lulabistro in Guad (A world class resturant in my opinion)

www.lulabistro.com
contacto@lulabistro.com
3647-6423

This is a very good expensive restaurant and I really don't need folks telling me it costs too much. It doesn't for what you get. You would pay double in USA. Now for the review.


We have a gourmet club that meets every month or so and we go to Guad to eat. We have been to at least 8 resturants and so far this is the winner. We came back last week for the third time and tried the new menu. Its all about the food with both its looks and taste being the priority.
The restaurant itself does not look the part as it is very plain and simple along with plain style clothes for the staff. The manager never left the restaurant and always watched the staff. Its not a normal menu. You have a choice of 4,6,8,12 courses with the four course starting out at around 450 pesos. The food is the show and now I understand why the restaurant looks the way it does. Course after course showed up with some covered in glass and smoke to be revealed. Wow what flavors! Sometimes you get something that is mixed and tastes that way. Here you got one flavor than another not a mix. Each serving was on a different type of place and everything was colorful and presented by a staff of three serving our group of eight. I am not claiming I have extra ordinary taste buds but I do know good and I can only compare it to the Martini house in Napa a former now closed one star Michelin restaurant. All eight enjoyed the meal and one presentation was so awsum my hands were shaking in anticipation. One person asked for more bread and was charged for it which was the only negative and not a big one.

Give it a try for a special event it is worth every peso. We want to go back and share a 12 course in the future. Guad has many good resturants this one is in the top looks and taste wise with excellent help and a good beer and wine list.

Z

is it normal for good looking chicas in mini faldas to hang out on the couches?

Pedro wrote:is it normal for good looking chicas in mini faldas to hang out on the couches?

That's why it's world class!

I agree with Zed. Lula Bistro is over the top and world class! We had the 8 courses the last time we were there in December and we were stuffed! You can read several good reviews, including mine, on Trip Advisor.

We went several months ago. The only thing they excelled at was pretentiousness. The food was mediocre at best. The ridiculous concept of serving a small hor d'oeuvre as a course is a trend that will fade quickly, especially at the ridiculous prices charged.

Too each his own. Personally, I thought it was a bargain!

David wrote:Too each his own.  Personally, I thought it was a bargain!

Absolutely. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't mind spending on exceptional meals either. I just didn't find the food worthy of the prices.

Did you all meet the owner Lula, the Black Lab?   (if you did, your on the inside track)

Seriously.....
What would you expect, as the owner/chef Darren Walsh is an Irish lad from Ballyshannon up in county Donegal, where all the best Irish people come from.
We like the food.....it's good, but pricey.  The whole place/concept is a novelty that won't get steady repeat business, frequent enough to be a roaring success, but good enough to fill a niche of "doing something different", dining wise.
For the sake of ethnic loyalty we'll keep supporting him and hope he does well......better than our Mexican friend from Guadalajara, Gustavo "Fulano", who went to Dublin, opened a restaurant, but couldn't make it go.

hank chance wrote:We went several months ago. The only thing they excelled at was pretentiousness. The food was mediocre at best. The ridiculous concept of serving a small hor d'oeuvre as a course is a trend that will fade quickly, especially at the ridiculous prices charged.

Wow. We had eight in our party and all eight agreed on the quality and looks of the food. This same group always has some complaint about the other resturants we went to. Yes it is a version of what we had called California Cuisine which has been around for 20 years or so and is hardly new. Same meal in Napa, SF, Portland, Seattle would be twice as much. I guess you don't like the concept but I will point out half got the four course and half got the six course and no one was hungry so small can be good and filling. Yes it is not traditional and at one time before I met my wife I probably would have made the same comments you made. Still can't eat cold raw fish but have learned to eat things that push me. The food and layers of taste were beyond the norm. Out of curiosity what restaurant would you consider in Guad to be superior and how about a review Hank?

Z

Not Hank, but......
I'm a steak, potatoes, and salad kind of person, so I would rate La Vaca Argentina, La Matera, El Fogon del Pibe, Almecen del Bife, and a few other similar type restaurants ahead of Lula, but that's just a personal preference of the type of food I like.
Lula is great for an unique experience but not a regular go to place for me. He has named it "bistro", which usually indicates "modest" food and prices, which it has neither.  The only thing "bistro", is the location, in an old warehouse that has been optimized to the max (for a warehouse).
My favorite "food" there are the pints of Guinness, which taste better than the ones I buy at Paz Licoreria.
Maybe it's the Irish touch that makes that happen.
80% of what I eat there, I don't know what it is, and don't want to know .  And as far as feeling full, I always liken it to the Pemex pump, where I watch the liters and the total pesos, and wonder which one I'll squirm on  first.

slainte39 wrote:Not Hank, but......
I'm a steak, potatoes, and salad kind of person, so I would rate La Vaca Argentina, La Matera, El Fogon del Pibe, Almecen del Bife, and a few other similar type restaurants ahead of Lula, but that's just a personal preference of the type of food I like.
Lula is great for an unique experience but not a regular go to place for me. He has named it "bistro", which usually indicates "modest" food and prices, which it has neither.  The only thing "bistro", is the location, in an old warehouse that has been optimized to the max (for a warehouse).
My favorite "food" there are the pints of Guinness, which taste better than the ones I buy at Paz Licoreria.
Maybe it's the Irish touch that makes that happen.
80% of what I eat there, I don't know what it is, and don't want to know .  And as far as feeling full, I always liken it to the Pemex pump, where I watch the liters and the total pesos, and wonder which one I'll squirm on  first.

