Restaurant Review - Las Tapas de Lola
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Rule number one in any business is not to leave potential customers hanging on a phone for 15 minutes before they hang up, as happened when I called up to book at table at Las Tapas de Lola. It is enough to make you tear your hair out, as is being told that, even early evening (6pm) at normal prices, you have a two hour slot at the table. Plus, on the day, I got a further call from them confirming the booking and reaffirming the two hour limit. This is all negative stuff before you even get there. “It’s not the new No. 1 Restaurant in the World, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona”, I quietly fumed, “merely a new tapas place in Wexford Street.”
Rule number two: when dealing with critics, just let them get on with the job of judging their experience honestly, and make a good impression by doing your normal job well. They don’t really want to be distracted with the fact that you knew their granny thirty years ago in some distant way. It just makes everyone feel awkward.
Its set back in the former Morrissey & Daughters butcher’s premises, in an area not renowned for its sartorial elegance, but as hip as it gets nowadays. Las Tapas de Lola has a front covered terrace area and a lovely urban Spanish style tiled interior. Having settled at a nice table on a banquette by the window, and been suddenly assured that we would not have to be out in the allotted two hours, it was finally time to take in the very wide selection of tapas on offer. You can be as authentically ‘nose to tail’ as you wish, from pig’s cheeks to sautéed lambs kidneys, liver to oxtail, Spanish black pudding to sausages, plus Paella and Tortilla et al. You will find them all here at prices that run from €3 to €11.50 plus sharing platters of cheese and salamis from €14.50 - €16.50.
We were brought a complimentary whacker of Tinto de Verano in a plastic cup and a soupcon amuse bouche of deliciously garlicky Cazuelita de Fideua - a Spanish noodle dish. Largely Pescatorean in our choice, we kicked off officially with Calamares a la Andaluza (€5.50), Gambas al ajillo (€7.95) and Berenjenas Fritas Cordobesas (€5.50). The Calamares, now almost part of the Irish staple diet, were good crisp dry rings of squid in a picture perfect row with a dish of aioli and a section of lemon, whilst prawns in garlic butter were tasty and much as expected. What I did favour particularly were the Berenjenas (€5.50) deliciously light ‘aubergine chips’ in a feather light batter served with maple syrup. That trio dispatched with indecent haste, we moved on to Pulpo a la Gallega (€10.50), Gambas a la plancha (€9.95), Patatas Bravas (€4.25) and Pollo al ajillo (€5.50). The pulpo saw a circular board covered with sliced potato, overlaid with baby octopus, all sprinkled with paprika and was delicious. Grilled prawns in their shell were also finger licking good, whilst chunks of garlic fried chicken were just that. Patatas Bravas proved decent sized bowl of potato chunks, topped with aioli and tomato sauce, big enough to make sure you would never fit into Matador pants again. So, filled to gills, we passed on puds at €5.50 a pop, including Churros con Chocolate, Crema Catalana, Arroz con Leche, Tarta De Santiago, and Crema Catalana – all made in-house.
Sangria and Tinto de Verano (spritzer) by the liter jug were €18.50, and €15 respectively, with wine by the bottle available from €21. More wines by the glass, or indeed carafes, would be good. With a glass of Vall de Lar Viura (€5.50) Diet Coke for me (€5) and a bottle of Aqua Panna water (€3.50), our bill with optional service came to €69.15. In the event, we were out the door strolling the Ramblas of Wexford and Camden Street in 75 minutes.
Good ambiance, food, and service – just don’t rush people out the door, before they even arrive, in a haze of ‘new restaurant euphoria’. There’s a lot of competition out there as the social media butterflies move on to the new ‘hot tweet’ in two seconds flat!
Las Tapas de Lola,
12 Wexford Street,
Dublin 2.
Tel: (01) 424-4100
FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT