Entering Sol’s feels like stepping into the coolest cupboard in West London. Petite, with one long communal counter running through the middle, this cosy wine bar is fun and buzzy in large part thanks to the proximity with your fellow diners. By day, the restaurant acts as a cafe and deli, but it's at night that the real magic happens. With rosé on tap and a chalkboard menu of ever-changing small plates, Sol’s is a very welcome addition to Bayswater.
The wine list is curated by journalist Mina Holland and focuses on low-intervention European bottles. We went for a glass of the Carambouille, an organic chilled red, which was fresh and fruity, though we recommend you test out their Cinsault rosé. Crisp, dry and refreshing, you’ll want to drink it all night long.
The plates are deceptively simple, highlighting the beauty of high-quality ingredients. This is perhaps best expressed in the dish of white peach, mozzarella, pine nuts and basil. With peaches so perfect they looked like they’d been plucked out of a Disney film, and a pool of deeply aromatic olive oil that we’d happily dive into, each bite tasted like a perfect, lazy summer's day.
The menu included one larger sharing plate, a lemon and oregano half roast chicken served atop a thick red pepper and almond romesco sauce, swimming in flavourful chicken jus. If you can resist, try saving some of your sourdough, you will want to mop up that romesco sauce with whatever you can get your hands on. Though, at £32 we would have liked to have seen a slightly more generous portion. It did, however, pair beautifully with the ciambotta. Served cold, with soft, silky bites of fried aubergine and firm, waxy potatoes, all coated in the sweet juices of the tomato and finished with even more olive oil, this dish was a surprising must order.
The meal ended on a high, with a decadently rich chocolate mousse, sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts and dressed in plenty of olive oil. What Sol’s lacks in size, they make up for in quality, flavour, and lots of olive oil.