Lulu's Allston — Restaurant in Boston

My boyfriend and I took our parents here this weekend. We were looking for a place in Allston that would be fun (without being too loud and painfully trendy), could accept a party of 5, and would have something good for everyone in our picky party to eat. Lulu's absolutely met the bill.

I loved the 90s/00s hits being played, my boyfriend and his dad loved the game being broadcast, and we all loved the service. I'd definitely come back with family, or with a group of friends for a birthday meal.

We were seated without a wait - but we arrived at 5:30 on a rainy Saturday. I was surprised that there were already so many people at the restaurant, as I expected it to be deserted. I'd expect it to do a brisk business later on in the night.

Out of all the food we ordered, we all agreed that the tater tots were the best we'd ever had (and I've personally eaten a lot of tater tots & totchos). We also loved the Brussels sprouts, bourbon pear salad, burger, short rib mac & cheese, and meatloaf sandwich. We also really enjoyed dessert - the cheesecake dip & orange ricotta donuts. It's worth noting that you should arrive hungry, or plan for a lot of leftovers, as we each only finished half an entree.

Okay, last paragraph of this super-long review: we'd heard about the place while watching the executive chef & general manager, Sarah Wade, on Chopped. In addition to generally loving her & her competitive spirit, we really wanted to try her food after watching the judges rave about her dishes, and hearing her talk up her tots. We were thrilled that she's located in Boston, and promptlh added Lulu's to our list of places to try. Imagine our delight when Sarah herself greeted our party at the door and took us to our table!! (We told her we loved her on Chopped and she was...

I'm sad and confused. My partner and I have been visiting Lulu's in average twice a month (sometimes more) since it opened. The food and service has been amazing and, for a restaurant that prided itself on hearty "comfort food", we felt even though the prices were a tad higher than some other establishments in the Allston/Brighton area, the creative thought that the owner/chef put into her food, combined with well-trained staff and a unique ambience, made it worth the cost. Until recently, when the restaurant changed chefs and significantly reduced portion sizes. Emphasis on "significantly".

My go to order since Lulu's introduced it to the menu is the BBQ Chicken Southwest Salad. It's delicious (as is everything on the menu). I've had this salad now probably 10 times, but was left shocked and disappointed when I ordered the salad the other day and it was 1/4-1/3 the size it used to be. I'm not exaggerating. I asked the server if some sort of mistake was made and he informed us that the new chef had changed things around and decided to make the portions smaller, at the same cost. I just couldn't believe it. I understand many restaurants are struggling with cost right now, but to reduce the portion sizes and leaving customers hungry after they've eaten, is not the solution. Unfortunately, I left hungry.

The $17 salad was so small, it didn't come close to filling me up. For reference, in the past (before Lulu's changed the portion sizes), I would sometimes take some of the salad home if we also ordered appetizers and always left full and satisfied. I'm mostly sad because I know we won't be going back to our once favorite restaurant in A-B. I'm not going to go to a place to eat if I'm going to leave hungry. Please consider bringing the old...

Pros: great design and atmosphere, Cons: They need a better wait list system

I've had 2 great experiences with Lulu's before the pandemic hit. Staff is friendly and professional, the dishes are quite delicious, and the environment is nice yet not uppity.

After, COVID hit, I can't say that any of my experiences have been positive. The food quality seems to have gone a little down. My main gripe, however, is with their wait list system.

Instance 1: We placed our names on the wait list online, it looked to be about a 1 hour 30min wait. As we became the first on the list, we decided to head over. Upon arriving, we were informed that it would be another 1 hour before we could be sat. And because it would be past the last call time, we were told we would not be seated.

Instance 2: I came by with a group (3) at 7:30pm. As the site stated, there was no one on the wait list. Upon arriving, I was told that they were at capacity but we would be seated in about 30 minutes. We gave our information and went for a walk.

2 hours later and I called hem asking what had happened. I was informed that they were not able to seat us before last call (9 or 9:30). It was quite odd to that nobody left for 1hour 30 to 2 hours. This is very unlikely, and my guess is that we were forgotten and others were sat.

Additionally, I am confused as to why we had not been notified that we could no longer be seated? The online system still listed us as waiting and they had not called or texted us even though they had our number. It's a simple, yet courteous...