Sol-Mar

I have been going to this restaurant for 10+ yrs and the food is always great. Perfect to satisfy that homesick feeling once in a while. It’s also the only place I know where the owner comes around the tables and always greats its patrons. Today he even came around and offered a slice of «bolo rei» to all the clients (Bolo Rei is a Portuguese style fruit cake we eat during the holidays). Nice touch and perfect ending since I was just having my coffee. A little corner of «home» to satisfy that craving! Always satisfying.

Sol Mar is superb. Ordered the tuna steak and it was nothing short of phenomenal. The flavor was exceptional and the sweet potato mash potato was a splendid surprise with this meal. Nothing better than some sangria to was it down and a nice expresso. If in newark and looking for some great Portuguese food check this place out. I know I will definitely be back.

Decided to have dinner here last night with a friend. We arrived around 630 and were seated right away. We had the fried calamaries. They are decent but needed to be fried a little longer. We shared a paella and a filet. The paella was amazing, very flavorful. The steak came out a bit undercooked for my friend but they were very pleasant to take it back and cook a little longer. The sangria was good and not weak. The service was good. The owner came by to see if we needed anything, and a big plus was a very clean bathroom. Pro– fast service, delicious food, clean bathrooms, parking across the street. Cons– cold bread, undercooked calamaries.

I had the seabass. Hubby had the seafood and rice. Nice meal. Good service. Friendly clientele.

This was my first time going for Portuguese food without talking to my Portuguese friends first! My boyfriend and I were looking for a place near the red bull arena and Sol Mar popped up on Unilocal with amazing reviews so we decided to give it a try. Finding the restaurant and parking were surprisingly easy, considering it’s Newark. It was very busy, which I always take as a good sign, but it also meant that if we didn’t want to be late we couldn’t wait for a table, so we sat at the bar. Immediately we were given a bread basket and a bowl of olives. I’ve been told by friends you know it’s authentic when they give you olives! The menu was a mix of Portuguese and English which is very nice. We ordered and our food arrived very quickly. I cannot express enough how delicious the food was! So flavorful and fragrant and just delicious! If you are going to go anywhere for Portuguese, go to Sol Mar!

Really enjoy the atmosphere here. Food is great… big portions lol… decent prices… and the big boss always comes around asking if everything is good…

Awful, horrible service!!! We just left the restaurant August 01, 2015 Saturday night.
We were sitting outside since it’s a gorgeous night, I, my husband a baby and 2 kids. We order our drinks the appetizers and our dinner, «one hour later» nothing has arrived to our table accept for the drinks! The waitress didn’t even bother to come see if we needed anything.. One hour and 10 minutes later, I walked in the restaurant, called the waitress and asked her to cancel our order and bring us the check for the drinks. Believe it or not, she just ignored us and walked away! She never came back with the check! I had to walk inside the restaurant and ask someone else for our check since we had ordered drinks and we were sitting outside. As I’m waiting for the check I saw the owner of the restaurant sitting right next to me in the bar, he asked how was everything and I told him what had happened. This was he’s reply to me «yes, sometimes things like this happens «. Really? ??? What did you just say? Are you kidding me?
There’s an entire family hungry waiting for the food, the kids are so upset after one hour waiting for everything, the waitress never came back to our table and you are gonna tell me that this is normal? !! You’re crazy!!! I right t give my money to a restaurant that actually appreciate their customers and care about their service!
By the way the table behind us also left, after the waitress left them waiting for also an hour without even serving them the drinks! Unbelievable! ! :(
There’s so many Portuguese restaurants in Newark, no need to go through this! I do not recomend!

Delicious food, decent prices, nice atmosphere and great service. oh and sangria. What else can you ask for? Newark’s hidden gem.

I’ve been to the best of the best and eat out every week. What I really appreciate more than anything is true authentic cuisine. Eating here is like eating in Portugal but not having to fly there!
The Spanish clams and red snapper are the way to go! Port is amazing!

I really enjoyed the food at Sol-​Mar. Came here on a Saturday night had about a twenty-​five minute wait which was not bad. Sol-​Mar has two options of seating, One is the main dining room upon entrance by the bar which is very casual and brightly lit. The second room was dimly lit and more on the intimate side which I prefer. I ordered the Clams which were Sautéed in garlic sauce, white wine and celantro. They were delicious. For the main course we ordered the Salmon and the Flounder. Both were stuffed with crabmeat and shrimp which were excellent choices. Each dish is served with broccoli and baked potato. Portions are very large. Sangria is very good but heavy in the alcohol department. Service is really great and attentive.

Yeah I would say the steaks were really good. They topped them off with egg and pickled veggies. Cool stuff. That’s something different from the norm and quite fine with me. My favorite dish was the calamari. Look at my attached pic and you’ll see how it’s made different at this place. Extremely good calamari!

