Lola’s Seafood in St. Lucie West is one of four locations scattered across St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties. Originally, it was an order-at-the-counter and dine-in or carry-out experience, but the St. Lucie West restaurant has table service as well.
The menu is dominated by seafood, which was just what my guest and I were in the mood for. With fried seafood baskets, sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes and specials, there is no lack of deliciousness.
The New England rolls are a popular choice ($10.90-19.90). They are stuffed with a choice of lobster, jumbo lump crab, bay scallops or belly clams on a New England roll. If seafood isn’t your thing, there also are several landlubber options.
We started with spicy Thai shrimp ($9), which was eight panko-breaded fried shrimp, drizzled lightly with a sweet and spicy crushed pepper flake sauce. It was accompanied by a mini salad of black beans, corn, tomato and mixed lettuce. The vinaigrette dressing had an herb flavor we thought was basil. I enjoyed the fresh flavors.
I had the coconut-crusted grouper special ($18), which was a grouper filet crisply breaded with sweet shredded coconut and panko bread crumbs and it took up most of the plate. The fish was served over a bell pepper, red onion and pea-speckled confetti rice and a satisfying portion of fresh green beans. It was crowned with a light coconut and pineapple cream sauce. The savory rice offset the sweetness of the sauce and the crunchy-coated grouper had an appealing texture.
Another special of the evening was the seared ahi tuna ($16) which was lightly blackened and served over a veggie mixture of snow peas, carrots, bell peppers, cabbage and celery along with thin, tender buckwheat Soba noodles coated in a spicy plum sauce. The bowl was tastefully decorated with a garnish of wasabi, ginger and a squiggle of sweet sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds. The dish was delicious, but we would have preferred the tuna be thinly sliced.
We noticed when we arrived that the restaurant has a small listing of homemade desserts. We were informed by our server the chef was making the dough for the beignets ($5). It seemed the universe was calling us to these deep-fried beauties dusted in powdered sugar and accompanied by chocolate sauce for dipping. They were a perfect way to end the evening.
Melissa Stonesifer dines anonymously at the expense of Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at melissalifetime@gmail.com or follow @M_Stonesifer on Twitter.
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Lola’s Seafood Eatery
Cuisine: American
Address: 962 Stt. Lucie West Blvd., Port St. Lucie
Phone: 772-871-5533
Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Handicap access: Yes
Alcohol: Beer and wine
Online: www.lolasseafood.com