Lola's Bistro Key West — Restaurant in Key West

There are certain restaurants that exist more to be showcases of what the craft can do rather than be somewhere you arrive hungry, eat food you’d rather not attempt to make yourself at home, and leave full. Not to say you’d leave Lola’s hungry- this would be an intentional act by you if you did- but as you watch the chef prep in the same room while the host/hostess reads you the dishes he’d decided would be best that day, it becomes very apparent that it will be a dining experience led by someone creative enough to offer an ever changing list of food at you, as is custom, and confident enough to know that whatever he throws at you will be worth your while.

I’ve been there three times, so disclaimers from chef himself: it’s cash and Venmo only. There are ATMs and it’s a walkable island. It’s also BYOB: red wine is the safest bet, but your lone task is finding booze in near center Key West. You’ll figure it out. Reservations you call in for, justifiably tough to get: it’s small. It’s intimate without encroaching on the next party. And it ain’t trying to wrangle your bachelor party at Irish Kevin’s only to find they’ve called it an early night: people wait outside for their own, confirmed reservation, let alone asking for cancellations. If you can’t make it, call ‘em at let ‘em know. Half the island wants your table.

Feels weird even being close to half adamant when the entirety of the experience is designed to be pleasant. Friendly staff direct you through the walls lined with jettisoned outings holding lit candles like a sacred place in Babylon. If you have the 6 PM seating, you hear the grills and all else start up. If the 8 PM, the same with a brief wait for smiling patrons to exit. There is no Pandora jazz station playing at Volume 6 when 5 would do here to try to set the mood. There is no maître d who tells you what the “chef’s specials” are that night, conveniently the same as the night before: again, it is what the chef decides, and you better believe there’s a reason for that decision. What is there is you, the company you choose, the drinks you may have chosen, the deep exhale while contemplating how many of the wonderful dishes available that night you feel you could physically handle, and your own relaxation as the chef preps some of the best singular dishes you’ll find in Key West and, even hard pressed, most everywhere.

But the true reason I’m doing this, aside from me obviously loving the place and knowing any review helps any place nowadays, is to simply acknowledge that this is a place run by someone who, in front of a full house, in front of a half full house, in front of you and you alone saying you “could eat something right now”, would operate the same way and hold himself to the same standard. You are getting nothing but his best each time and should book without hesitancy. You’ll have plenty of options in Key West, but you’ll be hard pressed to find somewhere that cares as much as this place does.

The last dish I was served from him was his banana’s dessert, essentially lightly fried in a cream base. I’ve been told magicians don’t tell their secret to the trick. When we asked for the recipe, he told it all to us. The consistency of the fruit, the temperature the pan should be, the right ingredients of the cream base: nothing was left out of the entire take home instructions. It is one thing to be enthralled by a master of the craft, once, and to leave happy not knowing. It is another thing to have them to be brave enough to work directly in front of you, performing different acts each time, and even when revealing, knowing it is their original design and awaiting your own versions when attempted, most assuredly gratefully. For now, though, you may as well get the recipe yourself while enjoying a meal at one of the best the Keys...

😂😂 just read the owner responses to my review and make your own decision on if you want to support a business that speaks to people this way. Amazing. —————————

I felt compelled to write a long winded review, which I never do and have no joy in doing so but here we go….I had high expectations for this restaurant but it was an awkward and disappointing experience for my husband and I to say the least. First off, as soon as we were invited in by the maitre d, we were told we were being sat next to each other, which at the time I said OK and didn’t want to make a fuss bc I thought it would be a packed house. Well, being sat next to each other as a couple is not preferred for most, plus we were RIGHT in front of the hot grill. I could feel the heat coming off of the kitchen. We were both uncomfortable so we agreed that I would ask if there was another option for us (there were 2 open tables) which is even more confusing bc I don’t know why they would sit anyone there when it was not necessary. I went up to the maitre d (after trying to get his attention before having to stand up) and said “excuse me” and even though he saw me standing in the middle of the small dining room he continued to address and talk to another table, so I stood their waiting awkwardly and when he was done he proceeded to ignore me and walk past me so I had to say “excuse me” a second time! I was completely baffled. I asked to move tables for reasons already stated and he asked me “why” with an attitude and then literally just sat us at the table directly next to us which was NO problem at all and we much more comfortable. Again, flabbergasted as to why this was ever an issue to begin with. Also- it is BYOB so we brought a bottle of white and a bottle of red. We started with the white and noticed that another table was immediately brought a chiller for their bottle, we waited a good 10 minutes before we had to ask for one.

