THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Lola's

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Lola's Restaurant Review:

Above an antiques arcade in a former Victorian tramshed, this airy, skylit restaurant generates an old-fashioned sense of occasion with a jazzy pianist and professional, fairly formal service overseen by the well-dressed women proprietors. Just as unpretentious and refusing to dumb down is the constantly changing menu---an intelligent reading of Contemporary tastes for the Mediterranean stretching into the Middle East. Look out for the Middle Eastern flat bread which often accompanies a starter, while a main course from the same region might be lamb steak with hummus, harissa and couscous tabouleh. Other, European dishes---often assemblies of fine ingredients, don’t strive for effect, but simply present well-considered combinations. Warm salad of duck, figs and pancetta; and grey mullet, roast cherry tomatoes, broccoli and anchovy dressing, are examples. Sometimes flavours pull their punches, but there’s never anything to jar. And desserts such as blackcurrant fool or summer fruit pavlova are invariably winning. Alternatives such as British cheeses or vin santo and Cantuccini illustrate how sourcing and serving the best produce is valued as much as complicated cooking. Set 2-course lunch Mon.-Fri. £12.50, 3 courses £17.50. Sun. dinner 3 courses £17.50.