Sole
5110 Main St., Williamsville NY 14221
Web: Sole
Phone: 716.362.0356
Rating:    [learn more]
Pros:

Visually attractive presentations of legitimately good-tasting meals, including good specials and regular menu items taken from a variety of Latin cuisines. Good service.

Cons:

Cut-down menu limits diners' choices to the point of potential discomfort, while drinks were unimpressive and not great values.

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Drinks Latin American Williamsville

"Sole's preparation of the pork was tender, sweet, and tasty, wonderfully balanced with the slight crunches and alternating fresh and salty flavors of the accompanying vegetables."

This was Walker Center week at Buffalo Chow, an opportunity to visit two of the more noteworthy restaurants on Main Street in Williamsville, the Latin restaurant Sole (pronounced so-lay, a reference to the sun) and its Italian-ish sister Le Metro; we've already spotlighted their unrelated neighbor, Pizza Plant, in an earlier entry. Though we're big fans of Pizza Plant's famous Pods, and there's no denying that place's greater mass appeal, we were pleased enough by our most recent meal at Sole that we'd be inclined to pick it over the Walker Center's other options. Read on for the details.

The Story: Some people still view Latin food through a narrow and frankly inaccurate lens - that of the Mexican and quasi-mexican restaurants, such as Taco Bell, Mighty Taco, and Chi-Chi's, that for decades so utterly dominated the American understanding of Latin cuisine. There are, of course, dozens of other cultures and regional specialties, most of them bearing little resemblance to the tacos and fajitas dispensed like hamburgers and steaks at Mexican restaurants, offering flavors, spices, and preparation that are typically more sophisticated. Regrettably, Buffalo has few of these options, and none that does pan-Latin like the sadly departed Y Arriba Y Arriba, a Southern California restaurant that used to offer dishes wisely selected from 22 different Latin American countries; even tapas, Spain's take on small appetizer-sized dishes, is weakly represented locally.

Sole was the closest thing in Western New York to Y Arriba Y Arriba, daring to pluck dishes from several different Latin cuisines to create a menu of options that were simultaneously unfamiliar and appealing. We use the word "was" because Sole's menu has since significantly changed, losing many of these options in the process; what's left is an array of choices that range from genuinely Latin to Latin-influenced, yet have a surprising amount in common with Le Metro's options. There's the Delmonico Steak, $26 and 14 ounces at Sole, served with onion rings, chimichurri sauce and paprika whipped potatoes, or the 16-ounce Le Metro version at $28 with onion rings, bordelaise sauce and - you guessed it - mashed potatoes with Gorgonzola cheese. Also, a two-sized Calamari plate with three dipping sauces, served here for $9 or $12 versus the $12 or $14 Le Metro versions. It's as if the same chef picked a menu convenient to both places, adding a little Spanish flare into the Sole version, and using Italian or French alternatives at Le Metro.

But to focus on these items would be to ignore Sole's wide variety of legitimately Latin dishes, including the classic rice and meat Paella ($26), roasted pork Carnitas ($23), or the specials, which can draw from or replicate South and Central American dishes outright. The menu also offers crowd pleasers like Burritos ($12-$13), Quesadillas ($11-12), and Enchiladas ($12-$14), described under the heading of "street fare." We chuckled, though the separate heading of "tapas" for the appetizers wasn't as funny in that the term typically is used elsewhere for different, better items.

Highs: The single best item we tried at Sole was one of only several specials - a Pork Tenderloin that had been sliced, dolloped with a brown chipotle and orange sauce, then laid in front of a pile of asparagus and Tabasco-battered onion strips. Sole's preparation of the pork was tender, sweet, and tasty, wonderfully balanced with the slight crunches and alternating fresh and salty flavors of the accompanying vegetables. Underneath the piles was a bed of mild black wild rice, with such an interesting texture - halfway between chewy and crunchy - that we mopped up every grain on the plate. We were surprised that this item wasn't on the permanent menu; it was truly great.

