Kala BajaMed — Restaurant in El Paso

I’ve been skeptical about this place for a long time, but my mother has been begging to come and dine here. So, I made a reservation for Mother’s Day.

First impressions, the decor is very eclectic. The atmosphere is fun and relaxed, it’s a little dark, and the music is very good. There’s a big window to the patio, which gave us a taste of the pleasant breeze outside.

We arrived at around 9:30 AM. We could’ve made do without a reservation, since it wasn’t full at all. I can’t say the same for dinner since I’ve never been.

We all ordered coffee, and it took a while, but there was a small appetizer and lots of chilled water in the meantime. I must say, I prefer this chilled water to the freezing ice water most restaurants serve, so that was a nice plus.

I tried the signature latte and the regular latte. The signature latte is prepared with rose cordial, giving it a flowery, perfume-y taste and a sweeter body than its regular counterpart. I’ll be honest, I didn’t much care for either. Take this with a grain of salt, because I chug the sugary stuff from Dunkin’ like it’s water, so you can imagine my palette isn’t exactly refined. Even then I could still tell it was a good cup of coffee.

Now onto the actual food. They have a special menu for Mother’s Day. We got the kettle chips and ibérico ham appetizer, drizzled with truffle oil and generously sprinkled with Parmesan, I think. They were absolutely delicious: crunchy, ribbony chips with a bright flavor despite their richness. The ham was top quality, and once we finished them, we craved more.

For breakfast I ordered the banana bread French toast. The bread was soft and pillowy, perfectly sweet, and the fruit was fresh and bright. I couldn’t believe my tastebuds. I didn’t even look at the syrup because it didn’t need it. If you order this, keep in mind that it is a HEALTHY portion and you should share, even though you’ll be tempted to eat it all. If this isn’t a permanent menu item, they should definitely make it one.

My company ordered the lobster Benedict and the arrachera chilaquiles. No complaints there. The lobster was buttery and smoky, and the arrachera was extremely tender and flavorful. Both were nice, big portions as well.

My mother also got the Yacht to Ibiza cocktail, and she was absolutely ecstatic with it. If you don’t drink tequila with gusto however, I’d steer clear.

Our waiter, the bartender, was very attentive and kind. He made sure to check up on us periodically, so there were never many empty plates on the table. The busboy was also hard at work refilling our water cups, so they weren’t empty for long. The young men in the kitchen must be doing something right and should be proud of the food they are serving.

Minor gripes: There was a singular fly orbiting the dining room. This is minor because I saw it once and never again. I assume it flew in from the patio and not that it was just lingering around the restaurant, because everything was supremely clean. There is a party light projector on the ceiling, and it was in my eyes the entire time. It wasn’t super bright but it was annoying, and it seemed to only be hitting my eyes at any given time. Oh, well.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this place. We were in and out in an hour, almost to the dot, which is excellent. I was so relaxed I could’ve stayed there to chat for a while. I recommend this place for breakfast, and will update once I score a time slot to have...

My husband and I made a reservation for dinner here. Upon arrival we were greeted and were sat literally right in front of the kitchen door, which was odd and kind of off putting. I don’t want to see your dirty kitchen floor while I’m eating… I asked if they had seating elsewhere and they said no, even though there was clearly open 2 tops the entire time we were there and even when we left. I really don’t get the Spanish/Mexican fusion because the menu does not represent any of that. It’s more Mediterranean and even that falls short. To drink the server suggested The Noche en Acapulco as a refreshing cocktail. It looked nice when it came to the table but the coconut water was non existent and it tasted like water and tequila which was weird. We opted for tapas instead of entrees and tried a few. We had the raw oysters that came with lemon, vinegar, and the house cocktail sauce. The oysters were good, but lacked salt, and the cocktail sauce was extremely bland and unsatisfying. Next we had the octopus, which was probably the best thing we had. My only complaint is the hummus that comes under it, it really does not pair well with the octopus as it has a bit of a bitter flavor. I would of much preferred a Spanish rice or something else to compliment it. The octopus was extremely tender and well prepared. Then came the wagyu tartare which I was excited for until I tasted it. Apparently it had a lot of olives and it came on a slice of bread. The olives overwhelmed the taste of the entire tartare and that is pretty much all you could taste. We couldn’t even tell there was anything else in there and we were glad it came on bread to at least break up the bitterness of the olives. Lastly we had the Mediterranean Bread which was okay and probably the second best thing we had after the octopus. We ended the night with the millennial wedding cake, which was actually pretty good other than we should of topped it with ice cream. Overall I like the vibe of this place and the service from our waiter was phenomenal. I would go back to give this place another chance and try some entrees. But for now the food at least the tapas need work, they lack substance and flavor as do the cocktails in my opinion. I really didn’t want to try another cocktail because the first one was so bad and nothing really called my attention on the menu. Also that table right next to the kitchen door should maybe be removed or moved or be saved for people do that do not have reservations because it takes away from the dining experience. I will be back and update my review when I do. Hopefully my experience will be a lot better the second...

I waited 2 weeks to review, hoping that time would calm me down. But in that time, I ate somewhere else, and the experience there only served to make the memory of Lola Rose all the more painful.

This place wants very badly to be a hip premium dining experience a' la' NYC and LA and Vegas. And that's very much what we were after when we went out! The atmosphere, prices, policies, and attitude certainly fit the bill.

Sadly, the experience and ESPECIALLY the food, did not.

The decor and ambiance is cool, as long as you don't look too closely. It was clearly put together in a hurry and on a budget. The miter cuts don't even line up on the cheap wood accents they threw on the wall and painted over. The tables are too close together, there's no privacy. I liked the down tempo EDM, YMMV.

The service was quite good. Can't argue with that. Our server was excellent.

But let's get to the real problem. The food.

The starter tray was delicious. All three bites (that had to be split between 2 people). We both ordered petit filet, both medium rare. Mine was more or less medium rare, hers was decidedly medium. They limit your table time, so don't go sending things back or you'll run out of time to eat. The steak itself was somewhere between mediocre and awful. It was tough and chewy. Even after requesting a new knife (the first one they gave me couldn't cut butter), I had to saw through it like lumber. The meat was heavily over salted, which ALMOST covered the incredibly bland taste. I have LITERALLY had better meat from Walmart. The sides were generally good, but for a $200 meal, the baby potatoes (also heavily salted) shouldn't be the highlight. The overpriced wine was tolerable, that bottle was the only thing we actually finished beside the starter plate.

We boxed up our leftovers (the food wasn't good enough to finish in one sitting), and were 2 miles down the road before we realized we'd forgotten them. We both agreed it was no big loss, lol.

If this place was half the price and without the policies and snooty attitude, I'd give it 4 stars and still complain about the meat - but I might try it again. We wanted very badly to love it. As it stands - if you want a great fine dining experience - go...