CHIReview
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Sol De Mexico
Included In
Knowing things that other people don’t can be useful. Just ask a spy, or that guy from Jeopardy! who probably owns an island by now. That’s why it feels so good to know about a great neighborhood restaurant. You can sit back and enjoy a low-key dinner, secure in the knowledge that someone else is sitting in a crowded downtown spot where they had to reserve a table months in advance. And Sol De Mexico is a neighborhood restaurant you want in your mental arsenal.
This casual sit-down Mexican spot in Craigin-Belmont looks kind of like an art gallery, with sculptures, paintings, and masks hanging all over. You’ll find white tablecloths on all the tables and tissue paper accents on the plates, but the overall atmosphere is low-key, and it works for a casual weeknight dinner or laidback date.
photo credit: Sandy Noto
The menu changes regularly (four times a year, to be exact), and includes dishes you probably don’t see all the time. Like papadzules - tasty corn tortillas filled with hard-boiled eggs, covered in pumpkin seed mole and a chili-habanero sauce. Or a perfectly cooked rabbit with a smoky guajillo salsa. That said, there are also staples you can always count on, like slightly sweet corn tamales in a spicy chicaca cream sauce (a must-order), and a tender rack of lamb in a delicious black mole. Speaking of mole, all the sauces here are fantastic, and, like Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me, improve just about everything.
While the sauces are reliably delicious, not everything is a hit. For example, you’ll frequently come across a very dry piece meat or fish. Like bland diced chicken breast in the enchiladas, or overcooked carne asada and salmon that both really need the moisture from their sauces. We’ve also had the unnerving experience of finding chicken bones in the shredded-chicken-filled masa boats. But as long as you focus on what this place does really well (i.e. moles and anything with lamb or rabbit), you’ll have a good meal.
Thanks to the internet, you probably haven’t needed to use a secret decoder ring in a long time. After all, these days information is easy to come by, so unless you’re trying to figure out the Instagram algorithm, it’s generally pretty simple to find out what you want to know. Still, not everyone’s aware of all the best neighborhood restaurants, and if you’re not, you’re missing out. So the the next time you want a laidback dinner with tasty and interesting Mexican food, keep Sol De Mexico in mind.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Sopestitos Surtidos Xilonen
Uchepos Tarascos Gratinados
Tlacoyos De Frijol Negro
photo credit: Sandy Noto
Pernil Al Pibil
Borrego En Mole Negro
photo credit: Sandy Noto