Lola Gaspar

Reviews 5

LE

Lex Lewicki

TL;DR: Amazing food, get a group of friends and go there now so you can order everything and get to taste it all. Also, fabulous drinks. Lola Gaspar was a delightful find for our group. A group of friends met up for beer at a The Good Beer Company and after a few tastes and a pint or two realized that we needed to eat. 4 of the 5 of us love tapas and so we decided to introduce our friend to the delights of tapas. Since none of us had ever been here we were a little apprehensive but we shouldnt have been. We walked over and the inside space was tiny and didnt seem to have room for our group but the outside was empty and the heaters were on. Im usually the one who objects to eating outside because I get cold quickly but even I was fine. After looking over the menu, we asked our waitress what we should expect in portions for several of the items because different tapas places vary on amount of food delivered as it is expected to be shared. I should have taken a picture of the menu so I could remember everything we ordered but honestly, everything was great. We didnt have a single bite that was mediocre or sub par. The chips and guacamole were delicious and the two salsas that came with; one was slightly sweet and the other more smoky, chipotle style. We went through guacamole quickly and added the other salsas to different dishes. The nacho fries were easily one of the favorites of the night with several people making noises about ordering a second if we had room in our stomachs which we didnt. We also ordered the dates and I really wanted a second order of those. The steak make-your-own tacos were my favorite of the tacos but others loved the prawn and short rib better. I dont remember what the third order of tacos contained other than pork but they were apparently delicious also as a second plate of those were ordered. For desert we ordered the pot de creme and the bread pudding and neither lasted long although I think the bread pudding won the dessert round. As for drinks, great cocktails, beer and wine. A well rounded drink menu to make everyone happy.

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IM

Imran Mukati

So this was a tough one to write ... but here goes. We were all excited to eat here as we read all the good reviews online! Unfortunately, by the end of the night we realized the best thing about most of the dishes were the plates they were on. Now you might think thats harsh, its not. When going to a restaurant that has supposedly real 1,500 Yelp reviews avg-Ing 4/5 stars you expect at least something to wow your taste buds instead of feeling like we were at an Applebees! :/. We ordered the following: mushroom tacos (prob best thing they have), shrimp/pork tacos (oily mess!!), beef barbacoa taquitos (egh is what comes to mind here), steamed mussels (fishiest tasting dish without any sort of flavor, def not fresh), guacamole (something forgettable), chicken relleno (not bad flavor overall, but chicken was a bit chewy), and last but not least natural American Cheeseburger with fries (thought that comes to my mind here is did I make this at home and forget that it was on the grill?!! Meat had zero flavor and they tried to mask it with a useless array of sauces!!). I wouldve given them 1 star here but because of decent service we had, & the fact that Ive owned multiple restaurants in the past and know how hard it is to run a place and make good unique tasting food, 2 stars makes sense. They are trying here but seriously they need to try harder as most people who can see good food from forgettable food will stop coming here. p.s. Oh also, for what we had above with two drinks, it shouldnt have been a $160 meal. If thats what they demand from us patrons than we demand they make better food!

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SA

Sally Elbassir

I have maybe been to Santa Ana twice in my lifetime, but there are obviously quite a few gems that Im missing out on! My friend and I came here after mistakenly attempting to go The Playground on a Saturday night sans reservations. Since that obviously didnt work out, we went to our second choice, Lola Gaspar. Located in a little cluster of restaurants in a pedestrian-only plaza and no name, I had to rely on handy google maps to help me find it. But once I did, I was lucky enough to find metered parking across the street and a table for two. The service was really great! Our waitress was friendly and attentive. I ordered the steak with chimichurri and my friend ordered the mac and cheese. I do have to comment that their tap water tasted really gross. Im not a snob about water but it was noticeably bad tasting- to the point that I ordered a soda instead. The mac and cheese was really good. Heavy, but cheesy and well-seasoned. My friend had plenty of leftovers. My steak was really, really good. Juicy and the sauce was amazing. I ate very bite. The fries were a bit disappointing, and I was especially sad that they didnt have the duck confit fries. The waitress couldnt bring me ranch for some reason because she said its reserved for salad only...weird. Other than that, service was great and prices were pretty decent. The menu is eclectic and changes seasonally, so its nice to know that I can go back and try something totally different!

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KI

Kim L

Overall experience: 3.5 stars HH: 3-6:30 pm Mon-Fri $3 sangrias and $5 taco plates and $5 taco plates after 10 pm Mon-Fri. Smoked bacon wrapped dates stuffed with bleu cheese (one of the best dishes that night) 9 pts Lamb ribs - had way too much sauce on it & didnt have any palenta that was supposed to come with it 5 pts Fish tacos - thick pieces & yummy but has a spicy kick to it. 9 pts Shrimp tacos- yummy but did not have enough shrimp 7 pts Calamari- great presentation but a bit salty. 8 pts. The Duck Fat Fries that everyone raves about are NOT available on the menu because they are always changing their menu depending on the season. Boo.. -1 They should just keep the popular food items on the menu & rotate the others. Good ambiance but the inside seating arrangement & space is very small. Sangria is a good tasty drink here that many ladies would like Yummy..its good to order the pitcher (better deal) when you have more than 2 people 9.5 pts Inside space is a lot smaller than I expected. I felt rather cramped here. -1 Service was good here, waitress was attentive & nice +1 Parking: street/ metered / structured parking... good luck with finding free street parking on weekends / busy hours. ;) FYI, call to RSVP if you don;t want to wait long for a table during busy hours. =)

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TR

Trina D.

I stopped by for happy hour. Who can beat $3 sangrias and $5 taco plates?!! The ambiance is laid back but hip. My bartender was prepping the mint for the evening. Music was pulsating with a Spanish vibe. A great place in the midst of the Santa Ana art district. Fun for a date or just drinks with friends. Happy hour is 3-6:30 pm Mon-Fri and they also have $5 taco plates after 10pm Mon-Fri. The sangria hit the spot with its ice-cold fruity notes. The carne asada tacos are fun with cliantro, onions, salsa served on-the-side. Slightly on the chewy side, but for $5, not bad. Up next, the duck fries were covered in cheese, green tomatillo sauce and yummy goodness. We also ordered the banana bread pudding which is fried in a skillet. Its topped off with whipped cream and blueberries. Each bite was like a little taste of heaven. The mojitos are every bit as refreshing as you can imagine. Definitely a great place to hang out with some friends. Worth a trip for happy hour.

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