The Solstice Bar

I loved the crème brûlée drink. I feel like all drinks should be dessert themed after drinking there.
The drink tastes literally like what the dessert is called. I also really enjoyed the sugar crystals that the glass has on the rim. The environment is really intimate too. Great for a girls night out.
However, the bartender was kinda rude to us. I wasn’t impressed at all by how blunt his manners were. It was definitely not appreciated. I’d give the drinks ⁵⁄₅ but I’ll have to take away a star for how blunt he was to me and my two friends.

Sitting in Solstice bar right now. Let me start off by saying that who I presume to be the owner did come by and apologize for some of the issues, and we appreciate that very much. HOWEVER, there were 6 of us. First, there were 6 in our party and they only gave us 1 menu. When we requested additional menus, he gave us 1 more. Uhmmm, there are 6 of us. No biggie, we will share. So, I personally was the first to order. The waiter said that he could do 2 drinks at a time because they take a long time to make. Okay, no biggie. I order and so did another friend. He leaves and comes back, takes two more orders of wine. Leaves comes back and takes the last two orders. The girls got their wine first, and it was bad. It smelled like a spicy tuna roll (no joke). My friend who had the mango martini liked it and the girls who had prosecco thought it was good. But, I never received my drink. Hmmmmm. I ordered a peanut butter cup martini. I reminded our server, who I think was really just covering because he clearly had never server tables a day in his life. Bless his heart he was trying. He brought me a drink that I am convinced had NO ALCOHOL in it. It was tasty but had no alcohol. I was not happy. I’m not a heavy drinker but I do have a sensitive palette and can taste the alcohol in most drinks. This one was virgin. Sorry, but Kettle One is NOT a subtle vodka. I was SUPER disappointed.
We also ordered dessert as we were ordering our drinks and 20 minutes later they tell use they are short handed and cannot make Dessert. Okay, please lead with «hi ladies, we are short handed tonight, so we can only offer XYZ!» Id appreciate if I knew that upfront. That way, I don’t get my hopes up.
They also brought us spoons and napkins that led us to believe that our desserts would come. (See pic).
This was obviously an off night happening before our eyes. We all agreed that they should close tonight. So far, we are waiting for the check and it’s taking over 10 minutes. I really want to like this place but as a business owner you have to make tough choices and tonight you needed to close. We requested our check and included our cards (4) and $ 20.00. Twenty minutes later he tells us that there was a credit machine malfunction. WHAT?! Unreal! So, he left. We sent 1 friend to get the cards and tell him to put it on 1 card. When we got our check they added gratuity to our check. Really?! That wasn’t mentioned in the menu but it was included in the check. Not cool cause we included cash with the tip when we gave him our cards. Sigh…
Solstice-​you could have comped our drinks or given us a gift card to come back when you had a full waitstaff. You have a great concept that only works, when it you have workers. This is said in love for chocolate and for the desire to have a good martini on a girls night out.

Pricey but awesum!
Not aware of very many places that have such great non-​alcoholic martinis…
Peanut butter cup — Phenomenal
Crème Burlee — decent
They recommended red velvet too — haven’t tried yet but i soon will.
Has a couple of Gelato’s — Strawberry (good) & Chocolate (better)…
Presentation — 5 star
All in all — rich experience!

Just what Lincoln Park needed! What a find! Love the dessert martinis! The Crème Brûlée and Peanut Butter Cup were out of this world… Can’t wait to go back!

The place is a little on the cold side in terms of ambience but does make a nice way to start the night with one of their unique martinis and a great dessert martini selection. They also have good pastries and slices of cake.
It is also kind of small, but there isn’t a long wait.

