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La Lola shares a taste of Spain in Cambridge

La Lola Catering is a restaurant in Cambridge that brings authentic, signature homemade classic dishes from Spain

Colourful, flavourful, and festive: Spanish cuisine has much to offer.

La Lola Catering is a restaurant in Cambridge that brings authentic, signature homemade classic dishes from Spain.

After living in Spain for many years, Vanessa Stankiewicz and her husband Miguel Pastor were looking for a change. Along with their two children, the couple decided to move to Canada and bringing with them, a taste of Spain.

“With Miguel being an experienced chef, it made sense that we’d want to share our delicious food and drink,” Stankiewicz said.

“Spain is a popular culinary destination, but not so well-known here. It’s an ‘untapped jewel’. Many famous chefs travel to Spain for inspiration. For my husband, it means a lot to him to be able to share his wonderful recipes.”

First operating as a catering business in 2019, La Lola recently added a new tapas bar to share a classic Spanish experience with creative cuisine and authentic imported products.

“Originally, the idea was to just cater paella parties where we would cook in people’s homes, and they can participate in the experience. We also did a wine and tapas experience from various regions in Spain,” Stankiewicz said.

“But now, you can enjoy paella at the restaurant, you can call us for catering, or you can also enjoy wine and tapas in our tapas bar.”

And for a little Spanish get-away in the summer months, visitors to La Lola can enjoy authentic Spanish tapas and homemade sangría at an outdoor patio during the summer months.  

“In winter, we decided to bring things inside. It is a tiny restaurant. We can only accommodate 12. We only have six tables available for reservation,” Stankiewicz said.

Stankiewicz and Pastor made the move from Spain with their two boys, Oliver and Elliot, three years ago. Since then, Stankiewicz said the family has settled into to their new home in Cambridge.

“The boys go to school here in Cambridge. They love living here,” Stankiewicz said.

But for Stankiewicz, Cambridge was not so foreign.

“Cambridge is very near and dear to me. I grew up here. So, it’s funny because I never projected living on the street we live on in Cambridge and my children are going to the same school I went to,” Stankiewicz said.

“My dad was born in Kitchener. My mom was from a little town in Spain. So, I am half Spanish and half Canadian.”

Being a busy as chef at La Lola, Pastor has embraced all that is Canadian.

“He hast taken to Canada like fish to water. He has really embraced Canadian culture from ice fishing, skiing and emersed in everything that is Canadian,” Stankiewicz said.

Stankiewicz has a background in fashion design and worked in the European fashion Industry for over 20 years. 

“I met my husband about 11 years ago when I was living in Madrid. We got married in Spain and had our children there,” Stankiewicz said.

“We always spoke about the possibility of moving to Canada. We wanted the boys to have the experience of learning English and being close to their grandfather who still lives here. And my husband always had a desire to move outside of Spain.”  

Stankiewicz said the stars aligned. She left her job, and the family made the move.

With catering being the focus, Stankiewicz said that when COVID-19 hit, everything changed.

“We started offering meals for pick-up and delivery during the pandemic. At the beginning of the business, we were also at the Kitchener Market where we were selling Spanish meats and cheeses,” Stankiewicz said.

After the market, La Lola brought their deli counter and in-store items to its current location on King Street in Cambridge specializing as a delicatessen with a variety of products including Spanish meats, cheese, olives, wine.

Stankiewicz said that while there are Latin American restaurants in Waterloo Region, the Spanish food experience is different.

“People ask if the food is spicy. It can be challenging with people asking for tacos or enchiladas. La Lola really is a taste of Spain. It is not spicy and our dishes are made with common ingredients reworked in a different way,” Stankiewicz said.

Other than offering a variety of traditional paella dishes, which is a rice dish, commonly viewed as Spain's national dish, Stankiewicz said there is much to try.

“The thing to try, our tapas. We also have croquetas which are deep fried balls filled with different flavours. Serrano ham and spinach and goat cheese croquetas are very popular. Our tortilla is also popular which is a potato omelette. In Spain, it is eaten any time of day. If you go to a bar in Spain, it will be there. We are also well known for our cured salmon which we do in-house,” Stankiewicz said.

“And our cheesecake is also very popular. I though at first, Canada has enough cheesecake, but I was wrong. It’s one of our best sellers. People really enjoy it.”

La Lola Tapas Bar is open on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays.

Whether it’s sharing a paella made for two on a Friday or Saturday, La Lola also offers dine-in $5 Tapa Thursdays.

“We are very happy to be here,” Stankiewicz said.

“And we look forward to people getting to know us.”

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