Lola
“I came here for brunch this past Sunday (apparently, brunch is a new offering on Sundays – this only being the 2nd or 3rd brunch) and was blown away.”
“Michael Ginor, the award winning chef has established Lola restaurant in Great Neck as the epitome of fine dining on Long Island..”
“First up was the tuna tartar, Caesar salad, and fig with duck prosciutto, and goat cheese.”
Lola
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Excellent brunch place and good mimosas decor is cute but the place is always dead inside. We never had a bad meal here and the chefs tasting for dinner was excellent.
I haven't given a meal five stars in a long time, but the dinner we had this evening truly superb. It was our first time at Lola, so I didn't know what to expect. The decor is upscale but not stuffy. The service was attentive but not suffocating. The food was gourmet but approachable. We really enjoyed everything about the experience.
We started with some small plates, including the shaved kale salad with toasted pine nuts (really nice flavor and textures), the charred octopus (my least favorite but still very good), chicken Schwarma hummus (excellent blend of spice and creamy hummus, served with soft puffy pita), and halloumi with compressed watermelon and pickled watermelon rind (nice contrast of salty, sweet, and tart flavors).
For our entree, we ordered the special of the evening, which was a whole roasted duck, served over couscous. The restaurant owner also owns a duck farm, and all the duck, chicken, and fois gras served at Lola comes from this farm. I love that our server, Katy, took the time to tell us that story. Anyhow, the duck skin was crisp and honey roasted…perfection! The chef presented the duck to us, then brought it back to the kitchen and carved it for us. I like that he served it with the bones. I also appreciated it when he stopped by our table periodically to give us tidbits of info, like when he asked how the hummus was–he'd just come back from a two-week tour of the Middle East, where he'd made hummus in several countries, to be sure he could make great authentic hummus for Lola's new middle eastern meets Mediterranean inspired menu. Anyhow, back to the entree. The duck was tender and juicy, but the star of the show was the cous cous it was served over. My goodness, what a melange of flavors and textures. The kabocha squash imparted creaminess and sweetness to the dish while the apricots and toasted pine nuts added a chewy sweet sticky element to the cous cous. It all just worked so well together that each forkful was savored by us all.
Even with all the food we had, we still made room for dessert because everything was just so exquisite. I had the Halva Napoleon, which had was delicate flaky pastry with an airy mousse instead of custard cream. My brother had the dessert special, coconut tapioca pudding with mango and jackfruit (served with a dollop of blood orange house-made sorbet), and his gf had the cardamom chocolate cake (served with a dollop of burnt tahini sorbet, which tasted like coffee and was very yummy).
Granted, the bill was high…but the quality of the food, the execution of the dishes, and the top notch service justified it for me. I'd rather splurge on a meal like this than eat 5 mediocre meals somewhere else. Bravo, Lola!
Had a reservation & were seated as soon as we arrived. The waitress who apparently was the only waitress came by to take drink orders & let us know what the specials were for the night. From there on we saw her three more times throughout our meal. Thankfully we ordered sangrias. We ordered the duck Malawagh appetizer. It was a generous portion. Very tasty & full of flavored. We really wanted another sangria but the waitress was too busy serving other tables. Our food arrived 5 minutes apart. By the time my meal arrived the waitress finally asked if we wanted another drink. At that point we were ready to eat & go. You want a fresh drink before your entree not after. Hubby ordered the duck breast with fois gras. It was cut the wrong way so the duck was very tough. I ordered the LOLA version of general Tao chicken. It was very tasty. A nice combo of sweet & spicy with a nice consistency. Overall not enticing enough to return. There are at least a dozen great restaurants within 20 miles of this one that are superior.
Whenever people give Lola a bad review, I really question how we could be talking about the same place. I've been going here for years and have had both the old menu and new menu, and I have not had anything less than a stellar meal here yet.
Let me be honest, when they changed the menu, my heart broke a little. This was one of my favorites, and the restaurant I craved most since I've moved to Houston. My parents hadn't had the chance to try the new menu, so on my most recent trip back, I added this to my list to try. There are a lot of Mediterranean places around, but there's nothing quite like this.
We had:
Hummus (4) – Such an amazing portion. It had almost a slight nutty flavor to it, and the bread that came with it was delicious.
Tuna tarare (5) – NOMs. It was beautifully plated and simply delicious.
Celeriac special (5) – I have never tasted anything like it and have very little to compare it to. My mom LOVED it, and even my dad liked it even though he never really eats anything like this.
Lamb Malawach [pizza] (5) – GET THIS. Like I am craving it as I sit here typing this. The photos don't do this justice. The flavor combo is insane. You will thank me later.
Duck (5) – Their duck has and is still is SO good. I first tried and fell in love with duck at Lola, and this is no different.
