Restaurant: LìOLà Pizzeria
Restaurant type: pizza, Italian, pasta, lunch menu, kids menu
Prices: $4-$16 entrées, $11-$22 mains, wine bottles starting at $33
Date: Wednesday December 18th 2019
Table of: 2
My favorite dishes: lobster ravioli + Campobasso pizza
Last month, I had the pleasure of trying the all-new LìOLà pizzeria as their guest! The origines of LìOLà take us back to Laval, where they are currently renovating a new space, as well as franchising out to other Montreal locations. So, the only LìOLà currently open is the one in the Mile-End on St-Viateur, just off of Park avenue. You’ll find a nice mix of pastas and pizzas on the menu, as well as nicer ingredients like truffles, nduja and lobster. Here are the dishes and drinks we ordered:
- Stuzzichini alla LìOLà: pizza dough sticks served with LìOLà sauce made of ricotta cheese, truffle oil, pepper and fleur de sel
- Ravioli all’aragosta: ravioli stuffed with lobster, served with a saffron cream sauce
- Kentucky Wise Guy: bourbon, amaro, cherry brandy
- Aperit Spritz: aperit, prosecco, soda
- Campobasso pizza: mix of mushrooms, truffle spread, parmigiano reggiano, mozzarella
- Tropea pizza: nduja, caramelized onions, parmigiano reggiano, mozzarella, olive oil
- Amaro Sour: amaro, bourbon, blanc d’oeuf
- Pinot Grigio, Lenotti, Veneto, Italia
We enjoyed a very good meal at LìOLà and I absolutely LOVED the lobster ravioli; they are one of the best if not the best I’ve ever had in Montreal! At first I was skeptical – cause I’ve had “lobster” ravioli before – so I asked our waiter and he confirmed that they were homemade (not on-site but off-site and specially for them) so I went ahead and trusted him and ordered them. Wow, I’m really happy I did, cause they were amazing. Super flavourful, full of chunks of lobster and real lobster meat that tasted like lobster and then covered in a rich, creamy and buttery saffron sauce; divine.
The Campobasso pizza with truffle spread was also excellent, as you could really taste the truffles. Not only that, but the pizza itself was nice and I loved the taste of the dough/crust. Surprisingly, I also really liked the pizza dough sticks entrée; the ricotta and truffle oil sauce was superb and tasted a lot like truffles. Unfortunately, I did not really like the Tropea pizza, as there was barely any nduja on it, which is the only reason why I ordered it. The lower quality parmesan on it was also not my favorite (I buy my parmigiano reggiano from Costco at $30 a pop and trust, that cheese is the real deal).
We also enjoyed some very good cocktails and wine with our meal and I especially liked my Aperit Spritz; I found the Pinot Grigio okay. We were too full for dessert, so we’ll have to come back another time to try it!
Overall, a great dining experience at LìOLà; the food was very very good, as were the drinks and the service. Unfortunately, with a late opening just before winter time, the restaurant is very quiet and so there is not much ambiance. Therefore, if you’re looking for a great spot to enjoy a pizza, or pasta, or both, in a quiet and tranquil environment, LìOLà is a great choice. Buon appetito!
*This restaurant post does not contain my usual restaurant review criteria of restaurants, as this is a sponsored post where I was invited to the restaurant as a guest.
*All photos and comments are mine
