Lola's Latin Bistro was the perfect private restaurant venue for my Dad's 60th surprise party for which we had 50 guests. Owner, Shiv and Juan were communicative, knowledgeable, and accommodating throughout the planning process, during the party itself, and even after. At the time we hosted our party (July 2025), Lola's wasn't open for lunch so we had the whole restaurant (and patio!) to ourselves from noon to 4:30pm with a flexible set-up time prior to the party start. Guests arrived around noon with the surprise guest of honor arriving around 12:30pm. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The connectivity from indoor space to outdoor patio takes this venue to the next level; perfect for a celebratory cigar and beautiful weather days.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] For set-up, we arrived around 11:15am and had plenty of time to set-up with help from the staff. What's incredible about Lola's owners and staff is that they don't just help you with anything and everything, they WANT to help you with anything and everything. They felt more like family friends than restaurant or venue staff. We could tell they truly cared about us, the party, and really wanted to make everything as special as possible. They helped us with everything from the exact table and chair arrangement in the room to decor and even a spotify playlist. Anytime we needed anything throughout the duration of the party they were eager and willing to help. Appetizers were served family style, then the entrees, then we did toast prior to dessert. For parties of 4 or more, they offer a sampling of their menu in a family style setting, $40 per person with Ropa Vieja (cooked beef stew to perfection over white rice) or $48 per person with skirt steak with 20% required for all reservations of 9 people or more. Some of the other menu favorites were the chorizo ajillo (Spanish sausage sauteed in garlic) and the salmon asado con mango caliente (grilled atlantic salmon with a mildly spiced mango glaze with pineapple salsa and polenta cakes). Everything was delicious. For drinks, it's BYOB. We provided red and white bottles of wine which were opened at our direction by the staff and placed on the tables and in ice buckets around the room. Additionally, one pitcher of Lola's signature red sangria was placed on every table, for which we provided Carlo Rossi Merlot (recommended by the owners, deliciously approved by me). [[HIGHLIGHT]]One of my favorite things about Lola's for a party or special occasion is how colorful it is, leaving us with vibrant and lasting photographs and memories for years to come.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]As you can see from our photos, guests were smiling and happy with many complimenting us after the fact on what a fun and well done party it was.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Highly recommend. read more

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Very interesting menu. Tasty food we love the tostadas and the quesadillas. Will try other items

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Very cute place that's perfect for dinner or a special occasion.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We had the yuca appetizer which was tasty. They provide bread and a what seems like sundried tomato olive pil. The servers were attentive. read more

Stopped by with my husband for dinner. There is a lot of parking space in the back. Upon arriving we got seated right away and the waiter came with the bread. It was alright and so was the tomato and olive oil. My husband ordered the steak and I ordered the glazed salmon. His food was so delicious! The meat was nice and tender. My husband loved the green sauce that came with it. My dish on the other hand.. the salmon was flavorless and the sauce was too sweet, whatever was underneath smelled weird. I thought it was a cake and my husband thinks Yucca, but I love Yucca. It was rectangle and the outside was hard and the inside crumbles like a muffin. He ended up finishing it for me. The place is ok. Bit on the louder side but that expected of a restaurant like this that most ppl show up with drinks and big groups of friends. Also the place is BYOB! Which is awesome. My rating is 3.5 they don't have halfs, if I could come back and get another dish I would do so and update my review. The staff was extremely nice! read more

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Great spot! Fish sandwich was delicious. Service was attentive and fast. BYOB with liquor store next door. Rib appetizer is awesome with a mango bbq sauce. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Fish Basa sandwich. Very good. Tasty fresh fish with delicious slaw - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

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Drove nearly two hours to check this restaurant out and I wasn't thrilled with the food. The manager of this location was super friendly the other staff here was not. There's outside and indoor seating place had nice decor . The Bread was delicious! Empanadas was the first dish, presentation of the dish was great but it all started after tasting it was not good at all!! The empanadas were over cooked/fried super hard unable to eat. The Mofongo was hard with no flavor, again the presentation was great but the flavors were not there at all. We had to add salt and pepper. The ropa vieja was not authentic, I have eaten this dish before and was so excited to try it out here. The meat had no flavor at all, the rice tasted like instant rice, no salt added. I was a bit disappointed. The only dish that was enjoyed at our table was the ribs had flavor and was enjoyed. I hope that this review is read so that adjustment can be made to the flavors of the each dish. read more

Always a great experience - good food and service! Try the bean dip. one of my faves!

