05/19/09

Our favorite place

by jbm10

We love eating at Lola. Even though pricey, we went for our anniversary. The food was fabulous. My husband isn't the most food adventurous type and he loved his food. The meat and scallops were cooked perfect. Everything really did make the occasion even more special.

We went back a second time for Cleveland restaurant week. $50/person and it was a three course meal with large portions. We still rave about the maple bacon ice cream. Thanks Michael for a great place in Downtown Cleveland. It's definitely worth a visit.

• Pros: great food

03/04/09

very good food, good service

by CSMobileUser

Worth a stop if downtown. Innovative food, servers very good with recommendations. I would take out of towners to Lolita if they want a taste of Michael Symons cooking though...

08/29/08

resonse to katatvandy

by mackgra08

you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. you dined at lolita in tremont based on your menu selections. does lolita sound like a "french bistro"? it specializes in mediterranean/italian cuisine. maybe you should go back to the olive garden for your "all you can eat" salad and breadsticks. leave the more sophisticated dining to people who get it.

peace.

07/14/08

Resting on laurels

by andymanfood

Wow. Went in with some expectation of service due to the prices. Lunch. Reservationist was clear saying we MUST be out by 2:00. Server had an attitude right off the bat pushing us for our order (this was at 12:00).

Ordered drinks then perused the appetizers. Ordered four including the charcuterie plate. All arrived and when a guest inquired what was on the charcuterie plate she lazily replied without being specific of what was what. When pressed for more specific detail she said she didn't know and would ask the kitchen. She proceded to be vague again and we went about enjoying mystery selections. Soup course arrived and we were all stunned by its heavy saltiness. It was brought back to the kitchen with the server pointing us out to the cook and manager. No mention was made to us about our returning it. Pressed again for our lunch orders and reminded we needed to be out by 2:00. A guest inquired about the cut of meat and again she didn't know. I assume she is very clear on what 20% means!

Michael and team should never send something out of the kitchen without the server knowing what is on the plate. Good luck getting water refills. Would not go back unless I was dining with Mr. Symon himself. Cleveland restaurant owners should handle their customers better since there are plenty of places to spend our dwindling dollars.

• Pros: Creative comfort food
• Cons: Service and sloppy uniforms

07/06/08

Great location, just OK food

by katatvandy

went for a birthday dinner. food was really up and down. First disappointment was the breadsticks. First, this is supposed to be a french bistro and we are getting clearly non-homemade HARD breadsticks? My family made jokes about using them if we felt threatened when we drove downtown. Our appetizers took a long time to make, enough to even get up to eat the breadsticks! Zucchini fritters were very good as an appetizer, but really small portion. Ricotta dip tasted like... ricotta and nothing else. No one was really thrilled with their entrees. I ordered the macaroni with goat cheese and rosemary and chicken [without the chicken]. The dish was really just macaroni with an alfredo sauce. I didn't eat it and instead ordered a side vegetable so I could have something to eat. Other people at the table ordered the linguine with clams, which they liked, the meatballs which were just fine [but a little bizarre- three HUGE meatballs just sitting in sauce, nothing else]. Also ran out of the wine we were drinking after we had one bottle. Overall, just not what I was expecting for an upscale restaurant. I could suggest much better versions of this concept in each city I have lived in. Another example of good concept, bad follow through.

• Pros: Funky cute restaurant, some good dishs
• Cons: just OK food, bad bread, overall underwhelming

05/26/08

Great to make a special occasion even more special

by judyad

We went to Lola's with our son and daughter-in-law to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary. Our son recommended it. It was wonderful. The waiter was great and knew everything about the menu and the food. The whole staff was very attentive and we had wonderful service. Our food was delicious and we were full when we left. The price was about right for a great restaurant. We had a wonderful evening and I feel that Lola's made our 34th a special one. The Charcouterie is to die for.

