Sol Y Sombra in Medway

Absolutely loved our Saturday evening at Sol Y Sombra. Great food and service with a really authentic flavour. Very attentive service and a good wine list. There was even a good selection for the vegetarians.

Overpriced, slow service, worst tapas in Medway, avoid avoid avoid.

Had a lovely first time at Sol Y Sombra. The staff were very helpful, attentive and friendly and the food was absolutely delicious. We'll definitely be back and would highly recommend!

Great restaurant. The food was incredible. Damien was very attentive and friendly. We will definitely come back.

Fantastic evening at Sol Y Sombra Tapas. Great atmosphere, friendly staff and delicious food. Highly recommend.

Went here last night, ( Saturday 13th April ) in off chance, we could get a table without booking. And luckily, the staff, was accomodating, and showed us to a table instantly. The staff here are lovely, and are very polite. We ordered food, and drinks. Which we're served promptly. We ordered 5 different dishes, and all of which, was lovely, and tasteful. We didn't feel rushed like we have in other places, and quite happily would of stayed all evening. The place is very clean, and tastefully decorated. The music was chill. Overall this is the best place for food, that we've been to in a while. I would definitely recommend people going here! You would not be dissatisfied. Paid with cash, although card payment is also available, I assume the ( owner/manager?!) was happy notes we're being used. Sure its a rare occurrence these days. Would highly recommend this place. Cant give enough stars. The Pound Note Tattoo Artist. :)

We were a bit disappointed overall with the whole experience. For a Saturday evening there was a clear lack of staff which meant the wait for food was excessive and came from the kitchen at different intervals. The food was ok at best and just had that blasted in the microwave before coming to the table feel about it. The style of music didn't fit the type of restaurant and could hear a number of other parties complaining. I really wanted to enjoy this one as the reviews in general were quite good, but alas. Maybe just a bad night for them?

One of my worst experiences was visiting this tapas place!!! Service- 0/10 Food 0/10 I would never repeat it again!

The WORST " Spanish Tapas" in Medway, Kent!!! Very very slow service. the food it was NOT TASTY at all 👎🏻 we ordered paella -was burnt and worst I ever try. Prices for this food and service not worth it! Definitely me and my friends we will not go there again!

The restaurant has nice atmosphere. The drinks menu is very good, happy with sangria, wine and cocktail that we ordered. Food is decent as Spanish food is difficult outside of Spain. The olives were plump, sardines were good, but a bit bland. The Spanish tortilla was bland. What saved it for us was the Spanish cheeseboard and the créme catalana, both were really nice.

Took 45 mins for the bread to come out. None of the food tasted fresh. Had to return to collect my deposit for the table reservation on Valentine’s given it was forgotten to be taken off the bill. Will not be returning

Great valentines meal. Knowledgeable, friendly staff. Great food and wine. Loved it all. Thank you

Great staff , didn't rush you, food was amazing. (Toilets no stairs ) You felt like in Spain out doors.

Food was not great but people were lovely

Bit overpriced for what you get. Food was nice but left restaurant still feeling hungry after 6 dishes & desert for two of us.

Tasty and big portions, fast service!

Had a lovely meal in here staff friendly food lovely

My party of 11 were massively let down by another restaurant in Rochester and hungry. We decided to chance our luck (with no booking) at Sol Y Sombra, the team were so welcoming and offered us the upstairs area at short notice. I must say the food was plentiful, well cooked and just kept coming. Customer service was excellent and all staff massively friendly. Thank you so much for looking after us, we will definitely be returning for more of the same. Brilliant.

Incredible food and very friendly servers, quick service, and extremely cheep for a 6 perspn meal. Came a few months ago and it was so good we instantly booked a tsblw for a furture trip for the dickens christmas festival to bring more family along.

The food and staff were amazing. we had the seafood paella for two and was more than enough.

Wonderful service & great food! We had a lovely cosy evening and would definitely recommend. Extra 5 stars for the Christmas decorations, well done 👏

Such a shame but gone downhill under new owner - portions MUCH smaller and prices MUCH higher - Saturday we returned 3 of the 5 dishes as being inedible and while the meatballs were OK 5 tiny meatballs the size of a grape for £8.95 is not acceptable!

