Solstice
by Frank Quattrone
What a delightful way to break free from homecooked meals and a “society” of two! On a steamy midsummer evening, when its attractive canopied patio took a back seat to air-conditioned comfort, Eve and I discovered Solstice, Newtown’s latest dining experience. This terrific new restaurant—co-owned by Rick Darby and his parents, Anna and Terry Darby, in partnership with the Captivate Hospitality Group—enticed us with any number of pleasant innovations, starting with its name.
According to Rick Darby, the partners agreed that they wanted their concept to be “fresh, vibrant, and appealing. Solstice’s focus on hyper-seasonality inspired the name because of the changing menus on each Solstice (Summer and Winter) and Equinox (Fall and Spring).” And to help celebrate these vibrant flavors, Solstice has creating a “Peak of the Season” Menu.
According to amiable Executive Chef Jason Audette, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with experience in some of the Big Apple’s high-star restaurants, “This gives the kitchen staff a different ingredient to highlight each season, so we can educate guests in the infinite possibilities of ingredients in unexpected ways. Like, we’re featuring South Carolina peaches this summer, and we’re considering sunchokes [better known as Jerusalem artichokes] for the fall.”
That means Solstice will offer a seasonal cocktail, a choice of savory dishes, and a dessert, in addition to the regular menu. We were dazzled, for example, by the potent Peach Cocktail, a lush, tropical potion blending Plantation Original Dark Rum with peach shrub, enlivened by a peach wheel. Wow!
For one of our starters—we also enjoyed the pleasantly briny Cape May Scallop Crudo, a fresh-from-the-sea array of scallop and heirloom tomatoes topped with smoked cashews, cilantro, and chia seeds in a passion fruit vinaigrette—we had the Peaches & Burrata, Italian cow milk cheese and fresh peaches sprinkled with champagne vinaigrette and topped with hazelnut gremolata. To flash-forward, our refreshingly zesty dessert was Peach Melba, served over raspberry sorbet and topped with charred citrus honey.
With Peak of the Season specials like these, who even needs an entrée? Nonetheless, we soldiered on, Eve ordering the 14-ounce New York Strip topped with Bordelaise sauce and accompanied with pomme purée, while I feasted on my second scallops dish of the evening, Seared Cape May Scallops served with yellow corn risotto in a sea bean salsa verde topped with a passion fruit gelée.
The three-course meal was absolutely delightful. But we were equally entranced, shortly after we took our seats, by the light, puffy, hard-to-resist Parker House Rolls, a shareable, interactive “Snack,” as the chef calls it, kissed by a plum glaze and cultured ginger butter. And the Yellow Corn Ragu, a creamy side veggie blending yellow corn kernels with béchamel, burrata, toasted panko, and miso caramel—substantial enough to serve as an entrée—also caught our fancy.
If this is the flagship Solstice restaurant, the Darbys and Captivate have captured lightning in a bottle—from the menu and modern décor to staffing and community involvement. Rick Darby has said that the community response has been “overwhelmingly positive and supportive.” First opened in March and forced to close down its dine-in operation one week later because of state-mandated safety measures, Solstice did so well with its delivery option that it decided to create the gofundme Solstice Cares Community Fund, which has already raised more than $3,000 to help the restaurant serve 800 meals to frontline workers at hospitals in and around Bucks County.
In terms of amenities, Assistant General Manager Megan Coopersmith said that Solstice has also installed heating elements in the patio to encourage outdoor dining as long as the weather is kind. Our delightful server, Amanda Reiser (whose name, appropriately, translates as “loveable traveler”) laughed when I told her that the classy water bottle at our table resembles the chess piece known as a castle and that the round lighted halo fixtures above our heads recalled for me the summer sun at its highest point. Nice touches everywhere.
Chef Audette, who enjoyed sharing creative culinary ideas with his staff on a Google drive menu board during the restaurant’s dine-in closure, said that guests have already endorsed some Solstice signature dishes, including the Parker House Rolls, the Summer Squash Hummus, and the Braised Wagyu Pappardelle, the long, thick pasta served with short rib ragu, pomodoro, pecorino, and herb persillade.
Finally, through Solstice’s Loyalty App, available for free download on the Apple iOS App store and Google Play store, guests can now earn rewards as they dine. Just for signing up, diners receive a free order of fresh-baked Parker House Rolls that can be redeemed during their next dine-in visit by showing the app. Guests earn one point for each dollar spent at Solstice, and for every 1,500 points earned, they receive a $100 credit to use for dining in. For other attractive perks, check out the restaurant’s website. But all you need to keep you coming back for a memorable dining experience are the warm, friendly service and the innovative seasonal menus.
Solstice is located in the Village at Newtown, 2948 South Eagle Road, Newtown, PA 18940; 267-755-8994; https://dineatsolstice.com. Open for Sunday Brunch, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dinner: Monday – Thursday, 4:30 – 10 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 4:30 – 11 p.m.; & Sunday, 4:30 – 9 p.m. Available for dine-in, takeout, delivery. Reservations recommended; walk-ins accepted if space is available.