Chef John Hall’s Restaurant Lola in Bremerton created a buzz when it opened in 2023. Hall’s Alabama roots, combined with an impressive Michelin-starred kitchen resume, deliver locally sourced, Pacific Northwest cuisine with Southern “subtleties” in an intimate space.
Chef Hall, where did it all start?
I’m 43 now, and I’ve been cooking professionally since I was 19. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, I attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina. I earned my associate’s degree in culinary arts and then my bachelor’s degree in hospitality business management at the university’s Providence, Rhode Island, campus. I spent time in Europe at a Michelin-starred restaurant and then lived and worked in New York for eight years, with stints at Gramercy Tavern, Per Se, Momofuku and others.
That’s a heady lineup of New York restaurants.
It’s a pretty good lineup; there’s a million restaurants there, so if you’re gonna do it, you’ve got to do it right.
Chefs frequently speak about their cooking adventures in Europe. What did you learn there that influences Lola’s menu?
For me, Europe was about seeing food from a different perspective, like presentation and refinement. Learning sauce techniques. Less processed food, more freshness. Europeans are more connected to their food.
When back home to Alabama, I opened a pizza restaurant called “Post Office Pies” in Birmingham in 2014. It was a wood-fired oven concept, located in an old post office. That lease came to an end just three weeks ago after 11 years, and we chose not to renew since we’re living here now.
How did you get from Birmingham to Bremerton?
My wife is from Gorst and works in Seattle. The pizza shop had been open for nine years, and I was just trying to get to a different chapter of my life. We have a child who will soon be 2. It had been career, career, so now it’s more about family.
When did Lola open here in Bremerton?
It was two years ago this past October. We named it after my grandmother’s sister, whose portrait hangs in the restaurant. It’s like an homage to her, as she was a petite woman and very fiery, like our space and style here. We thought it was fitting with the name and the portrait, keeping it in the family.
In your youth, what was your food inspiration?
Growing up down South, you cook for yourself. I didn’t know anything else but that. Everyone had a garden out of necessity. My family still owns about 100 farming acres in Pike County, so coming from a line of farmers, it’s in my DNA. I mean, I brought in a cooler today with things from my garden that will go on the menu this week, and, of course, we work a lot with local farmers, like Full Tilth and Red Dog Farms.
In a few words, what is Lola’s cuisine?
Pacific Northwest new American, with a bit of Southern subtlety.
Would you use the word “soul?”
No, because I don’t want to give the interpretation that we’re doing traditional soul food. I like to use the words “Southern subtleties” for our menu. I mean, we have Copper River salmon and gazpacho, and oysters. Southern oysters are great to fry, but I prefer Pacific Northwest oysters on the half shell.
How do you develop the weekly menu?
I have a conversation with the chefs about what we like, how things are moving, what’s coming in the season, things we are excited about.
Tell us about the challenges of running a restaurant that diners may not be aware of.
We pay everyone well above minimum wage, so you can make a good living here. There are so many moving parts that people may not recognize, like the napkin in front of them. I was just on the phone with the linen company, and that costs money. And if someone cancels a 6:30 reservation for six at 4 p.m., we just lost 25% of our dining space. That six-top cannot accommodate three separate couples that walk in.
Do you consider Lola a fine-dining restaurant?
No, we are a neighborhood restaurant. To some people, we are their go-to spot for anniversaries, birthdays or special occasions, but we also have regulars, like one person we see at least three times a week. That’s what we set out to be; that’s what we want to be. If you just want to come in and get a glass of wine and a steak, we are that place.
What motivates you?
Chef Thomas Keller has a saying, something like, “There’s no such thing as perfection, just the pursuit of it.” You can take that metaphor and put it in every aspect of life. Every day, we wake up thinking that life can be better than it was yesterday, no matter how great yesterday was.
Who has most influenced your food journey?
Michelle Weaver at the Charleston Grill when I was on my internship for college. She was from Alabama, and that was my first time seeing the food and ingredients that I grew up cooking done to a different, more elevated caliber. And my time at Gramercy Tavern was just magical. Talk about farm-to-table; that was quintessential.
Have you had a dish in another restaurant that you’ve been tempted to replicate in yours?
You get inspiration from everywhere — a sauce, a technique, but not an entire dish.
As the owner and chef, which is more critical to success: hospitality or culinary skills?
Hospitality! Many of the best chefs in the world are awkward around people, and where is that going to get you, as opposed to the hospitality? This is a hospitality business.
