and it’s no surprise why. Instead of being a classic risotto, this version features a bouillabaisse-inspired broth with saffron. It boasts the same creaminess of a risotto, but with a more liquidy broth.
“It’s tying in European, Hawaiian and Asian flavors,” Tsuchiya says. “It’s topped with a blistered tomato, so that adds both umami flavor as well as texture. You have the fresh ikura for a little bit of brightness and salinity, and the creaminess of the ‘risotto’ rice itself.”
Dessert is usually the highlight of the meal for me. The experience at Solera is even sweeter (pun intended) because petite desserts are complimentary. The dessert tray comes by your table once you’re finished with entrees and usually comprises three treats; the selection rotates weekly.
Our dessert selection featured a chocolate cake with dark chocolate crème and cocoa pearls, almond shortbread cake with a lilikoʻi mousse, raspberry gelee and raspberry compote, and apple and pear tarts with a brown sugar crumble topping. We were told the dark chocolate cake has been available in several different forms and is the most popular of the three — though the apple-pear tart is the newest dessert.
Customers can have one of each; I opted for just the chocolate cake, which proved to be a dense, rich, satisfyingly chocolaty way to end dinner.
Just kidding. That wasn’t the end.
We had the chance to taste the eatery’s “hashigori” ($22), a play off the traditional Japanese kakigori dessert, known for its light, fluffy texture.
“The inspiration behind this dessert came from the ʻbridge,’ or partnership with Michelin-star chef Ishizaki from Ginza,” Tsuchiya explains. “‘Hashi means ‘bridge’ in Japanese, and ‘kakigori’ is the classic style of Japanese shaved ice.
“We collaborated with chef Ishizaki from Japan, who trained our team on the technique and delicate flavors of the shave ice,” she adds. “We brought in a special ice machine and only use large, clear ice cubes, specially crafted from On The Rock ice company.”
So far, Solera’s hashigori ($22) comes in four flavors — pistachio, strawberry, mango and chocolate. The pistachio version has a stronger pistachio flavor than I expected, and the fluffy, light layers are divine. The ample pistachios on top provide a nice, nutty contrast to the shave ice’s smooth texture. While the dessert is $22 on the a la carte menu, if you’ve ordered the tasting menu, it’s $10.
Solera plans to feature more specialty flavor combinations in the future. The eatery’s grand opening celebration will be later in April.
CONTACT
Solera Waikīkī
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī Beach
383 Kālaimoku St., Honolulu
Solerawaikiki.com
Instagram: @solerawaikiki
Open for dinner 5:30-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays
Complimentary valet when you dine
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
