LOLA Cafe - Podium — Restaurant in Mandaluyong

I've heard rave reviews about Lola from my friends, so I decided it was high time I gave it a try. However, my experience turned out to be a mixed bag. I ordered their specialties, including Chili Baby Squid, Baked Scallops, Coconut Chop Suey, Truffle Lengua, and Shrimp Paste Rice.

The Coconut Chop Suey stood out with its light and refreshing flavor. The vegetables were perfectly cooked, and every bite revealed a subtle yet noticeable hint of natural sweetness from the coconut juice. It's a fantastic dish, especially for veggie lovers.

The Truffle Lengua was also quite good, although it didn't align with my personal taste preferences. The beef was cooked to perfection—tender and piping hot. However, the white sauce was a bit disappointing as it lacked the flavor I was expecting. It seemed a bit bland compared to the traditional lingua gravy I prefer. Additionally, the dish was topped with deep-fried and breaded oyster mushrooms, which felt out of place. Unfortunately, I couldn't detect any hint of truffle in the dish.

The Baked Scallops, despite being labeled as a specialty, turned out to be rather ordinary. I had hoped for a higher quality cheese, but it tasted like regular commercial cheese. It didn't have that extra something that sets it apart from similar dishes in other restaurants.

The most disappointing dish for me was the Chili Baby Squid. I apologize in advance, but the red sauce was overly sweet, almost like tomato ketchup. This overpowering sweetness masked the delicate taste of the baby squid, which was a letdown.

Furthermore, the Shrimp Paste Rice was also disappointing. The rice used seemed to be of average quality, rather than the high-quality rice one would expect from a reputable Filipino restaurant.

Overall, my experience was rather mediocre compared to the glowing reviews I had heard from my friends. It's possible that I ordered the wrong dishes, but considering that all the items I chose, except for the Shrimp Paste Rice, were marked as house specialties on the menu, it seems unlikely. Perhaps we can give it another try in the future and explore different options...

We dined here today for the first time to celebrate my mum’s return as an OFW she just came back today August 15, 2025.

We arrived here around 3–4 PM and finished by 5 PM. Joenel, who served our food, was good. (We were seated outside with the LOLA sign with 4 adults and a child)

However, the woman stationed at the door/reception area was on her phone most of the time, which made us hesitant to approach her when we needed to order. When I asked if the bill provided was already the official receipt, she responded in a condescending tone, saying, “I’ll give it to you after, ma’am,” as if holding back irritation. I’m not sure if your staff is aware, but many restaurants in the Philippines issue the official receipt together with the bill. I even asked nicely, but her attitude throughout made the overall experience unpleasant.

We also ordered Mango Sago and Buko Pandan for dessert, which took about 25–30 minutes to arrive, and we had to follow up. Even with her attitude we still asked in a kind manner.

I hope management can train the staff to be more attentive and courteous (as it was hard to ask for assistance when we needed to order) to ensure a better dining experience for...

Went here for lunch craving for loal dish after being away from Ph in the last 3 mos,

For I ordered was their laing, bagoong rice and boneless chicken inasal.

Their laing is okay, but lacks the identity of a "laing". To me its like eating boiled spinach, drizzled with olive oil, i could not taste the flavor I am looking as a bicolano, I am quite particular to laing, I grew up eating this dish.

Another dish I ordered was bagoong rice, its like a mashed rice sitting in good amount of oil. Yes, i tasted some onions and smells the 'bagoong' but its very wet and its not appetizing after few bites. It doesnt match well with the laing as both of them were oily.

I was hoping that the bagoong rice would complement the laing, but I guess I ordered wrong combination of dishes.

Lastly, the boneless chicken inasal, so both laing and bagoong rice have so much oil made it heavy and i was looking forward with the 'achara' and vinegar to balance oil with acidity, but I had to wait quite a while before it was served. I guess it could have been different experience had this dish arrived early. I finished it anyway.

Over all, it was okay...