05/20/08

Trash

by hhg5

I would only recommend this joint if you are my enemy or if you enjoy bad food and bad service. This was the worst dining experience... I have never had such an incompetent server. She threw our drinks and dinner on the table! She did not listen to our order. I do not care that the owner of the restaurant has a tatoo from a Betty Crocker cut-of-meat picture. The bread was something out of a third world prison. DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE.

04/23/08

Go for the Hype, not for the Food (Network)

by wackjagner

Owner/chef Michael Symon has made a name and a fantastic career for himself, but seems to have, perhaps, lost his way in all the hype - you can't go a day in the local media without hearing/reading his name. Unfortunately, the great food that made the classic Lola (now Lolita, its sister restaurant) SO great, seems to have been put on a "back burner": meals are tasty enough yet uninspired, recipes are relatively standard (see: pasta dishes), for such prices. It seems he's actually a very nice and is clearly a charming man, plus it's always nice to have national attention focus on Cleveland (he's the reigning Iron Chef, in case you live in a cave), but there are HUNDREDS of as-good-as-or-way-better eateries in town, and I wish that the local media would stop kissing his bu*t long enough to acknowledge them.

• Pros: a place to go for a crowd, or to be seen, or before a concert, or to hob-nob with its famous Iron Chef
• Cons: food is average, can be noisy, prices are high if you're budgeting

03/12/08

Great place to eat in a blizzard

by MenofSteel

We've been excited to visit Lola ever since Michael's rise to fame on Food TV. We had reservations for 3/8, the blizzard day, but canceled because we didn't think the weather was condusive to a great meal at an upscale place. As we wondered the E. 4th area at about 7pm, we found all other restaurants closed (Corner Alley), not seating anyone else (Flannary's, HOB) or just having the bar open (Zocalo). What goes around comes around and we were graciously welcomed at Lola as a walk-in. Attire was not an issue this night. Like us, others went to the Cavs game earlier and had t-shirts on.

Sure, it's not an inexpensive dining experience. The menu is also limited as you'd expect at an upscale place. The protions were decent sized but not overwhelming as I'd heard before. The drinks were good and strong although the wife's two cosmo's each looked and tasted completely different. My Grey Goose Martini's (w/blue cheese olives) rocked. I forgot what we had for desert (I told you the drinks rocked) but it was chocolate and it was very good. So if that's where it all ended, I'd say it was a very good dining experience. I would go again.

The highlight for us though was Michael. First, you can hear his recognizable laugh across the room. You didn't have to look to know he was there. He also came to our table and had a very nice, genuine conversation with us. He's a busy guy so for him to take a few minutes and talk to his patrons went a long way for me. We've been to other Iron Chef's restaurants in NYC and they were nowhere to be found. You could tell Michael wasn't just going through the motions. He was very sincere and very appreciative of us being there. It made for a special dining experience.

• Pros: Michael's presence, casual feeling ambiance but upscale food
• Cons: Prices, portion size

02/23/08

Terrific dining experience!

by ryanw007

We ate here on a Friday, it was busy, loud, and dark. The server was fantastic, her recommendations were spot on. We had the charcuterie for an appetizer, which was delicious, then she had the duck and I had the pork chop and I couldn't decide which was better! They were both VERY tasty, and the portion sizes were incredible, I don't understand how people on here are complaining about the portions... For a "gourmet" restaurant the portions were ENORMOUS! Dessert we had the 6AM Special and the Warm Chocolate Cake, the chocolate cake was perfect, rich and gooey with delicious sangria berries and berry sorbet. The 6AM Special was good, definitely different, with the maple-bacon ice cream was surprisingly good, the only problem with it was that the french toast was stuck to the plate like cement, so it was very hard to eat. All I know is that this 2 hour dining experience flew by and my stomach and tastebuds thank the chef for hisefforts.

• Pros: Food Quality, Service, Dining Experience
• Cons: Very Dark Restaurant, Loud