LoLa Cafe + Bar: A Cozy Ancestral House-Turned Restaurant

Since I turned 25 last year, I seem to find comfort in chilling out at cafes, whatever the occasion is. Maybe it comes with the age, but I ain’t one to complain. Cafes generally give off a welcoming vibe, and it’s pretty easy to find one practically anywhere, so you wouldn’t have a lot of competition when it comes to parking spaces and / or tables.

A couple of weeks ago, I had an annual meet-up with a couple of college girl friends, and I was glad we were on the same page. Gone are the days when we would want to binge eat — we just wanted to have a decent meal whilst talking about anything and everything under the sun. Lola Cafe served as the perfect spot for that night! We were all spent from a tiring week at our respective work places, and the chill ambiance relaxed us. Here’s what we got:

CALAMANSI CUCUMBER (Php 75) – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My friends and I got different drinks, and I went with something that I thought would best match the flavorful dishes we were about to try. This one is your usual freshly squeezed calamansi juice infused with cucumber, so it had a clean and crisp taste. I’m glad they didn’t rely on concentrates!

PASTA NEGRA (Php 310) – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (6-stars = Eat Drink Splurge’s seal of approval)
WOW. We were initially reluctant to order this as I was wearing white that day, but I was glad we still wound up getting this. It is by far the best squid ink dish I’ve tasted so far! Each pasta strand was well coated by the squid ink + aligue (crab fat) mixture, making it uniquely rich in flavor. I’m impressed because they didn’t cheat on us by having a “diluted” squid ink sauce! The umami taste of the mixture definitely made it stand out, unlike other squid ink dishes where only the color of the dish is evident. The baby squid toppings were really soft and delicious, too! ❤️ I will surely get this again when I come back.

ROASTED BELLY TOCINO (Php 475) – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
We were actually intrigued at how much 1/2 kilo of liempo is. But since the staff told us it would be just right for the 3 of us, we decided to get this. The slow roasted liempo was super thick, and I was initially wondering if it will be tough / hard to chew. Upon slicing though, it was REALLY tender, we didn’t even have to exert much effort in cutting it up! The glaze was a bit on the sweet side, but due to the thickness of the meat, the flavor didn’t seep in. Maybe they can marinate the meat next time?

SPICY TINAPA PASTA (Php 265) – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recently, I have been more inclined to having oil based pasta dishes, because I feel like they’re a bit lighter compared to their saucy counterparts. We had this one because it’s marked to be one of their bestsellers. Honestly, it was good, tastewise. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary though, but we appreciated the al dente pasta and the bountiful Bangus tinapa toppings. Hope they can make it a bit spicier for a (harder) kick!

KESONG PUTI CHEESECAKE (Php 220) – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Since we wanted to stay longer, we decided to order dessert as well. We were expecting a slice of cheesecake only, but were pleasantly surprised when we were served with a mini round cheesecake! For Php 220, you’d really get your money’s worth with this. We divided this among the 3 of us, and there was plenty of cake to go around. It would probably be enough for 4 people. This was really good, but I found the cake + bukayo mixture to be a bit sweet for my liking. The texture is creamy, but isn’t as dense as I wished — maybe because of the kesong puti. It’s a nice twist to our favorite cheesecake! Hope they can bind the graham crust further next time though, as it is a bit too crumbly.

We enjoyed the service and ambiance here, and it is a relaxing place to catch up over good food. I believe it can also be a nice spot for intimate special events! There are plenty of parking spaces as well, but can still run out during weekend dinner time.

The next time you pass by Tomas Morato, make sure to explore beyond the main road and you will surely be surprised by the number of hidden gems this eat street has, just like LoLa Cafe!

LoLa Cafe + Bar is located at 99 Scout Lozano Street, Laging Handa, Quezon City. All meals are paid for by Eat Drink Splurge and her friends during this visit. 

To know more about LoLa Cafe + Bar and their food offerings, click on the link below to read what other foodies have to say: