Solace and the Moonlight Lounge

Called days ago to find out about the menu for a party of 14. After no call back, we called them back and spoke to «Taylor». Told her what we wanted for the menu. She said she’d let us know after speaking with the chef… no call back… finally called and left a message saying to cancel our plan… THEN she called back… moral of the story… we were about to spend ($ 45 per person x 14 people… tip, etc.) Maybe $ 1,000 here, but because of «Taylor» we’re taking our business elsewhere, and not going back for breakfast either.

This is my favorite restaurant to go to in Encinitas. have never eaten anything from here that was not delicious. Just have to give them a shout out!!! Thanks for keeping us well fed in Encinitas!!! (rich, tasty food, creative recipes, and wholesome ingredients. What else could I possibly ask for)

I would’ve given this place no stars (if possible), but I’ll give it one since the manager came out and apologized for the horrible service. So to start off, we put our name down and gave my number to contact once our table was available — we were told it’d be 40 minutes. My friends and I decided to go to a bar down the street to wait since the bar was full at the time. We were there for one quick drink and returned to Solace to check where we were. The hostess insisted she had attempted to call me «numerous» times yet I received no calls. The hostesses came off very condescending and no apologies for the miscommunication. We were told we’d have to wait for a table and then were essentially shooed away to sit at the bar. Once we sat at the bar, we weren’t acknowledged for a long time until my friend literally rose her hand like a student in a class. We put in an order for drinks and food. Once again, we were waiting for a long time and then the hostess told us there was a table available outside. I went to go check it out and got my friend to come out to sit outside. She did not communicate clearly that we had to close our tabs at the bar; I had thought she said she would let the bartender know we were outside and transfer our bill. We were told, «Oh, you can’t sit here until you close your tab.» At this point, I was ready to go off on this hostess, but we kept our cool since we had endured so much bs already. Then, we had a server come out and introduce himself, and then never saw him again. The bartender (I wish I got his name because he was the only one who kicked ass!) came
out to check on our drinks. Another server came by to tell us there had «been some confusion» as though it was our fault. Mmm no, the only confusion was amongst the staff and their complete unprofessionalism. The manager came out and apologized for our negative experience and gave us a complimentary dessert and drink. If it weren’t for that, I’d say my review would have a lot more cursing and frustration. Have accountability for your mistakes and honestly, get off your high horse. Although it was nice that the manager came out to apologize, I will never come here again.

Hit Solace for date night and loved it! We didn’t know it was restaurant week — but I ended up taking advantage of their menu. Totally worth it and I would have ordered the same items from the menu anyway. We arrived around 615 and secured a table upstairs before it got crowded. Their biscuits are delish, as well as the ahi chop chop. My husband ordered the pork belly and I had stuffed trout — both were excellent. We enjoyed a cucumber mule (yum) and brought our own wine. ($ 20 corkage.) Our server was very attentive and we told him we weren’t in a hurry and he slowed the courses for us. We will definitely add this restaurant to our list of go-​to spots. Thanks for an awesome date night!

Great place to go on a first or second date, especially if you’re breaking out and need semi dark, flattering lighting to help you out.
Unfortunately, I did not come here for a date and actually came here for for a company dinner. Food and ambiance was still great. I will definitely keep this place in my back pocket for any emergency dates.
We got a couple drinks at the bar upstairs and were seated downstairs shortly after.
Notable:
The cheesy bread is a must try! *Order the Clam Chowder soup to dip*
The hanger steak, medium rare, melts in your mouth and the mushroom sauce is a nice compliment.

I made a meal out of appetizers. Tasted the pork belly from my husband’s plate that was fantastic. Great atmosphere and service!

I’ve been a few times now, I’ve come for lunch and dinner. It’s always packed on Friday and Saturday nights. The lounge area on the second floor is great for grabbing drinks and food. We came in yesterday with a small group for a birthday dinner. It was too packed upstairs to get a table so we ended up sitting on the first floor. Half the table ordered Mother Earth Cali Creamin on Nitro the excitement was short lived. They don’t chill their beer glasses so the beer got warm really quick with it being on Nitro. But you can’t go wrong with Cali Creamin.
Food: I had to order my favorite cheddar and chive biscuits! It comes with a house butter which is hard to describe you’ll have try it and it also comes with a fresh jelly. I ordered a bowl of their clam chowder and my BF ordered his favorite 4 cheese grilled cheese sandwich with tomato basil soup. The food has never disappointed me here. Except for tonight and it was the birthday boy’s food! He ordered the steak medium rare and the first time it came out cold and rare. They waiter took it right back and cooked it again. The second time it was still rare and cold. The manager came out and apologized and offered to make him another dish. They even offered him a free drink and gave him a free meal. We also orders shrimp cocktails x10 shrimp. Order came out with only 8. The waiter put in a new order and told us our shrimp went to the wrong table.
It did end on a good note we got a huge slice of cake with a candle on it to end our meal. The staff really stepped up and fixed all our issues.
Great place for drinks and dinner it’s always packed. They have a great view of the water on the second floor if you stop on during the day. I really enjoy coming here and I’ll be back!

Great sister restaurant to Smoke and Sea. Good food and good service.
There’s live bands as well.
Only suggestion is that there’s two belly tables against a high bench. The chairs opposite bench needs to be a tad bit higher.
Jason… Our awesome waiter will tell the manager and if he does I’ll keep coming.
He got me an awesome dirty martini.

Excellent servers & food! Their honey, cheddar biscuits are amazing and you must try them if you come. Only thing is trying to get a table, a bit confusing. Highly recommend this place!

I really liked this place. We came for some mid-​day appetizers and drinks on the upstairs patio. The oysters were only $ 1! The cheddar biscuits were amazing! Nice place to sit outside, sip some wine and catch up with friends.

Cool spot, love the vibe that this place puts out, from the balcony seating at the lounge to the indoor dining options. This place is rather solid and a wonderful spot to relax, have a couple of drinks and a nice dinner amidst downtown part of Encinitas. Have been to this place a couple of times and am always impressed with the service, décor and food quality. My recommendation would be to come check This place and head up to the lounge for some outdoor seating/​drinking and just enjoy yourself.
Pros–
Food
Service
Location
Outdoor seating
Multi-​level
Drinks
Cons–
Parking at times
Weekend crowds

Even though there’s no ocean view, the ambiance here is really wonderful and the staff is extremely friendly. Came here for an offsite work session and it was the perfect spot! We were able to lounge for as long as we wanted, and order things throughout the afternoon. Our team enjoyed a bottle of wine with our lunch, and split multiple dishes.
Things you MUST order: cheddar biscuits, and grilled cheese with tomato soup. The cheddar biscuits are the same ones that they serve at urban solace, and are perfection.
Grilled cheese has sliced tomatoes, and fries on the side. The tomato soup is probably one of the best I’ve ever had! Creamy and perfect for dipping. Also a feasible plate to share with one other person if you’re ordering an appetizer.
They’ve also got a great cheese board — I recommend the brie, goat cheese, and cheddar. The homemade mustard, pecans, apples and toast that come along are a great deal for $ 15.

Great location.
Located in the heart of downtown Encinitas, park in the underground parking.
Great vibe and great architecture; this area called Encinitas has good feeling vortex with casual atmosphere with fun loving friendly people throughout town. The restaurant has ample space, unique recycled look with an artsy flair.
Great and friendly staff, especially Raven our waitress. Greeted with a smile at the door and young lady ensured we got the seat we wanted especially not having reservations. We sat at my friends favorite corner table which had subdued lighting, cushioned seats and a quiet corner so we can catch up on each other’s lives.
Great food. We started with the watermelon salad on arugula. Great starter to begin especially on a hot day, watermelon cools down a heated body. I give this dish an a++ and a Capital D for Deliciousness. The sweet watermelon was plump and bursting with flavor, Paired with the Juicy cucumbers., feta and toasted pine nuts. A new favorite.
As a vegetarian, I had the quinoa burger with hazelnuts embedded in the patty. Tasted hearty, on a homemade bread & cue bun, with sautéed mushrooms and avocados… Topped with lemon thyme Aioli. This veggie burger packed with goodness and nutrition. It’s served with home made fries which where not a distraction from the meal.
We finished dessert with a healthy version of pana cotta with strawberries. A nice palate cleanser.
My overall experience was enjoyable and I would return.
Service great, especially with Raven who ensured we were taken care of and our water glass never saw the bottom of the glass.
Thank you for great service.

Enjoyed a nice brunch on the outside terrace. Food was good. My friend had the creamy organic polenta while I had the braised grass fed beef cheek hash without eggs. Not your traditional hash, the pieces were big! Loved the tenderness of the beef cheeks. However, the smoked ancho chilli hollandaise that accompanied the dish, was not so flavorful. I had to add hot sauce to add a bit of spice to it. The polenta on the otherhand was very good! Lots of flavor due to the carmelized onions and roasted bell peppers. The apple-​gouda sausage also added another layer of flavor with the polenta dish. Next time I visit Encinitas, I’m going to try their other dishes!

