Lilac Cafe

Excellent!!! Had the salmon, spinach salad and Brussels sprouts. This is a hidden gem in Kirkland. Hesitate in giving good review for selfish reasons.. Salmon was crispy on outside and melted in your mouth. Spinach salad with bacon. What more can I say… oh add a poached egg. Yummmm

This is the restaurant to come to. Food is wonderful, prices are very reasonable. And service is excellent! This is an extension from Lynn’s Bistro from next door. She the owner of this restaurant too.

Love the Lilac Café! Perfect sized plates of delicious food and a friendly place to just hang out. Also a great place to host an event if you are looking for a public place. Easy to get to, awesome food, a full bar and friendly people.

Why wasn’t this gem more crowded on a Saturday evening in Kirkland?! Happy hour till 7, plus a great menu! Our table tried the fried mushroom risotto balls (good & filling) & awesome cheeseburger sliders to start. Didn’t share when it came to dinner. We each loved our entrees – rib eye, pork chop, mussels, & seafood pasta, accompanied by green beans & Brussels sprouts. All prepared to perfection. Pace was leisurely, but they knew we had a show to get to, so just right. Friendly service. Have dined at Lynn’s Bistro and enjoy it, too. This seemed every bit as good, with a bit more of a casual feel.

Our food was absolutely amazing and the service, OUTSTANDING… The bacon cheeseburger sliders were out of this world. We are not talking just small little square of questionable meat. It was a huge well seasoned patty. We also ordered the clams in wine garlic sauce. They were normal typical fare but the quantity beats any other place around.
At first I was hesitant because there were so many bad reviews about the service. Maybe 6 pm on a Friday isn’t considered a busy time, because our service was well attentive and friendly. The only downfall was I didn’t catch the servers name so I can’t thank him personally in this review…

Wow! They are just getting better and better. The best braised bbq pork ribs I have ever had. The Curry chicken pasta, salmon quesadilla, burger, salmon and pork belly sliders, butternut squash risotto and we topped it off with Crème Brûlée and Bread pudding! What a night the 6 of us had! Can’t wait to go back! Thank you Paul.

We live walking distance from the Lilac café and absolutely love eating there. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the happy hour menu is always new and tasty! If you are looking for an affordable, casual, and delicious place to eat in downtown Kirkland, Lilac Café is a must!

The best thing about Lilac is its owner, the wonderful and venerable Lynn of Lynn’s Bistro, a staple in Kirkland for many years. Lynn’s approach to her Bistro is providing excellent and creative dishes, beautifully and consistently prepared, in a small, quiet, refined setting. The nice part of Lilac is that she’s taken the discipline and creativity next door to present casual diners with a wonderful, diverse menu that allows you to sit, relax and enjoy your beverage and accompany it with anything from a small appetizer style plate to a three course dinner. And also like Lynn’s the wait staff is informed, pleasant and friendly and can attend to your table in any degree from standoffish to pleasantly available.
As mentioned in other reviews the Happy Hour, which lasts until a convenient 7 pm, offers a selection of standard small plates at a discounted price. Wines are $ 2 off the menu price, a Stella Artois was $ 4, and there are values on mixed drinks as well. It’s the kind of casual dining that allows you to eat and drink as little or as much as you desire without any pressure to order or complete your meal. It’s just that nice and easy.
If you go, save room for dessert because Lynn’s selection is just great. We ate the bread pudding — maybe the best we’ve ever had. We just can’t rave enough about Lilac, a terrific addition to the Kirkland «scene» and selection of attractive eateries.

I had high hops for this place. I’d probably give it 3.5 stars, if that was an option. We were there on a Saturday night. Service was terrific, and the staff very attentive. The food was just okay. The clams were flavorless. Pork belly slider was delicious. Salmon slider was good, but not memorable. Same for the beet salad. The experience overall was lackluster. Liberal happy hour menu and hours. Intimate/​small setting, which I like. I probably won’t go back.

