Jeff O.
Yelp
Before stopping by Lulla, if I'd known what I know now, I'm not sure I'd ever have given it a chance. I'd been lured to the 1-year-old restaurant by cursory glances at its Yelp page and website, and in my haste, I completely overlooked a big red flag: Lulla is inside a Hilton.
That probably sounds really pretentious, but don't get me wrong: I'm a fan of Hilton for business travel (I even have the Hilton Honors app), and I can't remember ever having a bad meal at any of its properties. But I also can't remember anything about any of the meals I've had at its properties -- they've all been simply satisfactory, lacking anything distinctively good or bad to leave a lasting memory.
And I could say the same thing about restaurants at Hilton's fellow mid-priced hotel chains. The dining options at those chains have come a long way since the days when it was still considered a big selling point to offer complimentary continental breakfasts, aka toast and honeydew melon and maybe some scrambled eggs or bacon strips that had spent more time under heat lamps than Tan Mom.
Those improvements, however, have only occurred after decades of mediocrity, and reputations for dismal dining don't disappear overnight. That's why I still can't imagine going out for dinner at a Hilton or comparable hotels, even though I've gone to great lengths to score restaurant reservations at many boutique and luxury lodges around Manhattan, e.g., Koloman at the Ace Hotel or The Bazaar at the Ritz-Carlton.
But as I said, I was blissfully ignorant until I arrived at Lulla. Upon my arrival, when I realized Lulla was inside a Hilton "micro-hotel" called Motto, I did pause and hesitate, but I decided to forge ahead, partly because of Lulla's comfortable vibe -- it's got a spacious bar/lounge that opens up to a big patio, and it feels like an oasis in a busy Manhattan neighborhood that's sort of a no-man's-land, not quite Flatiron or Chelsea or NoMad or anywhere else. (I used to work in this neighborhood and was endlessly fascinated by its high-low juxtaposition of grand, historically significant buildings occupied by places like Old Navy and Marshalls.)
Anyway, aside from Lulla's pleasant ambiance, I was also compelled to continue because of the main reason I came in the first place: the "aperitivo box," basically an antipasti bento box that's less adorable than its Japanese counterpart but certainly no less appetizing. From 3pm-7pm, the box is $26, a $12 discount off the usual price. It serves two, and everything inside is so delicious that you'd be fighting for the last bites with your fellow box-enjoyer -- but only if the portions were small, and happily, they're quite generous.
The box is customizable to some extent, e.g., they let me swap out the nduja crostini and pork meatballs for extra focaccia and roasted fingerlings. And for people like my wife and me -- those with fairly light appetites and a fondness for variety -- it's a complete and compelling meal. Even the simplest-sounding items in the box, such as giardiniera and olives, were elevated with abundant herbs (both dried and fresh), bold acidity from citrus and vinegar, and a spicy kick that'll impress lovers of heat (such as yours truly) and probably be a bit too bold for others (such as my wife).
I also came away surprised by the execution on the aforementioned fingerlings, which were craggy and crisp without being dried out, and the panzanella salad, which had chubby little orbs of mozz and croutons that somehow stayed crisp for a couple of hours after being bathed in a punchy vinaigrette. Similarly, a slice of ciabatta remained fresh and crisp long after it'd been generously smeared with ricotta (which, speaking of spicy kicks, had been sprinkled with vibrantly red Aleppo pepper).
Ultimately, I can't quite say that I'm ready to plan a date night at this Hilton restaurant. But I can say I'd definitely return for the aperitivo box, and maybe even for a work gathering, and that thanks to Lulla, the idea of a Hilton restaurant suddenly seems very different to me.
