TV Restaurants

What Happened to Lolita After Best Thing I Ever Ate? (Cleveland, OH)

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 1 Cleveland, Ohio Closed January 2016

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Lolita has closed — confirmed via clevescene.com, January 2016.

What the source shows: Cleveland Scene reported a January 2016 kitchen fire closed the restaurant for good, and the restaurant's own website returned a server error at a September 2026 check. How we decide a status →

What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

The Best Thing I Ever Ate (Food Network) featured a fried dish from Lolita in the show's 'Totally Fried' episode. Lolita was a restaurant in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, run by chef Michael Symon at 900 Literary Rd for about 11 years. According to Cleveland Scene, a January 2016 fire that started near an oven caused major smoke and water damage and closed the restaurant. Symon said at the time that he intended to rebuild, and by spring 2016 he announced a new concept, Sherla's Chicken & Oysters, for the space, Cleveland Scene reported.

That concept never opened, and Cleveland Scene later reported that Symon eventually sold the building to Dave Ferrante, owner of the nearby bookstore Visible Voice Books, without the space ever reopening as Lolita. A September 8, 2026 check found the restaurant's website, lolitarestaurant.com, returning a server error rather than any content.

The episode Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 1

Episode 1
Air date not confirmed
Title: Totally Fried · What was featured: A fried dish featured in the show's 'Totally Fried' episode

Also in Season 1 Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season 1: 57 of 88 still open · 4 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 12 Season 1 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 900 Literary Rd

  • Fat Cats

    Cleveland, OH 0.1 mi away

    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Open

  • Lucky's Café

    Cleveland, OH 0.4 mi away

    Best Thing I Ever Ate · Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Open

  • Lucky's Cafe

    Cleveland, OH 0.4 mi away

    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Open

  • Velvet Tango Room

    Cleveland, OH 0.7 mi away

    Best Thing I Ever Ate

    Open

  • West Side Market Cafe

    Cleveland, OH 0.8 mi away

    Food Paradise

    Open

  • Czuchraj Meats

    Cleveland, OH 0.9 mi away

    Best Thing I Ever Ate

    Open
All 113 TV restaurants in Ohio →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 3 references

  1. clevescene.com https://www.clevescene.com/food-drink/lolita-probably-closed-for-a-year-4704810
  2. clevescene.com https://www.clevescene.com/food-drink/michael-symon-says-he-will-open-a-new-concept-in-former-lolita-spot-4887885/
  3. clevescene.com https://www.clevescene.com/food-drink/no-a-white-castle-is-not-coming-to-tremont-and-neither-is-sherlas-chicken-and-oysters-31533468/
See something wrong?

We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.

Tell us →

Share

Record btiea-0015 · checked by Cal Marchetti.