Lola's Bistro — Restaurant in Tabaco

Excellent design and architectural presentation of the old hacienda complete with two foot bridges. Staff could not be more attentive and helpful. Beautiful menus of an artful quality. All this explains why I gave 5 stars to service and atmosphere. However, quality of food varies dramatically. I found nothing on the menu to my liking and of the 7 or 8 dishes we ordered on two visits I would not recommend to anyone. My two sons on the other hand liked the place enough to insist we return a second time. I found the sauces in general to be too sweet. Next, the beef kaldereta was unrecognizable. I actually called the waiter over to ask what dish had just been delivered and when he said beef kaldereta sir, I asked are you sure? It doesn’t look like any kaldereta I’ve ever had before. Additionally the vegetables were not fully cooked. This seemed strange to me because my Filipina wife and mother in law cooked their meat and vegetables together in kaldereta - not separately as here in this Bistro - and the vegetables could not be half cooked in that case. The chicken galantina has a hotdog hidden inside it, quite an unwelcome surprise. The aligue pasta was pretty to look at but dry and uninviting to eat. The aligue rice was a better option on our second visit. The relyenong eggplant was smothered with some kind of sweet sauce, we never figured out what was the filling. My sons said the crispy pata was good. In summary, whereas the presentation of the restaurant, staff and menu were nothing short of artistic, the quality of the food leaves much...

The outside of the build is beautiful, and the inside is pleasant. It's a mid-tier family restaurant. So, don't expect anything special. They dress in traditional Bicol attire.

I enjoyed the atmosphere, and other patrons were well-mannered. The waiters were attentive but not annoying.

They served us very good shakes; watermelon for me, and mango for my wife. 10/10. For our meal, we ordered grilled chicken and rice (me) and pancit bihon gisado for my wife.

The grilled chicken was tender and okay, nothing special. However, the serving of rice was a little too small, so I ordered more. The pancit was not good, though.

It tasted as though they used too much oyster sauce. It was soggy, covered in a thick liquid, and it tasted awful. This dish needs work. If I presented this dish to a guest, I would insist that they order another dish on my behalf.

Overall, this location is OKAY, if you just want a nice calm place to meet people, serve multiple guests, or go out on a double date. However, the food shouldn't be the reason you come. You'll be...

Food: A Manam-like resto in Tabaco! They have their own twists on dishes (they also serve Watermelon Sinigang). We got the Crispy Pata which tasted like heaven, the skin was crunchy, the meat was juicy and falls off the bone. I didn't even bothered dipping it in the sauce. Gising gising which damn did it's job, it has one hell of a kick that a true-blooded Bicolano would love! Cocido with a coconut twist (I forgot the exact dish name) sour, clean, and not fishy, perfect to pair with heavy dishes like Crispy Pata. It has coconut meat in it, however I didn't quite get the flavors nor the rationale of adding it.

Service: Good! Staff were nice, and attentive. Try asking them to take a photo for you. They have their cool little spiel (I won't spoil it), it's cute and unique.

Atmosphere: Pretty unique building, it's a bow of a ship. They have cool old-timey...