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| - Came here for a few special occasions and to see if the food lived up to the Iron Chef hype.
Food [A] The overall quality of the food is quite good. Their signature dish, a massive pork chop is juicy and well seasoned. The only downside for the dish is the Midwest's current obsession with creamy (too easy to have runny) as opposed to grilled/seared polenta (personal pref for texture). The true standout here is the 6 AM special. It's a dessert that captures the perfect combination of sweet and savory with maple bacon ice cream, caramelized apple, served on french toast. I'm not big on desserts, but I came back to this restaurant within a couple days just to order it again. It's that good. The beef cheek pierogi was a tad on the salty side, but well balanced by the mushrooms. Another of my favorites was a duck breast dish that they no longer serve. It went through several iterations, including an Asian-ified (mediocre) as and a more classic French interpretation (much better). Ultimately, you are paying extra for the experience of eating at a celebrity chef's flagship restaurant.
Service [B+] For the prices and reputation of the restaurant, you would expect to be waited on hand and foot (or at least not have to make simple requests numerous times). Waitstaff here are less than attentive on multiple occasions, and their tone/attitude decidedly adds to the observation of the sub-optimal atmosphere as noted below.
Ambiance [B+] The feel is definitely classy, but almost in the wrong way. It's like an inexplicably oppressive snootiness, with a "dress up or die" vibe. Some of the waitstaff here can give off a sense of entitlement, while giving some leeway considering that this is a top-rated restaurant in Cleveland, however, having such airs is also somewhat antithetical with the service industry and puts a damper on the dining experience. Seats are comfortable and lighting is ideal. Spacing between tables is also well positioned.
All in all, you can't go wrong with Lola as long as your wallet doesn't need to be resuscitated by the end of dinner. If I could give 4.5 stars, I would just to ding them for the service and ambiance, but I still think it's awesome that Symon has done a lot with the restaurant scene of his hometown so I'll round up instead of down.
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