Lola's

Loved it! Great food - Great service. For tapas we har garlic shrimp, garlic mushrooms and tomato basil salad (caprese). For main we had the trout and garlic chicken. They both came with rice and vegetable. They did double veggie as we didn't want the rice. Veggies were carrots, zucchini and broccoli. Loved it. My only suggestion was that we needed to add a little salt to each dish, but always better to add salt over being too salty! We will definitely go back here. Ty our service was great!!

We dined here early in the evening on New Years Eve. We were one of the first ones here and our reservation was for 530pm, which is when they open. I wanted to love this place, because as I was walking up, the romance just shines here. The quaint little table set ups all along the sidewalk and side of the building, complete with handing lights lining the alley way and the oak trees. We sat down and were greeted with what seemed to be a very new waiter. We all got to start somewhere, but felt like we weren't getting the best service because of it. There were a few things. The bread - we were the only ones in there other than maybe 2 other couples. Those other couples were being waited on another waiter and they all had been served bread and butter which I assumed was complimentary since both couples had the exact same bread. Our bread showed up around the appetizer time. Then, the paella - when it was time to take our food orders, he had his memorized spiel which included ordering the pricey paella and that I should order now due to the long 45 min time period it takes to cook. Now I had read reviews about it and a lot of the reviews were miss, and not hit regarding the paella, so I decided I wouldn't spend high dollar on a dish, that may or may not be worth every penny. So, we gently declined his recommendation and it seemed like he was shocked and sort of fumbled over the next sentences. Finally - the dessert - The restaurant is tiny and it is New Year's Eve with people starting to piled in and we had been there right under an hour. He drops off the bill, instead of asking prior if there was anything else we needed and I said, well we were planning on ordering dessert. He apologized and got us the dessert. Overall, he was nice, just made things awkward as he seemed inexperienced. Now normally, I don't really care about that because again, we all got to start somewhere. The food itself was not spectacular though. The outside ambience was better than the food. The inside ambience seemed, unfinished, at least one wall did anyway - maybe there is a fun story to that. I had the garlic soup, which was good, but really needed some kind of a crunch element in there. The garlic shrimp was better than the garlic soup, but I have had better garlic shrimp throughout the city. I guess I was expected to want to lick the bowl clean like I do when I have BBQ shrimp sauce or a sauteed crab claw sauce. The roasted duck sauce was a little odd, it was supposed to be a fig sauce, it just didn't appeal to me that much. Overall, I would maybe come back here just for wine or drinks to sit in the gorgeous atmosphere. Really stunning job on the decor.

I have to say, I have been to Lola's several times and enjoyed everything all 5 times. We love it here and have even celebrated birthdays and anniversaries here! They have an amazing and interesting wine list consisting of Spanish wines, and usually, great food including paella and several different other fun dishes.However, this time that we went, we noticed a significant drop in quality. Upon arriving, we found out they eliminated their cocktail list, including a sangria and paloma we used to love! But no worry, their wine list was still great so we didn't mind ordering a bottle right away. Our server seemed uninterested in us, but that's okay, maybe he was tired or just having a bad night. But the apathy in which he served us was really disappointing, not caring to check in at key points of the meal, and seeming annoyed when we ordered wines by the glass to go with our entrees (after working through a lovely bottleof Xtocolina).When our entrees appeared, my guest's paella was over cooked and sticking to the unseasoned pan, and my duck, which i asked for medium rare, was definitely more medium well. Also it seemed they kinda drowned it in the fig reduction to hide their sins. It was a shame because the appetizers, soup, and wine thus fair had been lovely! We ate what we could enjoy and opted not to bring our leftovers home. We also chose not to get dessert. It was disappointing to see such a drop in quality! I hope that they can tackle these issues and match their performance with their atmosphere soon, because it really is a lovely space with a lovely feel. We miss the Lola's from before.

I hate to leave a poor review, but feel I should speak on our experience. I had made a reservation for a certain time in the evening and was called a few hours ahead of my reservation and was told I needed to come in earlier due to issues with the reservation booking system. Slightly off putting, but I work in a restaurant and understand that sometimes you mean to turn reservations off at a certain time, and maybe you forget, or maybe it's kind of slow, and you're hoping to get all of your reservations out-of-the-way, so maybe you can shut down early. I wasn't sure what the case was, just that we were being told to come in early, or not come at all lol. So we came in early! First thing first, the patio ambiance was beautiful. The string lights were lovely. However, there was what appeared to be a bullet hole in the window. I wasn't sure how to feel about that, considering I was sitting directly in front of it lol. But ultimately my review is about the food and service. We were told that the restaurant was closing soon, & that it takes about 30-40 minutes to order the paella. Which is what they're known for. We asked if it would still be OK to order the paella, since they are trying to close down, and the server said yes. So we order the paella, and the lamb chops. I'm not certain why the paella took so long to make, considering it had absolutely no depth of flavor, all of the seafood was overcooked, and vegetables tasted canned or frozen. My partner had gone to the restroom(right by the kitchen) and saw our paella being made. He said the chef had head phones in and was scrolling on his phone. The lamb chops were fine. Certainly not the best I've ever had. But better than the paella, for sure. I didn't really understand why they came with a bunch of blue cheese sauce. But I guess that's a preference. I like blue cheese, just didn't understand the pairing. I was really looking forward to our dinner at Lolas, so I was really disappointed by all of this. We ate everything, but still left hungry and unsatisfied, so we opted for a late night slice of pizza and Poboy.

