Comfort dining off Tomas Morato Avenue
Lola has been around for almost two years and she’s still alive, kicking and serving good food — not bad for a restaurant tucked away in a little unknown street off Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City.
THE LOOK: Located in a two-storey, post-war, high-ceiling house, the design is neat and pretty, with chalkboards listing the day’s menu, and cute objects displayed in backlit shelves. Wooden floors are clean and polished, while natural light comes from all angles of the house, bouncing off the white walls. Lamps made of jam jars hang delicately above dining tables. It’s cozy — and doesn’t try too hard.
THE GRUB: The menu — simple design, everything in one page, and interesting selection of font types — reflects the playful but straight-up demeanor of the restaurant. The kitchen offers a lean spread: 10 appetizers, three kinds of soup, three kinds of salad, six pasta dishes, and 16 main courses divided into beef, chicken, pork, seafood and veggie.
The crispy shoestring fries in pesto sauce is served with a sunny side up egg on top (PHP220) that you break and treat like a bread dip. The five-piece chicken adobo (PHP330) is marinated in balsamic vinegar that gives it a light tang and served with garlic rice — a bargain. A thick pork chop is grilled to tenderness (PHP250) and was demolished with a smile in under two minutes by a certified carnivore.
SWEET ENDING: The banoffee pie (PHP150), the size of a pot pie, was a welcome, not-so-sinful cold treat with its light Graham crust and custard cream finished off with just a dash of chocolate. The choco mint cake (PHP100) was a tiny slab with 30 percent mint sandwiched between chocolates — just the right size if you don’t want to get sated.
OUR NOTES:
Cost: PHP1,336.50 (with VAT) for three people; coffee was PHP85 per cup.
Cleanliness: The table was clean when we were seated. There was soap in the washroom and the toilets were clean and had enough toilet paper, though the air fresher diffuser needed a refill.
Service: We sat on the farthest end of the second level so we had to wave to call for assistance. The waitresses were cheerful and literate, and didn’t mind that we kept asking for water.
Sound level: We could hear conversation on the next table very clearly.
Lighting: We were here for lunch, but there were still lots of mood lighting that made the interiors warm and cozy.
Lola Café and Bar, 99 Sct Lozano, Bgy South Triangle, Quezon City; +63 2 5012620. Tue- Thu 11:30am-11pm, Fri & Sat 11:30am-1am, Sun 10:30am-10pm.
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