Lala's Wine Bar + Pizzeria 410 E. 7th Ave. Denver 80203
303-861-WINE
Thurs 10/9/08
Attendees: Ang., Caroline, Cat, Jen, & Lara
Lala's was a last minute choice for our October dining date but when I heard there was a wine bar in Denver that none of us had been to... I knew it was the perfect place for these vino-lovin' ladies to get together.
Upon entering the restaurant, I was surprised at how big the space is. The ambiance is open and warm, dim but not dark. The bar is beautiful and the decor is very welcoming. We were seated toward the back, near the pizza bar at a great table in the corner that somewhat looks over the whole dining area. Our server was Lynette and she was cheery, friendly and fun and started us off with some waters while we pored over the extensive menus. (There were 3 -- the regular menu, specials, and wine.) I was feeling overwhelmed by the choices for wine so I went ahead and ordered a flight of the evenings specials which were Chiantis. While I thought they were interesting, I mostly found them each to be a bit tart for my taste. We also ordered up some Roman Artichokes which were "lightly breaded and fried, served with Caspian aioli" and they were delicious! The aioli was drizzled along with a cilantro-tasting pesto that paired perfectly with the artichokes. We also ordered the Housemade Burrata which was an amazing, fresh, mozzarella cheese served with "vine ripe tomatoes, balsamic glaze and extra virgin olive oil" and we were equally impressed and enjoyed every last bite along with a warm and tasty flatbread that accompanied the appetizer.
I ordered another flight of wine -- this time choosing to try the "Director's Cut Pinot Noir," the "Prima Voce Super Tuscan," and our waitress, Lynette's favorite wine, the "Alcance Carmenere" and enjoyed them in that order. The Alcance Carmenere was full bodied and delicious - I would try it again.
For my dinner, I ordered the "Il David" pizza, "naked (of course), three cheeses, herbed grilled chicken, artichoke, oven dried tomato, roasted garlic and red peppers." I asked for some olives instead of the chicken and they were happy to accommodate. The pizza was really, really good. The crust is thin and the ingredients are fresh and tasty. There were plenty of tomatoes and artichokes and roasted garlic (mmm) but I might have liked a few more olives. I was otherwise quite full after a few pieces, even though the pizzas are small. The wine and appetizers made it a full meal and I wasn't hungry again until today.
Incidentally, the prices at Lala's are very fair. Pizzas are about 9 bucks as well as the open-faced sandwiches. If you can manage to keep your wine intake to a couple of glasses, you could get out of here without dropping too much cash. I had to stop after two flights ($12 each) and settle on a final glass to finish the night. Getting the flights are a fun way to try some more expensive wines without paying for it.
I'll let the other girls comment on their experience at Lala's but I had a great time and thought the service and the food was stellar. Brian checked in on us from time to time and treated us to dessert. We were well taken care of and I would certainly return. The only issue I see to Lala's is the parking problem that plagues this area. Ang. & I drove around several blocks before settling on parking over on Logan. Lala's says that there is parking at the Govn'rs Park lot just a half-block down but as I recall, that lot is generally full as it is. I would suggest that Lala's posts a sandwich board out front letting people know where they can try and park because we otherwise would not have known to try the Gov's lot.
Carpool, bus, whatever you gotta do... but do give Lala's a shot. It's a welcome addition to the dining scene in Denver and we'd love to see them stick around.
Salute!
www.lalaswinebar.com
303-861-WINE
Thurs 10/9/08
Attendees: Ang., Caroline, Cat, Jen, & Lara
Lala's was a last minute choice for our October dining date but when I heard there was a wine bar in Denver that none of us had been to... I knew it was the perfect place for these vino-lovin' ladies to get together.
Upon entering the restaurant, I was surprised at how big the space is. The ambiance is open and warm, dim but not dark. The bar is beautiful and the decor is very welcoming. We were seated toward the back, near the pizza bar at a great table in the corner that somewhat looks over the whole dining area. Our server was Lynette and she was cheery, friendly and fun and started us off with some waters while we pored over the extensive menus. (There were 3 -- the regular menu, specials, and wine.) I was feeling overwhelmed by the choices for wine so I went ahead and ordered a flight of the evenings specials which were Chiantis. While I thought they were interesting, I mostly found them each to be a bit tart for my taste. We also ordered up some Roman Artichokes which were "lightly breaded and fried, served with Caspian aioli" and they were delicious! The aioli was drizzled along with a cilantro-tasting pesto that paired perfectly with the artichokes. We also ordered the Housemade Burrata which was an amazing, fresh, mozzarella cheese served with "vine ripe tomatoes, balsamic glaze and extra virgin olive oil" and we were equally impressed and enjoyed every last bite along with a warm and tasty flatbread that accompanied the appetizer.
I ordered another flight of wine -- this time choosing to try the "Director's Cut Pinot Noir," the "Prima Voce Super Tuscan," and our waitress, Lynette's favorite wine, the "Alcance Carmenere" and enjoyed them in that order. The Alcance Carmenere was full bodied and delicious - I would try it again.