This place has a fantastic ambience and atmosphere. The food is excellent, well presented, tastes delicious and plenty of it! Greeted in a very friendly manner and the service was faultless all evening. Can't recommend this restaurant enough and will definitely be back.

Everything was absolutely fantastic! Service, food, atmosphere. We fell in love with Tapas again. And the fact that they have a massive Vegan menu is insane. Definitely coming back!!

Went with my partner and our daughter, first time tonight. Lovely food, very polite staff. Will definitely be back.

Service was alright, the waitress was kind and offered us a full menu even if it was only noon. Food however was absolutely underwhelming, l ordered broken eggs with ham. There was one egg and the only broken thing about it was my soul. Ham was served in chunks, not the thin slices you'd associate with serrano ham. Absolutely unedible!

Used to be great new owners have ruined a great restaurant

Amazing tapas, great service, friendly and attentive staff. Lovely ambiance and highly recommended.

The food was more ‘Spanglish’ than Spanish, it was tasty nevertheless. My only other comment is that portion sizes were very small for tapas.

I was very shocked with food portions, they were the tiniest tapas that I have ever had and so pricey, it was just ridiculous. It's more spanglish tapas than other thing, and I'm spanish! If you are looking for a place to have genuine tapas don't go to this place. If I could give 0 stars I would have.

Great little place for tapas, pretty authentic, good value, Cruz Campo on tap is brilliant. My only gripe would be to cook fresh churros, the ones we had seemed frozen and they are not difficult to cook in a deep fat fryer. You would clean up if you finished with those.

An amazing place for Spanish cuisine/tapas, food was amazing and full of flavour, mix of spice and sweetness, service was excellent and fast and atmosphere is wonderful, isn’t too busy that you can’t hear but isn’t too empty.

Really disappointing. Been here a few times, just for the vegetarian paella, which was amazing, but (after ordering drinks) were told that it "wasn't authentic enough" and "the vegetables go off to quickly" and no longer on the menu, maybe try the (more expensive) tapas menu. The vegetarian options were limited, probably not authentic enough, but out of the 8 or so dishes, three were unavailable, so a really lonely looking meal, with loud (unauthentic) 80s music and some super bright lights to accompany our meal. £90+ seemed expensive for 6 dishes and some drinks This used to be one of those special little places that really understood it's customers, I'm not sure if it's under new management, but eight couples squeezed into a window setting, with plenty of seating elsewhere? Maybe take a look at it from the diners viewpoint and make some changes

This is not somewhere to go if you are looking for the comfort of authentic, nostalgic (real) Spanish food, i appreciate the effort from the cooks but it is not somewhere i would recommend for people who have previously lived in non-tourist areas of Spain and like the authentic flavour of the food. Paella isnt even made with arroz bomba! Something about this place gives me a sort of “cultural appropriation” vibe….. idk :/

Horrible experience. We ordered paella, we waited 40 minutes and they served us something that is NOT PAELLA, boiled rice with garlic sprouts, a lot of coloring, no saffron, no fried vegetables,no chicken or seafood, canned peppers for garnish, tasteless and sweet... this is not paella and other dishes are not Spanish either, lousy quality. The place smells bad, the bathrooms next to the tables, loud music that forces you to speak loudly, the only good thing is the waitress, very nice. This fashionista uses the name Spanish/Spain to get money easily but it is a scam, every summer we travel to Spain and I have never seen such a bad food and place as in SOL Y MAR. We will never go back.

My second visit to this restaurant. This time we chose the 'Introduction to Tapas' which was a great selection and very tasty. The staff were very friendly and accommodating considering we arrived just as the kitchen was about to close. All in all a lovely experience.

We visited sol y sombra after my partner had a good experience previously. However, we were very disappointed with our meal today. There was a hair on the side of our padron peppers (on the handle) so we decided to not make a fuss. Our meatballs were then brought out but we found ANOTHER hair in the sauce. We raised this to our lovely waiter and said we could no longer continue eating and if possible to remove the dishes from our bill. The decision was then made that our meal would be complimentary. I approached the manager offering to pay for our drinks at least as I thought this would only be fair. I was then met with agitation and impoliteness. She then made the statement ‘ as long as you don’t write bad reviews all over Facebook’. My intent was never to write a bad review, however after snide comments were made towards myself after this - I decided it was only right to warn others of this establishment.