Everything was good but our plate of mariscos came with a lot of cheap, fake crab «meat.» That’s just wrong.

I’ve been going to Solmar for years with my Family. My father refuses to go anywhere else. Food is excellent and very affordable. They got my dinner wrong but quickly fixed it without me saying anything, and gave an extra meal on the house. Food is fresh and well cooked. Definitely my favorite Portugese restaurant in iron bound. Easy to get to and plenty of parking across the street.

I live in the area and decided to stop by instead of going to Fornos (my #1 pick). Went there to get some food for my mother’s birthday celebratio and the man who assisted me was SO disrespectful. I politely asked how much it would be for 2 paellas, 5 stuffed salmons and a salad. He went to the back and came back with a price I couldn’t afford at the moment so I asked if he could exclude the stuffed salmon. He got SO NASTY as if he already made the food (all he did was make a list on his notepad). The other men were nice — one even rushed over from the back to help me exit the restaurant as I was wearing high heels while carrying a large box of food. I’ll be sure to get grumpy’s name next time! Food is decebt but nothing crazy.

Were there for the second time to enjoy their grilled octopus served in a tile, delicious! Also tried the portugese clams, delicious too. We’ll return soon!

I dined here while visiting my brother and his family. They all speak Portuguese, so this is one of the spots they like in the area. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, with great attention to detail! It was lovely. All the food was quite tasty. I had stuffed salmon, and we enjoyed a variety of appetizers. The staff was super friendly. I recommend this place if you are in the area!!!

Soooo… it’s just ok. Portions are huge. It’s your generic Portuguese restaurant. In truth, I think I might have ordered the wrong things. We had the fire-​grilled sausage and the shrimp in garlic apps. I ordered the «side salad», which didn’t have that much to it, but was huge. I had the chicken and shrimp in garlic sauce special for dinner. Everything seemed a bit oily, especially the shrimp app. The sausage was pretty good, probably the best thing I ate all night.
Everything was fine, but I just wasn’t blown away honestly. I had expected more the way everyone touts the wonders of Ferry Street.
Service was a bit daunting. Sangria was ok, and wine was ok too. Overall a decent meal, but wouldn’t be somewhere that I’d race to return.

Starving for steak and decided Sol de mar. I had the porterhouse steak and asked for medium rare, they new better n gave me medium. Delish. Sangria outstanding. My only criticism since I came here solo I try to make small talk with waiter at bar, not too friendly. I would’ve left a bigger tip cause the food was good. Sorry guy.

There’s only one thing to order here: Seafood Platter for 2. It comes with a medium (2lbs?)sized lobster, halved, 2 Large Prawns, about a dozen Sea Scallops, 10 or so each of Mussels and Clams, 2 large Fillets of Fish (really tasty), probably Flounder, about a pound of large peeled shrimp.
Start with the bread paired with Goat Cheese, and wash it all down with White Sangria.

Love crossing off another restaurant on my list to try in the Ironbound, especially when it’s great! Just a note that this is a review of the formal restaurant, not the adjacent diner style one.
I need to start off with the décor. This restaurant is very spacious and beautiful. The Christmas decorations this time of year just makes it even more charming. I think they successfully mimic a courtyard in Europe, the feeling of sitting beside stone walls and even next to a street lamp. In the back kitchen area there’s an overhang of Portuguese red clay/​ceramic roof tiles.
The portions like many of the restaurants in this neighborhood are grand. Our party was 11 in total. They start you off with olives and bread with a ricotta style cheese (not sure). We ordered a few appetizers. The shrimp in garlic was fantastic. We also had a delicious calamari, soft, super fresh in a nice light batter. Oysters were good, too. Their chorizo is delicious and, of course. flambéed in front of us (see picture). I’m a fan of Spanish over Portuguese, but I very very much enjoyed this one.
For dinner, I had one of the evening’s specials. The grilled steak. When I said the portions were huge, I was NOT kidding. My plate had a mountain of steaks. When I say mountain, I mean 4 semi-​thick cut pieces (duh). The flavor was above average, although the first cut was way more well than I would have liked, and the second one I put a dent in, medium rare to my request and more tasty. My co-​worker sitting next to me had the lamb chops and they were exquisite, especially the gravy.
I like how all your sides are communal (sliced fried potatoes, Portuguese yellow rice, and red beans) so we’re passing around food between everyone while each of us still has our own main dishes. Everything else was tasty.
I had a caipirinha which was definitely up to par! Service was decent. They don’t come check on you that much and kinda have to fish for attention, but that’s consistent with other restaurants here. You’re sitting a courtyard in Europe. What do ya want?!
Can’t wait to come here again!