Located in the Downtown West End, Lolita’s is a new take on Mexican cuisine. Chef Shelome Bouvette offers a Canadian-influenced Mexican menu, with regional ingredients such as pacific cod, wild B.C. salmon, and local albacore tuna. On a side note, Lolita has devoted to the use of Oceanwise seafood in all of their handmade dishes.
Walking into Lolita, you will find yourself entering a tropical paradise. According to the restaurant’s website, they aim to have us transported to the south of border. Aside from the decoration, the high energy and excitement definitely transferred us somewhere due to the loud dance music in the background. As for the atmosphere, it was cozy and intimate. The space between each table was minimal. It was hard to sit comfortably or move around without accidentally elbowing your neighbour at the next table. I guess that is how a tiny restaurant can fit 42 people at the same time.
Lolita owns the largest selection of tequila in Vancouver. Its wine list, however, may not be that extensive and mostly focuses on BC wines, with some wines from the Spanish and South American regions. And since we were here, how could we walk out without a taste of the famous Mexican cocktail, Lolita’s Margarita!
This margarita was surprisingly fruity with just a hint of tequila and lime. I would prefer a stronger taste of tequila but the berries, mango, and blood orange did make it smoother down the throat. And look at that cute little umbrella decoration! If only we were lying on some tropical beach, receiving the gift of sunshine now…
The water was cutely served in a jar, with a sexy lady label on it. “Is that a naked woman on the jar?” was the first question from Ed after the waitress left. Yes or no, you be the judge. What a shame to miss it because of the lack of lighting, which I almost did!
To start, we shared a ceviche habanero. This is one of the innovative Mexican dishes produced by Lolita’s. Using non-traditional ingredients such as wild salmon, pacific cod and Atlantic scallop, it gave a flavourful yet succulent texture to the guacamole that was marinated in habanero and citrus. It was a little more on the acidic side, but we found that it brought up our appetite. The freshly made blue corn tortilla was crunchy, delicious, and went well with the guacamole sauce.
We then ordered soft shell taco platters as our main to share. We got to choose two types of fillings for the tacos. It also comes with organic greens, house-made black beans and Mexican tomato rice.
The service was very attentive. The waitress got us two soft shell tacos for each type, knowing it was meant for sharing. The first taco was filled with chili seared local albacore tuna. The tuna was seared on the outside, and left rare in the middle. It had a delicious meaty flavour and a rich, buttery texture with a hint of sweet pepper and refreshing mango salsa. Another taco was filled up with pulled pork that was slow-roasted in Mexican style. It was so tender and flavourful, we enjoyed every bit of it. The existence of grilled pineapple also added a summery flavour to it. We also loved the heartwarming side dishes of house-made black beans, which was the perfect balance between sweet and savoury. This was my first taste of Mexican tomato rice and it was delicious.
The bill came with a Lolita’s postcard for us to send home, assuming that we were visitors in Vancouver. Did I look like a foreigner? Anyway, there were also other souvenirs, such as shirts and underwears for sale, displayed on the wall.
Overall, Lolita’s has great atmosphere, good service and most importantly, decent food and drinks. Nonetheless it is expensive in comparison to other Mexican restaurants. After all, $16.75 for two small tacos is just too high of a price for us. It may be a good idea to come here for a light supper, but don’t expect to get a fulfilling dinner for the price you might be willing to pay. Also, it opens late at night. For those of you who want to party into the wee hours, Lolita’s is a great choice for decent food and drink.
1326 Davie Street，
Vancouver BC
(604) 696-9996
Atmosphere：4
Food：4
Service：4
Value：3
Recommendation：3.75
0 comments:
Post a Comment