Restaurant Lalola

One of the main restaurants that my friends and I have come to love is a small diner down the street called Lalola. In Barcelona, I have made sure to experience all sorts of different restaurants; ranging from typical Spanish cuisine to Chinese restaurants throughout the city. However, if there is one restaurant I could really consider a place where I actually have a connection to the people it is Lalola. Originally, we came to this restaurant in the first week of the semester. This restaurant was the first place we ate at as it was very close by and we were very hungry after settling down. One of the things that drew our attention to this place was that it was very cheap and had a wide variety of dishes we could eat. However, once we sat down I realized this would definitely be a place I would come back to visit pretty often. Sometimes restaurants lose their appeal if you go too often because you get sick of eating the same thing; there was no such problem at this restaurant. Throughout the course of the semester, I would say I probably have eaten there once or twice a week and have sampled a good portion of the menu. When I go to the restaurant, I generally order a tapa to begin the meal followed by an entrée. If I had to choose one meal that I really enjoy, it would have to be mussels to start out with, and a chorizo sandwich for my meal. In the United States, I really enjoyed mussels but it was not very common that I could go out and get them; at a cheap price nonetheless. Therefore, I felt it was only necessary to indulge while I was there. When it comes to chorizo, I have eaten my fair share since I have been in Barcelona. Some of the other meals and tapas I would generally have include trikini, margherita pizzas, and patatas bravas. Because we went to this restaurant so often, I developed a level of comfort when I sat down. Whenever I would go for a takeout order or to sit down, the employees were very friendly and would strike up conversation with me. In particular, there was one cook behind the counter who spoke English, so we were able to communicate very easily, while I tried my best to improve my Spanish by talking to some of the waiters (even though sometimes I would just have to smile and nod my head). Lalola was definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Barcelona not because it was a five star restaurant I had ever been to, but because it helped me to find a niche in Barcelona. This place helped me to adapt to living here, and really interact with Spanish people as well as enjoying some great Spanish food.