Flor Y Solera Spanish Tapas Bar - Los Angeles, California

Lior Chatow

Delightful Spanish food in industrial but cozy space! The tapas are amazing and the paellas are unique. Everything we ate was absolutely delicious. I would expect a wider variety and diversity of vermouth for a Spanish restaurant but still great experience!

Dewi Aldrich

Chicken croquettes (4 pieces in 1 order): these were too small for a group of 5 to share. The chicken inside was mush and mild in flavor. It would have been nice had a garlic aioli or some other dipping sauce accompanied the dish. 5/10

Marinated salmon w/ sunchoke purée: the word ‘marinated’ isn’t appropriate in the title of this dish as there was no marinade to speak of. Both the fish and sunchoke purée were very bland. This tasted like cat food. 1/10

Fried calamari: the plating on this dish is just sad. No other garnish, no color, just very pale looking squid rings. Also, the term ‘fried’ was misused here as the batter was hardly crispy nor was it seasoned at all!! There was not even a dipping sauce to accompany the dish, and this would have been fine had the batter been SEASONED! Some sea salt would have done the dish wonders! Unless you enjoy a soggy bowl of squid rings, do not bother to drop $12 on this. 0/10

Idiazábal cheese w/ carrot marmalade & walnuts: We actually enjoyed this. The presentation was artfully executed and enticing — and the cheese, which comes from Idiazábal, a town in Northern Spain, was buttery, nutty, and downright tasty. The carrot marmalade, which I’ve not had anywhere else, was creative and fun. The sweetened walnuts were complementary to the dish. Well-balanced. Our only criticism here is more cheese please! 8.5/10

Entrées:
Fideus — this pasta dish with shrimp and clams, was the star of the night. This dish hails from Valencia, Spain and is similar to that of a paella, except short, thin pasta is used in lieu of rice. The pasta had a nice ‘bite’ to it and was extraordinary in flavor. The jumbo shrimp was perfectly cooked and the presentation was inviting. Our only gripe here: the clams were too small. Despite the clam size, we rate this dish a 10/10 — we loved it so much, we ordered a second round of it. Do not hesitate to get this!!

Sea Bass with kale: beautifully presented and executed. The fish was perfectly cooked — tender yet had a nice flaky/crispy skin. The kale was boiled to perfection, and the sauces were tasty. 10/10

Desserts:
Flores de calabacín: battered zucchini blossoms with rice pudding ice cream — the presentation could use some work. The way the zucchini blossoms were plated reminded me of a cross between soft shell crab and funnel cake. But the dish was delicate, light, and fluffy. The crisp on the blossoms was on point. And the ice cream was delicious. 10/10

Torrija con leche merengada: fried milk-soaked brioche, ‘merengued’ milk ice cream, berries. The plating here needs work. It looked like one piece of French Toast topped with ice cream alongside melted burnt marshmallow with a red ring encircling the whole thing. There was nothing in the presentation that screamed, “EAT ME.”

The brioche was very orange/citrus-forward in flavor. Good but could have used one more brioche to make the dessert feel more complete, stacked on top of the other in a criss-cross form. The burnt marshmallow did not enhance the dish any. And the word “berries” in the title was misleading as there were no berries in berry form. We assumed the red ring was made from berries, and that’s fine, but then don’t entitle something and not deliver. This was a 7/10.

All in all, I’d say FORGO THE TAPAS and dive right into the entrées. From $8-12/plate, the tapas seem overpriced for mostly mediocre food. Very hit or miss. The entrées, however, will give you more bang for your buck. Still pricey, but we don’t mind paying top dollar for good quality, well-executed, FLAVORFUL food.

Service was excellent — not just from our server, but all her colleagues as well. Everyone working the floor was attentive. They cleared our table often and replenished with new plates (not that it was necessary, but nice). Our server was present and pleasant frequently checking in without being too much, nor did she try to upsell us on anything. We had a nice family outing and the vibe of this place is fun and lively. Perfect night out for either a date or a group dinner!

Zan Lee

A really solid Spanish tapas and paella restaurant in the Arts District, just east of DTLA. It shares the same roof and parking lot as BRERA, another place I really enjoy and have been to many times. It’s a lot quieter and more laid back than BRERA, but in the good way. They have a large bar area, and many different seating options throughout. It was pretty crowded for our 7PM Saturday dinner and the parking lot was quite full. They have valet right out front for $8, self parking next to that for $5, or plenty of free street parking out front, which is what we chose.

It’s very large and open on the inside and designed very well. Our server was also very polite and prompt, she did a great job. Also the price is very fair compared to other Spanish restaurants around town. We started our meal with a few tapas: Shrimp in Garlic, Tomato Spread + Goat Cheese + Honey, Patatas Bravas, and the Potato Omelette. Our favorite of those was the shrimp because it had a great flavor. The Patatas were very good as expected, but the other two we would suggest passing. The omelette had a great flavor but was a bit dry and the goat cheese toasts tasted great, but were tiny. Finally for our entree we chose the Squid Ink Paella and it was very good. It was a bit smaller than other paellas I have had recently and being that I have been to Spain many times I personally enjoy the crisper rice paella, which is more common over in Spain.

Overall a really good meal for a very fair price with easy parking and great flavors. I would recommend to any Spanish food fan.

Shanelle S

Cute tapas spot in the Arts District. Came here for dinner in a group of six on a Tuesday evening and had a reservation beforehand. There’s paid valet as well as street parking available. Credit cards accepted. They’re good about splitting the bill among multiple parties.

It’s a good spot if you’d like a lighter meal, as they have plenty of tapas. The patatas bravas and the chicken croquettes were tasty; the tortilla espanol was alright. The food comes out as it’s ready. We had a good time overall and service was friendly/efficient.

Heather J

Many fantastic Catalan dishes. Drinks were good, service was timely and friendly. Highly recommend seeking out this gem. The space is small, and intimate. The tapas list is quite extensive so you can order many items to try and share.

Manuel Edghill

TLDR: food is a bit pricey for the portions, however worthwhile with the atmosphere and service. Will be coming back.

Francine is lovely and top of her game as far as spanish wines go. Nalleli the server was incredibly attentive. The hostess was great, yet her mom visiting from NYC had even better banter. Good times.

Recommend the eggplant anchovy toast, beef cheeks, gambas al ajillo and any wine Francine tells you to drink.

Alan B

We’ve been to Spain many times, Flor y Solera is spot on!! The chef is from Barcelona!! Food really does remind us of Catalunya and makes us want to be there!!

Will Lee

I will admit I am a snob both on food and cocktails because of my travels...so I tend to be a bit biased at times. BUT I still enjoyed everything, had fun, loved the building and atmosphere, the Gin & Tonic was amazing.