‘Sol’ means sun – and Cafe Sol brings the sunshine, the tequila, and the vibrant fiesta spirit of Mexico to Clapham
Cafe Sol in Clapham holds eight hundred and forty-seven reviews and a 3.8 – a little below the survey’s average, on a good sample – and it is a Mexican restaurant and cocktail bar whose sunny name, “Sol” (the sun), promises the sunshine, the tequila, and the vibrant fiesta spirit of Mexico.
The honest score
A 3.8 across eight hundred and forty-seven people is a little below the survey’s rough average, on a large and weighty sample – a fair-to-middling result, honestly noted as this survey always does. It suggests a decent, popular, generally-enjoyed venue that does not quite reach the heights, rather than either a disaster or a triumph. As ever, we note the number plainly and turn to the sunny name and the vibrant tradition it invokes.
The sun
“Sol” is the word for “sun” in Spanish (and Latin, and Portuguese) – and it is a wonderfully warm, bright, positive word with which to name a place. The sun is the source of all light, warmth and life, the great giver of energy and joy, and “Sol” carries all of this brightness and warmth. For a Mexican venue, it evokes the brilliant sunshine of Mexico – the warm, sunny, vibrant land of bright light, colour and heat – and promises a slice of that sunshine and warmth, especially welcome under the grey skies of London.
The sun has deep meaning in Mexican culture, too. The ancient civilisations of Mexico – the Aztecs, the Maya and others – were profound sun-worshippers, for whom the sun was a supreme god, central to their religion, calendar and cosmology. The famous Aztec Sun Stone (often called the Aztec Calendar) is one of the great monuments of pre-Columbian art, centred on the sun god. So “Sol” carries, for a Mexican venue, an echo of this deep solar heritage – the sun that the ancient civilisations of Mexico revered above all.
The fiesta spirit
Cafe Sol promises the vibrant, festive spirit of Mexico – the fiesta, the celebration, the colour and warmth and life of Mexican culture. Mexican food and drink culture is one of the most vibrant and joyful in the world – the bright, bold, complex flavours of Mexican cuisine (the tacos, the guacamole, the mole, the fresh and fiery salsas), and the great spirits of Mexico: tequila and mezcal, distilled from the agave plant, and the cocktails built on them, above all the beloved margarita. The whole culture is one of colour, warmth, celebration and vibrant life – the fiesta spirit.
A “Cafe Sol” reaches for all of this – the sunshine, the tequila, the margaritas, the vibrant food, the festive, colourful, joyful spirit of Mexico. It promises warmth, colour, celebration and a taste of Mexican sunshine, a fiesta under the sign of the sun. Whatever its middling score, the sunny, festive spirit the name invokes is one of the most joyful and appealing there is – the warmth and celebration of Mexico, brought to grey London under the bright name of the sun.
The bar
A middling-scoring but popular Mexican restaurant and cocktail bar doing a fair 3.8 across a large sample, sunnily named “Cafe Sol” for the sun – promising the sunshine, tequila and vibrant fiesta spirit of Mexico.
Verdict
Middling by the numbers, honestly noted, but sunnily and festively named – “Cafe Sol,” the sun, evoking the warmth, tequila and fiesta spirit of Mexico.
Go to Cafe Sol for a margarita and a taste of Mexican sunshine, under the bright name of the sun – the warm, colourful, festive fiesta spirit of Mexico, brought to grey London.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
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