Even more beautifully presented were a couple of appetizers, the first a cornmeal-crusted Stuffed Poblano Pepper ($10) that had been loaded with soft goat cheese, dropped in a green puddle of sweet and spicy lime sauce, and topped with a squiggle of white sour cream. Though this fell into the "good, not great" category taste-wise, it was legitimately good, and beautifully plated. Another attractive plate contained three Kobe Beef Empanadas ($8), fried pastries made with a potato and beef stuffing, and topped with similar droplets of white cream, sliced red tomatoes, and black beans. Again, the Empanadas weren't earth shattering in taste, and certainly didn't need the Kobe designation for any reason, but they were as expected - hot, tasty Spanish samosas.

There were lots of other items - we ordered bright green avocado Guacamole en Molcajete ($12), which was mashed up at our table and served inside a stone mortar alongside previously delivered, complimentary baskets of corn tortilla chips. Views on the Guacamole ranged from tasty to bland; it needed a little tabasco since it was not as spicy as originally ordered.

Sole's version of Le Metro's Surf and Turf Salad, served here as Tierra y Mar, went for the same $16 price but was more lusciously appointed; the Filet Mignon was served whole and peppered, alongside similarly seasoned large shrimp and fried onions. Tierra y Mar just made a better impression, as did Sole's pomegranate vinaigrette-topped chicken, goat cheese, apple, craisin and pistachio Casa Salad ($12), with unusually moist and delicious poultry as a topping for a sweetened bed of field greens and red onions.

In light of the comments we made in our separate Le Metro review regarding slow but friendly service, it's worth a brief note that we dined with a slightly larger-sized group of six at Sole, finding the service similarly friendly but considerably faster. While we'd chalk up what happened at Le Metro to problems with the kitchen, not the servers, the pacing of our Sole meal - including the times when drinks, chips, appetizers, and entrees arrived - was spot-on, and for whatever reason, Le Metro's wasn't. Make of that what you will, but we would pick Sole first if we were in a rush.

Lows: The single biggest low at Sole is the scope of its current menu, which we get the impression has been either cut down for the convenience of ordering ingredients, or perhaps due to limited demand for the previously featured larger array of items, which weren't always the best selections. Having visited numerous Latin restaurants in the past, including fantastic Brazilian, Cuban, Pervian and Spanish ones to name just a few, we're well aware that assembling a broad and highly enticing Pan-Latin menu isn't difficult, but it depends on the right chefs and kitchen staff for execution. For whatever reason, Sole's menu now feels like "Latin Lite," too limited given the spectrum of cuisines it could draw upon, and some diners may struggle to find a dish that satisfies their deepest cravings.

It's also worth a brief note that Sole's bar specializes in regional drinks from Latin America, with a list of mixes, beers, and wines that were familiar and enticing. We went only for a Sangria and a Raspberry Margarita, which were pleasant but not especially thrilling in quantity; the Sangria glass was full of ice and limited in liquid, while the Margarita was decent, but similarly unimpressive in quality. Similarly, a Sweet Potato Chipotle Bisque ($6) was fine, but not outstanding; the fact that it's the least expensive item on the entire menu should serve as a warning to those on a budget.

The Verdict: Despite surprising similarities in the Sole and Le Metro menus, which should be and at one point were as different as their names might suggest, there's no doubt in our minds that our experience at the slightly lower-priced, faster, and more interestingly menued Sole was superior - enough that we were impressed in some way or another by virtually everything that we ordered. Our general philosophy on pricey restaurants is that their $8-10 appetizers and $20 entrees need to be more than just passable to the eyes, tongue, or both in order to rate at our three-star level, and Sole's generally passed muster, occasionally exceeding our expectations; Le Metro's didn't. Don't expect to take someone here for a cheap date, but if you're looking for something a little adventurous, you can be sure Sole will memorably good.