Lola Tapas

I recently met a friend for dinner at Lola Tapas here in Phoenix. Lola's is a small one room restaurant with community tables; but don't let the idea of community dining turn you off. Small bites, like tapas, were designed so that you would have more time to focus on your dining companions rather than on a large meal. Making Lola the perfect setting.

There's only about a dozen options on the menu; but what it lacks in choices it makes up for in taste. We decided on 3 tapas which was plenty for the 2 of us. The first one served was the asparagus. Stalks of asparagus were served along with a roasted red pepper aioli dipping sauce. The asparagus were cooked perfectly; not to soft and not to hard. The sauce was a delicious accompaniment.

Next out was the chickpea and spinach mixture. This is Lolas specialty and special it was. Spinach sauteed with garlic, mixed with chickpeas and topped with toasted bread crumbs; how could you go wrong.

Our last tapa was actually the special for that night. A chicken breast grilled and served sitting on top of a romensco sauce. Compared to the first two dishes I thought this one lacked flavor. It was good but definitely not my favorite of the three.

A different dessert is served each night. The night we were there it was almond cake with a side of fresh raspberries. The cake was really good and was the perfect ending to a delightful meal.

If you don't mind the seating arrangements and can live with a limited menu I would definitely recommend Lola. The food was great and I even made a few new friends.