Photo courtesy of Solera, used with permission
Cocktail lounge in South Osborne, Winnipeg
Solera
Down Behind the Records
Solera is the cocktail lounge downstairs from Tabula Rasa on Osborne Street, and it has the kind of entrance that a bar owner dreams about: tucked behind a wall of records. Tourism Winnipeg called it the coolest cocktail spot in the city, and for once the tourism people are not exaggerating by much.
The same team that built Sous Sol runs the building. Upstairs, Tabula Rasa serves Spanish and Mediterranean inspired small plates, wine, and an oyster bar, so Solera inherits a good pedigree. I could not confirm a specific drinks list, so I will not invent one. What I can say is that a cocktail lounge sharing a roof with a serious tapas kitchen has an easy way to keep you fed past midnight.
Go after dinner, or late midweek, once the room is lower and the bartenders have a minute. Hunt for the records, push through, and settle in. A bar that hides itself behind a wall of vinyl is not asking for the casual crowd. It is asking for someone who wants to stay.
- Order this
- A classic cocktail, made properly, Something from the Spanish and Mediterranean inspired list, Oysters or small plates from upstairs, if available
- The damage
- $$
- Go
- After dinner upstairs at Tabula Rasa, or a late weeknight
- Find it
- 725 Osborne St, Winnipeg, MB R3L 2C1 (below Tabula Rasa)
- Website
- tabularasaosborne.com