Food- authentic and came out hot and not premade. Service- one guy who did a great job. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambiance - very Latin[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] They run a great special -$50 per couple includes a shared appetizer and two entrees. Portions very large. Saboroso read more

As soon as we walked in we noticed how cute the restaurant is. There's florals, a large painting on the back wall, and other well thought out decor. We were seated right away. They have a simplified menu with great options. Our server was very kind and brought out bread and oil right away. I did not personally like the oil it was served with. Our appetizer took quite a while to arrive, which she did apologize for. We had the ribs and they fell right off the bone! The ropa vieja and skirt steak with chimmi churri were both good. I personally did not like the tres leches (not pictured). It is a BYO restaurant. We went on a Friday night and we were surprised to learn they close at 9pm. Overall, it was a pretty good experience. read more

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Desafortunadamente una comida sin algún sazón latino, un arroz moro sin sabor. El churrasco estaba más o menos, un poco de sabor pero nada especial. El servicio estuvo bien, pero lamentablemente no recomiendo este restaurante. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Churrasco a la plancha. - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

We had catering delivered. The owner was nice enough to deliver the food. All the food were delicious and not too salty or oily. The ribs were very tender and falls off the bone. The chicken was not too dry but a little bland. But I put it in my salad as my protein and added some evoo. It was perfect. The mashed potato balls were tasty and crunchy. I didn't even use the tartar sauce. Desserts: Egg flan pie was excellent, not too sweet or too rich. Apple layer crumb pie- excellent! Lots of thin sliced apples , well spiced and not too sweet. Chocolate fudge pie-. Simply indulgent! Right amount of sweetness! read more

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Food always great, big portions, [[HIGHLIGHT]]nice atmosphere and outside patio.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] BYOB with liquor store right next door for an easy grab. read more

they were closed on a friday, wish they communicate that to Yelp and not book reservation

I love this place! The best chicken dish!!! So good. So fresh and home made. Service is nice too.

Excellent food, nice ambience and great value for your meal. I will definitely go back and try different entrees. BYOB read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Menu - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

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Food : 4 stars Service : 3 stars Ambience : Good Food was good. . . Quattro Formaggio : Bowtie pasta with mozzarella, fontina, parmesan and provolone cheeses in a pink sauce with plum tomatoes: Thumbs up! . . Camarones Marsalita : Sauteed jumbo shrimp with coconut and ginger cream and grilled asparagus : Delicious! . . . Pollo Con Cilantro Y Juego Citrico : Cilantro citrus chicken with coconut rice and green onions : The citrusy taste was more than intense for me. They were very very kind to take it off my check. Thank you ! . . Flan : Delicious! . . Overall my experience was not too bad. read more

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Another girls lunch and this spot was picked by one of the girls. They opened for lunch just for us and we had a large party pf people. The place normally opens at 5pm. When I arrived I found parking in the back of the establishment. We had seats outside and we were put near a firepit. This place was really cute. We were served by Shiv and he was great. This place is byob and they can make a sangria for you. I ordered the the chicken breast for about $23 . When the food came out it looked awesome but the citrus taste was a bit too much for me. It was ok not great. At the end of the meal they gave us complimentary dessert and it was so good and nice of them. All in all we all had a good time. read more

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Went to Lola for dinner on Tuesday night! My friend and I ordered off the 2 for $50 menu. Its a great deal! The staff was so attentive and the food was excellent, we got one app to split and two entrees. I got the chipotle chicken, the chipotle sauce is amazing! My friend got the basa, she loved her dish as well. I like what they are doing with the deal menu! read more

Went with my friends to celebrate our birthday dinner. This is the first time I went to the restaurant. We were greeted with warm bread and dipping sauce, which was simply amazing. The owner himself came out and greeted us. Discuss the menu and I actually had a lot of questions and he explained how the restaurant came about and how the menu was decided upon. It was a very nice experience. The food was delicious. The service was exquisite. I would definitely go back again. I do wish we took a picture because the plates were very attractive. read more

Lola's always comes through with great service and food. One of my favorite spots in metuchen.

