Very disappointed. I have been waiting to try Lava since I'm a huge fan of their other restaurant, Cibo. I'll stick with Cibo. I went in for lunch and started with the baked potato soup. Bland. Bland. Bland. Tasted like it came out of a can of Campbell's. I actually had to ask the waitress for salt & pepper to try to salvage it. Only ate half & finally gave up. The soup with a side of pre-packaged breadsticks. I didn't even bother opening them as I'm already familiar with Nabisco's products & wasn't interested. My main course was the chicken mango wrap with a side of the herbed fries. I'll start with the wrap. It was very boring. Also, the menu description was misleading. It said it had mango in it, not mango salsa. The wrap was full of a mango salsa that included cilantro...I HATE cilantro. Had I known I would have ordered something completely different. Before I move on to the fries I should mention everyone else at the table received their plates several minutes before I did. When my plate arrived the fries were glistening with grease & burning hot. They had obviously come straight from the fryer. Now this wouldn't normally be an issue if they'd been cooked properly. But they were soggy & mushy. Completely inedible. I would have sent them back right away had I been able to find our waitress but she kept disappearing. When she finally returned to check on us I'd already scrapped the entire serving of fries on to another plate, explained the issue with them & asked for the salt & pepper chips instead. Without an apology the waitress questioned my request to return them for the chips instead. The fries were so mushy the thought of trying another was  nausea inducing. I should mention the salt & pepper chips were really boring too, but at least I deemed them safer to eat than the fries as they'd obviously just been opened from a bag & dumped on the plate. Surprisingly, the manager didn't stop by once to check on things. Which was odd since the place only had a handful of tables & we could see the manager walking around looking bored. All in all, I would not recommend this place and probably won't return by my own choice.
Review Source:Goodness!  I must have been dining at the same time as the other 6/21/2013 reviewer (it's only 6:00 p.m. now and I spend 3 1/2 hours there over an extended lunch with friends).  We had none of the issues she cited.  First off, the Blueberry Lemon Drop martinis are excellent!  I love the extensive tapa menu!  Where else can you order two items from the menu and stay under $14?  My Truffled Mac 'n Cheese was tasty  and my grilled shrimp (4 on skewers) were great.  One of my friends had the chicken fajita salad that she gets each time she comes.  My other friend is needs gluten-free and she has choices there.  Her sweet and sour chicken was just as she hoped.  The only thing that disappointed us was that we weren't offered dessert! Â
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Both of these women and I have traveled extensively and eaten all over. Â Lava Fusion certainly holds its own!!
I've also eaten at the sister restaurant across town and was not as impressed as with Lava's.
This restaurant was okay. I was really excited about it while looking at their fb page's cuisine pictures, and I don't think it lived up to what I was expecting.
Meat loaf- very disappointed. Was not hot and it was dry, not enough sauce. I would not get this again.
Lava roll-good. I would definitely try this again.
Macaroni and cheese- tasty and creamy.
We had the chocolate raspberry lava cake, this was also good.
I liked the atmosphere, too. I would probably go back to try other items.
$35 bill for 2 people (including tax) was kind of an expensive lunch.
Went there for an after work visit with a friend. Â Sangria was yummy...especially the 2 for 1 pricing on all drinks everyday 3-6pm. Â Ordered three tapas...asparagus, grilled shrimp and BBQ brisket lettuce wraps...all good, but the BBQ was the best. Â Atmosphere was nice; will want to come back to try out the outside patio area.
Review Source:We wanted to try something different when my parents were in town and decided to go to Lava.
The building is well decorated and with a nice ambiance. Â We were seated immediately. Â
Unfortunately, that's the last interaction we had with the staff. Â We waited 20 minutes for someone to come and take our order or get us water or just tell us they are our server, but it didn't happen. Â
As we walked out, the hostess (the one who seated us) looked up at us from her conversation with 2 other staff members and said "Thanks for coming! Have a good evening!"
I don't know how the food is, but the menu looks interesting enough. Â Too bad we were completely ignored. Â We went to Zinn's instead and had a nice dinner.