All hail the overpriced martini! My friend is one of those girls whom I have to coerce and stalk repeatedly, competing with her boyfriend, for the time to hang out. The opportunity presented itself, and finally she was excited to go out. She came bearing a groupon for 2 free martinis and 2 gelatos. For all kinds of reasons, I am not excited about hanging out in the DePaul neighborhood. However, I couldn’t debate her groupon, thinking it would be a nice touch for dessert.
I agree with Teri M., the service is wonderful, and I loved the mellow electronic music along with the chill atmosphere. We also encountered the issue with using the groupon before 9pm. Seriously? I didn’t give the staff a hard time. I didn’t say anything, but I definitely took my frustration out on my server’s tip. It doesn’t pay to complain anymore, so you focus on what you can control. They really need to change the fine print on that offer.
My friend had an Asian mint martini, and I had 2 martinis: chocolate and mango. I tasted all three and found them to be just as every bit tasty as the menu described them. Unfortunately, I feel like they didn’t make them very strong. I understand lots of effort goes into the preparation; but if I am going to pay $ 10 for a drink, it better pack more of a punch than the exact simulated flavor of a liquified dessert.
My friend said that we’d be back to use the groupon. I’m in no rush to get back there. I wasn’t impressed with the crowd. If you’re a guy desperately looking for a girl to hook up with, then this is your place. You’ll find lots of tables with groups of girls, struggling with weight issues, yet well dressed, being all chatty. Come to think of it, you’re not going to find very many single men, just hanging out, indulging in flavored martinis. Guys, just a tip, you’re totally missing out on some excellent hunting grounds. Come here with your group of guys right before they close, and I can guarantee you’ll probably get lucky!

A friend and I were searching for a dessert place and Glazed and Infused was already closed. It was 5:00, so we decided to combine dessert with drinks.
When we arrived at Solstice, there was nobody else there and it was clear they’d just opened. The server was very attentive and polite. He happily gave great recommendations and was patient while we took too long to decide on the first drink.
I recommend the crème brûlée martini, red velvet martini, and the peanut butter cup. My friend and I both agreed the peanut butter cup is the best!
We bought a Groupon for two free martinis and two free gelatos. Since it was 30 degrees, we asked if we could swap the gelato for another dessert, but the manager wouldn’t allow it. So we passed on the gelato and spent the Groupon on the two free martinis to bring our $ 60 bill (3 martinis each) down to $ 40.
Overall, we had an enjoyable time. However, I wouldn’t frequent this place (I rarely drink martinis, it’s pricey, and the atmosphere/​energy is lacking), but I’d definitely come back if I was craving a Reese’s peanut butter cup in liquid form.

I have heard of this place many times before. Finally decided to give it a try. I will most definitely be coming back. The martinis here are phenomenal! I bought a groupon for it which made it all the better. Be advised, this is Lincoln Park. Parking sucks but it is worth it if you are looking to satisfy a chocolate craving minus all the calories.

Passed by this place with my boyfriend and another friend on our way to a mini vacation… anyway, we saw the place and me being a chocolate lover thought I should check it out with friends on a different occasion.
A few days passed till I was able to finally be able to come to this place. we were a group of 6 and were seated in a big booth.
Having previously read great reviews for this place, I was excited!
We were started off with some drinks and the server instead of taking our drink orders at the same time, took them one by one and brought the drinks ONE BY ONE even when we all knew what we wanted… my friend who is a beer drinker had a hard time choosing a drink because 95% of the beer selection on the menu was GONE due to changes to summer menu…
After we all finally got our drinks, we were all disappointed with them! My drink tasted like plants (pink elephant), my other friends drink tasted like beer mixed with pineapple syrup and overall, it was disgusting… only one of my friends had a good drink and I forgot the name … it just SUCKED because the drinks were NOT CHEAP …
Having been disappointed with our drinks, we thought the desserts would make up for them… my friend and I decided to go with the Every Other Sundae and unfortunately they didn’t have that available either!!! Our server told us to get a Reeses sundae because it was a similar thing, so we went with that … and 2 mousse cakes. The desserts were fabulously delicious!!! After eating up our desserts we ended up getting the check… for all 6 of us who got only 4 drinks and 4 desserts, the bill ended up being $ 100 !!! MAJOR POCKET OUCH.
we paid the money and just left without being happy and broke… with half the menu being unavailable to us, disorganized waiting service and sucky drinks, sorry SOLSTICE we wont be back, EVER …

We’ve been to Solstice Bar about 4 times now. It’s a perfect spot for after dinner drinks on a date night, though could also be good for an intimate get together with a group of girlfriends or something.
The concept of the place is rather unique, delicious desserts and dessert drinks. The signature martinis are great! My favorites are the Dark Chocolate and the Peanut Butter Cup. They have great flavor without being too sweet.
Desserts are also quite good. Their gelato is creamy and flavorful. We’ve also tried the molten lava cake, triple chocolate mousse, and the flourless chocolate cake with raspberry purée (can’t remember the exact name). The chocolate mousse dessert is good, but rich, and much thicker than I ever consider mousse to be… it’s almost like a cheesecake consistency. Molten lava cake is hands down my favorite! Either way, you really can’t go wrong.

