Lalola Bar De Tapas

Just came back form Spain and thought to hit this place since it got good reviews and near my place.
But to be honest, this was just a bad experience. The food was not good. The pastas bravas were just fried potatoes, not baked, no sauce. I can go on but no point. Will not return and definitely not recommend.

I really do hope their closure is only temporary.
Had a great time at Lalola on Saturday, October the 8^th. [And then I went back. Thrice.] After skimming through Unilocal on my phone, I called them at around 8:30 to check if there was a long wait or a free table seeing as they weren’t [and aren’t] on OpenTable. It wasn’t too long a wait. The place is very cozy, and the servers warm, friendly, and GORGEOUS. We ended up moving to a corner table outside to better accommodate the desire for smoke breaks without needing to quickly burn the extra calories we’ve been so happily ingesting.
While the main dining room is rather small and it’s likely you’ll end up in a bar stool attempting to fit far too many plates in too small a space [and happily, after your first bite] for the duration of your Lalola experience, there is a private dining room available for bigger groups if you require.
Keep in mind that it’s a tapas place and the portions are extremely small. My husband and I shared the following 6 items and were left deeply satisfied without feeling too stuffed.
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: [ THE FOOD ] :
We shared:
* PAPATAS BRAVAS — $ ³⁄₂ for $ 5
— ⁴⁄₅ — Fried potatoes, folks. Not too many ways you can screw up here. The alioli was especially good, though.]
* CROQUETAS DE LA ABUELA — $ ³⁄₂ for $ 5
— [5/​5 — LOVE croquettes to begin with, but this was just so perfectly soft and mushy. mmmgoot.]
* PIRULETA DE PULPITO /​OCTOPOP — $ ³⁄₂ for $ 5
— [5/​5 — Interesting presentation, delicious preparation.]
* GAMBAS AL AJILLO — $ 10
— [4/​5 — The shrimp was perfectly cooked and the sauce SO good we used the sauce as a dip for our bread and scarfed THAT down, too.]
* PAELLA LALOLA /​CHICKEN & PORK PAELLA — $ 20
— [4/​5 — The texture of the rice was ideal, and, overall, one of the better paellas I’ve had in the city. In case it affects the weight of my words, it was, however, only the second time I’ve had paella sans seafood.]
* PITCHER OF SANGRIA /​RED WINE — $ 20
— [4/​5 — Sangria’s never the choice when you’re drinking to get drunk. it is, however the quintessential accompaniment to the tapas experience. And it was delish — just the perfect amount of sweetness!]
… I went back a few other times and tried quite a number of other dishes since our first time — everything was a consistent 4* average.

Lalola closed over this past weekend.
I never got to write a proper review for Lalola, but I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.
Just wanted to get in this tribute review and thank them for all the fabulous times over the last two years.
We will miss your lamb chops (some of the best in SF and NYC taking into account value), chicken paella, and the goat milk cheesecake (often imitated, but never replicated)!
Best of luck! :)

Wavered between 3 and 4 but went with the 4 cos I really liked the white sangria. Overall the place has nice ambiance and decent enough food.
Standouts were the potatoes and meatballs. I ordered octopus and was expecting something a little more substantial than 2 skewers but it tasted fine. The paella was a good value too but overall nothing special.
I would probably say it’s normally a bit overpriced but with the living social deal it was a-​ok.

3.5 stars is what I would give this place. We ordered:
— 2 glasses of white sangria, which was very good
— Champiñones al Ajillo, which was really salty and EXPENSIVE esp when it was JUST a bowl of mushrooms
— Solomillo al Ajillo, which was quite good. The filet mignon was almost melt in your mouth good. Potatoes were just potatoes
— Empanada something… lOL, it wasn’t on the menu. It was actually their special. It was nothing like what I expected. Eh it was so so… it was an open empanada. It had beef and carrots and onions.
Service was good, they were friendly. It’s a little pricey for most of the dishes. I’d definitely come back for their sangria though…

