Wow...... and that is NOT in a good way. We attended a birthday dinner for 8 last night. Walked in to pleasant surroundings that are mildly reminiscent of New Orleans. Sadly, that was the last positive thing I have to say about Lola's. The joint was dead at 6:30 which seemed like a big ol' warning sign. But hey...it's almost Christmas so maybe?
Service was friendly but amazingly slowwwwww. I ask the server for suggestions on the menu and he did my big no-no...."EVERYTHING" he says. Come on dude, there are better items that you can suggest instead of letting a new customer throw out a line hoping they are going to find the big one! I also wonder if they were trying to emulate their idea of the big easy with this "going in reverse" kind of service. If so, it ain't workin'. Odd that you sit around a dead restaurant twiddling your thumbs with absolutely nothing to nibble on. Oh well....maybe the dinner will make up for this. NOT!
Dinners arrived with absolutely no mapping by the server so the expediter is wandering around the table asking where each (different) dish went. The funniest part of this was that some of the dishes had the wrong sides so nobody knew what was really their dinner. That is where the entertainment ended.
We had a very eclectic array of dishes and NOT one of them was up to par so let me point out the worst of the bad. Crab cakes....They looked so promising. They arrived looking like a crab cake should but when I/we took a bite they were absolutely mush.....not cooked through and not warm all the way through. EEW! I NEVER send food back but this was a food poisoning in the making. Sure enough....the crab pinched at my queasy stomach all night. The other guests said their crab cakes were mushy but they ate them anyway....... out of shear desperation for food I suppose. Wonder how they did last night? The shrimp on my grits was tiny and tough. My hubby's catfish was mush. Looking around the table, not one thing looked good. In fact, no one said a word out of politeness but it was apparent this was a huge disappointment for everyone. Jeez...eight bad dishes. Well...I guess Lola's is consistent and NOT in a good way.
Almost forgot to mention. We brought a birthday cake and they wanted $1. a slice to cut it. I brought all the equipment, plates etc. so I cut it FOR FREE. God knows a dead restaurant with bad service doesn't want to cut a small cake. To top it off, they served the worst coffee ever. (dessert) I was expecting a lovely blend of chicory and french roast but instead they served a watery substance that they called coffee (thinking swamp water) in the tiniest cups with no refills. What a joke!!
Commander's Palace....you got nothin' to worry 'bout........and my prediction is Lola's Summerlin will not be around long. My predictions have been spot on so far but I will eat my words if they are a resounding success. BTW... my words are tastier.