Sol Picante

Even though I now live in Eugene, I was born in New Mexico and lived there for the first 35 years of my life.
Consequently, I feel that I am qualified to pass judgement on what constitutes a decent Mexican meal. What I can tell you is that if the meals my wife and I had last night at Sol Picante were served by a restaurant in New Mexico, that restaurant would be at risk of being burned to the ground, with the owners being tarred and feathered by an angry mob.
The food was bland in the extreme, the sides were out of a can and the quality of the meat suspect. Truly horrible — certainly NOT «picante.» I think a better name for «Sol Picante» might be «No Lo Picante.»
The margaritas were equally terrible: lemonade with about a quarter shot of Jose Cuervo thrown in.
Continuing with the night’s theme, the service was also dismal. For example, the food was brought to our table without silverware. The waitress dropped the plates on the table, and then disappeared. We assumed she was going to get us utensils so that we could eat our meals. Nope, she simply disappeared. I had to go to another table and rob a couple setups from that table so that we could eat our soon-​to-​be-​proven-​as-​hideous meals. When I pointed this out to her when she finally did stop by our table ~ 15 minutes later, her response was a simple grunt. Perhaps the waitress had tried to do us a favor by making it harder for us to eat our dinner.
The only thing that could really top off this wonderful experience would be to pay top-​dollar for a virtually inedible meal, and in this one aspect, No Lo Picante did not fail to deliver. A couple of gross dinners joined by a couple equally bad margaritas accompanied by apathetic service cost us $ 37 before tip. I’ve spent less in Eugene in real restaurants, and walked out satisfied.
At No Lo Picante, we paid our bill (I tipped the service $ 6, just because my middle name is «Welcome Mat») and walked out. We will not be walking back in.

Let’s be real.
We all know what kind of Mexican food we like and don’t so-​be-​it Americanized or authentic.
This is definitely not worth a second chance. But we all know when there is a groupon I get all giddy.
I don’t even feel like giving a proper review so I will just leave you with this, save your time and money.

We visited here thanks to a Groupon. Though their overall rating was mediocre, it sounded like there was new management and that the older negative reviews were likely no longer applicable and thought it was worth a shot.
So you know, I really wanted to like this place; there is only one Mexican restaurant I find decent in the area but it’s a bit of a drive from both home and work. Being so close to Costco I thought Sol Picante would be a nice place to stop by here and there.
Here’s what we had: chips and salsa (of course), and we asked for some pico de gallo to go with the chips, a taco salad (shredded beef), and two enchiladas (also shredded beef). For the enchiladas I had them hold the rice and just give me more beans.
To start with the good: nice décor with ample seating, convenient location (just off Beltline by Costco), friendly waitress, no charges for the above substitutions/​additions, fresh and crispy chips, and the food arrived quickly.
Now the bad:
1) The pico de gallo we received was awful. Not rotten or off but no better than eating plain, chopped veggies. I honestly don’t think they put even a pinch of salt in it (I ended up adding a bunch and it helped but only slightly), and definitely no lime juice. Basically just chunks of tomato and onion with a token amount of jalapeño and cilantro for looks.
2) The refried beans were sweet. Never before have I tasted beans with this particular flavor. Not easily described, just weird.
3) The black beans in my husband’s taco salad were undercooked. He felt the dish was overall pretty good, but how do you not nail something as simple as beans?
4) Almost no cheese. Don’t think I wanted them to douse the refried beans and enchilada in cheese. It’s just the skimpy amount that lightly dusted my plate did nothing to improve the flavor, and actually highlighted the a) bizarrely flavored beans and b) skimpy enchilada sauce.
5) The shredded beef had huge veins still attached. The meat itself had decent flavor, though it was a bit tough to chew. However at two different points I found large sections of vein present, and as big as they were they should have been able to cut them out. Not gristle but actual vein — pale, slightly stretchy tubes larger than your index finger (both in circumference and length) dangling from my meat. Disturbing and gross, in my opinion. Having had shredded beef enchiladas at a variety of restaurants over the years this was my first culinary encounter with bovine vasculature, and hopefully my last.
Leaving negative reviews isn’t something I do lightly. However, even considering the «deal» we had through Groupon, the overall experience here was such that we won’t be back, and I felt it worth writing about to hopefully save someone else from making the same mistake.

We have eaten at Sol Picante a number of times. Over the last several visits, we’ve noticed a marked decline in both the level of service and the food quality. We decided to give the place one last chance this evening.
We will NEVER go back. The chips were stale (when we could get the single employee to bring them to us despite a sum total of 2 other tables of guests.) I ordered the Suiza enchiladas and they were the sole reason this place got a single star: they were «meh» but passable.
My husband got the chicken chimichanga that was the usual Mexican fare you could get anywhere — no pleasant surprises here! The chicken was dry, tasteless and bland. My son ordered a chicken enchilada and two tacos (#17?) and he had to return the tacos. The meat (ground beef) had a weird, funkified flavor that was both sweet (?) and spoiled tasting. He ordered chicken tacos to replace the first ones and they were as bland and tasteless as his Dad’s chimichanga, and his enchilada.
Sadly, we won’t be going back to Sol Picante. Mediocre food and extremely slow service has finally put us over the edge. If you’re looking for an authentic and tasty place to get yummy Mexican cuisine with great service, you need to go elsewhere. Your hard-​earned money is better spent someplace else.