I LOVE TAPAS
(4 stars)
Another one of my favorite past times would be hanging out at restaurants that serve tapas, wine, and with good company, during a nice cool evening, overlooking the city life from a very slanted and steep hill… and barely any people in the place. There is something «romantic» about those little tiny neighborhood corner restaurants/​lounges that are snuggled deep in the metropolitan neighborhoods, like those in Russian Hill.
FOOD, yum
PRICES, can be pricy
SERVICE, on-​point
AMBIANCE, cute little corner spot
One thing about tapa bars… there are dishes made for one person or there are dished made to share. The sharing portions of the tapas here worked perfectly for two. Bought a voucher on LivingSocial for $ 40 worth of food for $ 20 bucks. Our bill was original $ 80+ but after the voucher it came down to $ 28.36.
HEFFER-​STYLE STATUS.
STELLA ($ 4) — beer.
WHITE SANGRIA ($ 7) — Comes in a tall glass and was very pleased by the taste. Wish it was a bit stronger in alcohol but it was since to sip on while eating.
CALAMARES REBOZADOS ($ 13) — typical fried calamari. The batter was nice and light in color and had the perfect crunch, however the calamari itself was overcooked and a bit rubbery. It was one of the tougher and chewier calamari’s I’ve had compared to many restaurants I’ve been to.
MEJILLONS CON CHORIZO ($ 17 – 18) — To be honest, I forgot the name of the dish and had to google some Spanish dish that’s similar to what we had to get a fancy name for steamed mussels with pieces of chorizo and side order of toasted butter bread (4 pieces of bread). Again, they don’t have an updated menu on their website and this item wasn’t listed to properly refer to it. The steamed mussels… they really steamed it because the mussels were so tiny, barely anything to eat. The chorizo pieces are the part that fills you and also the side bread. It was tasty but I don’t know if i’d order this again.
SPANISH STYLE FLATBREAD PIZZA ($ 17 – 18) — It has a fancier name then that but as mentioned earlier, I didn’t jot it down and tthey don’t have an updated menu on their website. They had a flatbread item on their menu at the restaurant but they had «specials» and this was one of them. It was basically, sautéed mushrooms and with some kind of Spanish cured pork (looks like prosciutto but a little thicker than the ones that are in sandwiches). It was good but the flat bread had an overpowering taste of rosemary. If that was toned down, i’d eat more of this.
PUDIN de DURASAN AL CHOCHOLATE ($ 7) — got milk? Or a scoop of vanilla icecream? This was one of the sweetest and richest desserts I’ve ever had. It was nothing but extreme chocolate. It was good but hard to eat after two bites. The chocolate croissant pudding was very moist and full of oozing chocolates in all direction of the dessert, it would be paired well with something creamy to dilute the overpowering chocolate-​ness. I did find it a bit easier to eat if I turned it to the side and not eat the top of the dessert because the top of the dessert was just too much.
Will I be back? YES. I’d love to go there after work one day to enjoy a glass of wine and tapas.
JABA APPROVED. Until the next review…

Returned again for dinner tonight after purchasing the Living Social deal! The food was as yummy as I last remembered. We knew we had to order the calamari, lamb chops, paella, and goat milk cheesecake again! This time we added a shrimp dish.
Parking was much easier to find today however the service could have been better. The female server was definitely friendlier and more attentive than the male server.
Overall, I’m a fan of the tapas here!

We came here for the tapas and flamenco show on May 26, 2012. The tapas were very good — the only that I have had in San Francisco, but they certainly stood up to those that I have had in other cities. We had:
Huevos Estrellado ($ 12) — papas bravas are topped with two sunnyside up eggs with chopped jamon. A simple dish, but the egg yoks makes a delicious sauce over everything.
Cheese and Meat Plate ($ 18) — our dear waitress kept messing up our order, so we ended up with a cheese plate and a meat plate. As a result, we had lots of stuff. The manchego and quince paste were the highlights of the cheese plate. The meat plate was wonderful — two different kinds of chorizo, jamon and another cured meat for which I did not know the name. Very fresh.
Calamari ($ 10) — surprisingly not rubbery. While I am not generally a fan, this was very good — lightly fried and not at all fishy. I think calamari is very boring, but this was at least a good preparation.
Abondigas ($ 14) — about 7 delicious beef meatballs under caramelized onions and cooked with sherry. Very tender, moist and flavorful.
Championes ($ 8) — a big pile of mushrooms that are caramelized in butter and herbs; a simple and tasty preparation.
Zucchini Sticks ($ 8) — you cannot go wrong with deep fried zucchini — the veggies were not at all bitter, as zucchini can be, and the breading was even and crisp. The accompanying aioli was perfect.
I would say that the food is definitely 4 stars, but the service leaves a lot to be desired. Fortunately, once the owner arrived, things got much better because he was pitching in and is far more attentive.
Also, it was disappointing that the flamenco show sells more tickets than there are seats. We were standing on uneven floor, which was very uncomfortable. We could not even stay for the second half because we were ready to collapse.
These two things significantly impinged on the experience for me. I would not go out of my way to return to Lalola, but I would come again for some of the tasty tapas.