Had an unpleasant experience today as we found two hairs in two separate plates of food. At first we were happy to overlook this as the first hair we found wasn’t directly touching the food and we didn’t want to cause a fuss but on finding the second I spoke to the waiter and politely asked for a discount (at no point did I ask for free food, as my partner and I were both aware that we had eaten some of it and expected to pay to cover what we had eaten), very generously our food was given to us for free. Despite this my partner offered to pay for our drinks as she was aware it is a small business and wanted to contribute towards what we had. Sadly the manager was agitated and rude towards us, suggesting that we had deliberately eaten the food and wanted it for free, she also sarcastically told us not to put up any negative reviews- something we had not planned to do until she reacted so rudely. I am not someone who usually likes to complain in restaurants and my partner and I tried to go about it in as respectful and understanding a way as possible. Disappointingly we still experienced negativity from the manage, although I would like to note that the waiter who served us was very friendly and helpful. Due to these events I would not visit again.

Our first time coming here and overall, we were impressed by the service but underwhelmed by the food. Olives were big and delicious and the selection of wine is very good, enjoyed the Rioja. Cosy seating and a feel of a bar in Spain with the decor and music. The food menu is large and with lots of veggie options, however, we wonder if downsizing might be a good move to focus more on quality and being able to cook more fresh dishes. Would definitely prefer less selection with dishes based on the available good produce. We ordered all vegetarian tapas: patatas bravas, halloumi, padron peppers, breaded mushrooms, tostada tomate, Spanish tortilla. For us, all of the dishes were cooked well but overall all a bit bland. The padron peppers were decent as could tell they were cooked fresh and there were a good amount, the rest didn't pack much flavour (the tomatoes for example were bland, which on a simple dish really showed up) and the garlic mayonnaise on several of the dishes tasted processed (either a pre-made sauce or bottled mayonnaise with garlic added). Portion sizes were quite small for the price, we had 6 dishes between 2 and still had space for dessert. The churros as dessert were the best dish, although we think hot chocolate sauce would be an improvement here. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly and was helpful with recommendations (spot on with the amount of tapas to order), she definitely represented the vibe of the restaurant well. However, it was a bit off-putting when we arrived to have 2 staff members smoking sat outside at by the restaurant entrance. Think this could be a great little restaurant and hopefully our experience was a one off dip in quality of produce.

Where do I start? We used to come here almost weekly and the food, service and atmosphere was brilliant! But since the new management come in, the quality and portion size has reduced. The only thing that has improved is the profit by the looks of things.... Smaller portions, lower quality ingredients and higher prices seems to be the new company motto. We were given a small bowl of complimentary nuts instead of the 5 thick pieces of bread and aioli dip (that is now £1.95 should you wish to pay for it - that's even if it's the same size portion, as we decided against paying for this!). The only positive was the quick and friendly service from our waiter. To give you an idea of the poor portion sizes, we paid £7.95 for 5 prawns in a garlic and chilli sauce. We're local to Rochester and frequently visit multiple restaurants along the High Street. This is the 3rd visit to this establishment since the new management (we gave them the benefit of the doubt the first and second time round as they had only been managing the restaurant for a short period!) But we feel really let down by the food. We have come to the conclusion that we do not intend on returning. Overall we give this restaurant a 1 star rating. If it wasn't for the friendly waiter, it would have been worse. We really are sad to have seen that its lost the wow-factor that the previous owners gave it :(

Absolutely brilliant place. Took a last minute reservation for 6 people, whole place looked and felt great. Quick and courteous service with the right amount of servers personality coming through. Drinks came quickly and well presented. Food was amazing. Great communication from the server on food expected delivery times. The range of food on menu was outstanding. Great flavours and presented exceptionally.

Paella was ok, choose the sea good, which came a lot rice and not really sea food.. ah forgot mentioned that you can only order as a minimum for 2 people.Tapas are very small portion.

Just soooo good! New owners are just the best people! Go here, you won't be disappointed

Staff were brilliant and service was at a good pace. Love what they’ve done with the place. Reminds me of being in a bar/ restaurant in Spain. Food was delicious. Would recommend to friends

The food was delicious, service was fantastic.

