Solo Bistronomia and Vinobar

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I have heard great things about Solo Bistronomia at the Raffles Dubai, thus I am excited to try it on a Tuesday night in the company of a close friend. Unlike La Residence, which has great accessibility as it is located by the entrance to the hotel itself, Solo is on the third floor so you need to walk through the large, impressive lobby of the Raffles to get to the elevators in the far corner. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I have definitely noticed that accessibility usually does play a role in how busy a restaurant gets in Dubai.

The Solo Vinobar has a wine and cheese evening every Tuesday from 8pm onwards for AED 120 per head, which includes a pairing of 5 wines and 5 cheeses. Perhaps I will go there for a girls’ night on another occasion, but tonight it’s just going to be a nice Italian dinner.

As I am escorted towards the dining area, I notice how large the space is, and how spread out the tables are. An elegant yet unpretentious bar sits at the entrance to the quiet Vinobar area, which is presumably busier during the non-Ramadan months. Red brick walls, double height ceilings, filament bulbs hanging from long cords, and bright colored bull heads in one of the dining areas create a quirky yet rustic vibe about the place. A large mirror in one corner of another section of the dining area at first gives me the impression that the space is even larger.
We do order wine and, based on our server’s recommendation, we get half a carafe of a French Cabernet as we look over the food menu. At first glance there only appears to be 1 vegetarian appetizer, but we are informed that the Burrata can be served with tomatoes instead of smoked salmon, so we go ahead and order this as well as Solo’s signature artichoke ravioli, the mixed wild mushroom risotto, a vegetarian pizza and a side of Portobello mushrooms.

Here’s a run down of the food, which is perfectly spaced out:

Burrata with tomatoes - this burrata itself is of high quality and is perfectly complemented by the fresh tomatoes.

Artichoke ravioli – I don’t particularly enjoy this dish as the ravioli is a little over stuffed with chopped, under-seasoned artichoke, and the sauce is a little too thick for my liking.

Wild Mushroom risotto – we absolutely love the flavours of the mushrooms in this dish and the fondue topping adds a welcome touch of sharp Parmesan flavour.

Vegetarian Pizza – I do love a good pizza, but unfortunately this one is undercooked and somewhat disappointing after the high bar set by the risotto.

Portobello – this large Portobello mushroom stuffed with breadcrumbs, herbs and pecorino cheese turns out to be a delicious vegetarian side to add to the mix.

We are having a great night so far and despite sampling quite a bit of the food, you can’t have an Italian meal without a good tiramisu, which is highly recommended by our server. Except this one comes with a twist; it is steamed for 7 minutes and topped with a chocolate sorbet. I love the chocolate sorbet, but the tiramisu itself is a bit disappointing – I guess there’s a reason why Tiramisu is traditionally served cold.

Would I go back? I do love the Vinobar and the overall vibe of the place, so I may go back for the wine and cheese night on a Tuesday. I am also keen to try the vegetarian lasagna and some of the other desserts on the menu. Have you tried any of the vegetarian food at Solo? If so, what do you think?

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