Lulu & Po
“The bone marrow tacos are fun and strike a nice balance – the refreshing parsley salad helps cut the richness of essentially meat butter.”
“We love the pizza dough, was amazing with Lebneh but also good with the pesto it is now served with.”
“Pizza dough w/ ricotta – again, nothing to special here but very tasty
Needless to say we were licking the crumbs off each plate…”
Lulu & Po
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I admit, I was a bit skeptical when I walked in to Lulu & Po and it was somewhat empty at 9 pm on a Saturday night. I was also thrown by the wood paneling on the walls. But the food more than made up for any initial concerns – and I don't even like small plates. We ordered the bone marrow tacos, lamb belly, braised escarole, Brussels sprouts, fries, pizza dough and the special that night, fried sardines (by we, I mean my boyfriend ordered that and I looked away – I'm not quite there yet with sardines). This was a fair amount of food and we probably could have skipped on one of the dishes, but everything was so fantastic I'm glad we didn't. The Brussels sprouts were amazing – fried and savory. We discussed whether or not they were better than Martha's, which are the gold standard of fried sprouts in my opinion. We couldn't reach an agreement on that but in any case, 5 stars. The lamb belly was small and perfectly cooked, but the bone marrow tacos probably stole the show. Though I also really loved the escarole – and the fries! My boyfriend is a tougher critic than me and all he could say as we cleaned our plates was "5-stars." I also appreciated that they actually put real ginger in their Moscow mules – that and the classic 90s/early '00s play list added a nice touch.
1 for service, 2.5-4 for food, 3.5 for atmosphere.
Lulu and Po had been on our go to list for quite some time but our timing always seemed to be off when we were in the area as either it was too crowded or we weren't hungry at the time. We used to love Abistro in this spot and were excited for this new option.
Tonight the planets aligned and several tables were free as we were walking by. They literally shoehorn you into this place and we were squeezed in next to another couple.
The waitress seemed nice enough but little did we know that our first encounter with her would be the only encounter until we begged for the check. She quickly rattled off that people normally order 4-7 dishes and so not being starving we ordered Caesar salad, the burger (since so many people rave about it) WITH fries, and the chicken. We were going to get the lamb tatare but figured we would see how the other dishes were first.
Thinks started off well with the salad, which was solid and very tasty. After the salad the fries suddenly appeared by themselves so we waited about 5 minutes for the burger, but nothing. We tried to flag the waitress but despite the place really not being that busy she was impossible to get. We gave in and slowly ate the fries, but then 15 minutes had passed and as much as I love fries, short of at 2am at a dive bar it is a bit odd to serve fries and not bring out the burger your ordered.
After over 15 minutes of our fries getting cold the burger arrived. Like the salad it wasn't delivered by our waitress and no one asked how our food was or more importantly offer clean plates for the very juicy burger (which we clearly indicated we would be splitting). Instead we had put the burger in the dressing soaked plates from the salad.
Of course not 30 seconds after getting the burger the chicken arrives. So now we have cold fries, a burger, chicken, and the salad dish from 30 minutes earlier on a tiny table. The timing is just horrible in this place. Even if you ignore the fries sitting out for over 15 minutes, if someone orders all these dishes at once, wouldn't you serve the chicken (which is clearly going to be blander than burger) first? Alternately why not just bring everything all at once.
Okay, so getting back to the food, the burger is very good, but incredibly juicy and messy, which is fine when you have plenty of napkins, but not with one paper napkin and an invisible waitress (I am still sticky hours later).
The chicken was super salty and just plain bland after the burger. They had some sort of pepper "salsa" on top that definitely helped but it just was nothing memorable and seemed like something I could have made at home.
Getting back to the waitress, it was almost comical how much she was ignoring us as we desperately tried to get our check to put this dinner behind us. Even once we got the check she didn't ask how the meal was. Oh wait, at one point she did come to the table and I thought it was because she noticed we need napkins and plates or perhaps a second drink, but instead she said she needed to push our incredibly tight table even closer to the wall.
Amazing how a neighborhood place that has character could have such disinterested service that makes you never want to come back.
I had high hopes for Lulu & Po, but everything was just average or slightly less than average – for the pricing, service, food, decor, space, cocktails.
