Lava Cafe - Molten Goodness

Lava Cafe - 27-03 23rd Avenue, Astoria NY 11105

718.777.1379

N/W Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)

I've been looking forward to trying this newly opened neighborhood joint, which is just shy of a month old. The menu is simple, offering your standard cafe/bar food such as burgers, sandwiches, wraps and pizza. Sounds like a safe bet to me--and that's exactly what Dan and I were in the mood for last night.

Atmosphere:

The vibe is pretty cool and after a long, hard day it felt relaxing. Calming instrumental music, reminiscent of Enya penetrated every nook and cranny of the small dining room. The place is set up with tables on both sides of a rectangular room and with large firehouse-esque doors that open to the street, allowing you to enjoy the warm, spring air. I want to mention that Lava is directly connected to Remote Sports Bar and the two establishments have some sort of a partnership going--Lava uses Remote for their booze and Remote uses Lava for their food. Seems like a fair trade.

Food:

As I mentioned, the food options are pretty basic but we knew that coming in. Our expectations were low, especially at the end of a long day but Lava delivered and definitely gave us a run for our money. Here's what we tried:

Crostini with Pesto: This was our complimentary bread course and we were pleasantly surprised by it. It was excellent and the portion was generous--especially for something free. The bread was grilled perfectly--crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside--and the pesto tasted homemade. The two items were a great combination and we finished them quickly. Overall, this was a nice preview for what was yet to come...

Chicken Caesar Wrap: I ordered something safe and boring because a). it was late in the day and b). I didn't want to risk it in the time of ravenous hunger. My wrap was delicious and again, the portion was more than generous. It was your classic chicken Caesar, except it also had croutons in it. Now, I know that this is no surprise in a salad but I've never seen it incorporated into a wrap. The wrap also came with Terra chips, which were yummy. My only complaint was that the pieces were a bit small and looked like they were scraped from the bottom of the chip bag--but it was after 9p so I guess that sort of thing happens.

Chicken Fajita Wrap: Dan ordered this and it met his expectations. The best thing about it was Lava's zesty salsa that was slathered throughout its interior. I took a couple of bites and liked it even better than my wrap--it was juicier. The side of herbed fries were also delish and I liked that they had bits of crunchy potato skins still on them. Good stuff.

Service and Cost:

The service was absolutely lovely. While our table was one of only two occupied ones, we were still impressed by our waitress. Approachable and caring, she made sure that we had what we needed the entire time. She asked if we were happy and enjoying everything. We were and felt confident in her service.

The prices are inexpensive and especially for beer. Dan had a Bud Light for only $2.50 a glass--how great is that?! Our wraps were between $9-$11 each and our total bill came out to only $24! Not bad for a spontaneous late-nite dinner.

2 Mmmms