I can’t believe this place is getting such bad reviews! I thought the Mexican food here was fantastic and the prices are comparable. The first time I came here was with a couple friends; we were celebrating a new job I just had gotten. One of the employees gave us free top shelf tequila shots and was super accommodating the entire time we were there. I’ve been back several times and the food is always great!

I had their seafood soup. This was one of the best I’ve had in years. The service was great. Eugene is known for 5 star prices 1 star quality and service. This place held its own and deserves to be checked out. Please try the seafood soup. Promise it will meet your expectation.
Last but not least under new ownership. Reading back at most reviews the negatives were based on the last owner. I am very critical on good customer service and quality of food.

Food: 3.5 stars
Service: 4 stars
Bar: Accessible
Groupon redemption policy: 0 stars
CUIDADO: iPhone app versions of Groupon are not accepted. Hard copies ONLY, which I of course did not have, because this was in no way indicated when purchased, as Groupon states «pull up with our mobile app (**or** print it out)».
Honestly, how hard is it to keep a written log of the names and numbers? Absurd, annoying, not to mention SHADY. Why offer a Groupon if you don’t care to encourage repeat business or word of mouth?
Fortunately, the wait staff was apologetic and helpful. Their hands were tied as the owner was out of town, so the best they could do was ask that I go home, print out the Groupon, and drive back the next day so they could refund the value. Not really looking forward to spending my free time and an extra $ 5 on gas just so I can get what I already paid for, though. I’d like to go back for the food and service, but yeesh – bad vibes. Que lastima.

Restaurant is under new ownership and still great! Very helpful waitstaff, good service and very good food. They have started adding background music and ambiance to the place which I think helps. It is a good place for everyone to go, as there are dishes to suit everyone’s taste. For Mexican in Eugene, this is the best there is.

I really enjoy this place. It appears to be under new ownership and I think they’re doing a fantastic job. One of my favorite parts about this restaurant is their salsa. Pro tip, ask for the spicier salsa, it is delicious. I’ve tried many Mexican food places in Eugene, so far, this is the best.

Not bad Mexican food, but didnt blow me away. Had a combo platter, the chille rellno was made with too much egg and not enough of the delicious pepper. Enchilada was pretty good, chicken ok flavor. The tamale had only a little bit of filling in it, but good filling.
Dont get me wrong, i ate it all up because i was hungry, but i wont be rushing back.
My boyfriend really liked their rice and beans for some reason though? ha
service was really good though.

Good food, service, good atmosphere, clean will come back!

I grew up in San Diego… When I moved to Oregon over 30 years ago, I assumed I’d never get decent Mexican food again.
This is decent. It’s not great, but it’s definitely not bad. I, personally, would suggest that you not order anything with chicken in it unless you get plenty of salsa to spice it up… their chicken is quite bland.
But…they have sopitas… Aren’t too many places up here even know what those are. And they’re not half bad… *shrug* :D

ok, Sol Picante didn’t earned a extra star, but I would have given it a half star if I could. I went back because I had a GC for $ 25 off a $ 35 meal. The food is still bland, but so is 95% of Mexican food in Eugene. Margarita is still mix and tequila (blah!) The extra half star goes to the service. Our server was WAY friendlier and more efficient. I didn’t feel I was waiting for anything or hovered over.
Honestly, it’s not much different than Chapala. And people of Eugene love that place!

First I will say that this restaurant is beautiful! And the waitstaff is excellent and very pleasant! I’d been curious and hopeful about this place as it is located very close to my office.
I ordered the steak fajitas. Sadly, the refried beans did not taste like refried beans. They looked right, but were sweet and tasteless, I’m not sure how that is accomplished exactly… but that is precisely the case. When the steak fajitas arrived, not only was there barely any steak, I had to dig into the onions and green peppers to find the steak… and what I found was not at all good quality — one piece in particular I had to spit out because it was a solid piece of gristle! The seasoning of the steak was… off and not at all spicy or even salty. In fact, I had to add salt to my meal just to try and «help» the taste a bit. Sadly, it didn’t really help.
I expected much more for the money I paid.
After I was done and was leaving, I had the worst taste left in my mouth which has never happened to me before. Ever.
In short, beautiful setting, great service, really awful food. I’m so sad because I wanted to love this place. Please, Sol Picante, fix what is wrong in your kitchen so I can love you!

Wow, I’m pretty surprised by how many people are slamming this place. I found this place a few months ago, and have been there 4 or 5 times so far, and it’s been good – not epic, but good. I moved to Eugene about a year ago, and I’ve been really bummed out by the lack of decent Mexican food in this town, but Sol Picante is, so far, the best pace I’ve found in Eugene.
First off, their salsa is good, which is always your first indicator of how the rest of the food will stack up. Last time I was there I ordered the Enchilada (shredded beef)/Burrito (chicken) combo, and it was excellent. I usually get the Enchilada Suprema (chicken) and I’ve been happy with it, though I will agree with one of the previous reviewers in that a $ 10 dish should probably come with rice & beans included…
As for all the comments about the staff being rude and unfriendly, I gotta ask, are you talking about the same place? I’ve never experienced any rude behavior from anyone there. They’ve always been friendly to me. Maybe they’re under new management or something.
Anyway, Bottom line: This place has good food, and I’ll be hitting it up again.

Meet 3 girl friends here last night. First time in and I was impressed. It is larger inside than I would have expected and has a big bar area. The food was good and service friendly.
I hadn’t heard the best reviews but decided because the location was so close to home I ought to check it out. I’m glad I did.
I really liked the feel of the place. The colors, space and lighting were all good. I love the location and plan to go again.

We waited patiently for this place to open, as the neighborhood desperately needs more restaurants. We are very disappointed.
The food is terribly bland. The shredded chicken has no flavor at all, so the chicken dishes we ordered were flavorless. The burrito/​enchilada combo consisted of bland chicken wrapped in a flour tortilla (burrito), cheese wrapped in a tortilla (cheese enchilada) with a light swath of enchilada sauce over both. My chicken tostada was also lacking any flavor at all. Deep fried ice cream was good but was slow to arrive.
The staff is friendly and was attentive until we ordered. Once our food arrived, they forgot about us. We watched while another couple waited what must have been nearly 30 minutes just to receive their check — and this was on a slow night. Then one waitress tried to clear away our drinks before we were ready to leave.
We were planning to give The Spicy Sun one more try until I heard from a friend who ate here with her family and had the same impression as we did: very bland food all around. And now the reviews. … I hope this place can ramp up the food quality before it’s too late. It has great potential given the location.

Straight to the point:
I am sick and tired of Sysco and Food Service of America telling me and store owners what Mexican food should taste like!!! SICK OF IT!!!
Mexican’s are a proud race and should not bow down to Corp America!
If you want Corp. Mexican food… this is your place. It will taste the same in any city you go to in America.
I will always strive to find the real deal!
To the owners: You are over in a «high end» neighborhood… act like it. Go down to the farmers market and make your own food! Yeah it may cost more, but you will own your place!

I gave this place two tries. I work really close so it’s nice to have a new food option but I don’t think I’ll be back here. The first time I went here I was REALLY hungry so my opinion might have been skewed. So I decided to give it another try, my first mistake was bringing four of my friends in with me who had never been, on my recommendation that it was good.
I ordered the steak fajitas and I had to search for my steak among a heaping pile of onions. Which when I found it, had no original flavor, just tasted like onions.
One of my dinner companions tried to make a easy substitute on his nachos and was denied! All he wanted was pork on his nachos instead of the usual chicken or beef options, and was willing to pay extra. How hard is that?! It’s already on the menu, it’s most likely already made up in the kitchen. I’ve heard him ask for that in other restaurants with out any problems. I know he won’t be back for sure.
Lastly, my margarita was very typical for most Mexican restaurants in town, very little tequila and lots of Mr T’s premixed margarita mix.

What the hell is wrong with Mexican food in Eugene Oregon? There’s a reason I stick to what I like. I hate finding the let downs. But on the other hand, I get to review it so that makes life better.
Did I expect to be blown away at «Spicy Sun»? No… not really. But you cant judge a book by the cover right? Welllll, let me be the first to say, «Eek! Methinks not.»
Décor? Standard culture decorations. Very hard/​uncomfortable booths.
Food? Not yet… lets keep going…
Menu? Expensive!
Service? It was OK the first 10 mins (We were 1 of 2 tables in there)
Drinks? My Bud was $ 3, my wife’s disappointing margarita was 4.75
Ambience? Oh come on…
Food? Ok… I’ll tell ya… flavorless. OK OK, I take that back. In my Enchilada Suprema, I could taste lettuce, onion, sour cream, tortilla and guacamole. No tastes of spices or peppers what so ever though. And for it being $ 10 and what it was, I didn’t even get rice or beans with it. That was a bummer as well. Considering I really wasn’t tasting much else, I opened up the tortilla and found VERY LIGHTLY sprinkled shredded chicken in there. No wonder all I could taste was veggies and condiments. I felt a little ripped off for sure.
My wife left about half her taco salad and was done. Simply wasn’t doing it for her. I didn’t bother to sample it being I wasn’t to pleased at that point anyhow.
The dagger in the heart was the 30 dollar bill, which took 15 min just to get… for what reason we have no idea. Did we really just waste $ 30??? Yes we did…