This has been on my ‘to try list’ for the better part of 2013. Many a time I swore to make a reservation but another restaurant always got in the way until I finally found myself here on Valentine’s day.

Lolla serves Mediterranean infused cuisine, mostly small plates meant for sharing . Part of the restaurant’s charm is its set up – they have an open concept kitchen where patrons are seated around a bar counter( limited to 13 seats) to watch chefs’ prepare their food.

Here are the things we had, in order of appearance.

1. Sea Urching Pudding (half portion)
Given that I am such a seafood fan, it was surprising that I did not enjoy this much. While I love uni and would gladly eat a whole plate , the overpowering sweetness of the squid ink pudding made it difficult to enjoy the dish.
That said, the uni was incredibly fresh and creamy and I loved it. Perhaps those with a sweeter tooth would take better to this.

2. Scrambled Eggs with Bottarga di Muggine (or grey mullet roe)
This was by far the best dish of the night. Yes, eggs are eggs. How good can they get? But these eggs were done flawlessly – creamy yet firm in the mouth. And the saltiness of the roe balanced it out perfectly. Never thought eggs could taste like this.

3. Grilled Squid
C enjoyed this but I found it pretty normal. Squid was grilled well , but the flavours were bland.

4. Lamb Cutlets
These were actually pretty good. Well seasoned, tender, juicy, you name it. Unfortunately, the price does not justify the value of this dish and I found myself wondering how many bowls of wan ton mee I could have for the same price.

5. Grass-fed Rib Eye steak
I was not impressed by this but then again I’ve had some incredible steaks in Paris ( and have been making unfair comparisons to that ever since). Granted my steak experiences are somewhat limited, but if we’re talking local, I believe the best steak I’ve had in Singapore is at Mortons. Don’t get me wrong, the steak at Lolla was decent, but nothing special.

Despite the portions being small, by the end of the night C and I were well fed. The food isn’t anything to shout about, but for someone who hasn’t been there – I would advise to go early to get a seat at the bar(Lolla does have seatings at the basement, but they don’t take reservations for the bar) .The experience of watching your food prepared in front of you is something else and the service is stellar. Of course, going there with people you love always makes the experience better and I had a lovely time on the whole.

(getting our steaks marinated)