So- the vibe was already ruined for us. We kept on and made the best of it but I was annoyed and just confused to be honest. There were many delicious options to choose from. We got the wild boar and lobster for appetizers which were amazing. My husband got the filet mignon which he loved but unfortunately my duck was very salty and underwhelming. The portions are also very big, wasnt expecting that. The dessert was very good- carrot cake and NY cheesecake.

The woman who explained the menu and took the orders was lovely. The man, not even sure who he was or if he was the owner but he was so rude and ruined the entire experience for us, I have been looking forward to trying this restaurant for a while but we were unfortunately dealt this experience. All of this being said, I wouldn’t tell people to not try this restaurant. It’s different and cool and romantic. Watching the chef cook was enjoyable. Just wanted to give a fair warning and express my dissatisfaction. Hoping that other people don’t have the same experience as we did.

Response to owner;

I guess you have trouble comprehending. My main complaint was the maitre d and the overall hospitality. I have more complaints but I chose to leave those out, I don’t like bashing any small business. From reading a number of your responses to any review that did not leave a perfect 5 stars, you are very immature and unprofessional. This restaurant and experience is not perfect and seems like you need to learn to take constructive criticism. Looking forward to never coming back or recommending this restaurant. Very pretentious and ego driven...

UPDATE to owner response: I have not ever posted wonderful comments about you. I don’t know what it is about your oversized ego that you just don’t get the point of what customers are saying: the numerous directives to be quiet before you even enter a restaurant are off-putting, and quite frankly, bizarre. So is your obsession with insulting your guests. Why are you even responding during meal service? Shouldn’t you be patrolling the restaurant for loud talkers?

Against my better judgment, I dined here for the second time a few weeks ago, because it was a friend’s birthday. Big mistake. HUGE. Before our party was granted entry into the restaurant, we were sternly told four times that we must keep our voices down. The man then looked at us admonishingly. I felt like I was in the principal’s office. Did we understand that? Yep. We all have IQs in the triple digits. Got it. That was the dark cloud that hung over the entire meal. Before the Grand Master responds to this, I’ll be clear: we knew to expect high prices. We are a group of professional adults who enjoy both low and high-end dining experiences. But come on! High prices should equate with the overall dining experience. We have all had much better times, and food, at places that are less fancy. The Grand Master believes that if the food is good, you must suffer for his art. The response to reviews that are less than 5 stars sound like a petulant child. But, some would argue, that’s what chefs are. If you want to call yourself a bistro, then you should at the very least write the night’s menu on a chalkboard. You know, like they do in actual bistros. To rush people into ordering their entire meal at once, with no mention of, say, whether a starter is big enough to share? You’re just ripping people off. There’s a reason almost all restaurants have a front of the house, and a back of the house. We dined frequently at Off the Hook, which was located in this space prior to Lola’s. There was NEVER a problem with noise in the room. NEVER asked to keep our voices down. The kitchen was not in the front of the house. I guess those wonderful chef/owners didn’t need adulation from the customers to feed their ego. The owner will respond and say I’m cheap, blah blah blah. They will get plenty of tourists to fill seats. Which is great, because us locals, we really prefer to dine where locals dine, where we are treated with respect, with friendliness, where we are welcomed. There are plenty of places on this island that do just that. So, see ya. PS, we were never asked during the meal to be quiet. As we were leaving, we talked to a couple of guys at a table who were. We never had a problem with that, or any other...