Lola Gaspar

The welcoming patio and entrance to Lola Gaspar
Photo by Lolagaspar.com

Lola Gaspar is a dimly lit restaurant focused on small plates with Latin and European influences located in Santa Ana’s Artist Village. Lola Gaspar prides themselves on using local ingredients and creating dishes from scratch, like their house-made mozzarella that is used on flatbreads.

Lola Gaspar offers a “tacos al a Carte” section of the menu. One of the dishes offered is the beef cheek taquitos topped with sour cream, queso fresco and served with their house-made hot sauce. Unfortunately, the beef cheek inside the taquitos is incredibly fatty. Diner Courtney Fenn said, “There was more fat than meat inside the taquito,” after she ate one of the nearly inedible taquitos and did not attempt to eat the other.

         

Beef Cheek Taquitos that are visually more appealing than they actually taste
Photo by Matt Barg

Another option on the “tacos al a Carte” menu is the rib eye and chorizo taco wrapped in a flour tortilla, and served again with their house-made hot sauce. “This was the highlight of the dinner,” Fenn said with a look a disappointment.

Rib Eye and Chorizo Tacos wrapped in flour tortillas
Photo by Matt Barg

 

On the European-side of Lola Gaspar offers duck confit mac n’ cheese with a bread crumb gratin. Unfortunately, the classicly delicious duck confit was overcooked to the point where it was mush. 

Mac n' Cheese with overcooked duck confit
Photo by Matt Barg