Lola by Cocotte ITALIAN-AMERICAN Mon-Thur 6pm-11:45pm, Fri 5pm-11:45pm, Sat 11am-3pm & 5pm-11:45pm, Sun 11am-3pm & 6pm-11:45pm Ekkamai Soi 12 www.fb.com/Lolabycocottebkk, 062-208-8828
THE SETTING
Housed in what seems like a glass greenroom on Ekamai 12, LOLA by Cocotte is a restaurant with a story. The mysterious namesake of the resto, Lola, whose existence may or may not be real, established the resto wanting to share with us Bangkokians her love for food and the favourites she's had during her travels. The resto's decor hints at some of the places Lola's been in; the Vespa near the front probably means she travelled through the Italian countryside and the palm tree in the middle of the resto depicts those found in the sunny state of California. With a high ceiling, vintage-urban chic decor, the resto's primed and ready for a good meal with family and friends.
THE MENU
The menu is Lola's travel diary, a selection of the dishes she's had around the globe. So while it does serve Italian-American cuisine, there is some international flavours there, as well. For example, there's a pizza that utilises the well-known sausages from Chiang Mai giving it a very distinct northern Thai taste. It also means that the variety ensures there's something for everyone whether you feel like a burger or pasta.
I hit the ground running and started off with the Burrata & parma pizza (B520++). You can never go wrong with this classic combination. Along with the creamy burrata and parma ham that's cured right so as not to be too salty, the pizza dough is not too soggy and is soft, with the crust giving you that satisfying crunch as your teeth sink into it. Keeping with Italian signatures, I try the Cheesy ravioli (B370++). Fair warning: when they say "cheesy", they mean cheesy. Yes, at first glance you may not think there's anything cheesy with the green spinach cream sauce slathered on, but take a bite of a raviolo and you get an explosion of cheesiness in your mouth. There's no better sensation than exploding cheese in your mouth.
Now onto what could arguably called the two main events. I recommend trying the next dish if you want to conquer something with your friends and feel that kindred spirit of going through something huge (wink wink) or if you're overconfident and a complete utter lunatic. The XXL burger "say cheese" (B1,190++) is not for the faint of heart -- literally and figuratively. This epic, juicy monstrosity is comprised of 600g of beef injected with oozing, melted cheese, strips of bacon and crunchy lettuce, all served between a 300g bun. If you're doing the math, that's a kilo's worth of burger. A kilo. That's not even counting the sumptuous fries, which are deep fried in duck fat. After doing my best to eat what I could of the burger, I moved on to the resto's signature Flank steak (B640++). The steak is cooked medium rare and is already great in itself, but the rocket leaves, cherry tomatoes and the drizzled balsamic elevate the dish.
To top it all off, I had two sweet treats, which I think are a must-try and provide you a wonderful dilemma on which to choose (or you can just do what I did and order both). If cheesecakes are your thing, look no further than the Berry cheesecake (B230++), which has a good balance of sweet and sour thanks to the berries and also tastes a little more lemony than other cheesecakes. If you're looking for an Italian classic and prefer something more on the chocolate side of things, then the Tiramisu cake (B280++) is for you, which has a good balance of cream and coffee-soaked layers.
INSIDER'S TIP
If it isn't obvious already, Lola's decor is very Instagrammable, so don't get too caught up taking pics of your food. The resto also has a wine list and a number of cocktails. Try the Modern art (B300) for something refreshing, or if you're opting for something a little more fruity, go for the Polycat (B300).
VALUE & VERDICT
LOLA by Cocotte has a variety of delicious dishes that are worth your buck in a place that's cozy, chic and ready to welcome you for a good time. If there's one thing I can say for certain, it's that Lola definitely knows her stuff.