best tapas spot in San Francisco. I would come back just for the champiñones/​mushrooms. omygawd.
Must-​Knows slash eat:
+championes
+pollo con almendeas
+ensalada verde
+sangria (red)
+happy hr 4 – 7
+chocolate mouse bomb!
**Also ask about their flamenco shows & dates. We went to see a show that was perfection. Flamenco dances and spanish guitarist. The show is held downstairs, its very private and intimate, you completely feel as if you’ve walked into a Sevilla, Spain bar. Price is $ 15, but it includes a drink. You will not regret it.

Si estás en San Francisco y tienes nostalgia española, La Lola es la solución. En este local acogedor y muy cercano a una parada del famoso cable car encontrarás clásicos de nuestra gastronomía en un ambiente muy acogedor y con camareros españoles que siempre estarán dispuestos a darte conversación.
Entre sus platos hay croquetas, muy buenas, por cierto, patatas bravas con pimentón de la vera, pulpitos a la gallega, tortilla o albóndigas. Todo un festín patrio para cuando estés cansado de tanta comida americana o internacional. La única pega es que, claro, la materia prima no es la misma que en España.
Aunque no coincidí con ninguno de ellos, me comentaron que de vez en cuando tienen espectáculos de flamenco, y por lo que contaban tenían buena pinta, nada de cualquier cosa para guiris. Por lo visto los americanos se vuelven locos y son noches muy muy divertidas.

I’ve heard so many amazing things about Lalola and have been tempted as I’ve walked by here about a million times. Maybe my bar was just set super high, but I found Lalola to be good, just good. Not superb.
The service was good. It was raining and a Tuesday night, so it was practically empty. They were fine with two of us waiting about 40 minutes for a friend to arrive.
* Red sangria — 4 stars
($ 7)
Delish. Sweet and strong, just like I like it.
* Chuletas de Cordero /​Grilled Lamb Chops with Fries — 3.5 stars
($ 13 medium, $ 16 large)
The chops were really good, perfectly tender, nice savory flavor. I found the fries lacked crispness and had zero seasoning, though the dips were good.
* Gambas al Ajillo /​Shelled Garlic Pimentón Shrimp — 3.5 stars
($ 10 medium)
Nice fresh shrimp, in a strong garlic sauce that was delicious. You’ll love this if you like garlic, b/​c there wasn’t much else flavor wise.
* Espinacas con piñones y pasas/​Spinach with Pinenuts and Raisins — 3 stars
($ 8 medium)
The spinach was really well made and had texture yet were well cooked. The pine nuts and raisins made for nice balance, but there just wasn’t enough of either. I think there could have been more ingredients to give this dish more variety too. I felt I was just eating spinach most of the time (albeit good spinach. without much flavor).
* Paella lalola /​Chicken and Pork Paella — 3 stars
($ 10 per person)
A little disappointed. Most of the rice was soggy and loose, and then at the edges of the clay bowl the rice was burnt. I love that part, but it wasn’t burnt enough or quite the right way. you couldn’t peel off a huge chunk and eat it. You had to pick at individual kernels. I felt the rest of the ingredients just weren’t well integrated into the dish. Normally in paella everything just goes so well together, but for some reason I noticed every vegetable and piee of meat. I still give this 3 stars b/​c it was good, but I’m just picky about paella.
* Pinchos Morunos /​Moorish Style Pork Skewers — 2 stars
($ 12 medium, $ 15 large)
Overcooked, hard, difficult to chew. Do not order this.
* Cuajada dulce /​Goat Milk Cheesecake — 4 stars
($ 7 medium)
Yum! Probably the best dish of the night. Love the interplay of flavors. somewhat savory goat cheese, sweetness of the cheese, tartness of the berry compote on top. Delicious.

Pretty cute local place.
Food is solid, and the drinks are good.
Pretty typical Spanish style tapas food, portion is pretty good size. Nothing too stand out for me though.
I don’t live in the neighborhood, so I only been here a couple of times.
Parking is hard.

I can’t say I’m too thrilled with this place. Out of the 4 items I ordered here there is none that I’d like to order again. While not completely horrible, there’s no reason why I’d come or recommend that someone else come.
On a side note, service was great.

