05/13/05

Good Food- Bad Experience

by jvalen

I enjoyed Lala's food and thought it was overall a nice place to go out. However, when my large group was ready to leave we were handed a pile of papers with items and prices scribbled on them with no coherent patern and it was almost impossible to make out who owed what. Everyone put in more than they should have with plenty left for a generous tip, but then the manager came out after us to complain that we had not left more than 10 %. Most places will add the tip for large groups, which they say they apparently forgot to do, and besides, we were positive that we had not stiffed the staff. Ultimately, asking for a bigger tip, there fault or ours, is absolutely rude and unacceptable. It was the worst ending to a nice time out and left a terrible taste in my mouth.

• Pros: mashed potatos
• Cons: rude manager

04/24/09

Milanesa Napolitana!

by Phroggy

Lala's is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. Despite being located in the trendy heart of Melrose, Lala's never comes off as being pretentious or snooty. I've had pretty good luck walking right up on a Friday or Saturday night and getting a table relatively quickly. I also adore its patio, which has an outdoor atmosphere, yet has the warmth of a cozy indoor dining room.

Two words - Milanesa Napolitana. This is what I order for my entree every time. It's sort of like a cross between chicken fried steak and chicken parmesan, with a little Argentinian kick of flavor. Yum! I also sometimes order the Provoleta for an appetizer, which is just melted cheese, but it's oh so good. The bread with their oil and herbs is also amazing (I don't even know what they call it, but it's potent and addicting).

I knocked off a star only because I went there once for my birthday and they stuck us indoors in the corner, but other than that one experience, Lala's has been great. Make sure you order some sangria.

• Pros: Food, atmosphere, service
• Cons: Sometimes no parking

03/23/09

Great place for cheap but good salmon

by 3cp

I love lala's but unfortunately I've only had the salmon and steak with mash/rice and salad. I would recommend this for anyone.

• Pros: price, salmon dijon
• Cons: n/a

01/15/09

LaLa's

by liltamby5

They have the best olive oil/cilantro bread dip here! And the food was amazing...the chicken and salmon salads were very tasty! And the portions were huge for such a great price!

12/08/08

Drinks!

by jayla837

For some reason, the drinks are great here! I always go for happy hour and love it! It's not too crowded...just relaxation.

12/08/08

Chicken plates

by Janelle15

All the chicken plates are good! My favorite is the skinless chicken plate they have...i forget the name but when u see the menu...your know!

10/21/08

Love this place

by jezoflondon

I have been coming here for about 10 yrs.Love the food ,the service,the patio,the sangria.My favorite meal is not on the menu ,It was once listed as a special,and I have been ordering it ever since ................... The chicken Napolitana Suprema with mashed potatoes.I can only go here once a month.The portions are huge and I would be in grave danger of getting fat. Fantastic salmon dijon also.

• Pros: good fod,lots of it & cheap
• Cons: Never any parking

10/07/08

Excellent Meals

by Natalie3207

Went to LALA's last Thursday with a few friends and had the best time. Service was great and the pesto dip with bread was excellent. Try any garlic chicken dish and you'll be happy. Salds like the Melrose is also a good bet.

08/10/08

Perfect place for a date or GNO (Girls Night Out)

by fairylights

I love to go to LaLa's. The food is cheap and delish, the service damn decent, and the ambience is perfect for either a date or a GNO (girls night out). The twinkling white Christmas lights intertwined with foliage on the patio lend a romantic mood to an otherwise bland patio. I highly recommend trying the skirt steak, the chorizo sandwich, and the flaky empanadas. Treat yourselves to the homemade Sangria as it absolutely delicious and a perfect complement to the hot Latin flavors. Another nice perk is the quite handsome Latin waiters who love to flirt, though subtly and never rudely. They won't be inappropriate with your wife or girlfriend, but a group of single girls can expect a little extra attention from the male servers. The only downside is the notoriously scant Melrose parking but Lala's fortunately offers a valet service and for L.A., the cost really isn't bad. Oh and some goers might not like that unlike most of L.A., the owners allow smoking on the patio, which forces many non-smokers to sit inside and miss the quiet ambience of the patio. For this reason, I give Lala's 4 stars - five if they ever decide to make the whole restaurant a smoke-free environment.

• Pros: Delicious Latin flavors, excellent Sangria, lovely ambience, valet parking with validation, easy on the wallet
• Cons: It's sometimes hard to get a table on a weekend evening, street parking is hard to get -pretty much forced to pay for valet

07/26/08

Loved it!

by analaura84

We celebrated our friend John's birthday there and we loved it. The atmosphere was great and the food was awesome. The best part was the server that took care of us. He was hot! ; ) Yum! No seriously it was a really great experience, since for some of us , it was the first time there. I strongly recommend the homemade Sangria and the skirt steak. Simply delicious. Only drawback was the patio. It sometimes gets too cluttered with smoke, since it is fully covered.

I still strongly recommend it.

• Pros: Great food, great atmosphere.
• Cons: smoking patio.

07/15/08

I can't go back here.

by geminigirli

I used to love coming to Lala's because the food is pretty good and reasonable. One of my favorite things about this place is their dipping sauce for the bread with the bits of garlic in it...YUM. However, the last time I went I saw the man making the sauce dip his finger in it, lick it and then dipped it back in the sauce to try it again! Yuck! Have you ever heard of a spoon? Cmon!