This place is a gem! I was looking for an excellent option to celebrate my birthday and found this restaurant. The decor is super cute and showcases a big passport where you see stamps from several Latin American countries (although I complained that I didn't see Ecuador anywhere). The server we had was very knowledgeable about the menu, and he made a few suggestions that, in the end, we were pleased with. The restaurant doesn't have an extensive menu, but in my opinion, it is better that way. We were a party of 10 people, and we all enjoyed our dishes. Kudos to the owner! read more

I love the atmosphere a very spot to eat at when the weather is nice. It's a BYOB but there's a liquor store next door with a good selection. The food is decent I would definitely go back. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Bacalao en Salsa a la Veracruzana - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

Been here a few times over the past 6 years and always good quality food, no bar, BYOB, big portions, but menu is not many options but everything on it is great read more

This was an exploratory visit after volleyball , as it always looked busy. Well .. the food was excellent and even chicken nuggets for the you gest member of the family- its BYO which saves on the bill, and Wine chateau is next door if you need to buy a bottle of wine . There is a small room that can seat 14 for a private function. Coffee was good too. Just needed tablecloths on tables outside - was a but sparse . We moved indoors and much better with latin music in the background too , which could be heard outside . All round worth the visit , was not that pricey either - $80 for 3 of us. Parking recommended on side street if space , but there was a car park at rear . Will be back when they refresh their menu-- well done read more

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As someone who has eaten at many amazing restaurants, from high end-low end Lola's Latin Bistro did not disappoint. I was not sure as I'm typically skeptical (sorry suburbs), but overall experience was great! Ambience was super cute, clean, modern yet authentic to the restaurants theme (not kitschy). Food was excellent. From the start of bread with oil drenched with Sun-dried tomatoes was super flavorful. Appetizers were lovely and 2 was enough for our table of 6. Crispy calamari was pan fried perfectly, not chewy or tough. The dressing was fresh, citrusy and greens were perfect compliment to the "fried". Chicken empanadas were nice, meat was shredded nicely so texture overall was very good. Our mains were the hit. All fresh fish with interesting ingredients combinations. Ropa Vejia was tender, full of the rich flavor. The rice, white rice was even flavorful. I tasted everyone's dish, the salmon with polenta had a nice sauce & the size of the fish was enough for 2 ppl. Skirt steak was my favorite, perfect sear, medium, tender and full of flavor. Will definitely be coming back! Staff was super nice as wel. read more

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The food was authentic latin fare with a great flank steaks, salmon and chicken. The green salad has a nice sauce. The service was good. BYO as they do not serve liquor. But the food was very delicious. I definitely will be back! read more

Nice cozy BYOB place. We arrived just before 5PM on Monday, but there was a private party and the only available seats were outside in the middle of October. Thankfully it was not a cold day and there was no breeze so it was kinda of beautiful Autumn day, but I prefer to be inside so our food stays warm. As we drank our wine and ate the complimentary bread, the large party was done and our dinner arrived in time to eat inside. Our food was delicious and service was great. Met Jack the co-owner who was very pleasant in trying to get us indoors. The place got busy as soon as we started to eat. We will return. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Chimichurri Skirt Steak with black beans - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

Best place to celebrate special moments with friends or family. food and service is amazing. read more

We went to LOLA because it's a BYOB and the food is good. It was empty and it's started to look a bit worn. Menus are dirty and old. It's in need of a good uplifting renovation. Never less we ordered our appetizers opened a couple of bottles of wine and enjoyed the fresh bread with sun dried tomatoes dip. We ordered the flautas, mushrooms, and the wedge salad. Flautas were buried under a heap of lettuce and diced tomatoes with a sauce that tasted like remoulade sauce. My flautas were extra crispy. I had to move all the lettuce to find them. No pleased but I was hungry. Mushrooms were enjoyed thou it was served in a small cast iron skillet. Wedge lettuce salad was the best one. Nothing to it!! We ordered the special which was hanger steak with fingerlings potato and I believe asparagus with a wine sauce. Loved this plate it was delicious!! I would return when I need a BYOB. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Dining wall art - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

