The Solar Café is the newest business to burst onto the downtown scene. Featuring a variety of "comfort foods," they boast a menu that ranges from coffee and biscotti to full out meals. None of the entrees are over $7.50, which makes it ideal on a budget, and its hours make it a great option whether you are starting or ending your day.

It took a few minutes for our threesome to actually select our choices from the impressive menu of snacks, appetizers and main dishes. The service was quick, and in no time our trio eagerly dug into our opening appetizers. The jalapeno poppers were filled with cheddar cheese and half slices of jalapeno pepper. While some restaurants poppers are extremely spicy, the lack of seeds and half pepper in Solar’s provide enough of a kick that you know what’s in there, but are mild enough that anyone can handle them. As well, the café does not have a deep fryer so all of their dishes are oven baked, making the poppers less greasy and more flavorful. Solar Café prefers to use mozzarella over the more common cheddar, which adds a uniquely delightful taste to the potato skins and garlic cheese toast. Both are served with ample amounts of sour cream and tangy salsa. The skins especially were well loaded with bacon & chives and lacked the rooty taste that sometimes ruins potatoes. The garlic bread was still soft and had just the right amount of garlic. There is nothing worse than rock-hard garlic bread, and your jaw is safe here! The café also sports nachos, taquitos, and other snacks to hoard for you or share with friends.

It is easy to see why the homemade chili is one of the most popular items for the lunch crowd. Hearty and warm without a lot of spice, the chili (which comes in both regular & vegetarian) has large chunks of tomato, mushrooms, onions, and other veggies as well as a sprinkle of cheese. The perfect food for a quick lunch on a cold day to warm you up! You can also choose from a variety of pasta dishes. In our case, we decided to sample both the meat and vegetarian lasagna. The meat version had a rich tomato sauce with hints of basil, as well as ample mozzarella and ricotta cheese. The vegetarian is tremendous. Large chunks of vegetables like carrots & broccoli, as well as spinach blend with the cream sauce to create a treat for the taste buds. Even for a non-vegetarian that lasagna is worth checking out. The Shepard’s Pie featured a hearty helping of potato and ground beef, as well as corn and peas mixed in with hearty beefy gravy. All of the entrees are served with garlic bread.

Never ones to sacrifice, we moved on to dessert. I had the Tiramisu Latte, which is amazing. Not tasting at all like coffee, it is a sweet drink that deserves to be compared to the Italian delicacy. It was great compliment to what was to come. We kicked things off with the "Dirty Boy," a dessert that will be very popular. A twist on the classic banana split it has two giant scoops of vanilla ice cream covered with chocolate sprinkles, a banana, and a dab of whipped cream all drizzled with chocolate sauce. You can use your imagination to do the rest. It was simply amazing. The Cherries Jubilee has large flakes of chocolate and is sweet and warm, tasting like something Mom would make. The other main dessert on the menu, the solar flare, apple crepes served with more ice cream, is just phenomenal. The crepes are tender with a large helping of ice cream, and the apples are just crisp enough to enjoy without being hard. It was hard to decide which of the three was the favourite, so we recommend you just go back repeatedly and try them all!

Solar Café is open until 4am on weekends and is walking distance from bars. It’s a great place to meet up for a coffee before heading out or stop to satisfy late night munchies after a night of dancing away. If you’re not into the bar scene, stop by in the morning for a coffee or pop in at lunchtime to enjoy one of their delicious entrée’s. The food is high quality and quantity, low on price, which makes it an ideal visit anytime.

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Contributor Jason Clevett |

Locale Calgary |

Topic Food | Solar Café |