Lolla, Singapore. “It’s a deliciously good time.”
Uninvited Opinion. Lolla’s easy going spirit and capable, crowd-pleasing dishes just delighted me. It is a neighbourhood restaurant for which I had to travel almost 4000 miles.
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I choose restaurants for many reasons: location, occasion, spend; but nothing speaks so clearly to me like the menu. And what a menu at Lolla.
Burnt cabbage with crispy capers, toasted sourdough with kombu butter, koji-cured quail with egg yolk and pan-fried lemon sole. There’s a cheese menu, and a specials selection that boasts a brioche with herbs and anchovies, and something called crab, crab, crab. More on that later.
Located in the heart of Singapore’s Chinatown, Lolla sits in a charming conservation shophouse. In this two-floor eatery, we sit upstairs bar-style with an uninterrupted view of two chefs diligently pumping out chocolate-pistachio tarts and corn ribs — not together, mind.
Downstairs, ropes and vintage-ish lighting drape the communal table inside a slender space lined with mirrors that bequeath the illusion of space. The bathrooms here are stocked with Aesop toiletries. You know, those good scrubby ones.
Some toes will curl at yet another sharing-plates menu, but this format works in occasions such as these, where two work colleagues leave most of the ordering to me.
In comes a tuna tataki with puffed toasty rice, avocado and nutty sesame oil, all lifted with a black vinegar-balsamic jam that deliciously lingers.
Approachable complexity cloaked in simplicity is a ruse that permeates throughout dinner.
Next, a voluptuous and soft uni pudding, stained black, is intensely rich with squid ink, eggs, tomato paste and cream, then blanketed with plump Hokkaido uni that slips down my gullet like a determined seagull. My peers are less keen on these ochre sea urchin—fine by me.
We graze on a pile of baby courgettes, slim like fingers. Their flowers, still attached, are stuffed with a sweet prawn mousse, while a gentle thrum of umami wafts in from grated Parmesan plus the warm crunch of toasted hazelnuts.
An eggy fresh pasta—hand-torn between a lasagne sheet and pappardelle—is steeped in a glossy, buttery sauce with generous chunks of crab-claw meat and a scattering of chives. It’s comfort food of the highest order.
Looking around and at these near-licked-clean plates, Lolla’s essence lies in a familiarity with fresh paint. It tugs at things we know or love, but presents itself in a way that feels modern and on the right side of bold. It's that old friend with a new haircut: same personality, but a refreshed, reset aura, image and vigour.
Some rooms take on a Victorian-pub pastiche; others project with oversized modern-art murals. The liminal places offer nods to Chinatown and oceans of industrial varnished concrete and stainless steel. Chalkboards (remember those?) of desserts and wine wipe away what’s sold out.
And, the service? Warm, at times scintillating, with flashes of character and joy, cracking jokes like old friends and laughing at mine, but then anyone will tell you JUST how funny I am after a glass of Chablis. And Garnacha. And Touriga Nacional. And the rest. *Snort*
Our “mains” arrive: a medium Wagyu tri-tip with a crunch of sea salt is sauced with chicken jus and aromatic spring onion oil. A small-to-arguably pointless pile of baby carrots—Chanternay, possibly—look on jealously as our bronzed duck fat potatoes are invaded by warring forks. There are potatoes, and then there are these; what my West Country in-laws would call “lush”.
Sheer greed and curiosity fires an order of “crab crab crab” where, inside a large crab shell and under a foam of tomato and paprika, lies the nose tingle of lemongrass and makrut lime leaf and its oil (apparently, we don’t say Kaffir anymore).
Foist a spoon beneath its blushing foam to excavate hunks of crab leg and claw and roe bolstered with pearls of couscous and smoky shreds of burnt cabbage. The sweetness of crab, the tartness of tomato, the tingle of paprika, lemongrass and lime, and the whisper of smoked cabbage—all buttressed by the body of couscous—make this not only one of the most complex but also one of the most enjoyable dishes of the night.
A burnt cheesecake and a ball of smoked chocolate ice cream are dispatched for a colleague’s birthday (cough). Some cookies I loudly eyeballed earlier are sent courtesy the kitchen. Nothing is left behind, but the chocolate’s smokiness is arguably MIA.
Lolla, Would I Return?
We pile out of Lolla after some extended small talk with the manager and staff. They hand over a list of must-visit spots for non-tourists in Singapore. I would return to Lolla not only to eat and drink well, but to feel again the true generosity of spirit that underpins hospitality. Lest we forget: after the wine’s slurped and the empty plates are returned, how a place made us feel lives longer in our memories.
Lolla, Who Should Go?
Small or large groups. Seafood lovers. Casual diners. People looking for an upmarket break from hawker markets or Singapore’s repetition of Asian cuisine. Solo diners who want to be engaged and entertained. People who love a chef’s table.
Review information:
Number of visits: 1.
Number of dishes: 9. Sea urchin pudding, $68; Duck fat potatoes, $19; tuna tataki, $52; hand-torn pasta with brown crab, $45; stuffed courgette flowers, $32; crab, crab, crab, $49; wagyu tri-tip, $89; burnt cheesecake, $17.
Drinks: 1 bottle of white wine, $95. 4 additional glasses of varying red wine, $21-$26 each. 2 bottles of mineral water. Lolla is licensed.
Total spend, including taxes and tips: $560 (roughly).
Lolla, 22 Ann Siang Road, Chinatown, Singapore 069702. For the latest information, visit Lolla’s Website and Lolla’s Instagram. +65 6423 1228.
Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications. You can find Liam on Substack, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky or Facebook.
How do you feel about the prices?
You had me at 'crab, crab, crab!'