Great idea and novel concept. Having a dessert bar with dessert drinks is really an idea that doesn’t truly exist. On a side point. THE SUNDAES ginormously are huge!
Execution is truly off though. Service can be slow for the small size of the bar area. Our waiter spent more time socializing than he did refilling our drinks and even forgot our initial dessert order. Only after 30 mins did we have to remind him and he finally placed in the order :(

Tried bringing my friends here last week after raving to them about the desert martinis only to find out that it was closed. Nothing online could’ve warned us and there was a sign on the door saying it’ll reopen on the 8^th… it was the 9^th that day. Extremely frustrating and not only did we waste our time commuting in the cold, we also purchased a Groupon that will now go to waste seeing how my friends have already left the city.
We tried calling several times over the next couple of days to see if they had reopened yet and no one ever responded. Anyone know what’s happening?

Went in with a Groupon for 2 martinis and 2 scoops of gelato… left incredibly pleased an excited to return again!
I had a peanut butter cup martini. Delicious!
My boyfriend had a hazelnut nut expresso martini. I didn’t try it, but I’ve never seen him so pleased with a beverage.
The gelato was nothing special, but the vanilla was a great addition to our drinks.
The staff here were wonderful and nice and I can’t say enough about how welcoming they were, even though we probably had a bit of a lost look o our face.
The interior of this place is also gorgeous.
This place loses one star because I thought it would be bigger. We sat at the bar and not a table (totally fine by me) but there were people awkwardly waiting by the door for seats of any sort. We walked in to find one bar stool, and a bartender brought over another for us, which was apparently the last seat in the house. It also wasn’t really clear whether or not we were supposed to seat ourselves or wait to be brought somewhere.

If you’re going to have dessert, it might as well be alcoholic, that’s what I always say.
Truthfully, that’s not what I always say, but I feel like it might be a good philosophy to adopt after visiting The Solstice!
The Solstice is fun! It’s a dessert and martini bar with a ton of delicious, creative options. I’ve been three times now, all after dinner when my party was craving dessert. I’ve never actually had the dessert cakes/​pastries they have available, but they look good. I’d rather just drink my calories, thank you. If you’re looking for recommendations, the peanut butter cup martini is to die for.
The atmosphere is a little strange and dark and it is a little pricey, but it’s a fun place to visit after dinner or if you’re craving something sweet.
Liquid dessert!

wow.
heaven is a place on earth.
yes, my boyfriend and I ended up here because of a recent groupon purchase, and we were seriously impressed.
andy, our server was fantastic. just enough of attention without being overbearing.
the place reminded me of old hollywood… all glam and class! great place for a romantic date night, or a night out with the girls.
now for the martinis! I love me some chocolate so I got the peanut butter cup while my honey got the caribbean passion! a long with two scoops of chocolate gelato. yum!
I guess they run specials on Thursday nights for 7 dollar signature martinis! we couldn’t pass this up so we decided to try two more.
for our second round, I ordered the lemon peep (see picture!) and my boyfriend ordered the Asian mint hibiscus.
I was seriously impressed by the professionalism, service, and classiness of this place! The martinis are presented very well and the overall atmosphere and abidance made our experience very enjoyable.
I have to throw this in my review :
I am sort of confused from the negative reviews from previous Unilocalers of the martinis being so expensive? What?! Have you seen these type of martinis anywhere else in Lincoln park? You are paying for atmosphere, drink quality, and presentation. I think the prices are spot on with the experience you get at the solstice.
can’t wait to come back late night!
thank you solstice for making our experience so enjoyable, we will be back! :)

