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My boyfriend and I fled one bad dining experience and found ourselves in another a few nights ago. I'd been to Lola with a small group of people and loved it-- the food was great, portions were...
My boyfriend and I fled one bad dining experience and found ourselves in another a few nights ago. I'd been to Lola with a small group of people and loved it-- the food was great, portions were very reasonable, and our server was very attentive. So, when we were trying to find (and finish) our original meal, we headed to Lola. Sadly, we were surprised to find a less-than-desirable dinner experience.
Seated quickly, we ordered salads, wine, and Kebabs. The wine menu suggested the Greek wine, "Go on, give it a try!" I think it said. We were skeptical, but at the menu's encouragement, ordered it. Imagine what a tablespoon of dust would taste like in white wine, and this was what our glasses tasted like. Our salads were sizeable, but so full of large chunks of apple that they were overwhelming. Our kebabs, while very tasty, were much smaller than what I'd been served the first time I was at Lola. After we were served our meal, our waitress never checked back in on us. I think, despite the bad wine and disappointing food, we really didn't have the spirit to complain. --Our waitress didn't give us a chance to, since she didn't return and I had to (again) flag down server to get our check.
The ouzo candies at the exit were good, though. I'd come back again to see if maybe Lola was just having an off night (was every restaurant in Seattle in bad straights the day after Christmas?) . When you go, ask your server to guide you through the menu, describe size of items, and avoid the Greek wine---but definitely try the fig, garlic, and cheese kebabs.
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While dinner is hit or miss, the lunch buffet is REALLY good. I've brought friends there who have very different palates and are meat eaters, and they've all loved it. It becomes a regular place...
While dinner is hit or miss, the lunch buffet is REALLY good. I've brought friends there who have very different palates and are meat eaters, and they've all loved it. It becomes a regular place for us to meet now, when we have lunch.
Everything is fresh, without much oil (other place's pad thai gets greasy), and variety. I love their thai take on kim chi, slightly sweet, less heat, great as a side with your meal. The spring rolls are perfectly crisp, the peanut sauce is creamy/savory, and the large rice cooker contains a very high quality brown rice. The servers are always busy with crowds, so help yourself as soon as you get a table. Their thai iced tea with coconut milk is sweet and strong--- a nice pairing with the savory meal. Don't miss the hot and sour soup (with plenty of galangala!)
If you're a vegetarian and you want to bring a hard-core meat eater somewhere for lunch, I highly suggest Araya--- they won't realize they're not eating meat. They'll find the pad thai, fried rice, spring rolls, and stir fry familiar and "safe." Both of you will revel in the tasty-ness of Araya.
PS---They're a great local, family owned business, too.
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Horrible service. Our waitress came over to take our order, and when we had ordered one apetizer, she ran off (I'm a vegetarian, he's French---we order a lot of unshared items). Next, she comes back...
Horrible service. Our waitress came over to take our order, and when we had ordered one apetizer, she ran off (I'm a vegetarian, he's French---we order a lot of unshared items). Next, she comes back to fill the rest of our order, and when we tell her we'll need a few minutes, she never comes back. Really. Finally, I flagged her down to ask for a salad to be served while he eats his escargot. It comes, but she never asks us what we want for entrees, or for drinks (just tap water so far). We ate our apetizers, and towards their end, she brought us bread. Then came back 15 minutes later and asked if we wanted dessert. We asked for the check. Funny, unlike other servers, she didn't put a review card in our check fold. If the service wasn't bad enough, the food wasn't that great, either. The escargot dish was too heavy (a Frenchman knows when there's too much butter--- and that hardly ever happens).
Too bad... we'd had good dessert and drinks there before and were looking forward to a good meal.
An update (though I posted the same comment on this): I saw the comment added by the management of 35th St Bistro and emailed the manager to confirm the time that we went, the table we sat at, even the name the check was paid under. I emailed them on the 27th, yet still haven't received an email response. Regardless, they still received the comment card we left with the hostess, had my email address on it, and no response from that, either. I think they were more interested in posting a public comment than actually remedying the experience. I would have liked to have given 35th St Bistro a 2nd chance and given them a good review, but the lack of a personal response makes it unlikely.
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