Sol Mexican Cocina
A nice environment for elevated Mexican-American cuisine in Irvine and Newport Beach
It’s hard to easily summarize Sol Mexican Cocina, an American-elevated Mexican restaurant that replaced Irvine’s once-beloved El Torito Grill with a substantially new menu and interior in 2022. On one hand, we liked some of Sol’s food and drinks, which strike us as worthy (if not perfect) heirs to El Torito Grill’s options; on the other hand, there were some problems with the food, and more serious problems with the service, neither of which were historically issues at El Torito Grill in our experience.
Sol’s savory menu actually impressed us with appetizers such as a small but balanced “hot and raw” tropical ceviche, properly seasoned and tenderized Spanish-style octopus, affordable chicken and premium short rib tacos, and oversized entrees. We also liked one of the desserts, the Tres Leches cake, and the attention paid to making even the complimentary chips and salsa extraordinary.
Unfortunately, Sol’s service was spotty on our visit, and dishes piled up on our table to the point of excess, a couple of non-trivial issues given the premium price point. Additionally, two other desserts were almost as beautiful as they were awful: a Rosca de Churro consisting of a churro ring and wand, served hard and cold with ice cream as the only softener, and a Caramel Sea Salt Budin & Dark Chocolate Rum Ganache – a cookie-topped cup of culinary despair that required us to dig through to the bottom to discover any sweetness, all hidden inside a small chocolate ball.
Sol currently has two locations in Orange County: the Irvine space, which opened in May 2022, and an older, better rated Newport Beach location, dating back to 2009. We’re not sure whether we’d return to the Irvine Sol, or whether we want to check out the Newport Beach version, as there are stronger and more authentic elevated Mexican experiences (Maizano, Chaak Kitchen) in the area.
Stats
Price: $$$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2009 (OC)
Addresses
1910 Main St.
Irvine, CA 92614
949.975.1220
251 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Newport Beach, CA 92660
949.675.9800
Instagram: @solcocina