Casa Lola opened on 20 August 2026 at 3 Boon Tat Street, a sliver of a shophouse a few minutes from Telok Ayer MRT and the satay stretch beside Lau Pa Sat. It is FOC Group's casual bodega, run by Barcelona-born chef Juanjo Carrillo, 48, and his wife Marcela Pino, 44, with Victor Sia, 42, as head chef. The Straits Times filed its first proper review on 5 September. Time Out put the room on its September openings list the same week.
The room is timber, terracotta, brick, and retro Spanish posters. Wine barrels sit at the bar. It is tight. The Business Times noted you can worry the sliding door will clip the first table. That is the point of a neighbourhood bodega. You are not here for a tasting menu. You are here for tapas, a porron of wine, and one rice dish if the specials board is kind.
The $48++ Carabinero paella, for three months
Carrillo keeps paella off the standing menu. In Spain it is not Tuesday-night food. On the specials board through roughly November 2026 is Carabinero Paella at $48++. He uses Molino Roca Dinamita, a low-starch Valencia short-grain that ST was told costs more than $10 a kilogram here. Two carabinero prawns go on the pan. Heads are grilled separately. Bodies are torched so they stay sweet. Squid rings sit in saffron rice that ST called intense, with a firm bite and no socarrat. Carrillo skips the scorched base so lunch service does not burn the rice on a crowded stove. If you came for the crust, say so when you order. You may not get it.
Tapas worth the squeeze
Iberian Pork Ear with Smoked Paprika Aioli is $15++. The ears are confit overnight in olive oil, then fried to order. ST called them a reason to eat offal. Crab Croquettes with Sea Urchin and Aioli are $16++ for two. Flower crab in bechamel and crab stock, sofrito underneath, uni on top. That is the plate people will argue about on the walk back to the MRT.
Huevos Rotos with King Prawns Al Ajillo is $32++. Two runny eggs on housemade Agria potato crisps, prawns in garlic oil, mixed at the table. Spanish Agria potatoes cost about $7 a kilogram, fried in olive oil. Salmorejo, the thicker chilled tomato soup, is $14. ConfirmGood also listed Lola's Traditional Spanish Snails at $22, Grandma Lola's Baked Macaroni Ragu at $20, and Crispy Deboned Suckling Pig at $36. The chalkboard on the wall splits cold tapas, hot tapas, mains, and desserts. Jamon Iberico paletilla, marinated olives, patatas bravas, grilled octopus, and an orange flan are on that board. Read it. The printed menu is not the whole story.
Who this suits on a CBD weeknight
Lunch and dinner run Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 3pm and 5pm to 10pm. Closed Sunday and Monday. That kills the weekend brunch crowd and keeps it for office people who can leave Telok Ayer after 5. Book on Chope or WhatsApp 9657 8020. The official site still says coming soon, which is sloppy for a restaurant that has already taken reviews from ST and BT. Use the Chope link anyway.
This is not FOC Restaurant on the other side of the river. It is cheaper, louder, and smaller. If you want padrons and a safe paella, you can still go to FOC. If you want pig ear, uni on a croquette, and a $48 pan of carabinero rice that will not last past this quarter, walk down Boon Tat.
Practical Details
- Dates: Opened 20 August 2026, ongoing. Carabinero paella listed for about three months from early September
- Time: Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 3pm and 5pm to 10pm. Closed Sunday and Monday
- Venue: Casa Lola, 3 Boon Tat Street, Singapore 069612
- Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer
- Price: Tapas from $14. Croquettes $16++ for two. Huevos rotos $32++. Paella $48++
- Website: casalola.sg / Chope reservations