Branzino (5) – Their branzino is delicious. A bit on the heavier side, but it's truly a treat.
The atmosphere here is still the same and awesome for a date night or a fun night out with friends and family. This new menu especially lends itself to a night out with friends, which I definitely appreciate.
The wine list is a bit more limited, but this shouldn't keep you away. I haven't tried their cocktails in a while, but they were fantastic the last time.
Chef Michael Ginor is truly a genius in the kitchen. He's the type of chef that I would follow anywhere, and I'm so glad I got to try his new menu.
I have come to this place multiple times and it never disappoints. We've tried the Wild Mushroom, Truffle Cheese, Caramelized Onion pizza tart, Spicy Japanese Tuna Tartar, Cod-Fish Soft-Corn-Tortilla-Tacos, Chinese Duck Tenderloin Sliders (absolute must have), Hudson Valley Rohan Duck Breast, and Miso Marinated Black Cod. I would recommend all of these items to anyone. The flavors are bold. They serve a bread that reminds me of naan with a drizzle of I don't know what on it but it is absolutely amazing. The desserts are also really good. Can't really go wrong here.
Sexy decor, friendly servers, and food is the bomb!!
After finishing a movie with my one of my colleagues. We decided to grab a late dinner next door. Places around here closes up early so we were fortunate enough to find this spot. ( literally next door to the theater)
As we were being nicely seated, we noticed there was barely anyone dining. One of the servers told us the kitchen will be closed in 30 minutes. My colleague and I scrambled through the menu and order 3 small plates and 2 glasses of white wine.
These small plates were decent size portions. Gosh! I couldn't imagine how the regular size would look like.
Now bear with me because I don't remember the exact names of the dishes we ordered. I was busy devouring the food and chit chatting with my coworker.
What we ordered:
Lamb pizza?! – it tasted delicious. It was so tasty, juicy and the dough had a nice crunch.
Tuna tartare- not fishy at all. Tasted so fresh and healthy. They used a lot of ingredients ( I saw tomatoes, cucumber and quinoa in it)
Roasted octopus?! – one of the best grilled/roasted octopus I've ever eaten. It was just amazing. The octopus was tender, chewy, had lots of flavor, and the dip was to die for. Seriously, I'm still thinking about it right now.
This is the movie and dinner night out with my long time family friend, Jeannette. We have eaten here for about a year now and have tried just about everthing on the menu. To start with, they serve you the most heavenly homemade bread drizzled with something delicious, virgin olive oil and some infused balsamic, I think. This right here is the reason I could never give up carbs! They have a very interesting menu. What stands out most in my mind is the flavorful seasonings used on each dish. I will advise you of this; whatever you are envisioning, I can assure you, if you have not been here before, you will be surprised, pleasantly, I might add. Do not expect large portions. Anything you choose will be tasty, but this is quality as opposed to quantity. Personally, I opt for any of the duck dishes they offer. The wine list is extensive, and their specialty cocktails will slake your thirst nicely. Waiters and waitresses are knowledgeable about what they serve and very attentive, Chris, keep singing. We will miss you. The place is warm, inviting, intimate. I would recommend it highly. Great date place.
My expectations weren't high when I entered Lola and they really should have been, because this is a fabulous place with excellent food.
Arriving we realized that there was a pre-fix restaurant week menu that we decided to take advantage of; it included an sample of mezze, entree and dessert.
The mezze we were told were chef's choice, so we decided to add the Merguez Sausage to the mix. When our starters were delivered to the table we couldn't believe it, plate after plate was put down and our table was at max capacity. Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Roast Cauliflower Salad, Falafel, Beet Salad, Lamb Cigars and of course the sausage that we decided to add.
We couldn't believe the amount of food we received and it was absolutely delicious. The hummus was creamy with a hint of cumin; the baba ganoush was awesome; not overly smokey as others I have had but had more of a freshness to it. The cauiflower, may have been my favorite..I can go on. The sausage was excellent served over a harissa polenta that was out of this world. I was already stuffed, but we had more food to get through.
The Duck breast was served with farro, swiss chard and a spiced jus; we added the foie gras, because why not. This dish was beyond exceptional. It was decadent and indulgent and pretty unbelievable.
The Grilled Chicken Shwarma was served with mujadara, tzatziki and greens. This was a great dish, but honestly after tasting the duck it just didn't hold up. Here's what happened, we ate so much in the first course we finished the duck and took home basically the whole portion of chicken. When we ate the dish the next day we realized how awesome it was.
Dessert was equally fabulous Halva Parfait and churros; sooo good.
I was so impressed, that after dinner I immediately told my friends how we needed to go. Great neighborhood place.