Came for a family style birthday dinner and the service was so slow I was hungry before leaving the restaurant. The food portions were very small for a large group, only received 2 of each for about 16 people. We ordered the chicken, salmon, pasta and ropa vieja. Unfortunately we didn't get salmon but tilapia instead, they couldn't explain why. Over all the food was good just need larger portions with all the delays of waiting in between. A nice perk is that it is BYOB and there's a wine chateau within the same plaza. read more

Location Great! Plenty of parking outdoor patio as well. Clean welcoming colors. Restaurant New busboy on the money! Keeps your glass full of water constantly! Took dishes away promptly, had a great attitude. Waiter is one of two brothers. They also are nice. Food Cappuccino better than Starbucks! Seriously had it with dessert. Apple something can't remember. Closing Yes I'll be back in the Summer. read more

Important: Make Reservations Things to know: - BYOB (they can make sangria for you so bring the wine - Wine Store NEXT DOOR - Parking in the back, side, front - noise level average.... You can hear each other without screaming across the table Food was delicious. Complimentary warm rolls with a side of olives/olive oil was given. I didnt have any because I wanted to save room in the belly but my friends loved it. My faves was the following: Tapas - Chorizo (tad spicy but so good) and the goat cheese empanada (banging!) Another was the Yucca with aioli but warn u its a bit heavy. Apps - Peruvian Ceviche was very tasty. Lola Wedge was delicious. Not my fave was the garlic shrimp. It lacked flavor and I hardly tasted the garlic. Entree - Man I was so full at this point but we ordered the Crusted Crabmeat Snapper over seafood risotto...that was ON POINT!!! So so good. The seafood entree (clams, muscles, shrimp, etc) with side of coconut rice was good....it didnt wow me though. Service was great until we wanted dessert but the waitress never came back to take our order so we just got coffee. So no reviews on dessert and upset she didn't care for us to order. Oh well. I definitely would come back. Cute decor as well. read more

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Great little place with a neat atmosphere. The owner was great. Service was top notch. It is a BYOB. We ordered a sample of a few different dishes to share. (ceviche, gnocchi and sausage appetizer special, fried peppers, and black bean dip appetizer special) The presentation of each dish was great. Colorful and neatly plated. Each dish had its own distinct flavor. The sausage in the gnocchi and spicy sausage was cold. Not sure how that was possible but a few pieces were cold. When I got the bill a plate of 5 fried peppers was $15.95. I don't know if that was a mistake but thats a lot for a plate of peppers and the tapas menu shows them listed at $5.95. I did not say anything. Overall a great time and I wold come back. Parking hard but there is parking on the street. They have a fire pit outside. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Fried peppers. Great flavor, nice heat, but really $15.95 for 5 peppers??? - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

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Very hip, cozy, vibrant, and inviting latin (Colombian) restaurant. The service was great and the food was delicious. My husband and I enjoyed a late night dinner here after a spa day and were not disappointed. Definitely a nice place to enjoy intimate conversation and dining with company you enjoy. read more

The food here is great! I actually really like this spot. I wondered why this place had such low reviews, and I came to notice that this was mostly due to service issues they've had. I came here a long time ago and also experienced a long wait time for food (party of 14), as others have previously mentioned. I came back again after several years and was extremely impressed with how quickly everything came out. The service was top notch! I wish I knew the servers name because he was just great. We never had to wait for anything and he made some great recommendations as far as most popular dishes. As far as the food, the sun dried tomato oil dip is amazing. We had the ceviche and crab salad for apps, and we enjoyed both. For the main entree, we got the shrimp and skirt steak and both were scrumptious! We had to leave some room for dessert and ordered espressos and a mascarpone cheesecake (light and delicious). The decor is cute and does give off the Cuban vibe. The restaurant has plenty of seating and everything is kept tidy. There was also some light music playing in the background, which was a cool touch. This place is good for a cute date or for group gatherings. Must knows: -They have plenty of parking here -BYOB -Directly next to a liquor store with large wine selection -You can purchase the cheesecake whole if you give notice -Outside seating area with a fire pit -They take reservations; so make one! read more

