Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola

I had wanted to try Lola for some time now. Several people had either mentioned it by name in casual conversation or straight-up recommended it as the hot and happening place to be. I had even driven by it several times, and thought to myself, “oh yeah, that’s Lola.”

While Lola serves lunch and dinner, boasting a Greek-inspired menu consisting of delectable-sounding items such as dolmades with lemony rice and cumin-spiced leg of lamb (and some not-so-delectable-sounding items such as lamb tongue kabobs and braised octopus and pork belly – not my cup ‘o tea), they also cater to the morning crowd with breakfast during the week and brunch on weekends. We went the Sunday brunch route this time ‘round.

Lola’s dining room is filled with tall booths, making for an intimate dining experience, especially during the evenings, I would imagine. On Sunday morning, it was nice to have our own little nook in which to ruminate over the Lola menu and warm, fall décor. I started with a latte; Roth ordered coffee (they serve Starbucks). Several minutes went by, and finally our waiter returned, apologizing for the wait. Apparently, they had to search high and low for espresso beans for my latte. Interesting, seeing as they list lattes and cappuccinos on the menu – am I the only one who has actually ordered espresso in weeks, or something?

We moved on to the food selection part of the dining process. As usual, I played it safe, and opted for the “Lola breakfast,” or eggs served any style, choice of pork-maple sausage or smoked bacon, smashed garlic fried potatoes and toast. My preferences: scrambled and bacon. Roth ordered the “Greek scramble,” or eggs scrambled with tomatoes, feta, garlic, and oregano and bacon, potatoes and toast (a la my dish). Other choices that piqued our interest were the made-to-order doughnuts and jam with vanilla marscapone and the chocolate pecan streusel coffeecake – we seriously considered ordering one of them, just for the sake of the review, but changed our minds, just for the sake of our waistlines.

Both of our entrees were served atop clean, white plates emblazoned with the simple Lola logo on the edge. The only garnish was a small, halved strawberry fig, something I had never seen before. The food was tasty, especially the smoked bacon, which was cooked to perfection – not crunchy, yet still chewy. The smashed garlic fried potatoes were also yummy, though a tad bit greasy for my taste. The Greek scramble’s generous amount of feta cheese and fresh oregano nicely complemented the dish.

When all was said and done, we both agreed that Lola puts on a nice brunch menu – plenty of diverse and eclectic offerings for just about anyone. However, as far as brunches go, it wasn’t spectacular. The service was fine, the ambiance was nice and the food tasted good. But it just lacked that certain something to keep us coming back for more. And brunch wasn't cheap - with tip, we plopped down $40! I would almost bet money, though, that dining at Lola for lunch or dinner would make for an entirely different experience altogether. Perhaps scrambled eggs and toast just doesn’t make for an exotic restaurant review.

With Twenty-Five for $25 Dine Around Seattle picking back up again in November, we will definitely be partaking in some of the participants’ prix-fixe dinners for the sake of keeping the blog content fresh and interesting (and to further expand our culinary horizons as well). More to come in November!

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Lola
2000 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA
206-441-1430