Lola by Chef Tom — Restaurant in Florida

We were surprised by how terrible this place is from a guests point of view. We were confused when we arrived and no one welcomed us or told us how this lousy restaurant treats their guests. We sat down and finally realized no one is coming. This is NOT a large place so to be ignored takes some effort on the staffs part. The staff were one lady in charge (?) and then young “in training” people. The lady was openly teaching the young staff how to open a bottle of wine. It was like a day at school watching her bark out to them how to do this and that. They were not focused on the guests in the restaurant. You have to get your own table and go up to an area to get your own plastic glass of water. You have to get yourself a copy of the photocopied black and white paper menu. Decide what you want and then you go up to the student cashier and place your order - where they expect you to give them a tip NOW before you even get any service or food to base a tip on. Notice that RED FLAG before going further. This is all about them getting what they can from you before you know better. We did order and the salad $12 came out wrong and caused such confusion. They don’t even know their own food items. Then before we even enjoyed the salad, which tasted good. The $30 entrees came so fast that we we rushed and knew that the entrees were not made with care. The jumbo lump crab cake with pappardelle was mediocre. The crab cake tasted like a poor fish cake not crab. Don’t waste your time or your money on this dish. Noodles were stuck together and clumped. If you knew after your meal you certainly wouldn’t be interested in tipping so I’m sure that is why they squeeze the money out of you at the start before you know better. The price for the mediocre food isn’t worth it. The service is insulting. The atmosphere is not friendly, is not welcoming it is more like you are lucky to be here we will see if you deserve our attention. You can do better at the local Olive Garden. Buyer Beware...

Well…..We stayed at a rental right next door…..I kept smelling it, couldn’t get the family on board, but after reading reviews along with the owner comments, watching the people, smelling the food all week…. Five stars! Can’t please everyone, but it seems clear they’re trying….I’ll try to stop by in a few weeks when we return to validate my suspicions and feast on some great Italian food.

*edit 3/6.... we are staying nearby again, planned on dinner/takeout tonight based on reviews... cleared on Sunday!!! !!! Trying again soon, lol. To be continued...

*edit 3/7... it's been damn near impossible just to place an order... after 4 calls with no answer... On the fifth call, we were placed on hold, after 30 min,we decided to walk the wild on hold, they picked up right before we got to the door... so... we're at a 40min wait... no problem really, just made it very difficult to order food... we just want to give you our money!! So.... hopefully the food is good... we'll find out soon hopefully!

---after feast.... well worth the hassle, i can't say enough good things about the chicken picatta, the bread with goat.... mmmmm. support staff could use a little work but that's everywhere.. amazing food chef... thank you

Also my iPad is making it impossible to correct my grammar above. I give up.

Long story short…. Lola is...

Recap of our experience here ... Went for a reservation (2 kids 2 adults). As we open the door to walk in, the hostess cuts through the open door and forces us to step out of the way and hold the door for a party she was seating which is a really strange lack of manners to be presenting as customers walk through your doors.

Took a while for the hostess to then acknowledge us and work through the party of 2 waiting ahead of us to tell them they need a reservation. Restaurant was in no way busy inside at this time, maybe half capacity inside and only a couple tables sat on the patio.

Finally seated outside and after a bit of no contact from any staff, they sat another couple next to us. The outdoor low tables are improperly spaced out so you end up practically touching the people next to / behind your group which is unnecessarily awkward. After a while, their waitress returned for drink orders, then again to deliver the drinks, and then take their orders. Still nobody to be seen for our table of course...

We left at this point because we weren't interested in waiting till tomorrow to...