Carpenter Street — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Lola’s Restaurant and Bar is easy to find and sits just off Randolph St. in the West Loop (we definitely appreciated avoiding the congestion on Randolph on a Friday night!) The statement-blue “Lola’s” awnings on the front of the building are easy to identify. Surprisingly, there is plenty of inexpensive street parking right on Carpenter St. through the ParkChicago app.

Upon entering the restaurant, we peeked through a luxe red velvet curtain and arrived to the artful setting, exposed brick walls, upbeat tempo of atmospheric music, and welcoming face of our hostess. She quickly seated 5 of us at a spacious table whilst my husband fiddled with his parking app. It just so happened that the owners of Lola’s were sitting by the entrance when we arrived, when one of the most amazing displays of hospitality occurred! The credit card associated with my husband’s parking app had expired, so he was quickly trying to update his payment profile when one of the owners came right up to him and said, “I’ll take care of that” and dashed outside to read our license plate and pay for the parking personally on his own app! What a welcoming!

Upon being seated, we were offered our choice of beverages. While most in our group ordered from the extensive selection of sparkling and other wines, I was intrigued with the variety of “zero proof” beverages (that can be spiked upon request). I highly recommend the Tropical Turmeric & Ginger Old Fashioned. The fresh ingredients are amazing, including the giant, square orange blossom ice cube that gives the drink a warm orange glow and mild sweetness that balances out the tangy turmeric and ginger flavors.

This is actually about the fourth or fifth time I’ve dined at Lola’s, and the main thing that keeps me coming back is the quality and freshness of the food. The menu has something for everyone. Although I’m not a strict vegetarian, I can attest that there are plenty of options for those who don’t eat meat, chicken, or fish. Bar none, my favorite thing on the menu is the Crispy Brussels & Sweet Potatoes, which melt in your mouth! Our table also enjoyed the Greek Chicken Skewers, which were surrounded by scrumptious home-made hummus that we all scooped up with the tasty, crisp, seeded crackers that accompanied this appetizer. The House Meatballs were also a hit—again, surrounded by a delicious marinara and served with large pieces of grilled bread for dipping.

For dinner I ordered Lola’s Salad with grilled chicken. It was a decadent portion filled with unexpected surprises like fresh cherry tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds, garbanzo beans, tidbits of spicy genoa salami, and zingy pickled peppers. I will be coming back for this one, which is a great choice for lunch or dinner. Definitely don’t skip the fresh parmesan on top!

Although we were satiated by all the great food, we couldn’t resist the dessert menu. We gleefully shared a giant, warm chocolate chip cookie served in a dinnerplate-sized cast iron pan, topped with a cool scoop of fresh vanilla ice cream. Our server did not disappoint by having individual plates, spoons, and even extra napkins at the ready!

All in all, Lola's is a great experience and an excellent value. Some of us brought our extra food home--I'm looking forward to leftovers and adding it to my favorites...

Oh my goodness—this place is an absolute gem! We headed in as a group of 5 for dinner on a Saturday night and we had an incredible experience!

The decor was carefully tailored, yet relaxed, and it created a great atmosphere to catch up with friends we have not seen in a long time and share many laughs.

We had Wally as our server—do yourself a favor and request him. He was so knowledgeable about the menu, made great recommendations, and was very attentive to the entire table. He made certain food was safe for one of the people in our group with a severe allergy.

We started out with delicious drinks. Between the group, we tried all three of the different old fashioneds on the menu as well as the cranberry mule. They were delicious and their unique take on the mule was refreshing.

For appetizers, we ordered the whipped ricotta and the shrimp cocktail. The whipped ricotta was rich and plenty. The shrimp cocktail was out of this world and you MUST order it. I’m not normally a shrimp cocktail person but this one has an amazing kick with the horseradish that I promise, you do not want to miss!

For entrees, we tried the pan roasted chicken, the loch duart Scottish salmon, the cheeseburger, and the steak frites between all of us. The chicken and steak frites were melt in your mouth perfection. The salmon was simple, yet flavorful. Honestly, it was likely the best salmon I’ve ever had. The cheeseburger was carefully crafted and far exceeded the high mark all Chicagoans have on the classic dish—this signature sauce on the burger was chef’s kiss.

As a side, our table ordered the rigatoni from the entree menu, and mixed in the meatballs from the appetizers list. This was per our server Wally’s recommendation and it hit the spot!

Although we were in a food coma, we somehow managed to order the New York style cheesecake for dessert. It was a great way to conclude our amazing experience at Lola’s. Thank you to Joe, Wally, and all of the amazing staff for such a treat on an evening out! We cannot wait...

Love this place — nails the staples, puts a ton of effort into sourcing the best clean ingredients, and never disappoints. It’s my local go to for hosting really anyone.

I love the brunch, the eggs are spectacular — best I’ve had outside of a farm. Waffle is wonderful, doesn’t even need syrup, whipped cream is fantastic + homemade.

The Club is probably the best executed sandwich I’ve had in Chicago, and likely my favorite traditional Club sandwich period. Turkey is clean, no cold cuts / nitrates, and generous portions, the bread really makes it, and the lettuce tomato bacon provide a nice smoky crunch. It’s so large that I usually just have half, save the other half — it’s a pretty great value.

The burger is also amongst the best in the city, a true smash burger — very crisp edges, perfect. The sauce is great, pickles are great — seem to be homemade dill, just work well on it. Very well executed, not a mess which I appreciate, and fries + aoli pair perfectly with it. Also a great value on happy hour menu.

Dinner, I have a few staples I frequent — the roasted chicken is phenomenal. Sauce is wonderful, and chicken is perfectly cooked everytime (which happens nowhere, frankly).

Salmon + Steaks + Pastas are all solid. Of note — I came w a vegetarian guest whom loved the Pasta #12 subbed with mushrooms, nobody left unhappy.

Salads also good (and enormous).

The Burrata is super underrated, the tomatoes are really the star there which is unusual but welcome, perfectly seasoned, works great w the Publican bread and balsamic.

See a lot of mention of cost — given the portions, and the quality I think it’s perfectly reasonable. If ingredient quality isn’t a priority, there’s always McDonald’s...