I absolutely loved this bar. This addition is exactly what Lincoln Park needed! A quaint, little bar. It has an upscale design and beautiful tables, perfect for a date night. The service was fantastic. Our waiter made great suggestions and frequently checked in with us.
I ended up here because of a Groupon. I do not think I would have found the place otherwise. I have friends who live in the area, but no one has ever suggested Solstice. Maybe not enough publicity? Anyways, the Groupon was for two martinis and two gelatos for $ 16. You can’t beat that! Martini’s here are all $ 13 regularly and they do have daily specials that run about $ 8.
For my first drink, I ordered the Crème Brulee martini. It was fantastic. I loved the artsy and tasty caramel drizzle they harden on top. My boyfriend got the Peanut Butter Cup martini. It was awesome as well, but not as strong and much sweeter. For gelato, I got chocolate and he got chocolate chip. We were both pleased.
After finishing our drinks, we were not ready to leave yet, so we ordered another round. I got a Pink Elephant, it was good, but I preferred the martinis!
I will definitely make the trip back down to the city for this little gem!

A bit on the pricey side, but the bartenders and baristas are such sweethearts.
My friend shattered a martini glass on his birthday (sipping a virgin crème brûlée martini, even), and they were beyond friendly. «Hey, it’s your birthday, you can break things if you want to.» Pretty gracious for a group of rather loud people like us.
I ordered chocolate cake infused with passion fruit. Holy canoli, was it awesome. Tart and not too sweet with dashes of dark chocolate and raspberry syrup underneath. Yum… although the buttercream frosting was ridiculously hard to cuth through and rather strange tasting. The dessert itself was delicious.
Had a couple sips from other people’s martinis. Well done, Solstice, well done. The perfect girly drink that guys will order.

I went here for late night drinks.
I tried a red wine and a red velvet cake martini.
A had a white wine and a dark chocolate martini.
They have about 20 specialty martinis and
This place is middle of the road 3 stars to start out with but I knocked a star off for price and added a star for manager being attentive when service was lacking a bit in timing.
Wine prices are average.

I’ve been wanting to check out Solstice for a while now and finally stopped in Friday night after a sushi dinner around the corner. My 2 friends and I walked in and were very warmly greeted by the owner/​manager. He escorted us to a table and chatted with us briefly.
Then our server came over, made an effort to learn our names and gave us some suggestions since this was our first time. We ended up sharing the chocolate lava cake w/​vanilla gelato and a chocolate peanut butter brownie sundae with lots of chocolate gelato. Both were rich and tasty!
My girlfriends opted for glasses of red wine (at $ 8/​glass I felt that was totally reasonable) and I decided to try a Peanut Butter Cup Martini. Wow! I’m normally not a fan of mixing alcohol and chocolate (they’re just so great alone!) but this really blew me away. I agree that the $ 13 price is steep but it was phenomenal!
The crowd was mostly groups of women– there were 2 groups celebrating a birthday or bachelorette party. I had a great time and will be back for some chocolate and martinis!

Two star reviews are the worst. I feel horrible. why?
Arrived around 8:30 on a Friday and we were the only ones there… other than the 7 employees.
The décor is very elegant, and sparkly! The dessert case that greets you is beautiful, but sadly slightly empty. There was a one page dessert menu, the bottom three were apparently discontinued, no carrot cake cupcake, tear.
Our server said the Crème Burlee Martini was his favorite as it had a great presentation, so I trusted his recommendation. It was good and came with a great burnt sugar decoration, but for $ 13 I wasn’t impressed or drunk. My drinking buddy had the Banana Foster Martin which was very rummy, and sadly not loved.
I think this concept would work downtown but $ 13 martinis may be a little pricey for the area, maybe $ 10? I could have walked 3 blocks east to Matisse on a Friday night and got a $ 5 martini that was just as good if not better.
I hope they make it… but I am not sure that there is a fit in that neighborhood. Best wishes Solstice!

The dessert was delicious, but the odor in the place was awful. The bathroom smelled better than the whole place!
We had the truffle, and it was so creamy, rich chocolate, and loved the combination with the fresh rasberries. Some of our friends ordered a hazelnut espresso and loved it.
The staff was super friendly, we even got complimentary macaroons, and they were very yummy.