Lola

2000 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
206. 441.1430
http://tomdouglas.com/index.php/restaurants/lola

Spoken WheelSpoken WheelSpoken WheelSpoken WheelHalf Spoken Wheel

On our 42nd wedding anniversary, my beloved pusher and I decided to check out Lola for breakfast.  My older daughter and her miracle of a husband have breakfast or lunch at Lola when there’s even the slightest reason for a celebration, such as:  “It’s Saturday and we’re up before 10!!  LOLA!!”  or “It’s Saturday and we slept in past 10!!  LOLA!!” They are such fans that they lovingly checked out every wheelchair detail and urged us to try it out, telling us which table to request when we called to make a reservation and which door to enter.

How good was Lola?  The truth is that I could not get a photo of the full plate of warm, made-when-you-order-them doughnuts (accompanied by a sinful vanilla mascarpone spread and blackberry jam) because we had scarfed all but one of those doughnuts down before I could get my phone out of my pocket.  Our eggs benedict breakfasts were delicious—his with a steep pile of ham and mine with a bed of ripe cherry tomatoes and snappy arugula under the perfectly poached eggs and rich hollandaise sauce.  And those potatoes!  Little creamers boiled, smashed, and then fried—utterly amazing.  On top of that, our server was kind and attentive.  We were grateful to have this sweet celebration with only the tiniest of access issues.

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Parking:   Lola is located on the corner of 4th and Virginia, attached to Hotel Andra.  There is valet parking for the hotel, but we were able to park right in front on a weekday morning.  The step up to the curb is very short, and the curb at 4th and Virginia is ramped.  The wheelchair ride from the valet parking stop is smooth and flat, with no surprises.

Entrances:  This is the tricky part of Lola for wheelchair diners.  Although my daughter and son-in-law were very specific about which entry we should use, we used the wrong one.   There are three ways to get into the restaurant.

The street entry forces you to wheel through tightly spaced tables to get to the table that you will have reserved.  In fact, that table works best because you don’t have to enter at the street to get to it!  Don’t use the street entrance.

The second entry into the restaurant is on your right as you enter the hotel lobby.  If you enter the restaurant there, you’ll roll past a beautiful curved bar, which was empty when we were there, so navigable.  It would have been impossible to get through that space if those seats at the bar were full.  Don’t use this entrance either.

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The third entry into Lola, also from the hotel lobby, is the one you want.  Enter the hotel, go straight to the room registration desk, and turn right at the desk, as if you are going to the elevator.  Just past the elevator and across a corridor, you’ll see an “Exit” sign over a door, with a neon blue “Lola” sign on an adjacent wall.  Go in that door marked “Exit.”

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The table you will have asked to be reserved for you will be on your immediate left as you enter the restaurant from that door.

Tables:   Three rows of seating stretch along the windowed restaurant space, two banquettes with moveable tables and a row of booths between them.  The aisles in the restaurant are tight.  If the restaurant were full, many tables would be difficult to access without asking other diners to move for you.  But there is one table that avoids that problem.  The table you need to  reserve is the one next to the servers’ station, just east of the door you entered from–the door that also leads to the restrooms.  Ask for that table when you make your reservations.  The staff are very gracious about that request!

Restrooms:   The path to the bathrooms from the table you’ve reserved is a simple retracing of your entry into the restaurant.  Pull away from the table and take the exit that is marked with the male/female figures next to the server’s station, which is next to your table.

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Bathrooms are on your right, down the corridor.  The women’s bathroom is spacious—so spacious, in fact, that for those hobbling with canes, as I am, it’s quite a hike to the handicapped stall.  Once in that stall, though, you will find the space luxurious and well-barred.

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Photos of interior space online:  Yes on Google Images.

Photos of entrances online:  Not clear ones.

Reservations taken:  Yes.  Make sure you ask for the specific table next to the restroom exit door and the server station.  And tell them that Spoken Wheel recommended them when you call to reserve your spot!

What the wheelchair pusher has to say:  Flat and easy to get around.  The wait staff were really helpful.  The aisle ways were quite narrow but still manageable.  Overall, it was a great experience.

Photo credit:  Lola bar and entrance, www.tomdouglas.com

One thought on “Lola”

  1. Sounds remarkable. The food looks great and it looks like it is a popular place. Reservations for even breakfast!

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