For my dinner, I ordered the "Il David" pizza, "naked (of course), three cheeses, herbed grilled chicken, artichoke, oven dried tomato, roasted garlic and red peppers." I asked for some olives instead of the chicken and they were happy to accommodate. The pizza was really, really good. The crust is thin and the ingredients are fresh and tasty. There were plenty of tomatoes and artichokes and roasted garlic (mmm) but I might have liked a few more olives. I was otherwise quite full after a few pieces, even though the pizzas are small. The wine and appetizers made it a full meal and I wasn't hungry again until today.
Incidentally, the prices at Lala's are very fair. Pizzas are about 9 bucks as well as the open-faced sandwiches. If you can manage to keep your wine intake to a couple of glasses, you could get out of here without dropping too much cash. I had to stop after two flights ($12 each) and settle on a final glass to finish the night. Getting the flights are a fun way to try some more expensive wines without paying for it.
I'll let the other girls comment on their experience at Lala's but I had a great time and thought the service and the food was stellar. Brian checked in on us from time to time and treated us to dessert. We were well taken care of and I would certainly return. The only issue I see to Lala's is the parking problem that plagues this area. Ang. & I drove around several blocks before settling on parking over on Logan. Lala's says that there is parking at the Govn'rs Park lot just a half-block down but as I recall, that lot is generally full as it is. I would suggest that Lala's posts a sandwich board out front letting people know where they can try and park because we otherwise would not have known to try the Gov's lot.
Carpool, bus, whatever you gotta do... but do give Lala's a shot. It's a welcome addition to the dining scene in Denver and we'd love to see them stick around.
Salute!
www.lalaswinebar.com
2 comments:
La La La La La La Lahhh!!!
I love the LaLa's!!
The atmosphere was open, spacious, warm and inviting. The ambiance was sublime and mellow and charming. The staff was fantastic, from the adorable bubbly hostess gal, Taylor to our awesome, one-step-above-and-beyond, wonder-waitress, Lynette to Brian the manager, everyone, it appeared, went out of their way to make it seem as if all the diners had RSVP'ed to one great dinner party.
First...the wine! Oh my, I tried some great stuff. The Alcance Carmenere (Lynette's favorite) and the Freemark Abbey (Cab Sav) were incredible but my pick of the night was the John Carr Cabernet...oh man, so-so-so (you have to kinda feel it from your gut, a deep mmmmph mmmrph mmmrrrph)...it was bold and sexy and luscious and the body...oh man!!!
All the wines I had were good but that one...wow!
Actually a BIG KUDOS: Lynette was very knowledgable about the wine menu. She mentioned that she had recently taken a class and she must have gotten an A-plus because she really seemed to know her way around he menu, right down to which order each wine in the flight should be tasted.
Second...the food. It was VERY hard to decide what to have. Their menu is not huge but, dang! everything seemed so delicious that it really did make it hard to choose. Plus the "special" menu was the same...more fantastic dishes! My dinner was good. I ordered the Rosemary Gnocchi. Now, it could have been a little hotter on delivery to the table and maybe the gnocchi could have been cooked a tad longer and it did rather seem that the only rosemary involved was on the flatbread on the side BUT...the sauce was absolutely sublime and the arugula (not typically one of my favorite greens) was perfectly cooked and the portion size was just right. (I actually wanted to mention to someone besides Jen, that one thing that would have made that dish even better would have been pine nuts, just for a fun addition to the texture). Overall, I really liked my dish and if possible I think I liked it better, cold, the next day.
The next time I go to LaLa's though (and believe you me, there will be a next and a next) I will order the pizza...because I had a slice of Jen's and a cut of Lara's and both were incredible. The crust was thin and crispy just the way that I like it!
Overall...I really loved LaLa's...and I would so recommend that everyone go and give it a try...parking is a downer but hopefully they can get that straightened out.
You know...folks are not deterred from going to Le Central due to parking and LaLa's should not be the exception...because it really is worth every effort!
Sublime and Divine!
xoxoang.
What a wonderful evening we had! When I got to Lala's I was a bit stressed. It took 20 minutes to park! So, I ordered a flight. Lynette helped me pick it out. I remember I enjoyed the one from Oregon, Erath or something like that. It was fresh, fruity and easy to drink. The second one, can't remember, a ganache or something like that, was good. But the final one....yum! It was Lynette's favorite, the Alcance Carmenere (thanks Ang).
After I settled down and let the wine do its job, I was ready to look at the menus. Man! That was difficult; in a good way! The regular menu and the special menu looked amazing!
The apps were excellent! The artichokes were yummy and fun. The pesto was so fresh. The cheesy thing was yummy! The flat bread was excellent and I love bread! I finished it all! Sorry everyone!
The pizza was good, but not amazing. Though I am partial to Parisi's pizza and don't know if anyone will ever be able to top that!
The desserts that Brian brought us were soooo yummy! The middle pink thing was not the fave, the other two were awesome!
I will go back again. Maybe just for wine, apps and desserts. Now I will look for parking in the back. A great time was had by all! Thanks Lala's for your wonderful service!
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