| rev:text
| - First let me say I am a fan of Spanish Tapas! Second let me say I was a HUGE fan of Lola's Tapas in the old location on Camelback. Lola's was always loud, always chaotic, always fun and always expensive. But the energy, the Spanish wine, excellent Tapas and quirky vibe was well worth it and made for a great night out!
Parking = nightmare as it is every time you go to the Yard.
The space is FAN-EFFING-TASTIC! All of the coffee accoutrement is exciting! We loved the atmosphere, the finishes, and the tremendous energy of all the people playing Ping-Pong, and all of the games out in the yard. However... there were only three tables with people, including us. So the vibe was off with the disparity between the two worlds.
The staff was nice, not very up on the menu and a bit inconvenienced by us and/or they were so new they didn't realize that customers are a good thing? I still can't decide...
After we ordered Walter came by and introduced himself. I found out a few days later he is one of the owners.
I have to say I was put off by several of the things he was telling us.
1. They haven't started advertising.
Explains the customer situation - almost a month after opening.
2. They are getting rid of the Spanish wines in favor of California wines.
I asked " Are you trying to make the wine more approachable?" to which he fumbled a halfhearted yes. My instinct is that maybe Walter does not like or understand Spanish wine and does like California wine. Maybe it is just me... but if you take away the second most important thing about a Tapas bar - the Spanish wine - you can't expect to survive as a Spanish Tapas Bar for very long. I suggested he add a few more Cava to the menu - I don't think my suggestion went far based on his lack of enthusiasm as the conversation shifted to:
3. They are changing the menu and removing some of the Tapas and adding Paella.
Now... I LOVE Paella. Between my friends and I we have two or three 36-48 inch Paella pans with the grills to cooks them with and a half dozen of the smaller Paella pans. Walter was kind enough to wait while I searched for an old picture of me cooking a 48 inch Paella - so it was off putting when Walter asked me what my favorite Paella was and I told him rabbit and he stood there with his mouth agape. He said they were going to have vegetable, chicken or seafood Paella. Ok.
Just a suggestion but has to be REALLY good - because mediocre Paella is horrible. Not that it can't work or be a great addition, but had better be really, really good.
Now to the food: We ordered the Shrimp, the Steak, the Jamon and Cheese tray and a glass of the one and only Cava.
The Cava was good, ok quality = B-
The Jamon and Cheese tray - had some lovely dates, Jamon was nice but cold like it just came out of the refrigerator instead of being hand sliced at room temp. The Cheese was ok and the Marcona almonds were fine = C
The Steak arrived on a regular plate - not the traditional Tapas clay dish. The steak was thin, of poor quality, overcooked and luke-warm. The plate was cold and hence why the steak was not hot. The steak didn't have the cumin like at the old Lola's - instead it came with a blue cheese crumble on top, needed salt and pepper = D
The Shrimp also arrived on a regular plate that wasn't heated. The first few were great, reminiscent of the old Lola's flavor and pizzazz. Then, because the plate was so cold the shrimp cooled quickly and lost their pizzazz. Started out as an A and quickly cooled/congealed to a C
I sat there basking in the romantic wine soaked memories of the old Lola's - all of the chaotic energy, bumping into people, yelling over the music, laughing, spilling wine on someone and buying them a new glass as an apology, reaching for that last olive, anxiously waiving down the rushing waiters furiously trying to keep up with the second or fourth round of orders of the shrimp and wine, striking up conversation with the people next to you... With this excellent space, all of the new coffee equipment, all of the frenetic energy of the Yard Lola's Tapas should be a huge hit. I sat there willing it to be better, to match the quality of the space, the quality of the coffee equipment the quality of my memories.
I truly hope they don't get rid of the Spanish wine or Tapas. I hope that they go full Spanish traditional with the clay tapas pots piping hot (just a suggestion). I hope they add more Tapas like the Croquets con Papas y Jamon, Roast Suckling Pig, Spanish honey with Manchego or Mussels with Cava and Chorizo, Fideos with Chorizo. I hope they add more Cava, and/or more... dare I say it... Spanish wine.
We will give the time. The Lola's of old deserves the chance to be reborn in this amazing space.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)