St. Pete’s LALA Restaurant and Karaoke Bar to Open in Grand Central Next Month | Openings & Closings | Tampa

If you like to sing along at the top of your lungs at karaoke but don’t like to embarrass yourself in front of everyone, then Lala (stylized “LALA”), the new (and only) bar and restaurant in St. private karaoke, may interest you.

This new avant-garde entertainment restaurant at 2324 Central Ave. is expected to open in the first week of February, although there is no exact opening date yet.

The restaurant, its two bars and seven private karaoke rooms will occupy the two-story building in the Grand Central District. The new St. Pete hotspot will share an outdoor courtyard with neighboring Grand Central Brewhouse, and owner Luckas Herraiz told Creative Loafing in summer 2020 that it will serve as an “activity garden.” Games, live music and maybe even a karaoke contest are to be expected in the shared space when Lala debuts next month.

Herraiz picked up the phone to kick off the new year and talk about LALA’s highly anticipated opening, preview its menu and give an overview of its various karaoke rooms.

LALA’s eclectic menu stacked with American-French fusion is sure to distract you from those flat notes and awkward duets.

“Our menu will be inspired by a combination of modern American, French and Mediterranean cuisine,” Herraiz told CL. “There will be charcuterie boards, scallop tartare with truffles, filet mignon and beef carpaccio – I think everyone will be able to find a dish they like.

Lala will also provide catering service to neighboring Grand Central Brewhouse. GCB customers (whether seated inside or in the common courtyard) can place orders for burgers, pizzas, wings, and other bar-style dishes, and a Lala server will deliver them to them. Lala will also have a late-night menu alongside GCB’s munchie-style dishes.

In addition to food, there will be two full-service bars on the ground floor and rooftop serving a wide variety of wines, specialty cocktails and local beers. Herraiz says many of the drinks in Lala’s cocktail program are tropically inspired and made with natural fruit juices. Anyone in a private karaoke box will have access to the entire food and drink menu, with special waitresses servicing the different rooms – one of the ways Herraiz describes Lala’s private karaoke as a “dedicated experience”. .

There will be a total of seven different private rooms available to rent by the hour – the smallest room for five people costs $50 per hour while the largest room for 12 people costs $120 per hour . A minimum of two hours is required to reserve one of the rooms.

Each room is decorated differently, with themes ranging from old Hollywood glamor to tropical paradise, retro recording studio, disco party and grunge-rock (with Nirvana posters.) Hand sanitizer and disposable microphone covers will be part of the various COVID-19 precautions in place. When LALA opens soon, you can reserve karaoke rooms and reserve dinner tables in advance (highly recommended) directly through their website.

Private karaoke rooms, or “karaoke boxes” as they were originally called, became popular in Japan in the 1980s and quickly became a phenomenon for belters and serenades around the world. Although LALA is the only private karaoke venue in St. Petersburg, Tampa Karaoke VIP has been holding the private sing-along game for quite some time.

Herraiz owned and operated Greek restaurant Tikanis in St. Pete until he sold it two years ago, after realizing he wanted to open a more entertainment-focused restaurant.

“I wanted to create a complete entertainment restaurant experience,” says Herraiz. “The sophisticated karaoke trend is quite popular in Europe, and I wanted to bring it to St. Petersburg.”

Start building your karaoke master roster now, remember no one wants to listen to a six-minute song, and follow @lalastpete on Instagram for the latest updates on its grand opening happening next week.

Lala St. Pete will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday, with its kitchen open all the time. This new upscale karaoke restaurant will welcome children until 9 p.m., but will be adults-only until closing time.