This past weekend, on a Saturday night, a few of my friends and I went to Lula Lounge for Salsa Night. No, not the chips & dip kind of salsa…the Latin music and dance type of salsa. Yes, I dance…great way to meet women. One of my friends from university/college was playing with the band slated for that night, so I wanted to watch them perform, as well as not having been at the club in a while, it was nice to just get back into the scene.
The club/restaurant has dimmed lighting for most of the night, slightly dimmed during dinner time, and more dimmed when entertainment starts. Not really good conditions for a photo op, which my fellow photographers would understand.
I’ve been to Lula Lounge for Salsa Night several times, but have never tried their food before. I browsed through the menu online, and it looked and sounded appetizing. During the weekday, they provide an à la carte menu, but have a prix fixe menu on weekends. For $49 plus taxes and gratuities, you get an appetizer, an entrée, dessert, and entertainment. For my appetizer, I chose the Fried Calamari; for an additional $4, I had the Grilled Black Angus Striploin as my entrée, and for dessert, I went with the Grand Marnier Crème Brûlée.
The Fried Calamari was very tasty. It had some hints of smokiness to it, and crispy batter. It came with some salsa, a mixture of olive oil, diced tomatoes, and diced cucumbers. It was also accompanied by a spicy tomato dipping sauce, which had some subtle sweetness to it and just a very slight kick.
The steak, which I ordered medium, was perfectly cooked to my liking. It was well seasoned, nicely blackened crust complete with grill marks. The meat had a good meat to fat ratio and made for a very flavourful steak. It came with vegetables and wedge potatoes with a mushroom sauce.
The crème brûlée was a great way to end the meal. The hard caramel was nice and crisp, and the custard was not overly sweet. It was well balanced, and a great way to end the meal and kick start the night.
To accompany the meal, you can order from their wine list or from their drinks menu. My favourite, which I think goes well with the whole Cuban and Latin theme is the Classic Mojito. The Mojito would be my drink of choice anywhere, but only a few places could make it the way I like it, with the sugar not completely dissolved with the drink, with some sugar crystals sinking to the bottom of the glass.
After the meal, we enjoyed the live band and danced away to a selection of songs performed by the band, and some songs played by the DJ during the band’s performance breaks.
Would definitively come back here for the food and of course…for the entertainment.
Corn Cob Rating:
Overall = 3.75 out of 5
Food = 4 out of 5
Service = 3 out of 5
Dining Space/Atmosphere = 3.5 out of 5
Entertainment = 5 out of 5
Value = 3.5 out of 5
Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
Tel #: (416) 588-0307
URL: http://www.lula.ca
Chronicles of a Hungry Man 