We got a Groupon deal for this spot. I’ve been here once before, on another coupon, and the place consistently serves up great food.
We shared the potato omelette, steak with potatoes, mushrooms, croquettes, meatballs and the almond cake. The potato omelette was a bit dry, but the flavors are good. The steak was a big winner, so well seasoned and tender. The mushrooms were swimming in butter and a bit salty, but very delicious, especially when you soak up the juices with bread. The meatballs weren’t all that great — plain and nondescript. The croquettes were great, but come on, when you deep fry it, it’s gotta be good. The almond cake was a bit dry, but it had very good flavor.
I really like the place and will certainly be back again!

In the still continuing & ongoing quest to use up all of the far-​too-​many voucher deals we stopped buying months ago before they expire, the girlfriend & I stopped in at Lalola Bar De Tapas for dinner on a rainy Saturday evening. This particular meal was courtesy of a $ 20 for $ 40 Bloomspot voucher.
Lalola sits on the corner of Mason & Pacific & is divided into 2 seating areas. There’s a large bar seating area right when you 1^st walk in with floor to ceiling windows for wide views of the intersection & there’s a slightly more formal dining area through a doorway on the right. The girlfriend & I opted for bar seating.
1 thing to note is that the front door opens directly into the bar seating area. On a chilly Autumn night, like when we were there, sitting in the bar area may mean getting a blast of cold air whenever someone comes in or goes out.
Service was fast & friendly. Being at a tapas place, we ordered lots of little dishes: Croquetas de la Abuela, Tortilla Espanola, Migas, Plato de Charcuteria y Quesos & Paella lalola. It was only a few minutes before the procession of little plates began making its way to our table. To wash it all down, we also had a pitcher of White Sangria.
1^st were the Croquetas de la Abuela, which were delicious little cheesy fried puffs. But wait, that’s not cheese. When we asked our server, she informed us that the filling is Bechamel. Either way, these things were rich & creamy fried flavor pills.
Next came the Tortilla Espanola, which is described on the menu as a Spanish Potato and Onion Omelet. Served as a sliced wedge of thin stacked potato layers, it reminded me more of a quiche than an omelet. It had good flavor, but was dry.
Migas followed along with the Plato de Charcuteria y Quesos. The Migas was a delicious breakfast-​y pile of tasty, soft toasty bread pieces with sausage chunks & an egg laid flat on top. Our Plato had 2 kinds of Chorizo, a Jamon & 2 cheeses, 1 of which was Manchego with a square of Quince Paste. All of it was excellent. The Jamon had an exceptional buttery rich texture.
Finally came the Paella lalola. As far as Paellas go, this 1 was really very good but a bit salty. The White Sangria we enjoyed throughout the entire meal was also very good & complemented the food nicely. Even though all the plates were small, everything added up. The girlfriend & I were both quite full by the time we were done.
The final tally came out to be close to $ 40 including tip & after deducting the $ 40 voucher. Without the voucher, our meal would’ve been almost $ 80. This place is listed on Unilocal as $$ but it’s really more like $$$. It is a tapas place, after all, & tapas places aren’t especially known for cheap eats.
All in all, we tried a fair variety of food that ranged from good to fantastic. Lalola Bar De Tapas is yet 1 more place we got to try out because of a voucher deal that we may not have tried otherwise. & so voucher quest continues to take us to previously uncharted good places to eat…

I don’t care how good the food is at Lalola, the sub-​par service warrants nothing more than one star.
And you know what? The food isn’t even all that great… not good enough to off-​set a bad experience at least. To be fair, my friend’s picky taste-​buds (dislikes seafood and lamb) did leave us with greatly diminished options and an incomplete picture of what Lalola has to offer culinarily. However, I still remain adamant about never coming here again, even if I’m forfeiting the opportunity to dine on some delicious bites (i.e. the Piquillos stuffed with crab sounded good, but alas our non-​seafood eating friend didn’t want to order it).
The primary force marring what should’ve been a pleasant dining experience was our snotty and pretentious waiter. He may have had a European accent and chiseled muscles, but his charm stopped there. His shortcoming was his inability to plan ahead. He kept trying to move our party of three to different tables to accommodate for diners that arrived after we were seated, and 45 minutes into our meal he rudely presented us with a sort of ultimatum: (1) Move to the large, unoccupied table of four or (2) Pay and leave so I can use the two small tables you’re seated at for the two couples over there. The primary reason why this pissed me off so much was that we initially asked to be seated at that large table of four; however, he refused to seat us there stating that he was saving it for a larger group. Dub tee eff man?! Make up your mind.
Besides his obvious inability to think ahead, he seemed to lack intelligence in general as well. At one point during the meal we asked him for a side of ketchup (for the Patatas Bravas as they were bland and under-​seasoned) and he responded, «Oh, do we have that here?» Whaaaatt?! Why would you ask the customer if the restaurant where you work has ketchup? For a second I thought he was joking, but then he kept staring at me waiting for a response.
As for the food, I was going to give Laloa an extra star for the tasty croquettes and zucchini sticks, but the lackluster Paella Lalola brings it back down to one. Ironically, it was also the main course where they missed the mark. The rice in the Paella was too mushy, the meat was overcooked, and the whole dish lacked flavor. The rest of the dishes we ordered (Filet Mignon w/​Garlic Fries and Fried Calamari) were alright but not memorable as I have no recollection of how they tasted.
My apologies Lalola, but a combination of poor service and mediocre food officially makes you my first one-​star restaurant review. Not to mention the lowest tip I’ve ever given (I rounded up to the next dollar for a hefty tip of 55 cents). ONE STAR!