We were seated downstairs and ordered a range of Tapas dishes. Every dish was really tasty, two of the three of us said it was their favourite restaurant so far and we've been to quite a few! Lots of vegetarian options too. It was a Saturday night and it still felt relatively quiet and intimate even though it looked full from where we were. We had the most amazing strawberry daqueries and we followed up with orange cake, churros and poached pairs for desert which was all delicious. The service was friendly and efficient, didn't feel rushed or stressed at all. The whole atmosphere was super relaxed, unhurried and friendly. Would definitely recommend!

Lovely Tapas Bar, good authentic food, polite and attentive staff all helps make an easy and relaxing evening out with friends. We stuck to ordering and sharing just about every Tapas on the menu, followed up with double cheese board. Really must try the paella next time as well, it looked really good.

Good food, the best croquet potatoes I think I have ever had

Not good. Food was way below par. Mussel main course consisted of around 15 mussels! Mixed meat paella was overcooked and small amounts of meat and with no veg other than 4 strips of green pepper. Asked for another piece of bread and was charged 1. 95 p . Owner was rude as we asked for plates after paella had already been served and mumbled do not moan! Will not be going again

Food wasn't as good as the first time we came, but burnt potatoes were replaced quickly when I mentioned them to the waiter. Overall its a nice little place, quirky and friendly. The cheesecake was very nice.

Lovely evening meal, relaxed service with a smile. Food good, and well priced for Rochester. Happy to recommend. Veggie options good. Wine options good.

First time visiting this restaurant. We was sat out the back which was very nice. It gives the impression of being in a garden. Service was good as was the food. We will be visiting again.

So disappointed by our visit this evening :( This used to be our favourite restaurant but new owners seems to mean smaller portions, the wonderful patatas bravas smaller and slathered in a different tasting sauce (we sent the first lot back as they were undercooked and usually fight over these but we left some), sardines that were tiny and 80s music blaring.....we couldn't wait to leave to be honest. The owner couldn't even be bothered to turn his head to look at us as he grunted 'good night'. Everything about it was just off - we were told the chef has changed. Such a shame! We were still hungry though so went somewhere else! We won't be going back.

Gorgeous authentic food with lovely service and a really nice atmosphere. Wish i took pictures, but we ate too fast lol. Definitely will go back as so many options and stomach not big enough to try all at once.

Great tapas, wide selection and good prices

In definite need of a makeover. Dislike hearing a business meeting between owner and client when trying to have a meal...take it away to an office.

The best thing about this place is the staff. Very good and personal service. There are 2 tapas places in Rochester high st. This one is more cosy and a family feel and in one of the old traditional buildings. Like eating at a friend's house. The other is more polished and runs like clockwork but less personality. Food is probably slightly better at the other one but it's always rammed and less relaxing. Both nice places and you wouldn't be disappointed with either.

Had a great meal there last night...the was great and the staff were lovely..it has a real family feel about it. Will be back

Had a great time .. the staff were friendly and fantastic and food was excellent.. thank you for a really nice night , we will be back.

Came here Christmas Eve with the family. Managed to get an early evening table, we sat in the back garden area, but it's all covered and warm more like indoors really. The food was lovely. We had several tapas choices off the menu and considering it was very last minute they were very accommodating.

Brilliant night with superb food and drink.

Fantastic restaurant. Best tapas restaurant in Rochester. We are a family of 4 and even with a 6 month gap between visits, the manager remembered us (he remembered one of the kids was good with whole chillies and one was not)and it is little things like that, that separate lovely restaurants from big chains.

food was amazing ,and service was impeccable . Had an amazing time ,we were upstairs.They must have we were going to be noisy, lol Can't wait to go again .

I’ve been here twice now and both times the food has been delicious, the staff friendly and attentive. The restaurant has a lovely ambience with a pretty enclosed garden area in the back. So far my favourite my restaurant on the highstreet, highly recommended!

We have eaten here several times, the food is excellent and staff attentive, with a warm welcome from the owner. With most the tapas priced at £6.95 you can't go wrong. Would 100% recommend. Pete

i was slapping my meat on the table. Unfortunately the waiters did not join in but the paella felt nice on my balls

top spot for a geezer such as myself, get down and dirty with the food. my wife loves a bit of meat in her mouth (trust me *wink wink* 😉) so the chorizo and red wine filled her up good. sol why sombra gets 5 stars off me

Good welcome. Friendly staff. Yummy food.

