The Lola Cocktail Lab and Eatery in Hoboken, NJ

When The Lola cocktail Lab and Eatery opened in Hoboken, I was curious to try it, wondering if the notion of cocktail lab would take precedent over the eatery concept. The place is big, with two main areas: the main dining room that surrounds the large bar, and a second dining room, more cozy and slightly quieter.

They have lots of cocktails (loved the espresso martini that was not my first choice: I wanted the egg nog that was on their Winter cocktail list, but they could not make it), but it is the food that made me want to go back there, less than a week later, for Valentine’s Day, where, we had a wonderful meal for just $45 that I thought was a great deal, restaurant lowering often the quality of their dishes for days like this or even restaurant week.

For our first meal there, we started with the crispy bites that was composed of fried zucchini, fried cauliflower and sweet potato tater tots. Good, not greasy and delightfully crunchy, it was a bit one dimensional though and could have been better if one of the elements were replaced by mozzarella sticks for instance.

For her main, Jodi got the “Farm Lover”, a charred cauliflower, served with eggplant, sautéed mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes in a sweet cherry wine reduction. Great dish, very hearty, it was quite tasty.

On my side, I went for the baby back ribs that were served with pickled onions, coleslaw and truffle and rosemary fries. I loved the rustic presentation on a butcher block and the half stack of ribs was big! Smothered with a whisky BBQ sauce, the meat was literally falling off the bone: I loved it! The fries, although a bit too salty, were deliciously crispy. For $24, I though this was a really good deal.

Dessert was a bit disappointing: we chose the Oreo cheesecake: the cheesecake itself was good, but they drizzled some caramel on top of it and put some chocolate icing that made it too sweet. Fortunately, the vanilla ice cream helped cut the sweetness.

Oreo cheesecake at The Lola Cocktail Lab and Eatery in Hoboken, NJ

So, then, as I mentioned before, we went back for Valentine’s Day. They had a menu for $45 that had appetizer, entree and dessert. Cocktails were additional and I went for one of their creation for the occasion: the chocolate strawberry martini that was pretty good and well balanced, strawberry and chocolate working well together.

For appetizers, Jodi got the mozzarella sticks and I got the fried calamari. When the dishes came, I was surprised by the portions that were bigger than expected for a prix-fixe menu. Both were a good start: not greasy, the mozzarella sticks were gooey and the calamari perfectly cooked, not chewy at all.

For her main, Jodi got the penne a la vodka that was also a large portion, very good, while I opted for the ribeye that was served with rosemary mashed potatoes and sautéed broccoli. Topped with some herbed butter, the meat was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy. This was amazing!

For dessert, we decided to try their chocolate lava cake and the plain cheesecake. Both were good, but the lava cake was superb, the melted chocolate oozing from the center.

Both dinners were great! The Lola Cocktail Lab and Eatery is an exciting addition to the Hoboken restaurant scene. I am curious to try their ribeye outside of the pre-fixe to see if the quality was identical. So, yes, I’ll be back!

Enjoy (I did)!

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The Lola Cocktail Lab and Eatery - 102 Sinatra Dr, Hoboken, NJ 07030

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