Vanessa D. and I stopped in for happy hour and dinner on a Friday night and Lalola did not disappoint. We ordered 2 glasses of sangria each before HH was over and a plethora of tapas. There’s a Unilocal check-​in offer of 10% off $ 50 worth of food and we utilized that quite easily. We had an assorted cheese plate, mushrooms in garlic & white wine sauce, Grandma’s Bechamel Croquettes, Grilled Lamb Chops with Fries, and were too full for dessert. Service was fantastic.
We were really excited to see jamon iberico on the menu but sadly did not order it because we were too full to even contemplate another dish. FYI, jamon iberico just happens to be the most expensive Spanish ham you can buy. It wasn’t even imported from Spain until recently and can be upwards of $ 90/​lb. I loved the red décor and the servers were really cute. I can’t wait to go to Barcelona to try the real thing!

Lalola Is one of my favorite places to have Spaniard food in San Francisco.
A great selection Tapas with Friendly staff and Great Sangria makes me feel comfy here**
— One of my favorite dishes is Champiñones al Ajillo (Mushrooms in Garlic & White Wine.). is a simple dish, but the flavors in this little pot is superb!
— Gambas al Ajillo (Shelled Garlic Pimentón Shrimp) is my second best favorite! Whatever sauce you have left in there, Dip it with Bread! 8 Jumbo size shrimp makes it tasty!
— This is for those who like weird looking stuff… Piruleta de Pulpito a la Plancha (Octopop) — DARE you to try one!
— Piquillo Relleno /​Tuna stuffed Piquillo Pepper — TASTY
— Charcuteria (Spanish cured meats selection) They have a selection of Cheese (Lamb, sheep,***) is truely original and flavorful, I was not a big fan of it, but for some people who are into Cheese and Meats You should give it a try.
— Solomillo al Ajillo (Filet Mignon Sauteed with Garlic Fries.) Is another fave dish of mine. Chunks of Meat that has a great texture and not chewy at all!, Love the Garlic Fries since the meat sauce was dripping into the chunks of Fries (MORE FLAVOR) and i dipped it with their special pink sauce (Which I think is Ketchup and mayo).
— Chuletas de Cordero (Grilled Lamb Chops with Fries) — Me not a lamb fan. My friends LOVED IT.
— Pinchos Morunos (Moorish Style Pork Skewers)
— Last but not least in the menu, you must have the PAELLA!
Paella de Pescado (Seafood Paella)
— — — — — — — — — — — -
By the way, we had 6 people eating all this, NOT JUST 2, So choose wisely.*****
Desserts? MUST TRY Pudin de Curasán al Chocolate (Chocolate Croissant Pudding). Is super SWEET, but the Bread itself blends out the flavor and makes it fluffy and tasty
Prices are merely high, but the quality of food is pretty impressive (Lamb Cheese, Sheep Cheese are home made), Stuff Tuna bell peppers are also home made. What I also love is the «MESEROS» (waiters) have a great sense of humor and also they explains you details about each dish (And HOT LOOKING PAPASITOS!). I almost finished trying their entire menu since I went there Twice in a row! Usually the word «TAPAS» is usually small tiny snacks, but this place serves jumbo size meats with a great service.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — –
** — Once you walk inside, take a look at the ceiling (hehehe)
*** — Forgot the names of the cheeses and Meats, and didn’t take the pic because i was overwhelmed. UGH!
***** — I have tried the Albondigas (meat balls) and were so-​so (Sorry, no picture). AND Paella lalola (Chicken and Pork Paella) was ok, but a bit more salty than the Seafood paella.

