Tapas at Lula

Lula, a new tapas restaurant, recently opened on the corner of 12th and Locust, in the space where Sukhothai used to be. Carl and I decided to go on Wednesday night, because we had both been having a tough week and needed a break. [It’s never a good sign when it’s only Wednesday and you already feel like crashing].

The space itself doesn’t seem much changed from the days of Sukhothai, which is a shame. For some reason, it seems like an awkward space to work with, and the minor changes made for Lula don’t really cut it in terms of ambiance. There’s a long wide bar at the entrance that frames a giant TV screen, and I could tell Carl was having trouble keeping his eyes away from E!’s 101 Most Starlicious Makeovers during dinner. I guess having a big, informal bar area makes sense if you’re encouraging people to pop in for a drink and a few bites, but the rest of the space definitely seems to be aiming for restaurant-ness. The dining area is very long, with extremely high ceilings (and, as Mr. Design Engineer noted, poor use of ceiling space lighting). A banquette lines one side of the dining space, with colorful padded pillow-type wall coverings rising up the ceiling (again, seems to call attention to the awkward tall space rather than trying to make it more cozy). The other side is all windows along the sidewalk, which I guess is OK for Starbucks, but made me feel a little exposed.

The menu isn’t exclusively limited to tapas, which sort of disappointed me. Maybe it’s just me, but I really feel like restauranteurs shouldn’t have to give in to consumer expectations to succeed. If someone is really craving steak and a salad, perhaps they should look somewhere else - not a tapas place. Why encourage them? [Yes, yes, I know. $$$, of course.] That said, some of the entrees on the menu did seem interesting.

The front page of the menu is all tapas, ranging in price from about $6 to $12. The focus was definitely general Mediterranean rather than exclusively Spanish, as evidenced by dishes like papardelle and some Greek-style options. Things we didn't order but were interested in included "salt cod and mashed potatoes" (an inartfully described brandade, I can only guess), sage-rubbed turkey skewers with mole, zucchini fritters, and a Spanish cheese platter with olives and relishes.

Carl and I ordered four dishes from the tapas menu, which turned out to be a bit too much food. As I had sort of expected, “tapas” in Philadelphia seem to be much closer to “hefty appetizers, priced accordingly” than “tasty nibbles for $5 and under” (something Americans, and Philadelphians in particular, don’t seem to appreciate). Oh well.

We started with “Spiced Chips with Caviar Dip,” which turned out to be homemade BBQ flavor potato chips and a yummy sour cream-based dip topped with a teeny dollop of caviar. The problem is that homemade BBQ potato chips with caviar dip still taste like store bought BBQ potato chips with sour cream dip – good, but not something I’d order again. We also had cumin fries with a spicy (perhaps chipotle-based?) aioli, which were really nice. Deep-fried hunks of potatoes (more wedges than fries, really) liberally coated with fresh and flavorful toasted cumin -- the spicy aioli added a nice kick.

We also had a grilled octopus dish served with pancetta, roasted red onions, and potatoes, which would have been better had we not just eaten a boatload of potato chips and fries - our fault, though, not the restaurant’s. The flavors of the dish were really nice, as everything lay in a pool of deliciously-scented oil with pancetta bits scattered throughout. The potatoes in this dish (and in the cumin fries) were perfectly cooked. The octopus was also extremely tender – though Carl suspected that the tenderness came not from careful cooking, but rather from excessive brining. When I tasted it, I agreed. While the rest of the dish was well-seasoned, the octopus itself was a couple of notches too salty, which is saying a lot coming from me.

Finally, we had lamb meatballs served with microgreens and a yellow tomato coulis, which was probably the best dish of the night. The meatballs were really flavorful and tangy (Carl guessed the tang came from lemon juice, but my first thought was cheese), crisply fried but moist inside. The tomato coulis, which may have had some basil in it, was also good, though it may have been a bit too mild in flavor for the punchy meatballs.

Service seemed a little sloppy, even for a brand-new restaurant. When she was describing the specials, I got the feeling that our waitress didn't really know what was in them ... Like, if I had asked "Excuse me, what's [insert vaguely obscure ingredient]?," she would have had to check with someone else. Also, she totally missed our order for the lamb meatballs, but was very good about handling it when we told her - she apologized and said she'd put them in as a rush order, and indeed they came out pretty quickly.

Finally, Lula failed my personal test of greatness -- the bread. It may sound silly, but I think that the effort put into the menu itself should be reflected equally well in whatever is served to diners when they first sit down. We got a basket of focaccia and a dish of olive oil with roasted garlic and parsley, which seemed well thought-out but wasn't as effective as it looked. The focaccia was mediocre (I can make better focaccia at home), and the flavored oil had a bit of an off note that I couldn't put my finger on. Carl thought it tasted "fishy," but I thought it may have been due to the parsley, which had apparently been steeped in the oil and was now limp and off-color. In the grand scheme of things, this is by no means a big deal, but, again, bread and oil are my pet peeves.

The bill was about $55 for the four tapas and three Stella Artois, which is totally reasonable. Overall, the food was good, but not great ... while everything was mostly well-done in terms of technique (excellent use of the fryer, good texture and flavors overall), only the lamb meatballs struck me as something beyond the ordinary. While I can imagine going back with a group of people for a couple of beers and some snacks, I'm not sure I'd consider it a "destination restaurant" per se.