THE BEVERAGE DIRECTOR AT SOLÁZ, A NEWLY OPENED MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT, IS TURNING HEADS WITH AN ALL-NEW, AMBITIOUSLY CREATIVE COCKTAIL MENU BY ERIK SCHONING PHOTOS

BY ALEX BARRETO

Lola V has never shied away from a challenge. The beverage director at Jersey City’s newly opened Soláz Mediterranean Cuisine has quickly established the bar as one of the city’s most inventive and boundary-pushing drinking destinations.

Like many in the restaurant space, Lola V grew up around food. Her family owned restaurants, and she was captivated by the choreography behind the bar; she studied the way mixologists moved, how they spoke to guests, and their finesse in mixing drinks. As a collegiate athlete, she found in mixology the perfect expression of her interests and skill set.

“I really liked the team aspect of working behind the bar,” Lola V said. “I felt like that was my calling. I jumped in head first, and then I figured out you can be really creative behind the bar and go beyond the standard recipes. I love to experiment.”

After a stint as a consulting mixologist for Soláz’s sister restaurants in the Duran Entities group Ventanas in Fort Lee and Son Cubano in West New York Lola V saw in Soláz an enticing opportunity to shape a bar program from the ground up. Conceived as a modern Mediterranean escape on the shores of the Hudson, Soláz blends the culinary vision of celebrity chef David Burke with a quietly luxurious, laid-back atmosphere. While designing her debut menu, Lola V spent months immersed in the diverse, vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean. The result is a menu built on several key foundations: fewer, fresher ingredients, higher integrity, and minimal waste. Citrus and herbs lend freshness and seasonal ity throughout, while a risk-taking approach balances the elevated with the unintimidating for a modern take on approachable luxury.

Lola V’s personal favorite, the Sultan’s Lemonade, is a prime example of those principles in action. A twist on classic Turkish lemonade, the Soláz version pairs tequila with Fernet Menta, a mint-infused variation on the Italian herbal liqueur, and Supasawa, a crystal-clear, acid-adjusted mixer that delivers a bright lemony kick. The golden elixir is poured over crushed ice and finished with homemade honey syrup, mint sprigs, and charred lemon. The Sultan’s Lemonade has emerged as an unlikely favorite on the menu – a testament to the rewards of adventurous drink-making.

“I put it on the menu thinking that it might not do well because a lot of people don’t love the taste of Fernet,” Lola V said. “But I thought, let’s do something fun, and it’s become one of our best sellers. People love it. They’re ordering two, three at a time.”

Another fan favorite, The Odyssey, is a masterclass in cutting-edge technique and bold flavor pairing. A craving for a tzatziki martini led Lola V to experiment with a process known as “washing,” in which a spirit like vodka is infused with flavor from a fat, like yogurt based tzatziki. The result, after several rounds of filtration and straining (“It looks like a mad scientist lab back there,” laughed the mixologist), is a smoother vodka with herbaceous, savory notes. From there, the Soláz team creates a straw berry oleo saccharum (Latin for “oil sugar”) by macerating fresh strawberries with sugar to extract the fruit’s oils and essence. Paired with lemon, the tzatziki washed vodka and strawberry syrup create a study in contrast: bright, fresh fruit balanced by deeper, funkier complexity.

Lola V is constantly dreaming up new and exciting cocktails that match the creativity of Chef Burke’s menu. Sometimes inspiration is born from a personal craving (as in The Odyssey); other times, she’s stirred by the flavor pairings of a dish while dining out. The Odyssey’s sister cocktail, The Iliad, was inspired by a gorgonzola-and-pear salad from a local Italian restaurant. (The mad scientist trick of The Iliad is honey-balsamic air, made by immersing a bubbler in a mixture of the two ingredients and skimming the airy foam off the top.)

The goal here is nothing short of the extraordinary: layered, complex cocktails that are as visually striking as they are delicious a perfect complement to Chef Burke’s signature whimsy.

That same pursuit of excellence extends to Lola V’s leadership behind the bar. Never content to stop learning, she expects the same growth mindset from her team and believes that trust and empowerment are the keys to unlocking everyone’s potential. When everything hums in sync – the cocktails, the service, the front and back of house working in harmony the result feels almost magical.

“I’ve been an athlete my whole life, and the movement, the synchrony, is something beautiful to me,” Lola V said. “When you’re in the crush, when you’re in the weeds in the middle of the night and everything is flowing effortlessly, that’s when I know all this hard work is paying off.”

Jersey City is a competitive market, and Soláz is a relative newcomer, but for Lola V, that’s part of the appeal. As the restaurant establishes itself in the community, her ambition is nothing less than competing with the top cocktail bars in the tri-state area. It’s a mission that demands relentless innovation and exacting standards, but as any motivated athlete knows, the highest goals will often bring out the best in someone.

“I think that with my team, we can really push the limits,” Lola V said. “The ownership at this restaurant has given me the tools and creative freedom to just do me, and I think I have a lot to show. I don’t want to be just another cocktail bar down the corner. I want to be something bold, exciting, and unique. I want to be something different.”

Soláz Mediterranean Cuisine

25 River Dr S, Jersey City

551.355.3800 / experiencesolaz.com