Dudley Square’s Newest Restaurant Has a Touch of Southern Influence

The newest restaurant in Roxbury’s Dudley Square, Soleil, is now open in the Bolling building at 2200 Washington St., courtesy of Cheryl Straughter, who previously owned the popular Keith’s Place restaurant in Grove Hall.

Soleil takes influence from Southern food, but that’s not all.

“We’ll have mac and cheese and collards, but there will also be lighter fare,” Straughter previously told Eater. “We’ll also have some funky sandwich combinations with homemade compotes and aioli. Everything will be made from scratch in-house.”

Indeed, the opening menu ranges from fried chicken to grilled salmon, from a salad bar to pineapple upside down cake.

Soleil is a counter-service operation for breakfast and lunch, transforming into a full-service restaurant for dinner and weekend brunch. For now, it’s open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, with Straughter and her team using these first few weeks to make some tweaks to the food and service.

This is one of several restaurant openings slated for the Bolling building, with a pizza shop called 119 in the works as well as an unnamed restaurant that will feature live music. Plus, an Ethiopian restaurant called Fasika Cafe recently opened nearby, and Backlash Beer Co. is on the verge of opening about a mile away.

• Southern With a Twist [BSB]
• Soleil [Official Site]
• Soleil Will Bring a Touch of the South to Roxbury Later This Month [EBOS]