Is he bringing in his Guinness from Ireland? It does taste different than the Carib Guinness in my experience. I get the warehouse thang. Its about the color, design, taste, and layers of the food not the building. Will check out the resturants you mentioned thanks that's what I was looking for. More choices laugh out loud.

Z

slainte39 wrote:
I'm a steak, potatoes, and salad kind of person,

¿Would that be grass fed beef (not grain finished), Home Guard potatoes steamed in their skins, and an old variety of kale? (and some sand from Bundoran)

arbon wrote:

slainte39 wrote:
I'm a steak, potatoes, and salad kind of person,

¿Would that be grass fed beef (not grain finished), Home Guard potatoes steamed in their skins, and an old variety of kale? (and some sand from Bundoran)

Grass fed beef, yes.  (what else is there, in  Donegal. LOL)  Colcannon or a turnip/parsnip mash.

I use to sit on  a hill outside Ballyshannon and watch the lights at the amusement park on the beach down in Bundoran. So yes, there could be some sand from Bundoran if you didn't clean your shoes.

Zedinmexico wrote:

slainte39 wrote:Not Hank, but......
I'm a steak, potatoes, and salad kind of person, so I would rate La Vaca Argentina, La Matera, El Fogon del Pibe, Almecen del Bife, and a few other similar type restaurants ahead of Lula, but that's just a personal preference of the type of food I like.
Lula is great for an unique experience but not a regular go to place for me. He has named it "bistro", which usually indicates "modest" food and prices, which it has neither.  The only thing "bistro", is the location, in an old warehouse that has been optimized to the max (for a warehouse).
My favorite "food" there are the pints of Guinness, which taste better than the ones I buy at Paz Licoreria.
Maybe it's the Irish touch that makes that happen.
80% of what I eat there, I don't know what it is, and don't want to know .  And as far as feeling full, I always liken it to the Pemex pump, where I watch the liters and the total pesos, and wonder which one I'll squirm on  first.

Is he bringing in his Guinness from Ireland?   It does taste different than the Carib Guinness in my experience.  I get the warehouse thang. Its about the color, design, taste, and layers of the food not the building.  Will check out the resturants you mentioned thanks that's what I was looking for.  More choices laugh out loud.

Z

Zed, there isn't any Guinness brewed in  Mexico, so it would have to be imported from Ireland or Nigeria.  Glad someone else thinks it tastes different and it's just not me. It almost tastes like draught, which I know it isn't.

Don't get me wrong....I think it is a fun, interesting, and unique restaurant to visit....on/for occasions.
But for me, small portions of beef and some kind of rare mole from the Yucatan, along with a myriad of dibs and dabs of other stuff that I don 't recognize, doesn't cut it for me, if I want a "real meal", IMHO.  
Like I said....it's a niche restaurant.

"Same meal in Napa, SF, Portland, Seattle would be twice as much."

Just curious as to how much it would cost in Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Australia, etc.? Actually, as I am here in Mexico, what difference does it make how much as I am paying here. I live here and spend my money here, so why are you comparing prices to somewhere else? Unless it is some other restaurant in the area I cannot see what bearing it has.

Boy are you right.....a friend from Dublin was here, dined at Lulabistro, and wondered how it could be so cheap.

Darrin has had Lula for over 3 year and it's a success, very highly regarded by Tapatio foodies. I can't even begin to imagine what his 8 course dinner would cost in Paris or Tokyo!

Would those be the same "tapatio foodies" that fawned over cream cheese in sushi when it first made the scene in Guadalajara?

Not likely.

Philadelphia roll is nothing new. Guadalajara certainly wasn't the first to get it.

There is quite a gourmet scene in Guadalajara. Many Taptios are quite knowledgeable about fine cuisine and fine wine.

CanuckBob wrote:Philadelphia roll is nothing new. Guadalajara certainly wasn't the first to get it.

No but it was once considered by Guadalajara foodies as gourmet sushi.

David wrote:There is quite a gourmet scene in Guadalajara.  Many Taptios are quite knowledgeable about fine cuisine and fine wine.

What other dining restaurants are considered gourmet in Guadalajara? And where can you find a selection of fine wines?

Parallelo 28, Tinto y Blanco, Anita Lee, and more. As for wines, Tinto y Blanco has one of the best wine lists in Guadalajara. For retail visit Europea and Vinos America in Guadalajara.

hank chance wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:Philadelphia roll is nothing new. Guadalajara certainly wasn't the first to get it.

No but it was once considered by Guadalajara foodies as gourmet sushi.

Well I call it desert sushi and it is pretty damn good.....jaja!!!!