It’s simple.  We are folks who love tasty food and even better service.  It is what inspires us every day and keeps us looking to innovate and create memorable experiences.  I, the guy writing this, am a chef by trade and have always wanted to create the type of place that people in my line of work would want to go to.  So sometimes we use some “out-there” ingredients and play with stuff you may not have heard of, but it is all in the spirit of fun and good food!  My wife and I are proud to operate Urban Solace in North Park and Solace & the Moonlight Lounge in Encinitas.  What originally started as a chef driven neighborhood casual restaurant has grown into a testing ground for how to do things differently than many restaurants you may experience.  A few years ago we had our first child and decided to raise her on a natural diet…no artificial ingredients, fake sugars or other junk.  And we had a revelation.  We had both been in the industry for years and worked in some very stellar places, but when we took a look at all those standard ingredients that restaurants and bars use, we realized that an upscale commercial kitchen is still a bastion of artificial or overly processed junk.  We are talking Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, iconic American soda brands, flavored liquors and mixers, grenadine, maraschino cherries and so many more things that even the finest restaurants utilize.  So we set out on a mission: to create a place where we felt good about the product we serve, down to the most basic ingredients.  Behind the scenes we became so much more.  We spent nearly a year slowly replacing or coming up with our own recipes for so many items that most restaurants take for granted.  We buy our salmon from a single fisherman in Alaska; we buy our soda made from pure cane sugar from Boylan Bottling Co. in Jersey; organic vegan Worcestershire; hand crafted maraschino cherries from a dude in Washington; handmade artisan domestic cheeses; carefully raised meats and so much more we won’t bore you with!  We try our best to buy everything from our region of the U.S.  Most of our wines and beers, (and food of course) is from the West Coast and items we can’t find close to home, we always try to stay in the U.S. with.  Especially our unique liquors and other bar offerings.  Bottom line, look around you and if you want to know more, we are happy to share with you.  We are just glad you are here and hope you enjoy your experience.  And if you don’t, please let us know so we can fix it for you!

Sincerely,
Matt Gordon

Matt Gordon: Executive Chef

Owner and Executive Chef Matt Gordon is a 25-year veteran of the restaurant industry.He has headed numerous kitchen operations ranging from formal fine dining to bustling, high volume corporate restaurants. Past positions include Executive Chef at the highly acclaimed Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar in Healdsburg, California; Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Department Head at Hospitality Inc (festivities catering, picnic people), a renowned and multi-faceted catering operation in San Diego, California; Executive Chef at Scott's Seafood, in the heart of Silicon Valley; Executive Chef at Gordon Biersch Brewing Company at their flagship location in San Francisco, California; and Executive Sous Chef at Beaver Street Brewery and Whistlestop Café in Flagstaff, Arizona. Matt's philosophy in the kitchen? Work hard and have a great time doing it! His goal has always been to create a dynamic and fun environment for his staff so that they enjoy coming to work as much as he does.  Having recently doubled the size of our team, Matt is proud to present our second location Solace and the Moonlight Lounge in the heart of Encinitas.