While in town for a few days my friend suggested we go to Lava for dinner, she told me it was Latin-Asian Fusion, it sounded like an exciting combination. Â The restaurant was tastefully decorated, clean and had a good feel. Â The wait staff was good although we asked the server what she would recommend and why, her suggestions were nice but she didn't seem to describe why she liked what she liked, it gave the impression that she hadn't actually eaten the food and was only going on what customers order most.
At any rate, the food was excellent, if I lived in the area I would make that a regular place.
I shouldn't forget - the menu has so many options but a lot are small plates so it's great to get several and share with each other, on top of that the desserts are top notch!
My favorite thing at Lava are the deserts! My favorite is strawberry shortcake with the little donuts! I have had a couple others that are delicious and the presentation is perfect. I almost don't want to mess it up by eating it because its so cool. I also love the mussels! The decor of the place is really nice. Here you don't have to worry about picking the same thing on your next visit because there is a big selection on the menus!
Review Source:I would have rated it it one star for the service, and four stars for the food. Â Unfortunately there is no separation, so two stars it is. Â First of all, the food (when warm) was wonderful! Â My friends and I greatly enjoyed the walnut bruschetta, and the tuna cucumber tartare. Â When we ordered, our waitress mentioned that it was half price happy hour for drinks, and that if we wanted tapas, they would bring it out in phases so we could enjoy a bit at a time. Â Our waitress did not smile the entire time we were there. Â Such a turn off! Â Our food came, pretty much all at once. Â By the time we got through our food, most of it was cold. Â The waitress came back with a dessert menu, and we turned it down. Â She mentioned snidely that she was not surprised because we had ordered a LOT of food. Â Seriously? Â When the bills arrived, one of my friends did not have her drink discounted. Â The waitress said that it was only for drinks under $10, although it was not on the menu, nor did she mention that when we ordered. Â She said, "the manager said that if it was that big of a deal, they could probably take care of it." Â Wow. Â My friend of course asked for it to be taken care of, then the manager had the guts to come over and ask what was going on. Â She said that they had been through three reprints of the menu, and they put it on the website stating the happy hour policy. Â Well, I just checked the website, AND their facebook site, and there is nothing of the sort....nor is it on the menu. Â I expected better service from a place of this caliber. Â If not from the waitress, at least from the management. Â I am hesitant to say that I will never return, since I really liked the food, but there are plenty of other places in Cedar Rapids that have fabulous food AND wonderful service.
Review Source:So we tried Lava again hoping things had improved and they had gotten some kinks out. Â I had ended my review with a suggestion to try it out. Â Now, I completely retract that suggestion. Â
We ordered several tapas, including  two which we had tried on our previous visit and enjoyed.  These were not even as good - the grilled serrano ham sandwich and tomato crema were the best things we ate tonight, but were mediocre even compared to our last visit, as were the goat cheese balsamic crostini.
The tapas plates new to us were just horrid. The spring rolls were 4 tiny, greasy egg rolls that you would expect to get in the freezer aisle at Hy-vee in a package of 100. I was appalled we paid $7 for them. Tequila-lime grilled shrimp were just okay...the shrimp were overdone but sadly, it wasn't the worst thing we had. Â That award went to the Tuna Cucumber Tartare, which was just bad. Â The tuna was old and NOT sashimi standards and tasted slightly of dirt. Â We each ate a bite and promptly sent it back. Â Even more insulting was the manager coming out and completely making up some completely transparent story about "the chef turning his back and the dish left the kitchen with some ingredients missing". Seriously. Â That was them most offending act of all, being obviously lied to.
The plus was our server was very nice and our drinks were good. The decor is great but I really wish they had spent less time on interior decorating and more on making good food. So if you find yourself here against your will, just order drinks while admiring the decor and you will not hate yourself in the morning.
Attended a privately catered party at Lava. The staff was very friendly. The food and drinks were delicious. As I was not the payer, I'm uncertain of the value for the items. I did ask for additional martinis that I did not receive, though it may have been related to a beverage limit for the event it was never explained.
Review Source:Like its sister restaurant, Cibo, the food here is mediocre at best. On my second visit, I had the cocoanut curry chicken. While there was some flavor in the sauce, it was mostly a gummy bowl of noodles with a few frozen vegetables thrown in. The service was good (unlike Cibo, where it's horrible) but this was not even close to being worth the $50 dinner tab my partner and I had. I had low expectations and they were met... Won't be back again.
