Lolita Back Bay — Restaurant in Boston

My girlfriend and I came here for our 5th anniversary, an we were not disappointed in the slightest. Lengthy review ahead, because I truly enjoyed my experience here.

When I made the reservation, I noted that it was our anniversary and that, if possible, I'd like to have flowers waiting at the table ahead of time. As it turns out, the tables have flowers (real roses, too) by default. Along with beautiful silverware and plates. We were sat and our server wished us a happy anniversary, which I did not expect; so that was quite a nice little touch.

The meal began with a complementary grapefruit-tequila palette cleanser, which was very nice and unexpected. The shot of tequila that went in it was free as well! I thought this may have been a perk of it being our anniversary, but it turns out that every table gets this as well!

We split a pitcher of the Diablo margarita, which was the perfect blend of spicy, sweet, and tequila-y; I definitely recommend. We were each able to have several glasses of it, making it quite a fair price. The glasses were rimmed a lightly spiced sugar, along with lime and pepper slices.

Chips and salsa/dip are also complimentary here. The chips, seemingly homemade, were great; not too salty, not oily at all. The salsas/dip were a delicious spicy verde salsa, a nice, mild, tomato-y dip and some kind of chipotle aioli thing (I'm not a fan of sour cream/mayo based dips, so I didn't try it so I don't know actually know what it was). The verde was to die for, though!

We each got an app. She ordered the Guac Fresca, which she said was the creamiest, most amazing guac she's ever had. I ordered the empanadas, which were great. They were certainly nothing too unique, but were very well done and I enjoyed them for sure.

As for mains, I ordered the Carne Asada and she the Cauliflower Tacos. My steak, while rather small, was impeccable. Perfectly tendered, subtly charred, and oh so flavorful. I was initially disappointed by the size, but it more than made up for it in flavor and texture. The cauliflower tacos were amazing, as well. They managed to pack lots of different flavors and textures into these tacos, but nothing overpowered the other. Also, the cauliflower was fried to perfection with a nice thing, crunchy coating. The cauliflower in those tacos could be made into an app by itself.

We decided not to order dessert, as we had things waiting for us at home (and we were pretty stuffed), but we received yet ANOTHER complementary item, sour-apple cotton candy. Every table received this after their meal, but in ours, they stuck three beautiful roses into it, yet another unexpected, lovely detail. I didn't specifically ask for this, so they took it upon themselves to do this for us.

As for the restaurant itself, it's really something unique. The setting is ultra-gothic, quite dark, and definitely not something you see in a restaurant. The gothic theme did give it a certain romance, but that was diluted somewhat by the volume of the crowd and the London-bar-esque music. Ultimately we could have chosen a more romantic setting for our anniversary, but this was certainly an amazing experience and I regret nothing.

Oh and our server was very courteous and very prompt, but never pushy. A+ to her.

Come here with friends, family, a loved one, or by yourself and grab a drink at the bar. It's a very interesting, unique location perfect for a night out. It's not exactly kid or elderly friendly, so keep...

Absolutely horrible! I was about to call and talk to the manager about the problem but I read here that he doesn’t care. This place doesn’t accommodate any allergies- if you have any food allergies- DO NOT COME HERE! My friends and I came here and I ordered the Chicken Especial Tacos and I told the waitress my allergies- that I have nut and seafood allergies and asked her what oil they use. She was out of it- I know her name and I can easily mention it here and the level 0 experience she has being a waitress and I hope her lack of awareness and her careless doesn’t get someone with allergies admitted to the hospital. Food allergies are serious and this place could get sued big time if they keep playing. No where in the item I ordered said pistachios are in the taco. When the tacos came, I see pistachios all all over it. Since when do tacos have nuts in them? They are not clear about what they use in the food and the waitress came back saying they use castor oil in the food. WHAT? Since when is Castor oil used in food? I politely declined the food and showed her the pistachios and she tried to deny those are pistachios. My friend actually tasted it and confirmed to me that it was pistachios. She tried to gaslight and basically had an attitude with me for not eating this poison they served me when I told them I’m allergic to nuts- they served me that. They are lucky that I was aware and didn’t eat the poison they served me because I would have sued this place big time. The atmosphere is bad, loud music and can’t see anything inside. The bathroom is impossible to use without a phone’s flashlight. Terrible lighting for a sake of creating a mood that’s repulsive! Another possible law suit could come from someone missing a step and breaking their bone because it’s absolutely dark and ridiculous in there so watch out. Restaurant food and health inspectors need to go in here and make sure this place will accommodate and properly handle allergy safely procedures. Waitress was clearly on something and lacked any sense- she was slow to understand and clearly needs major training. Manager (although mentioned here doesn’t care about costumers) will likely get a big lawsuit sooner or later for the lack of responsibility there is in this place. Menus items and ingredients do not match in a meal. Nuts are used extensively here- IN A MEXICAN FOOD? You can see the red line I drew in the food the pistachios. Manager, if you’re reading this and actually care (to not get sued and pay fat checks) you better train the waiters and waitress. If you want to talk to me over the phone- comment here. This place is the easiest place to get sued and I hope they do! From my profession I would advice you to check your business before it’s out of...

DINNER REVIEW

Lolita is the kind of place that I would usually say is just "sceney" and doesn't actually have good food. Everything seems to be put together to create a certain ambiance...it's dimly-lit and the wait staff all wears black/dark colors. There was clearly distinct attention put into the edginess of the wall art. It felt like we were in New York City. They even start you off with a granita covered in a shot of tequila and finish you with a huge thing of cotton candy. All this said, the food here was absolutely delicious and it warrants all 5 stars I am giving it.

My girlfriend and I arrived at 7 PM for our reservation and we were seated immediately. It's always nice when a restaurant is ready to seat you right away for a reservation.

DRINKS: I had a Pacifico which is about the same everywhere you go but my girlfriend had a passion fruit margarita, which she said was one of the best she's ever had (and this girl knows margaritas, let me tell you!)

FOOD: This is a small plates Mexican restaurant so everything is meant to be shared (no big portions of enchiladas here!).

They start you off with a trio of two salsa and a spicy queso, all of which are unique and delicious (and I'm not really a queso person).

Guacamole Fresco - some of the best guacamole I've had (and my girlfriend agreed). Definitely get one of the guacamoles.

Grilled Street Corn - This ain't your backyard barbecue corn on the cob! Otherwise known as elote, this is one of my favorite foods and this one is delicious: chipotle mayo, cotija cheese, and chili-lime salt. I don't know if I'll be able to eat plain boiled corn on the cob again.

Eggplant Asada Quesadilla - Our waiter said that the chicken quesadilla was the most ordered (which we are not surprised by, because everyone likes chicken) but that she actually thought this one was better. We're glad she steered us in the right direction because this quesadilla was spicy and sumptuous. Definitely get this!

Grilled Steak Tacos - Steak is objectively my favorite food so on paper, I should have loved these and I did. But they weren't my favorite steak tacos I've ever had.

Zucchini Fritter Tacos - Interestingly, I loved these tacos even more than the steak tacos (and I'm a big meat eater). These were essentially lightly fried zoodles (zucchini noodles) with some amazing salsa and hot honey pepitas.

Everyone gets a big thing of cotton candy to finish with which is really nice but they give you far too much. Ours tasted like apple-flavored jolly rancher and there's only so much of it I can eat before the sweetness is overwhelming.

Next time I want to have a nicer Mexican dinner, I will come back to Lolita. I also want to try to Fort...