I’ve been to Solace two times now on visits to Encinitas — one time for happy hour and one time for dinner. Happy hour is fantastic, especially for the price you pay. There are a few drink specials (beer and wine when I was there) around $ 5 each and food specials for under $ 10. We had the fries, beek cheek sliders, and pork belly sliders and all were very delicious. The sliders are even served on mini cheddar and chive biscuits that are made in house (so good!). We also sat outside on the second floor patio which was great for a sunset drink. Our service was fantastic and our drinks were never empty, so I would definitely recommend this for an affordable happy hour.
During my second visit, I came to celebrate a birthday over dinner. Every single one of our dishes was fantastic. We ordered the trout, sturgeon, mussels, chicken, and the shrimp & grits across the table and all of it was devoured. The sauces on each of the dishes are perfect pairings and the tempura avocado on the arugula salad is so good! For dessert, we had the coconut cake and the signature chocolate soufflé for celebrations. I am not a huge fan of coconut, but that cake was phenomenal! Jodi and Karalyn made the birthday celebration very special and it was a pleasure to celebrate at Solace. Thanks for a great dinner!

Lived nearby for over a year and just discovered it in our last week by accident — so went twice! Everything about this place rocks — the service, the food, the drinks, the ambience. Totally love it.

I’m actually really surprised I haven’t reviewed this place because I swear I’m always here – I’m probably Solace’s number one fan. Solace and the Moonlight has sister restaurants including Urban Solace and Sea & Smoke-​both of which I also love-​but Solace tops them all to me. The location is perfect! It’s right next to D Street Bar and Grill and a short walk from the beach so I come here quite often whether it’s lunch before the beach, dinner before going out, or desserts and more drinks after a night out. I haven’t come here for brunch yet, but I can’t wait to some time soon. Really whenever I’m in Encinitas, you can find me here. I love the vibe I get from this place. The wait staff are all so friendly and knowledgeable, and there are so many cool paintings. The lounge area is upstairs and I love how they have the half booth seats. Such a good place to catch up with friends in a cool environment, and I wouldn’t say so much as a good place for kids.
I’m a fan of their alcohol list – my personal favorites are Maui Brewing co.‘s Mana Wheat (canned AND brewed in pineapple – I die!!), Hofbrau hefe by the bottle, and a couple of their mixed drinks as well. As for their food, they have an awesome lunch special where you can get half of a chicken salad sandwich or one yellowtail taco and it comes with your choice of soup (tomato fennel please), and a salad with dressing already on the side – it’s really just a win win here. This lunch special is $ 13 as opposed to getting the 2 yellowtail taco plate with fries for $ 11. If I’m here for dinner I usually order some appetizers, mainly the biscuits that come with an interesting orange butter. Interesting. Yeah I’ll leave it at that. For my main course, I switch off between their burger or the grilled cheese and tomato fennel soup. I’m usually too full for desserts, but I’m such a fan of all of their desserts especially their panna cotta whenever I can make some room!

This place blew us away. My wife and I came in just to sit at the bar, have a drink and split a couple of apps.
We chose the Washington oysters ($ 2.75/each) and the Tartar.
The oysters were so huge and so clean! Never have I seen oysters this beautiful. It came with horseradish and two sauces which really hit the spot. Don’t forget to ask for salt if you need it.
We also ordered the Grass-​fed Beef Tartare: Chilled Poached Eben-​Haezer Egg, Capers, Pickled Onions & Parmesan. Holy moly. What a creative dish. It was huge… more than enough for two people and I’ve never had Tartar with a perfectly poached egg on top. This was a real star.
I can’t wait to come back and try more food! The bartender was incredibly knowledgeable and fun to talk to. I definitely recommend couples to sit at the bar, split a couple of dishes and chat with the staff ;)

This place is very elegant and the staff is very attentive and friendly. I had the short-​rib special sandwich and it was AMAZING!!! The meat was cooked to perfection! So soft, tender and tasty! YUM! I also had a glass of wine (Malbec) and it was very good. My only WTF moment was when I spotted a piece of hair fried into a french fry. I just put it to the side as an anomaly and continued chowing. If I don’t do anymore reviews or check-​ins within the next week… you know why. ;)

This place has amazing food, but it’s a little pricey. I love going to their happy hour and watching the sunset (not a perfect over the water view, but still really beautiful).
The service is great, and i’ve never had a problem being seated (but i think it’s smart to make a reservation fi you’re going for dinner).
The chedder chive biscuits with orange butter and smoked tomato jam are amazing! I know, i know, not that healthy, but so worth it. If you want something lighter, get the Seared Albacore Chop Chop. Fresh fish with avocado, the perfect combo! Their build your own cheese board is awesome as well!