LALA St. Pete — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

I’d like to start off stating that the bartender and the waitress that was working my wedding reception were amazing. Don’t ever book an event here even if they say they can do it. They can’t. The host, was horrible. The manager was worse. Both very unprofessional. Many months before my wedding on Oct 3rd, I went to LALA to confirm they would handle an event that was 30-35 people. They said absolutely. I booked for the rooftop. We called two times prior to the time of our celebration to make sure the umbrellas were open and that they were prepared for the rain. They stated twice that they have the umbrellas open and will make sure the rooftop will be prepared for my wedding. When my wedding party got there everything was wet. The umbrellas weren’t open. None of the tables were how they were supposed to placed. As my wedding party arrived they noticed another event outside, set up nicely and completely covered. They had a nice spread of food and everything was nice. The host then argued with my bridesmaids stating that they did not want the rooftop and said they wanted to use multiple karaoke rooms. (Which wasn’t true) As the bride I didn’t even know this was happening, my wedding party was trying their best to make the situation best. After arguing with my bridesmaids and said that “it’s just too busy for me to get more staff to wipe all of the rooftop off.” It was not that busy, my wedding was on a Thursday. Also my wedding party offered to wipe down the rooftop themselves and she still argued with them and then gave her own unneeded opinion stating the decor wouldn’t work anyways with the set up. In the end of arguing with her, she refused the rooftop and my wedding party gave up and accepted using three different karaoke rooms for my wedding reception. It was a struggle to even get a third room. She originally only wanted to give one room to fit, 30-35 people and food, in a single karaoke room. My mother had to agree with her to even get the extra rooms. Once we got the space, my wedding party was trying to get the decor upstairs. The host didn’t even help open a door or push an elevator button. She stood there and stared harshly doing nothing as my wedding party was struggling wedding with their arms full. The host wasn’t hospitable at all, she was rude and disrespectful. She never even congratulated the bride and groom. My guests didn't even have room to dance. My guests couldn’t even be in one room for my cake cutting. They had to go outside to go get any drinks.

Due to my wedding being nothing of what we discussed many months ago. I called the manager and the manager said that it was my wedding party whom insisted on the karaoke rooms and not the rooftop (which wasn’t true until they didn’t even offer the rooftop anymore). Kept repeating that they checked the cameras and stated the umbrellas were open. Yet my wedding party and others stated they were not open. It somehow ended up being the costumers/guests fault for their mistakes and horrible customer service. I got no apology and never a congratulations. I asked for even a partial refund and their response was “you paid for the food not the space and you indulged in the food and drinks so there is no refund of any sort.” With all the rude and unprofessional behavior the host nor the manager made me feel any better or offered any sort of relief. I even emailed them of what happened and they responded with a chat AI response, couldn’t even be a caring person. I won’t ever recommend this...

As of 10/21 I'm giving a 2/5 because of the awful experience my group and I had and how it was handled so far (will update if management gets back to us)

Food and drink quality was good and they have good gluten free options.

Overall service and treatment throughout our night took a serious turn for the worse.

My party of 4 arrived with about 2 hours until closing and we rented a private karaoke room. We all ordered food and drinks and started our karaoke as we were paying for the time. Our server, JJ, brought in the drinks and accidentally spilled the tray, completely soaking one of us. Her dress and shoes were covered in beer and she asked if they had any shirts she could change into which thankfully they did. Staff came in and hastily mopped the room leaving us with a sticky floor.

When JJ returned with replacement drinks he didn't have mine and was oddly hostile with me whenever I ordered things (like implying I didn't order my drink, not being helpful when I was trying to order an item and instead telling me such things didn't exist when I was trying to remember their specific drink names, and bringing the wrong drink). JJ also made a comment to my group that made us uncomfortable that was something along the lines of "at least you're not singing Pink Pony Club" which then made us self conscious about our song choices for the rest of our stay.

Upon checking out we were informed gratuity was already included. I don't mind this but do wish it was communicated at the start of our visit.

My friend who had her dress and shoes soaked didn't receive any apology or compensation so she inquired as we were leaving about said issue. She was met with negativity and our server came over and accused her friend of bumping into him and stated that he had it on camera. We were not trying to accuse him of any wrongdoing during this interaction and she was simply seeking some help with her clothing. The way JJ came up and accused us of wrongdoing was extremely off putting and upsetting. The mention of the camera was bizarre and made us even more uncomfortable. He also implied that she was lucky they weren't charging her for the shirt or the drinks that were spilled.

During this interaction another employee also made several jokes directed at my friend because she was wearing the bar's shirt. One was about her being a new employee and another was a comment about us needing to leave.

This was our first time visiting and based on the overall experience I would not return nor would I recommend this place to anyone. The food and drinks were decent but the service and treatment we experienced were a huge turn off. My other party member emailed management so I will update this review if there's any changes in the...

Hilariously Haute at LALA Karaoke, Cocktails & Caramelized Chaos

LALA is not just a restaurant it’s a French-Mediterranean culinary fever dream wrapped in karaoke and shaken in a cocktail glass with a basil sprig on top.

First off, I walked in thinking I was going to have a quiet dinner. Instead, I accidentally joined a table of strangers belting “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in a private karaoke room and somehow ended up with a Spicy Passion Margarita in one hand and a Duck Confit Linguini in the other. Life happens fast at LALA.

The cocktails? Dangerously good. The Steal My Sunshine lived up to its name I drank two and completely forgot where I parked my car. The LALA Midnight Martini had me wide awake and contemplating my life choices... in a good way. If espresso and tequila had a baby, this would be it, and I’m ready to adopt.

The menu? Absolute chaos in the best way. You want ribs with white cheddar popcorn on top? Done. Want a burger with brie cheese, red onions, fig spread, and a French accent? They’ve got it. There’s a risotto. There’s a red snapper with ratatouille like you're in a Pixar movie. There’s literally a section called "Between the Bread" which is how I describe my entire 20s.

Also, shout out to the Black Truffle Mac & Cheese. It's like if luxury got drunk at a music festival. The LALA’s Fries? I don’t know who seasoned them but I want them to season my life.

Pro tip: Order a cocktail, then walk around the menu like it’s an art gallery. You'll go from "I'm just here for drinks" to "Yes, I will try the Braised Bourguignon Short Rib and sing Celine Dion at full volume."

The vibes? Immaculate. The décor is bougie without being obnoxious. The servers are attractive and suspiciously good at multitasking — like delivering hot plates while dropping karaoke room mics and whispering wine recommendations with French flair.

The only downside? I didn’t bring a bigger stomach or a karaoke ballad.

Final verdict: LALA isn’t a restaurant. It’s a lifestyle. Come for the cocktails, stay for the duck confit, leave with a new appreciation for show tunes and charred octopus.

Bonus points for having a QR code for private karaoke room bookings—because nothing says “I’ve had three Aperol Spritzes” like screaming Shakira...