Lola - A Michael Symon Restaurant, Cleveland

Iron chef is still on top of his game. Food is very good, presentation is awesome. I alos really like teh decor....very elegant. Price is also very high. The skirt steak I ordered was cooked to perfection. Aged steak, very flavorful. Will definitely be back for the next special night out.

I've been to Lolita's once before so when I had an out-of-town friend come for dinner I told him that we needed to go because he'd been Lola's and loved it so I thought he'd like Lolita's as well. We went on a Wednesday evening. The service was a bit hurried but great nonetheless. The food, on the other hand, was not. We got the garlic brushetta as an appetizer. It was poorly made and basically tasted like raw grated garlic warmed on top of some charred bread. I got the gnocchi dish. Literally, all it was was fried gnocchi, peas, spinach and small chucks of bacon. That was it! No sauce or glaze or anything that would warrant the price paid for it. That was all there was in the bowl. My 10yr old could have made that. My friend got the lamb entree. It was well presented but extremely fatty (even more than usual for lamb) and was not cooked to his specifications ~ it was far too rare. I know Lolita's is a great restaurant and worth it to check out. But beware of what you order. I, personally, will not be back.

Definitely above the ordinary, this placed has the ambiance and menu of a New York place! And they're not afraid to offer unusual items for a nice restaurant - fried bologna sandwich isn't what your mom used to make - it's better!

Honestly, it was expensive and I was starving when I left. $50 for a salad, meat, and dessert. The place itself was beautiful and Michael roamed the restaurant the whole time. I would go back again when I become a millionaire or am making 6 digits. The food was pretty good. Yum-O.

We had a great time, the food was great overall and our group enjoyed the different flavors used on our dishes. We had the Duck, Ribeye and Pork Chops and all were great.

I've had the opportunity to eat at many well known places on the East and West Coast through work (Le Bernardin, Nobu, etc) and for the first time in I can't remember how long, sitting in Lola about two weeks ago,This place was ridiculously good. The flavors and textures Chef Symon and cohorts combined together worked perfectly for me. My wife commented that the pomegranate & fig martini was the best mixed drink she's ever had (she is from pittspuke, so compliments to cleveland come sparingly) and the garlic artichoke soup was a perfect marriage of broth and a salty/sweet base of raisins, almonds and bacon. The main courses were perfectly seasoned (I had scallops, she had pork tenderloin) and cooked and her dessert with bacon ice cream was just incredible. The salty taste and texture of the bacon went perfectly with the sweet ice cream.

Ate there this week. First issue...the seating. This is not a knock on Lola's but it is fair warning to those of you who are typical US folks and like your space. If you are reserving for 2 persons, you will probably get seated in the "bistro" style section (one long bench with several tables practically on top of each other and the loose seat on the other side). We got those seats and were sandwiched inbetween 2 other couples. We might as well been sitting at a table of 6 with 4 strangers trying to have conversation but hearing everone else's conversation. So if you're like me, make sure you when you book you tell them you don't want that type of seating. The look. It is put together well and looks great. I would have loved to sit in a better section, but 1st (and last) time mistake on my part. The food...I am not an expert on fine dining by any means but do eat out alot and have been to my share of "fancy" restaurants. I don't mind paying $25-$45 an entree, but if I do pay that much I expect to be highly impressed by some portion of the meal (taste, uniqueness, serving size, etc). The menu is quite small, going from my short memory about 8 appetizers and 8-10 entrees and about 5 sides. Most of the entrees were fish with a lamb, steak, and maybe 1 or 2 more non-fish. Appetizers, Wife ordered the shrimp (bout $13), I ordered the tuna (bout $11). Shrimp was good (bout 4 pc), but the tuna (4 pc) was amazingly boring for the $$$. 4 slices of half-size of a saltine cracker with a drop of some sauce and drop of some seasoning. Nothing impressive with the look or taste there and finished it before I could blink. Entree wife had halibut (bout $27), I had ribeye stake ($37). Wife said halibut good, not great, and steak was good. That said though, for $37 and I believe the most expensive entree, I really expected something to blow me away, which it did not. It did have an interesting seasoning on it, but not a $37 wow seasoning. I've had much better steaks for much less in price. All said, the bottom line is would we go there again, answer...no. I get it that maybe this is just not our cup of tea, but for an average Joe that wants to experience a great fine dining time, not for us. Hasta!