Bolla
2927 Maple Avenue
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 599-0248
We arrived about 10 minute before our reservation so we just chilled at the Bolla Bar. Walking into the hotel I already liked the decor. I especially liked all the different types of lights and chandeliers they have all over the place. Some of those chandeliers I would love to have in my own home!
We checked in with the hostess when it was time for our reservation and we were immediately seated. We got the big dining table in the back of the restaurant. (It's the one shown in the pictures on their website. It has the giant "THE" on the wall.) We all commented on the decor of the entire place. A lot of interesting pieces and it was quite sophisticated. The large dining table was cool, but a little too big. I felt like we had to talk louder across the table to each other...
Our waiter came by and passed out the menus. He was very friendly and went over the menu a little bit. He also informed us that their wine pairing option for restaurant week was a very good deal. Only additional $10 for a glass of wine with each the appetizer and entree! It was a great deal!
After we made our orders, they came by with the bread basket and we were given both types of bread with whipped butter. The butter was so light and fluffy and yummy!
Braised Pork Belly (Butter bibb wedge salad, Napa Valley blue cheese, heirloom tomatoes).
I knew I was getting this from the first time I looked up their menu online. I can never say no to pork belly!! :P The presentation was very nice. Lots of colors and was very delicate. The pork belly was awesome! It was fork tender and had great flavor. It was just TOO SMALL!! haha. The wedge salad was pretty standard as far as flavor goes but the lettuce was super fresh.
Roasted Poblano Caesar Salad (crab cocktail, charred avocado, crisp plantains).
My bf ordered everything I didn't so I get to try his. hehe. I loved this salad. The salad dressing had a nice heat to it. It was a great addition to change up a normal caesar salad. The charred avocado and plantains were ok, I felt like they didn't really add to the dish at all. The crab cocktail was also excellent. Giant chunks of crab in a refreshing cocktail sauce and it was spicy! YUM! If I had the caesar salad with the pork belly, that would've been an amazing starter!
Central Market Optional 4th Course --
Lobster Mac "N" Cheese (watercress salad, white cheddar).
I had 2 of these coupons. :) I loved the crispy outside of the mac n cheese. It was made with orzo pasta and plenty of lobster inside. I wished it had some black pepper or a dash of cayenne or something to add a spicy element. But my bf liked it as is. Overall it was tasty!
2nd Course --
Boneless Bandera Quail (thyme gnocchi, white Texas peaches, wilted greens).
This was my entree since my bf opted for the Snapper. I'm glad I got this one cuz it was amazing! The quail was so tender, probably the best quail I've ever had. The flavor was great especially with the sauce. The peaches added a mild sweetness to the dish and the greens provided that necessary veggie element. The only thing I didn't really care for was the gnocchi. It was doughy and dense so texturally it was off. At least the flavor was ok and it wasn't a big part of the plate. I really enjoyed the dish and it was a good portion size in my opinion.
Tortilla Crusted Red Snapper (red onion, anaheim chile rajas, asadero polenta, tequila orange butter).
The portion didn't seem that big but it was very filling. The fish was cooked well but I didn't really care for the tortilla crusted part. First of all, it was corn tortilla and I don't really like the corn flavor (that's the main reason I don't like enchiladas or tacos with corn tortilla...) Just something about that corn flavor I don't like...but that's personal preference. Second, because it's "crusted" I thought it would have a crispy outside and it wasn't. Good thing they had fried onions on top, otherwise the dish was really missing that crunchy element. The fish itself was a little bland but the onion and chile were full of flavor. So you really needed to get all the components on the dish into one bite. Each thing separately were meh, but put all into one bite was good. The polenta was creamy and very filling. My bf was full before he finished the dish! Overall it was a good dish, just not great.
Dessert --
Cheesecake Three Ways (chocolate, raspberry, white chocolate).
Most of us chose the cheesecake and I think it was definitely the right choice. The presentation was very cute and whimsical. I was quite full by then so the small portion of the dessert was actually perfect. All the cheesecakes were good in terms of flavor and texture but the chocolate was my favorite. It had a bitter-sweet/dark chocolate flavor so it wasn't overly sweet. I also loved the dark chocolate sauce on the plate. I scraped all that up with the cookie.
Mango Chile Creme Brulee (papaya sorbet, coconut cake, pina colada icing).
I'm allergic to mango and I don't particularly like coconut so it was really easy for me to choose my dessert. This one was a lot bigger than the cheesecakes. My friends all liked the creme brulee but my bf said the sorbet was kinda weird?
Other --
Petite Plates: Braised Beef Short Ribs (smoked BBQ, caramelized onions, warm truffle potato salad) $12~
One of my friends also ordered something from the regular menu. Mmmm...braised short ribs...one of my favorite things ever! The portion was sooo small! :( But the presentation was very nice. It was clean and beautiful. The short rib was A-MAZING! Fork tender and sooo delicious. I had no idea it was a potato salad though. First of all the chunks of potato were crunchy so I kept thinking it was something else. Also, it had a slight celery flavor to it... It was interesting, but I thought the crunchy potatoes with the soft short rib was a nice contrast in texture. I'm not sure about paying $12 for one bite of short rib though. hahaha.
I enjoyed the dinner a lot. I think overall the food was pretty great. The service was good, but since Charlie Palmer, nothing can really compare. haha. I'm forever spoiled... The waiter was very friendly and I liked the fact that he introduced all the dishes when they were served. But there were little things here and there I noticed that he didn't do or notice. I might just be picky now since my standards have gone up. haha. But everyone in the restaurant greeted us as we walked by and were very cordial and friendly. It is definitely a great place for a special occasion.
Quality of Food:
Service:
Cleanliness:
Value (for RW):
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I liked my wheat bread. It was warm and had great texture.
It's basically risotto with wild mushrooms formed into a ball and fried. It was fried perfectly. Delish!!
The waiter told us that the Cavatelli is made mostly with ricotta. I thought the texture was similar to gnocchi. I liked the pasta a lot. The bolognese was ok. I couldn't really tell the meat was duck since it was ground meat and it could've used a bit more spice. I feel like the sauce could've used a bit more punch.
This was the best appetizer I thought. The beef tartare was fresh and had great texture. The meat was rich and velvety. The herb aioli was pretty awesome with the tartare.
I didn't try this but my friend said it was really good. She finished it all.
This was what I ordered. The chorizo was really the selling point for me. haha. It was interesting with the chorizo crust on top but I thought it should've had more of a crisp sear and more flavor. Typically chorizo has a ton of flavor and I didn't get it here. The salmon was cooked well, nice and tender and pink. Overall, it was good, but needed a bit more contrast in flavors.
This was my other choice but my friend got it so I can sample. hehe. The cod was cooked well but flavor was just ok. The char siu pork on the other hand was pretty awesome. Great flavor and really tender. My friend thought the fish was a bit too salty but I didn't think so at all. We both agreed that it would've been good with a side of rice though! haha.
This was agreed to be the best entree of the night. The portion wasn't that big but it tasted great. It had a great seared crust on the edges of the meat and was so tender. I loved the gremolata on top. The raw garlic really added a nice spice to the meat.
This was quite interesting. It was the biggest entree portion out of everything. Maltagliati is almost like sheets of lasagna that were cut into wide strips, almost like pappardelle the waiter explained. I think I would've preferred actual pappardelle though. The pasta texture wasn't that great. A little softer than I prefer. The fried chicken livers were pretty awesome though. I was surprised that the pieces were that large. The batter on them were so flavorful and crunchy. YUM. The dish also needed a bit more depth of flavor...a spicy element would've helped.
I loved the little bowl it came in. It needed more cream though. I like creamed spinach to be thicker and it was a bit more watery than I prefered. But the flavors were light and fresh.
Their desserts were the best part of the meal in my opinion. Everything was good. The passion fruit and blueberry tart was one of my favorites of the entire night. Bursting with passion fruit flavors with the plump fresh blueberries and buttery crust. YUM-O! The chocolate tart was deep and rich. Also a great dessert.
We didn't really know what to expect with this since the description was kinda hard to picture. It was a pretty small dessert and didn't look super pretty or anything. But it was delicious. Imagine a mixture of creme brulee and panacotta on top of a thin layer of chocolate wafer crisp. The milk chocolate flavor really tasted high quality and the texture of the brulee cotta was creamy and smooth. One of my favorite elements was the wafer on the bottom. It wasn't too crunchy to overpower the brulee cotta on top. It was just the right contrast in texture.
This was my pick for dessert. I liked it a lot. The fruits were chunky and fresh. I loved the crisp and ice cream on top, I just wish there was more of it! I devoured the whole thing!
I think they were baked fresh in house. It was yum! The outside had a good crust and inside was pillowy and warm. Plus the butter was whipped!! :)
My bf ordered this and ended up not liking it because arugula tends to be quite bitter. So he traded with me. I liked the salad though. It wasn't too bitter for me and I really liked the contrast of the fennel with it. The fennel was crisp and was able to cut the bitterness of the arugula. Everything was fresh and the dressing was light. It was a very healthy salad.
I didn't get to try this but the presentation was very cute.
My bf ordered this. The green beans were pretty normal so I'm just going to move on to the star of the plate, the steak! It was a tiny little piece but OMG it was delicious. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare. The coffee crust on the outside was seared nicely and the meat inside was sooo ridiculously tender it was like almost like eating ahi tuna! I liked the blueberry chipotel sauce as well. Who would've thought coffee and beef and blueberries? And it wasn't too sweet...it was a great flavor combination.
Some other friends ordered this. The pork was fantastic. Cooked perfectly... tender, juicy, flavorful. The lentils underneath were ok. The flavors were nice but I thought they were a little grainy?
This was a pretty large piece of cake. It was super rich and chocolately. YUM! I wished it had a scoop of ice cream on the side though. haha. I shared with my bf so we killed it. other friends weren't able to finish because it was quite rich. But all said it was really good.
This was pretty typical fried bananas. It was good, but nothing uber special.
This was really fresh and I told them to go easy on the dressing so it was perfectly dressed in my opinion. My bf ended up eating most of it though, since we switched. hehe.
This was amazing. For an appetizer this was a pretty huge portion! There were 5 large prawns on top of the grits. The shrimp were plump and cooked perfectly and had super bold flavors. It had a nice kick of heat and paired with the creamy grits it was awesome. The grits were good as well. I liked the chunks of corn kernels in there too. I'd say this is probably one of the best shrimp and grits I've had ever!
