So in Cleveland and still drooling over my last Iron Chef Dinner at Morimoto's and saw that Iron Chef Michael Symon had a restaurant running. As soon as I knew that another Iron Chef's restaurant was near me, I knew I had to try it out. I jump on open table and was surprised that all reservation times were open??? But brushing off the concern aside, we head on over to the area. The restaurant itself is in a bustling alleyway where there are a few restaurants lined up. We step into Lola and it was dimly lit which makes it a nice spot for a romantic dinner date or a very intimate group dinner.
We sit down in a nice spot of the restaurant providing a solid view of the overall activities within the restaurant. The waitress was very friendly and very attentive to our table and she offered a few suggestions on items that we should order which was helpful. We were able to peruse the vino list on an IPAD and select a solid Malbec. We ordered the beef pierogies, the pork shank, the hangar steak, and of course the French toast dessert. The pierogies were really solid as each plate comes with one and it is great. Definitely could eat a ton of these. The pork shank and the hangar steak were very solid overall. The meat was flavorful and cooked well but the pork shank had a huge portion to it. I know an odd concern. And the hangar steak while good did not blow me away unfortunately. Definitely full after this but we had to order the dessert. Man this dessert was so bomb. French toast with maple bacon ice cream?? Heaven. Seriously on a plate.
Overall it was a solid experience. Obviously the bar is set high as this is an Iron Chef establishment, so my critique will be a bit stronger as I did feel the entrees did leaving me wanting more and that there was nothing really special done with them. The appetizer and dessert were fantastic though and this coupled with the great service and the décor of the restaurant makes it a solid 4 star review for me. Will want to check out a few more of Symon's other restaurants too!