Tried Lola's for a friend's birthday dinner. We sat outside along the sidewalk out front, under the shady oaks. The pre-meal bread and butter is excellent! Might have been my favorite part of the meal, but then I'm a sucker for carbs. I ordered the vegetable paella which they warn you takes longer than other dishes to prepare. It's made to order however, which I was willing to wait for, plus others in our party had ordered the seafood paella, so I wasn't the only one. Haha. I tried my friend's muscles while we waited. Delicious sauce! The paella was delightful. The rice was cooked just right, and it had a nice complex mix of flavors. I used the lemons they provided to give it a dash of tangy citrus. Overall an excellent meal!

Small cute and quaint restaurant. I truly enjoyed almost every aspect of your visit! We arrived right when the restaurant opened luckily for us as I'd imagine it's hard to get in without a reservation. We were quickly seated. I love the attention to detail from our waiter Pat. He overheard me talking about how cold it was and adjusted the AC as it was blowing directly over the area where we were seated. Not to mention it was very cold outside.The openness of the kitchen was also nice, as we could watch the chefs/cooks move about and prepare meals. The food was AMAZING! All of it was fresh, very flavorful and served HOT! Pat even noticed when placing a plate down it had a stain on it. The only issue for me was the restroom. The floor and mirror was dirty, and there was hair, water, and dirt spots in and in the sink. Someone had messed up all over the seat, and floor. You can tell the soap dispenser and been refilled over and over Understanding it's a gender neutral restroom, and only one since the restaurant is so small, however the restaurant had just opened so it should have been immaculate. Nonetheless I'll be back!

It's easy to overlook this restaurant, and that's a damn shame. The chef is spectacular. The wait staff is helpful and attentive. We had a group of 6 and enjoyed a variety of tapas (tropical crab, garlic shrimp, ceviche, calamari steak) and then some of us split a paella for the main course. The waitress helped us order family-style for efficiency. Others in our group ordered the salmon and the trout and said it was great. It's a small restaurant and only serves dinner so you should plan ahead. We are mega fans of seafood, so that's all we ordered, but they have duck and chicken on the menu as well. There was a heated patio space for outdoor seating, too. Byo alcohol, but they did have wine and a small selection of beer. Definitely go try it out.

My son and I got the trout and it was very tasty, my husband got the garlic chicken and he said it was good, but he would not order again. I believe everything was a little overpriced as nothing we had was exceptional including the appetizer of the calamari steak. However, the service was excellent, very proper personnel and the food came out fairly quick and hot.It's a cute little place, not very many tables nor room and it's very trendy but visitors to New Orleans and quite a few locals like the idea of chic, vogue places.I probably would never have a good reason for returning.

Lola's is an amazing Spanish restaurant. (As in Spain, the country, not the language. You will not be finding burritos here! haha). It's tiny, cozy, and the food is absolutely delicious! The prices are a bit on the higher side, but you expect that since they're located at the hopping part of Esplanade. As mentioned, it's a really small eatery with limited seating and a low-capacity kitchen. I would recommend making a reservation before you head out to eat here. Also to keep in mind, because the kitchen is tiny and they make everything fresh to order, you should be prepared to wait. We were told that our paella would take about 45 minutes to get to us. Don't let this turn you off of this place though! Making food fresh is a great sign for a restaurant and I swear it's worth every minute!We ordered the:*Garlic Soup ($8) - a garlicky simple chicken broth soup with egg dropped in. This is nothing to write home about, but it's yummy and cozy, perfect for when it's a little chilly out.*Roasted Duck Breast ($25) - Neatly sliced and roasted-to-perfection duck smothered in a slightly sweet fig reduction sauce. I think they use wine for the reduction, you can taste it. Whatever it is, it pairs well! The whole halves of figs you'll find in there compliments your tender bites of duck splendidly. *Seafood Paella ($39 for 2 people, a "medium") - This is the show stopper dish here. Their paella is AMAZING. It comes with all kinds of seafood proteins (shrimp, scallops, mussels, calamari) and the dish comes in different sizes depending on the size of your party. This is so delicious, you will definitely overeat and wish you had more to take home! The rice is soft moist and bursting with flavor. I could come to Lola's just for their paella!One thing to note, the portions for all of the items are very fair. You'll go home full! No loading up on carbs while skimping on the protein here either, they give you plenty of both. It's money well-spent at this locale!

I really wanted to like this place but left feeling disappointed after dining here. My fiancé and I had the sangria which was just ok. I would've preferred it if they mixed the fruits with the whole pitcher they gave us but instead they came out with a glass of already mixed fruit and the refill was just red wine. The food was also kind of mediocre. Seafood Paella was plain, bland. We also got the roasted duck and the duck was drenched in fig dressing we couldn't even taste the duck. Food was also overpriced. Our waiter was very nice though. We sat outside and came in the evening and it was a romantic ambience with the hanging lights. Overall I probably would not come back to dine here.