Good food Excellent friendly staff

We went tonight for our anniversary meal and it was perfect. I could write a thousand words about this place but I will just say you need to go here.

The food here is really full of flavour it's unpretentious and really well done. Genuine Spanish chefs . I can't decide whether the best thing is the food or the really attentive staff. 5* would recommend. And will use again thank you for a lovely birthday meal with our rabble!

Unfortunately they let a dog in a quite a small area where I was eating and I could smell it. My party and I was moved without any fuss.

First time I had been here and the food was delicious. The staff were brilliant. My review would have been 5/5 if it hadn’t been for dogs being allowed in the restaurant. We had to move from one room to another as the smell of the dog was overpowering. I understand dogs are now classed as “family” “fur babies” etc but I really don’t like to smell them when I’m trying to eat.

What can I say about this tapas restaurant other than the food was absolutely amazing and I cannot fault it in anyway. The staff were lovely and was a lovely atmosphere. Will definitely be going again. Best tapas ever .

Delicious food with lots to choose from. They have a good selection of wines and beers. The owners and staff make you feel very welcome. A jewel on the high street

Great food. Good value for money. Attentive service.

Lovely paella, big portion size, took some home for later. Nice setting and friendly staff.

Good quality tapas at a reasonable price

Fabulous food, served by great staff - highly recommended!

Brilliant experience today. The staff were lovely, food and drinks amazing. Thanks for a great time. Would thoroughly recommend and will be back again!

Fabulous food, excellent service, lovely staff, just amazing overall!!!

Food was alright, not terrible, but the most garlic I've ever eaten. Death by garlic.

100% recommend to everyone: service, food, atmosphere all at the highest level 👍🏻

Cannot fault standard of service and range of tapas available,we spent a long time having a good old chat over lunch, owner Andy knows his stuff.

Another great night in our "Spanish heaven" restaurant, staff very attentive and food was AMAZING!!! 😋 Well done guys x

It is the best Spanish tapas restaurant in Rochester Kent, the food is fresh and has the charm of homemade food. With the traditional flavor of Spanish dish recipes.

Lovely little restaurant, nice food.

I had just returned from a trip around Europe on my motorcycle spending a lot of time in Spain. Some friends wanted to visit this place so I went along. The tapas in Spain is fantastic, the tapas here is comparable! I will be back there again soon.

As always delicious food and great service.

The food was lovely, very authentic. Staff was very helpful and friendly. Can't fault it. Defo coming back!

Yet again a great time , lovely staff , fantastic food , everybody seams to enjoy the vibe xx

Very hot evening. Tapas were fine. A little heavy with the garlic. Staff attentive. Will return.

We wen to this lovely Spanish restaurant yesterday, the food tasted just like we had in Spain, the environment and atmosphere remind me of my favourite holiday place in Rhodes, the courtyard garden and tropical plant. The owner and staff all very friendly. a very special place in Medway.

Beautiful little restaurant in the heart of Rochester selling authentic Iberian tapas. Food is delicious, well seasoned and presented well. The big problem, is that if you aren't familiar with tapas you may find the menu very challenging. In other tapas restaurants the meats, seafood, veggy etc are separated saving you time on reading everything to be sure something is here or not, the layout is also lacking, although I know what I am after I think pictures would have been appropriate in places. The service was good, deserving of a tip. Will return and sample more of menu.

Massively recommended, me and my friend came in here for her birthday dinner - there was balloons waiting for my friend when she got there. The food was lovely and well priced would defo come back. (Dog friendly)

been there 3 times now and every time fantastic. atmosphere great especially out the back feels like Spain. Tapas etc totally yummy cooked by a Spanish chef nothing yet disappointed and with a jug of sangria even better. owner and staff very friendly and helpful and you could sit there all day and not feel as if you have to leave to free a table for someone else. Little bit of Spain in Rochester.

Had a wonderful evening here with members of the Rochester Pickwick Club. Food was great, lovely atmosphere, friendly staff, what more could you ask for. Also, good value for money.

Bloody stunning. Went today for the first time. We will be back. All the food was outstanding, fresh hot and delicious.

We had an amazing meal here last night. Best tapas I’ve had, staff where very friendly and attentive. Would highly recommend

First time visitors. Amazing food and really friendly and attentive staff