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Mezze Around and Find Out at Lola Rose

Hungry Mirage

By The Hungry Mirage

Why Visit Lola Rose?

The Vibe

Dinner at Lola Rose is a scene. On any given night—even off-season—the dining room and lounge buzz with energy. Ask to have your valet parking validated for a flat $10 fee, then walk into a space that hums with style and intention. A live DJ spins weekend evenings, so don’t expect hushed conversation—this isn’t the spot for a quiet night. It is, however, a place to see and be seen.

Bespoke macrame, sculpture, and textile art are highlighted by warm lighting and gold-leaf wallpaper, giving the place a glow reminiscent of a night market stall in Beirut or Marrakech. The lounge is dynamic, with low tables for snacks and open space for dancing. Floor-to-ceiling glass draws your eye to a gorgeous view of the San Jacinto mountains, and the flow between the indoor lounge and the poolside patio feels both natural and chic. The crowd is an all-ages blend of well-heeled hotel guests in designer labels and festivalwear alongside colorful Palm Springs locals looking to make a night of it.

The Bar

At Lola Rose, the bar doesn’t just complement the kitchen—it’s in conversation with it. When Chef Quentin Garcia introduces a new ingredient, he collaborates with the bar team to integrate those flavors behind the stick. The result is a drink menu that echoes the food: vibrant, spiced, and thoughtfully layered.

Take the Desert Rose, for instance—inky black salt on the rim and ras el hanout (a warm, complex Middle Eastern spice blend) balances the prickly pear’s floral sweetness. My favorite, the baklava old fashioned, is warmly spiced and subtly sweet, right nod to its namesake pastry without being cloying or desserty. The most delightful surprise on the drink list is the tzatziki milk punch. Yes, it includes yogurt and coconut milk—but the drink is clarified with citrus and finishes herbal, smooth, and almost weightless. It’s unusual and thoroughly delicious. A bite of the food and then a sip of a cocktail echo one another and ground you in the rich complexity of the meal.

There are a few non-alcoholic options, including NA beer and spritzers, but the wine list left felt like it had a gap in it. There’s a decent bottle list and a few dozen wines by the glass, mostly leaning red to pair with the menu’s spice-forward stance. Apart from a few Greek options, I was disappointed not to see any wines from the Middle East. They’re not easy to import these days and some can be challenging to American palates, but if the restaurant’s goal is to educate and transport, I hope the wine list will eventually join the ride.

The Food

The menu at Lola Rose is a celebration of bold spices, regional history, and playful refinement. Chef Quentin and his team traveled extensively through the Middle East, cooking in real kitchens and eating the food that locals eat. That immersion shows.

I haven’t had the pleasure of brunch or lunch here yet, I’ll admit—but I intend to fix that. I also haven’t tried any of the large-format dishes, though Quentin made a strong pitch for the hawaij-spiced lamb shank. “If you’re really into food, this is for you,” he told me. It’s at the top of my list for next time.

The menu does an excellent job of straddling the line between accessible and exploratory. Quentin told me that over time, they’re “leaning more and more into the food, leaning more into dishes that you will never see here in Americanized Middle Eastern restaurants. It’s going into more of the uncomfortable vocabulary that people aren’t familiar with. … You’ve supported us, you trusted us. So let us guide you through this and just trust us to give you an even better future.” That invitation sets the tone for what’s to come.

Start with the condiments tucked over on the right hand side of the menu, and ask for recommendations if you’re not familiar with what you see. I put harissa on almost everything, and the new za’atar oil is another must. I just wish servers brought them out earlier in the meal rather than holding them for the second course.

The kombu-cured yellowtail is unexpected but welcome—grapes, mint, a cucumber aguachile, and pistachio rose vinaigrette give it a sense of place, even if the kombu itself feels like an outlier to me. The seaweed cure itself mellows the raw seafood flavor in the first bite and contrasts nicely with a brinier finish in tender slice of fish. In my future trips, I’m excited to try the coffee marinated spot prawns and the ahi crudo with avocado and lime-sesame vinaigrette.

Photo credit Thompson Palm Springs

Mezze and spreads are consistently excellent. The hummus is creamy, and the house-made pita is warm and fluffy. I challenge you to take a delicate bite—it begs to be scooped up in big, greedy swaths. (I highly recommend upgrading to add deeply savory grilled lamb or mushrooms and egg to take the dish up from simple and delicious to a more substantial showpiece.) Tabbouleh, tzatziki, and other classics are executed with care. The labneh is rich and delicately herbaceous, accented with tomato and marinated olives. The muhammara brings a deep, smoky sweetness thanks to bold roasting and fearless seasoning. A note to gluten-free diners: the spreads can come with crudités, but the veg could use refinement. Bigger pieces, uneven knife work, and raw density made them tough to dip. Thoughtful shaping and possibly a quick blanch would go a long way.

My favorite dish might be the tahdig, that glorious Persian rice with a crisp golden crust. Shatter it open and let the scent of saffron and basmati rise up—it’s an aromatic sensation. Coming soon: traditional Iranian rice molds to make the plating as stunning as the flavor.

The whipped ricotta was a standout. There’s mascarpone and crème fraîche in the mix, along with some lemon and a little floral vanilla for a lovely light and delicate dish. The platonically perfect strawberries from Harry’s Berries are charred over thyme and cooked softly for a jam with a savory edge, and the plate is garnished with pleasantly bitter dandelion greens. This dish reminded me of a New York style cheesecake, and I personally would have been happy to end my meal with it. If the goal was to make this a sweet and savory dish that was going to lead into my grilled kebab, I would have liked more of the dandelion and the smoke.

Photo credit Thompson Palm Springs

From the plates section of the menu, I loved the celebration bread, which looks simple on the menu but delivers alluring spice on top of a fresh and vegetal red pepper backbone. The bone marrow is unctuous and luxurious–pops of salinity from the capers and rich mild black garlic molasses mean you’ll be looking at your table for the perfect accompaniments to make sure not a speck is left behind.

The wings fried up crispy and delicious with their rich-but-not-heavy coconut cream sauce and the characteristic maple syrup aroma from fenugreek. Unfortunately, the kohlrabi slaw on top had wilted slightly by the time it reached me and I wasn’t quite sure how to eat it given that my preference is to go Henry VIII style and eat wings with my hands. There’s excellent falafel, dark brown, crisp and craggy on the outside, parsley-bright on the inside, dressed with verdant zhoug. The romanesco is a quiet standout with the hallmark tender-crisp texture that comes with a good high-heat cook, and curried yogurt and raisin marmalade giving sweet tangy depth to the mild brassica.

Photo credit Thompson Palm Springs

My favorite kebabs are the spicy lamb: richly spiced, perfectly seared, and milder than the name implies—I might ask for more heat next time. The swordfish kebab was a stunner, golden with turmeric and cooked just right with char on the outside and tender and juicy inside.

For dessert, the mango magick is a pretty amazing piece of trompe l’oiel that absolutely looks like its namesake. I appreciate that the almond cake inside isn’t too sweet, but I wanted much more fresh tart mango flavor. The Chocolate Von Lola with tahini cake, sesame seeds, and milk chocolate, was well balanced and perfectly into the menu–a lovely capstone for the night.

Photo credit Thompson Palm Springs

Service and Pricing

At $90 for two, the petite mezze is more than enough food and fairly priced. The $160 grand mezze is an even better way to try almost everything, especially if you’ve got a group or love bringing home leftovers to keep the party rolling. Large-format dishes serve at least two and often more, so ask your server what makes sense for your party.

I’ve had good experiences with service overall, but pacing has been a little bumpy in past visits. Dishes occasionally land all at once, leading to a game of mezze Tetris while the busser hovers with a tray and conversation at the table stops. It’s a small quibble in an otherwise gracious experience.

Final Thoughts

A meal at Lola Rose, Quentin told me, “is definitely an exploratory experience.” And it is. Lola Rose isn’t just a Middle Eastern restaurant—it’s a journey through a region’s flavors, respectfully researched and interpreted with ambition. Come hungry and come curious for a passport-free culinary trip to the Middle East.

Lola Rose Grand Mezze
📍414 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262 (inside the Thompson Hotel)
📞 (760) 778-1234
🌐 lolaroseps.com
📅 Hours

📲 Reservations via OpenTable

© 2025 Hungry Mirage

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