Review Source:Visited Cedar Rapids on a business trip -- back sooner than I expected from my Zeppelins review. A guy on the plane, one of the people I was meeting with, and the bartender at Zeppelins all said I should try it, so who am I to question it?
Indeed, my stop in was quite lovely and I am a fan. I did not experience the service issues others did, though I sat at the bar. The bartender was very attentive and happy to make suggestions, and all of the staff was friendly both when I ate dinner and when I stopped in to sneak a peek at the menu.
I love tapas; when you're by yourself you get to try a number of things rather than just one. Since the theme is Asian-Latin fusion, I figured I'd go for tapas that combined the two. I started with the Chicken Tinga Won-Ton. I found it a nice blend of a Tex-Mex filling with the won-ton wrappers you usually get with crab+cheese won-tons. From there I had the Lava Roll. It was good, but I've still not found a sushi roll with cheese I truly like. The light crunch from the tempura-based outside (was expecting the crab to be tempura somehow) did stand up to my soy application. I would advise that they offer the little dishes for mixing soy and wasabi for those of us who want soy. I finished my meal with the tuna cucumber tartare. The crisped won-tons were reminiscent of corn chips, and I liked them a lot -- but the real treat was the raw tuna. Delicious, and the addition of red pepper gave the plate a fuller overall flavor.
Cocktail-wise, I'll highlight the Blueberry Lemon Drop. It is a bit sweet for my usual taste, but is well-balanced -- and the vodka-soaked blueberries at the bottom are delicious. (In fact, I think they should make a dessert with them; I'd say a Kaiserschmarr'n variant, but that's neither Latin nor Asian.)
I must note, though my opinion was already set, that after my vocal enjoyment of the meal, the manager insisted I try dessert. I told her I wasn't hungry -- and she insisted on giving me a free piece of carrot cake to go. Being so full, I split it with my hotel's front desk clerk -- but it was delicious and neither too moist nor too dry, with an interesting brittle on top.
Vegetarian Note: There are a few tapas for you, including nuts and edamame for protein and some salads that don't have meat. It's no vegetarian destination, but you should be able to manage if someone else wants to go.
Love, love, love this new restaurant. Â Tony Kassouf, owner of American Skillet and Cibo's has another winner on his hands. Â We've dined here 3 times and loved everything we've tried. Â Drinks are amazing and fun. Â The bar area is especially wow and even the bathrooms are a must see. Â Hubby says the mens room has a tv in there! Â But back to the food. Â Save room for dessert. Â You will not regret the calories. Â We're not really tapas people, but we've enjoyed those that we've tried. Â Seafood here is wonderful, try the Trigger Fish for a great dish. Â I've tried the moo shu fajitas and they were yum. Â We love the interesting side dishes to each entree. Â Definitely not your typical fare. Â If you enjoy dining out and want someplace delicious, but with a cool atmosphere try Lava.
Review Source:We've been to Lava 4 times and each time there were issues with service and food. Â The wait staff is poorly trained and apparently under supervised or there would not be so many mix ups with having the wrong meal delivered to the table or not knowing what the specials were. Â The food is over priced for the quality and presentation. Â A chocolate lava cake was delivered raw, calamari under cooked and served with leftover crumbs from the previous deep fry batter. Â At lunch a bag of chips is added to your plate with a $10 sandwich? Â proportions and quality for the price are not equal. Â Wine prices are too high for the caliber of wine being served. Â We also found ingredients missing from a few of the dishes we ordered, key elements described on the menu that made you want to taste, only to feel ripped off. Â We like the owner's other restaurants but this one gets two thumbs down.
Review Source:Less than what I expected. Â The decor is fantastic but it almost sets you up for a so-so meal. Â The service was slow, which could be credited to the fact it had only been open a week when I ate there. Â The food was mixed. Â I had the fajitas (with an asian twist) that were good but not great. Â My wife's chicken dish (I can't remember what it was called) was so bland she could only eat a little bit. Â The lava cake for dessert, on the other hand, was delicious. Â Price was not outrageous, but I expected slightly better food quality for it.
For me, the jury is still out on this place. Â I love Cibo, the owner's other place, so I'll give it another chance.
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