Lola - An American Bistro — Restaurant in New Ulm

I love the idea behind Lola's -- dishes with locally sourced ingredients, a creative culinary twist on otherwise traditional comfort food, and a relaxed atmosphere. In all my visits to Lola's over the years, I have had a few positive dining experiences; one being Monday a couple weeks ago. In fact, I was so encouraged by it that I invited a couple other people to give it another try with me this past weekend; one last hail Mary if you will. Unfortunately, it was an experience that left us all feeling underwhelmed and disappointed; it was reminiscent of the extremely long wait times, poorly timed table service, and inadequate food temperatures that had turned all 3 of us off of Lola's in the past.

We waited over 50 minutes for lunch. I can appreciate the signage on the tables which does warn of longer wait times due to each plate being "made to order". However, I think it would yield a more positive experience and be a courtesy to your customers to let them know an anticipated wait time at the time they place/pay for the order; alleviating unnecessary frustration by setting the expectation from the jump.

I'm sorry, but there is simply no excuse for cold or room temperature food. My soup, while flavored very well, was room temperature at best. Keeping soup piping hot is not difficult. Another person I was with had soggy, warm-ish fries, and the other had the ribeye dinner; every item, cold. It had clearly been sitting for quite some time. Additionally, we ordered an "Appetizer" and specifically said we wanted it as a starter. Admittedly, It should have been obvious to us after the 50 minutes that they weren't bringing it ahead of the meal. This was the only item that was an appropriate temperature.

Lastly, I had the special -- a tuna croissant with my soup. I have pictured it below; i cannot imagine this is what it was supposed to look like. There should be triple or quadrupal the tuna salad on this...or how about a slice of tomato or maybe even just some greens on it? My lunch with the cup of salad, cup of soup, and this depressing small croissant, was $14. I honestly felt ripped off, but I didn't feel like I could say anything because of the 50 minutes and the fact that I had already paid.

I really really want Lola's to thrive in our community and Im sure I will give it another try to see if it has improved in the future, but these things need some serious attention. I think a more streamlined menu and more transparency with customers could go a long way. There is potential for Lola's to be more than just a lunch place people settle for because of familarity and dwindling options; it could be truly...

I'm a truck driver and got sent to deliver cream to the AMPI plant in New Ulm and while waiting to be called to enter the bay, I decided to explore the great small town and eventually decided to dine in at the Lola bistro (a block away from the plant) and I had a fantastic experience here both with the food and great customer service. About an hour into my meal, I was called to pull into the bay for unloading so I had to leave very quickly to pull my truck in and I was gone for at least 10 minutes and didn't tell the staff I had to leave in an hurry so I thought for sure they would've seen me gone, assume I'd finished eating and picked up the mess I left behind. I returned and my stuff was still there (thankfully) and I explained my situation to the cashier who totally understood and was kind enough to let me finish my meal as well as get a to-go box for my leftovers. I decided to order again (to-go this time) because the food was absolutely delicious and fresh. It's a shame I couldn't finish it un-interrupted (interrupted by the plant calling me) the first time but I'm glad I got some food for my journey back. I would definitely recommend this bistro to any truck driver or traveler who is looking for a local place to eat because here the food is delicious (and my meals were prepared in less than 15 minutes) and the staff are extremely kind, as well as the locals. 5 stars all the way for the...

I've always visited this place on the weekends but today I decided to visit due to I'm on vacation. Lady ( no name tag on) came to take my order first words out of her mouth were what do u want I spent about 15 secs deciding she then decided to turn around and walk away, I then let her know I would let her know when i was ready took me 5 secs to decide I then let her know i was ready she gave a big sigh like she was busy doing somthing else and didn't care after about another 20 secs she finally came back over and ask what i wanted ( very snarkie) and customer service skills were lacking in asked for the mushroom pepperjack scramble she goes well that's not today's choice (very snarkie) I then said to her that we have been coming here for a long time (years) and they always let us choose what scramble we wanted didn't matter what was on for that day. I also then asked her for a lemon bar and to please heat it up. As I waited she told me she would bri g it out with my food. 2 minutes later she brings me out my lemon bar and of course it's cold not heated at all. When my food came out I asked the young man who was the cook what her name was he told me Vicki. My food btw was delicious. Compliments to the cooks who made it. Please teach Vicki some customer service skills so I will come back, as of...