3.5 stars
Lalola is definitely above average but not quite a solid restaurant, so here are 7 Tips for enjoying Lalola:
1. Dress in comfortable layers and leave your coat at home. I had my coat with me and there wasn’t any place to put in on except to sit on it. (If seats are available, sit at the beautiful marble bar which has purse hooks)
2. Order a variety of dishes, this is what tapas places are for! To maximize the use of their space, they have an upright menu ready for your perusing at the table. It’s divided into prices: Pintxos ($ 3 or $ 5 depending how many pieces you ordered), $ 7, $ 9 and $ 12 dishes. Slightly pricier than other tapas places in the city, but the food is good. A definite hit? the zucchini sticks! Crunchy and soft at the same time, the garlic aioli goes so well with this. Other dishes we tried that were fantastic: seafood paella (not a very deep dish but lots of calamari hidden underneath and rice!), grilled beef skewers with a piquillo-​almond sauce (beef was a little on the salty side, but tender) and seared ahi tuna topped with piquillo butter served with greens (we were a bit disappointed because it was well done!)
3. Try the specials of the day. We had a shrimp salad tossed in lemon and olive oil vinaigrette with sweet peppers and onions finished with chopped cilantro. Very fresh, very Mediterranean.
4. Silverware is in an open container at your table so you can just grab your own utensils. (wonder how many people had their dirty hands all over the forks and spoons in there?!)
5. Get the $ 20 carafe of Sangria. $ 7 a glass is a good size, but we should’ve just ordered the pitcher because it was so yummy! there’s not a lot of fruit pieces in there, but the sangria — flavor-​wise — was well balanced and not too sweet.
6. Don’t even bother trying to find parking here. Park at a garage and walk, just save yourself the headache. Or if you prefer to commute, you can take the cablecar, it stops right in front of Lalola.
7. Enjoy!
The service was fast and efficient with lots of recommendations from our friendly server. I’d probably come back for happy hour.

They had me at $ 3 Sangria and $ 3 Stella EVERY day from 5:30 — 7:00pm.
This place is legit. Since returning from Spain last summer I’ve been on the hunt for a place that had food and more importantly the vibe that I experienced throughout Spain. I’ve been to a couple of spots in SF and all have fall short. Lalola has come the closest.
I love that they have a simple menu and $ 5, $ 7, $ 10 and $ 12 tapas options.
My favorites were the patatas bravas. See:
Gambas al ajio. See:
Both were excellent. I also had the $ 3 happy hour sangria. It was easily the best I have had in SF. Also came in the tubos that you see across Spain. See:
The Spanish guy talking to us who I assume is the owner was really nice. He is from the San Sebastian area and really made sure that we were having a good experience. I will DEFINITELY be popping back in again (especially since I live so close).

I laLOVE labodega!
Stepping into labodega, lalola’s new private dining room, feels Speakeasy-​ish. The door was unmarked, we navigated some stairs, and immediately glasses of Spanish sherry were in our hands.
NICE.
The walls were a warm orangey-​red and the wine barrels from Crushpad aptly did double duty as decoration and appetizer tables. We noshed on jamon serrano, Manchego cheese, plump green olives, and homemade chorizo. With our Scallop Pintxo, we tasted another Gonzalez Byass Sherry and learned how it was made.
My hands down favorite dish of the night was the Lobster Paella. Paired with a Sauvignon Blanc, the paella’s presentation was gorgeous, the stock the rice had been simmered in was incredibly flavorful, and the chunks of lobster were perfectly cooked. Add a squeeze of lemon and then BLISS. It happily reminded me of a paella that I had in Spain. No paella that I have had has come close, until now.
This lazy reverie was interrupted by a thud. The enormous platter of Roasted Suckling Pig that landed on the table was as my friend put it, «Flinstonian.» I ate as much of it as I could but this pig bested me. It came with roasted potatoes and egg which I liked but I still prefer the spicy sauce of lalola’s Patatas Bravas (which actually I think would have gone well with the pork). The BF kept making googley eyes at the Beronia Gran Reserva Rioja that was paired with this dish.
But my sweet tooth and I made fast friends with the Solera 1847 Sherry which to my unsophisticated sherry palate, tasted much like a port. Dessert was a traditional Fig Cake with a Heavy Vanilla Whipping Cream.
We left labodega happily stuffed with Spanish food and wine in our bellies and visions of past and future Spain travels in our heads.
Gracias lalola!