Lola's Kitchen Bangkok — Restaurant in Khlong Tan Nuea Subdistrict

i really wanted to like this place but i was disappointed, it was an expensive experiment. they don’t have a working bathroom, so if you eat here expect to walk next door to a neighboring business or to the mall a block away (like i was instructed to do) to use the bathrooms there instead. i walked into a neighbor shop who said they’d let lola’s customers use their bathroom for over 2 months so i think it’s an ongoing issue, not a temporary situation.

i ordered dinaguan (which was the best of the lot; good balance of meat and fat, well balanced with vinegar sauce). kare kare, generous portions (2 large oxtail, which had a fat skin on it which makes me think maybe it was pork instead of beef) with good veg variety, though pretty bland and not enough sauce (bagoong was good and v necessary; i know kare kare is typically bland - tho not when i make it - but this was realllly bland). pinakbet which also was bland, tasted like they used thickened sinagang sauce instead of bagoong that’s traditionally used, topped with many pieces of inedible hard skinned lechon skin and fat (some pieces were ok but after 3 bad ones i decided to stop trying). and then the sinigang bangus which had good flavor but sadly the 2 small and thin slices of fish were overcooked leaving them very hard. i didn’t bother with dessert.

the staff didn’t seem v friendly. also couldn’t help but notice that the table sat about 15 mins after me got all their food served before i did, pancit bihon and what i suspect to be lumpia do cook up fast but ??

anyway i’d maybe go back to try the grilled bangus in hopes they don’t overcook it, and the dinaguan if i needed a fix. but i’d go to other places first before...

My girlfriend and I went to Lola’s Kitchen because she was dying to try the Spaghetti/Fried Chicken combo. She’s a filipina, and the item reminded her of her childhood. How sweet is that...

Taste wise, there is hardly anything negative to say, it was on par with what one might expect, and probably even better.

When it comes to staff, however, I was left quite speechless by the rudeness and the lack of manners of the person who checked our bill.

I asked this young man if I could pay with my debit card and he said yes. He tried my card once and the payment didn’t go through. He told me that I probably didn’t have money on my account. I replied my account was very well funded - thanks for asking - and asked him to try again. He reluctantly did so and repeated the same thing. And a third time for good measure.

Note that I never had one single issue paying with this card before. I used it again an hour after at Starbucks, and the payment went on seamlessly. Maybe you should try blaming your credit card reader next time instead of insulting a patron’s solvency? Maybe.

I am not one to get easily offended, but this attitude is absolutely despicable and, if not for my girlfriend, I would have been less quiet leaving the restaurant.

I will obviously never step foot in this place again. Advice to the boss of the place: educate your staff to the most basic rules of hospitality before letting them...

Filipino ambience and if you miss some Filipino dishes, you can drop by here and eat some of their specialties. Most of their dishes are good for 2 or 3 (depending on your appetite). They have some per person serving like the 'silogs' and chicken with spaghetti, etc. The halo-halo (is difficult to 'halo' 😅 and takes a skill not to spill the milk 😅) is overflowing - I missed halo-halo back in my country so I really enjoyed their halo-halo. We haven't tried all the dishes because there's only two of us so I cannot really attest the authenticity of the other viands but my experience so far is 5⭐s 😊👍🏼

Update: Recently went again to Lola's Kitchen because I had something to do at the Ph Embassy. Tried their Chicken-Spaghetti meal. It tastes good - the fried chicken was just a bit 'bland' for me (lacking some saltiness to it - it could just be my taste and to be fair, I do not like too much salty food but the taste for me is still on the blander side 😅), anyway, just a suggestion, since it's a Ph resto, could've added a bit more 'saltiness' especially on the coating).. would have preferred more gravy sauce as well if possible. Spaghetti was 'delicious' for me. Not the Jollibee taste but it was able to get that sweet pinoy spaghetti. I was just a bit sad because the sago't gulaman/kalamansi juice was unavailable. Service is still okay...