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Very nice venue, but food was lacking. Appetizer was delicious, but both meals were lacking. Not including tip the bill for two came to $80.00. Very inexpensive compared to Manhattan, but as the saying goes you get what you pay for. Aside from food lacking flavor, service was not up to par. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - Appetizer was excellent - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey

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Always an amazing experience highly recommended. The staff is always attentive and courteous

Place was empty except for plenty of staff standing around doing nothing and they wouldn't sit a party of 2 with out a reservation. Poorly managed restaurant. read more

From a food point of view, it was a really good dinner. I enjoyed my Lola's Wedge and my Chicken dish over rice with fruit sauce. Both were excellent. In fact, everyone in our party enjoyed their food. My friends loved the raw tuna appetizer that I had recommended as well as their main courses. However, the rest of the dining experience there was pretty meh. The tables were right on top of each other and people were hitting into my chair all night. Our server was handing me my dishes since he couldn't get around the table to place them down. This isn't acceptable. Then you have the owner hanging out at various tables. I actually find this to be a nice touch but when your restaurant is so cramped, you are not helping the process by blocking narrow aisles. Sorry. Maybe it would have been a better idea to help the food carriers on this particular night. As a result of the extremely cramped situation, the noise level was well beyond anything close to being acceptable. When the waiter came to take our order, one of my friend's ordered the swordfish dish from the menu. The server explained that they didn't have the swordfish this night. Not that they were out of it but that they didn't have it. This info would have been more helpful when we were given the menus. Finally, there was coffee in my hair. Maybe I should have said hair in my coffee but it was a rather large and long piece of hair. Because the food was really good tonight, I am giving it 3 stars but some of the other things I mention are serious concerns going forward. read more

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My friends and I had a really enjoyable dinner at Lola - great food and atmosphere. This is definitely someplace to go with a group, not just for the enjoyment but for the opportunity to sample a wider variety of tapas, appetizers, meals, and desserts. The first thing we were given after being seated was a basket of freshly baked rolls and ramekins of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil to spread on them. Butter? Who needs butter? These were delicious. We started with a round of tapas. I felt mine, the sauteed mushrooms in garlic ($4.50) was probably the best deal and the tastiest. The flavor of the garlic was balanced by lemon. The shrimp and calamari were also tasty. We also ordered some ribs, which were meat-fell-off-the-bone tender. The seafood empenadas, while also tasty, had a puff pastry crust which was probably originally crisp but became soggy either due to a little residual oil or absorbing some of the sauce, or both. My entree, the marinated pork tenderloin ($21.95) was quite a large portion of juicy pork sliced into medallions about 1/2 inch thick. The latin slaw accompanying it was interesting in texture, but I thought it could have had even more flavor, perhaps a bit more lime. The other dish I sampled, the Mariscada con Chorizo (22.95) was a combination of shrimp, scallops, clams mussels, calamari, chorizo and roasted vegetables. I liked the seafood, especially the scallops, and evidently all the seafood was delicious, because it was only after we left that we realized there was little - if any - chorizo in the dish. Overall, dinner was quite enjoyable. For dessert, we sampled as many of the cheesecakes as possible. They were all rich and creamy and delicious, but the chocolate cheesecake confused me because it had a smoky taste to it. Our waitress was fantastic. She never wrote anything down for our entire order - tapas and entrees for 6 including doneness of meats. She repeated the order for us before placing it to make sure she had it correctly. The dinners came out promptly and without problems. This is not a place to go if you're in a hurry. This is a place to enjoy dinner in the company of friends. read more

Lola Latin Bistro - An assortment of their cheesecakes. - Latin American Near Me - Metuchen, New Jersey