I have now been to
Lolita cocina and tequila bar on two occasions and will most definitely be back for more.
A few weeks ago I met up with my good friend Nicole for happy hour. We weren't sure where we wanted to go, but we both love trying new places so we decided on Lolita in Boston's Back Bay on a recommendation. Wow. It did not disappoint!
I'm a sucker for interesting cocktails, especially if St. Germain is in the mix, so I had to try the white lie margarita. Holy! I have never had a better drink in my entire life. I already loved this place and I'd been there five minutes.
We sat down and were immediately served a heaping bowl of tortilla chips, a trio of salsas and a special sauce in a square glass bottle, which ended up being a fiery habanero version. It was H-O-T.
We decided to pick at a few things and ordered
tres ceviches - three types of ceviche in case you don't speak Spanish.
Sangrita - lobster and scallops with tomato, orange, chili oil and avocado;
traditional - mahi mahi in fresh lime juice, diced serrano chili and red onion; and
coco - ahi tuna in coconut milk with fresh lime, cilantro leaves and jalapeno chili. I thought the coco would be the best, but turns out the traditional was the most enjoyable. The fish was delicious and the flavors were fresh and meshed really well together. It was so good!
We also wanted to try something unique so we ordered the chorizo tacos with fried eggs. It also had these little crispy cubed potatoes. They reminded me of breakfast burritos. The chorizo was awesome! Tender, crumbly and full of flavor. It was a really tasty dish.
We each tried two more drinks to get a well rounded sampling of cocktails. They were all good, including the mezcal mistress with the candied bacon rim!
When we were ready for the check, our waiter brought it over accompanied by a massive cotton candy sprinkled with pop rocks! (Not sure why I didn't take a pic of this!) I'd never seen anything like that before at a restaurant. It made the experience unlike any other I've had, super memorable. To top it off, the waiter left us two temporary tattoos with the restaurant logo. Needless to say, we did not apply these to our bodies, but thought it was a cool idea.
I loved the entire experience of Lolita so much that I took J & my parents back this past weekend. It was packed at 9:00 & we had to wait outside in line just to put our names in for dinner. The wait was an hour & a half to two hours for a table. I was kind of deflated because I figured everyone would want to leave, but we headed to the bar for a round of drinks. Of course I got the white lie again, mojito for J & margs for my parents. Everything was delicious. We ended up having a few more at the bar and finally sat around 10:30. J & I split the butternut squash & chorizo soup. A creamy, spicy soup with tortilla strips. It was incredible! My mom can't eat anything spicy, which is almost everything on the menu, but she was able to order shrimp with a mixed greens salad and avocado slices. She raved about the greens and their silky, lemony dressing. I tried one of her shrimp and it was phenomenal. Everything else was great as well, but those two dishes took the cake.
J & my parents loved the restaurant, I was so glad because I'd hyped it up so much over the weekend that I was worried they might be disappointed. They weren't; and you won't be either.
As for the decor, the restaurant has a sexy vibe - dim lights, dark corners, reds and blacks, ornate chandeliers, even the bathrooms are unique. The entire toilet, including inside the bowl is decorated in a black and white pattern that reminds me of the pottery found all over the flea markets in Mexico. Lolita is worth your time to check out, even if it's only for one margarita - but I dare you to stop at just one.
Lolita cocina and tequila bar is located at 27 Dartmouth Street in the Back Bay, Boston.
~Amy
