SOLON, Ohio — Tucked away on the corner of a nondescript strip mall, Olé Tapas Bar has brought the energy and flavors of the Mediterranean to the heart of Solon.
As if that’s not enough of a reason to convince you to visit, the swanky bar/restaurant offers enticing happy hour specials for a budget-friendly way to try out the new restaurant.
Olé’s happy hour runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday and includes $7, $10 and $15 versions of its fabulous sharable tapas and three $10 entrees. Signature cocktails and wine by the glass are also $9 during the window, so there’s plenty to try.
The restaurant opened in March 2025 from business partners Lara Alqaq and Aman Laiker, who also own Kiva Stone Ohio (hence the beautiful quartzite and marble all over the restaurant). Even though it hasn’t been a year, Laiker says Olé has a strong crew of repeat customers, with some people coming up to 10 times already.
“Dinner is crazy. You can’t find a table on the weekend,” Laiker said of reservations. The popularity led Olé to open for lunch, although its reputation as one of the only late-night dining options in Solon makes it popular well after typical dinner hours.
We showed up at Olé, 30050 Aurora Road, early on a Tuesday to snag our favorite seats — the corner at the bar. While the outside might be easy to miss, Olé totally created a dramatic oasis for cocktails, dining and nightlife in the suburb. The black-and-white design is elevated with intricate stone details and striking light fixtures.
Paris had been to Olé previously and knew the bar menu included visually beautiful cocktails with interesting ingredients and, for $9, how could we pass that up? Alex started with the Rose Water Paloma, featuring pink grapefruit, rose syrup, rose water, sparkling water and tequila. Paris opted for the warm and spicy Cardamom Hills, made with vodka, honey, cardamom and lime. Both drinks come with glitter-kissed, rose-shaped ice cubes that take Instagrammable to the next level.
The rose ice cubes are a nice touch.Alex Darus
The intentional cocktail menu was inspired by Laiker’s favorite drinks from around the world. The international influences extend to the menu, which includes imported olives from Jordan, meat from local butchers and a tender octopus recipe that Laiker’s chef learned to make over a FaceTime video call with a chef from Turkey.
With a reputation like that, we knew the grilled, herbed octopus with lemon and smoked paprika was a non-negotiable, and only $15 during happy hour. The owner’s high praise did not disappoint — the octopus was insanely tender, even someone who hates octopus could be fooled by this bright and flavorful dish.
We also got the mussels in saffron cream sauce, also $15 during happy hour. The sizeable portion of mussels was also perfectly cooked, but the white wine cream sauce tinged with saffron truly made it worth cleaning the plate for.
Mussels in saffron cream from Olé Tapas Bar.Alex Darus
Grilled Spanish cheese, $7 during happy hour, was drizzled with honey and crushed pistachios to make something simple really standout. The chicken kebab entrée, $10 is as much of a flavorful showstopper as it is visual. Perfectly grilled chicken pieces between charred peppers and onions are literally suspended over a bed of basmati rice.
We also got a date salad with greens, dates, craisins, apples and walnuts; it felt more exciting than the average side dish, even though it wasn’t on the happy hour menu.
We also trieda beef burak, which is a Middle Eastern savory pastry, made with perfectly thin and crispy dough. The burak wasn’t on the happy hour menu, but four savory pastries for $9 felt in line with the rest of the deals.
Berry Clafoutis and Biscoff cheesecake for dessert.Alex Darus
After some convincing from the friendly bartenders, we couldn’t skip out on dessert. Berry Clafoutis, $8 –a French classic with fresh berries, cream and pastry– is a customer favorite, and one bite made it easy to understand why. The sleeper hit was the Biscoff cheesecake, $10— fluffy, rich and full of that signature Biscoff flavor that’s truly an underrated cheesecake ingredient.
Olé Tapas Bar, 30050 Aurora Road, Solon
Happy Hour: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday
Vibe: Classy and/or business casual
Food: Mediterranean tapas, sharable plates
Beverages: Signature cocktails and wine by the glass
Budget: $30
This year it costs more to dine out. Despite tight budgets, most people – especially extroverts like reporters Paris Wolfe and Alex Darus — need to get out. And, like everyone we need to support local restaurants to keep them in business. Sometimes that may be as simple as a Happy Hour dinner. So, we launched “The Happy Hour Project.” Paris and Alex will regularly visit independent restaurants in Northeast Ohio for happy hour and report back on the vibe, food and cocktails and how they’ll impact your budget.
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Dining and Cooking