Much like the original Abistro before it, Lulu & Po has given me a good reason to head over to this side of Fort Greene Park. And it's actually much easier now that I'm a Citibikin' fool.
With only 24 seats or so, this joint offers a multitude of small plates in a small space, all interesting, and nearly all tasty. We thoroughly enjoyed the chicken liver and pancetta pâté, as well as the roasted carrots, the pizza dough (how could whipped ricotta, olive oil and pesto be bad) and especially the burnt scallion fish. The fregola/lentil concoction wasn't our style, but they can't all be winners.
There's a full bar, and I'll never say no to Old Fashioneds or Moscow Mules; the deftness with which they craft the few cocktails on their menu lead me to believe that they could probably make whatever you'd like.
It's completely out of character that I didn't rock General Tso's sweetbreads nor the well-liked burger, but I'll be sure to rectify that soon enough.
Updated Review:
I finally went back to Lulu & Po this weekend and was, yet again, disappointed due to the 1) Octopus and the 2) Edgy and Snobby environment (this was new to me).
We ordered the Caesar Salad and the Octopus. The Caesar Salad was overdressed, *but* the anchovy on top was admittedly tasty.
Now on to the Octopus, the reason we came. Half of it was overcooked and half was well-cooked (and boy, was that side yummy). You can do the butter knife test for yourself to figure this out. If you can't pass a butter knife through, it's overcooked. Now of course, I was disappointed that the thick side was overcooked and told my spouse, "ugh, it's rubbery again". The server overheard me, took it back to the cook and then came back and indicated that the cook cut through it and said "he doesn't think he can cook it any better". I asked if it was the same cook as when they had originally open, I was told, "Yes" (to my surprise).
So I guess that means I won't be coming back. But I WILL head to Taverna Kyclades in Astoria in 2 weeks for their **perfectly** cooked Octopus.
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Previous Review – 3 Stars:
I lived on Carlton when Lulu & Po opened in 2012 and frequented often at that time.
I can still remember the delicious heirloom carrots with yogurt sauce and cumin and the octopus with cilantro jalapeno sauce. My favorite octopus dish in NY is at Taverna Kyclades in Astoria, Queens. I remember thinking that Lulu & Po's octopus was easily #2 best octopus that I had tried in the city. It was juicy and succulent.
Lulu & Po was my *spot* that summer.
After moving deeper into Clinton Hill, I was unable to visit as often. So in 2014, I was so excited to come back for the octopus. I was so disappointed because it was completely overcooked and rubbery. Although I realize it may have been a bad cook/fluke – I have not been back.
Having said that – I reserve the right to change my rating if I go back and enjoy the octopus again (But I am SO discouraged due to my last visit. I had told the server that the octopus was off. They took the octopus back and did who knows what to it – came back and it was still bad).
AMAZZZZING. Stop in last night for some bites with two friends. I think we walked in just in time before the evening rush (at about 6:15pm-6:30pm on a Sunday night)
Service was great, our server was super sweet and attentive and made great recommendations.
One of my friends had already been to Lulu & Po but we tried a few things she hadn't tried in the past.
We had:
spanish octopus, grilled, cilantro jalapeno sauce (we kept the sauce to dip our fries in)
pizza dough, ricotta, olive oil, olive puree
laganelle, butternut squash, almonds, browned butter (everything you want trust me)
french fries, house cut, aioli x2
chicken, upstate NY firehouse marinade
burnt scallion fish, fried capers, aioli, lemon
I CANNOT TELL YOU WHICH ONE WAS MY FAVORITE because they were all absolutely delicious.
You will not be disappointed, I can't wait to go back!
Went back a 2nd time and had another great experience. It is very cozy and romantic here. I love the drinks. Food was excellent! The burger would be in my top 5 burgers ever.
3.5 stars.
My gf and I showed up at 7:30p on a Saturday and were lucky we din't have to wait.
Cute place, nice music, very chill. Professional service.
Spanish octopus: very tender, but lacked flavor.
Pork cheeks: so delicate they melted in my mouth; delicious sauce.
Lamb belly: too dry, but huge piece.
Hamburger: thin double pattie, truly great, well done (keep in mind).
Overall: we were quite satisfied with our meal, but didn't find it memorable. Since we don't live around the corner, I doubt we will have any reason to go back anytime soon.