Lolo

Went with some friends and had a lovely evening. I especially liked the baked beetroot tart, the watermelon salad and the devilled eggs. The white negroni was delicious and we also had a lovely red wine recommended by our host Renato - thank you, we‘ll be back.

I went to the restaurant with friends, but honestly not impressed, the restaurant itself looks good but the food is very very NORMAL. It is poorly flavored and the portion is very small. The cocktail is also very bland and feels like there is only ice in it. In general I would not go again. And it is too noisy inside the restaurant.

We went to Lolo in Bermondsey for a weekend lunch. We had a reservation but honestly didn’t need it, the place wasn’t very full. The restaurant itself is nicely decorated and feels comfortable, but sadly that’s about where the positives end. I really wanted to like this place, but the food just didn’t deliver. Everything felt overpriced for what it was, and the cocktails were weak and forgettable. The guy who looked after us was incredibly friendly though, so at least service was lovely. For starters, the Tuna empanada with parsley salad was a complete miss. The crust was flavourless, the filling was dry, and there was so little tuna you wouldn’t know it was there. The Pan con tomato verde with Manchego looked fun and different, but again, it tasted bland with only a faint sourness to it. The Burrata with escalivada and basil was the only thing I actually enjoyed. The cheese was top quality and the sauce was delicious. For mains, we had the Presa Ibérica with confit pepper, which was priced by weight. Ours came out to 380g. The seasoning was good and the flavour was fine, but the meat was chewy. The baby potatoes with rosemary had zero rosemary flavour, and the green beans with toasted almonds were such a tiny portion it was almost comical. I ordered the Bellamie Spritz (sour cherry liqueur, cava, fever tree soda, olives). It sounded great on paper but just tasted watery and dull. The total came to £184.53, or £61.51 per person, which felt way too steep for what we got. Sadly, I wouldn’t recommend it or go back myself. If you’re in the area, just head next door to their original spot, José, instead.

We had a great meal at Lolo. The atmosphere was great for a date night, and it seemed like most of the clients were first dates or married date nights. Imaginative dishes made it interesting. We had carpaccio of courgette, tuna empanadas, beef shin ragu, pa am tomaquet verde, and a baby gem salad. All delicious. The wine seemed quite expensive, but overall moderate price for this quality. The service was generally good, but it seems that they were short-handed, so the service was slightly delayed, and the host seemed a bit frazzled. Handled pretty gracefully, though. Probably much better on other nights.

Perfection - yet another jewel in José's crown. Gorgeous, refined yet relaxed atmosphere. Brilliant cocktails and an interesting wine list. The menu is varied with a few JP favourites sprinkled in - each dish we tried was better than the last, the tartare and presa were standouts. Service is excellent.

Restaurant manager (Luca) is rude, shushing kids and raising voice at them when parents are present. This is unacceptable behaviour. Dear Luca, as a next step, maybe suggest restricting kids in your restaurant at all. This was our second time and the last one. Interesting fact about this restaurant is that they never respond to negative reviews.

When the bread is good, that is typically a promise of more good things to come. And indeed, that proved to be the case at Lolo: Spanish cuisine with one leg in Europe and one leg in North-Africa. What we had from the menu was all simple in its components, but the end result was really impressive in flavours, textures, and looks; what seems simple is not easy, but it came together in Lolo. The wine list was highly adequate; the beer lover had good options as well. Lovely service. Well recommend if one is prepared for London prices. Tiny point regarding the bill - please be mindful that V Pay did not run in our case.

The deco is pretty nice. The food is a bit normal, flavour-wise. Panne cotta is pretty nice.