Lola's Garden — Restaurant in Lower Merion Township

I was here on Saturday, 12/14. I would give it 3.5 stars. if possible. The .5 is based on the interior decoration and bathrooms. The food and service are not as impressive.

Visited around 1 PM for brunch with family--party of five. Among us we ordered a chicken sandwich, French toast, burger, and several appetizers. The biscuits were burnt at the top. Whether this was the intended style is hard to say. However, I was not impressed with their flavor or presentation. I have had biscuits in the Nashville area (Loveless Diner and Arnold's) where they are heavenly. These were similar to Pillsbury or another store bought item. Very unimpressive. I ordered the fried chicken sandwich, which was fair but not too far off from a fast food chicken sandwich. It did not seem worthy of the restaurant atmosphere. I also had a hot chocolate. It was comparable to one from Starbucks, i.e. good. The group of us ordered a a fruit and cheese plate with figs that was good!

Interior: I thought the Christmas/holiday decorations were very pretty. We all thought the music was a little too loud. The bathrooms are unisex and long line of individual stalls with sinks. I guess interesting. I liked the full length mirror outside of them. Useful.

Finally, the service. None of us were impressed. We were ignored for periods at at time. Our food took long to come out (we had to inquire about it) and came out cold. I suppose it sat around for awhile before making it to us. And our waiter never refilled ANY of our water glasses or cracked a smile. He wasn't around enough to make the request. Also, we had a birthday person in our party and the servers did not sing to her, which may be customary. But he did offer a complementary ice cream that was very good. He was not entirely unpleasant, but friendly goes a long way when the food is boring.

Personally, I will not be returning due to the food more than because of the service. The prices were fair for the area and portion size, but I'm sure better places exist with friendlier service.

It was also not that busy. Multiple tables were empty. So the neglect did not seem to be due to the high volume. We did not make a complaint to try to keep the mood high for our birthday person, but it warranted some criticism. Hence the negative post. Overall, avoid the biscuits and expect sub-par wait service based on other...

They say 3 times is a charm and this third time proved that Lola's Garden is totally worth it! The first 2 issues weren't biggies but just don't let the hostess schedule you for a Monday dining experience because apparently the restaurant is closed on Mondays.

Lola's is part of the same restaurant group as Morgan's Pier and Harper's Garden and you can tell - the garden aesthetic is beautiful! Plenty of seating both indoor & outside (apparently this is currently the largest outdoor space in the area).

It's Ardmore Restaurant Week, and I normally don't take advantage of the special because it never seems to be worthwhile. Nevertheless, Lola's definitely delivered (only $30 for 3 courses) and didn't skimp with reduced portions - woohoo! Each course got better and better:

Burrata Cheese & Baby Beets app was good Pan Roasted Cod was flaky, buttery & big...and the sauce & garnishment were delightful! Seasonal Fruit Tart surprisingly won me over considering I'm a chocoholic and there aren't any chocolate desserts currently offered (hoping they expand the menu soon to include chocolate dessert...I need it in my life! Lol).

Other people in my party ordered Roasted Free Bird Chicken Breast which was tender & crisp at the top with stew sauce, olives & zucchini AND the Grilled Duck Breast was juicy and "never had duck this tender" lol.

Our server Katie was great! Very attentive to our needs and questions while providing thorough explanations. For instance, she advised that only PA liquors are currently served while they work on securing a more expansive liquor license. Also the AMAZING part about the drinks is that every cocktail is on draft - so you can taste before you commit!

Great food. Great vibes (both The Internet & Solange played overhead). Great time and looking forward to dining again (next time will be for brunch because that menu has the nerve to look even more...

Dinner expectations high; meal results very low, at Lola's Garden.

On June 28, 2022, a friend and I decided to have dinner at Lola's Garden. For me, it was the first time I had eaten dinner there.  I had eaten lunch from there twice; the first time I had a salad, and the second time a sandwich, and both were good. Based on my past experience, and recommendations from friends, my expectations for dinner were very high. We sat in the patio pavilion, enjoying the beautiful weather. I ordered two appetizers, the Crispy Shrimp and the Crispy Potato Latkes. For my main course, I ordered the Crispy Duck Confit Leg. To my surprise, my appetizers and entrée were delivered at the same time. I was quite hungry, so that didn't matter too much. I tasted the Latkes first and my immediate reaction was disappointment. They were lukewarm at best, and had the flavor and consistency of the Tater Tots served at my childhood school cafeteria.  Next, I tried the "Crispy" Shrimp, which were anything but crispy; in fact, they were soggy and lukewarm.  Also, they were popcorn shrimp; if I wanted crispy popcorn shrimp that were hot (not lukewarm), I would have been better off going to Popeyes. Finally, I tried the "Crispy" Duck Confit, which was also lukewarm, not crispy, and the meat was dry and flavorless. What I couldn't understand is how they managed to dry out a duck leg. Duck Confit prepared properly should have crispy skin, and be tender and juicy on the inside. They missed the mark on both counts. My suggestion to anyone choosing to dine at Lola's is to stick with the sandwiches and salads; look elsewhere for a hot entree. If I had to rate my meal on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, 5 being the best, I would have to rate this meal a 1 star. Using the same scale, rating the setting and staff, I would...