I would give this a 4.5 stars if I could, but I decided to round up because the problem is more of a staffing/​management issue rather than a food issue
The food and drinks… fantastic!
Perfect price-​perfection portion-​perfect taste!
The only down side is the lack of ambience and service.
This ambience is honestly atrocious! Bright florescent lighting and flooring that looks like it was straight out of my grandmas basement. With a makeover this could be a WOW restaurant.
The service-​it was adequate. You seat yourself-​but this is noted no where so you end up just standing there until someone shouts your way to «take a seat anywhere». Then you wait to be noticed that you are new by a server. At this point I was less than impressed. BUT-​we made a cocktail order, which came in appropriate time and once it got there all was good! Fantastic is all I can say!!!
But then the wait started again to order. We finished about ¾ of our cocktail when we ordered. We didn’t think we needed to order another drink at that time-​but we were wrong.
We ordered several small plates to share. All of them came out quickly but all at different times. They were delivered by the server drive by style-​just set on our table on his way through. He did not ask if we wanted another drink nor did he slow down long enough for us to even let him know we wanted another.
Then-​our server was gone!
We loved every bite of food, we would have loved to enjoy another cocktail with it-​but it wasn’t in the cards for us that night.
We finally had to just about tackle a server to get our check. I finally took it up to pay at the bar space because a server never came back to take our credit card.
Normally I am a patient diner and would have fully understood if the place was packed-​but that night the place was almost empty! There seemed to be enough staff, and they all seemed to be working not just randomly standing around ignoring us.
Not sure if they are just inefficient or if they both cook and serve the food. I have no idea why the service should have been so poor!
Again-​5 star food and probably 2.5star service.

Some of the finest food I had in Kirkland yet! The prices were great, the food and wine were very delicate and all of the things I tried were just incredible. Felt like a private kitchen and not a restaurant!

Love the small plates option for sharing or just a small meal! A must have is the prawn and risotto small plate!!!

Great Food! I love the small plate design, that I can share and get to try several dishes and not stuck with one flavor like most restaurants. Can’t wait to go back and bring more friends.

I’d give this 4 and ½ stars if only Unilocal would allow.
Came here with a group of friends for BF’s birthday dinner. We came on a weekday, and it wasn’t very busy. Rather unfortunate that they don’t have their own parking lot, but oh well.
We had very attentive service. The server kept coming back to ask us how was the food and to make sure our glasses were filled with water.
Among us, we ordered quite a few dishes. Among my favorites were the steamed clams with bacon and spicy tomato broth, and the polenta fries. The broth on its own was a little too salty, but cooking the clams in it was perfect! The clams really absorbed the flavor. I don’t come across polenta fries very often, so I was excited to see this on the menu. It was exactly what I wanted — crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
My friends enjoyed the beef tenderloin tips. I personally found the sauce too sweet and thick for my own liking, but we all have our preferences.
The New York steak with porcini butter reduction was a bit of a disappointment. To be fair, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t anything spectacular either. Steak is steak. There wasn’t anything special about it.
We’ll most likely come back. I think their small dishes are much more interesting than their entrees/​a-​la-​carte. I’m excited about coming back for their happy hour next time!

Went to Lilac on a Saturday afternoon, they seemed to be short-​staffed so service was patchy… therefore my score of 4 stars instead of 5.
Everyone in my group of 6 ordered something different and we all really liked it. The food is fantastic and our waiter was really, really good specially considering he had little help and there was another big group.
We ordered the burger sliders for my kid and she did not like them. We still ate them but they did not charge me for them because we had to replace her order. Seriously??? THANK YOU! These are the little things that matter. Not charging me those 8 or 9 dollars, will represent so much more revenue for them in the future because I will be back for sure!!! and I will definitely recommend them to all my friends.
Tips:
— Their happy hour pork chops are very good and generously portioned.
— If you order the clams (delish), ask for that delicious warm bread or theirs, dipping is a MUST.
— Beef tips are really good.
— Bacon wrapped asparagus… Hello?! a no-​brainer!
— Curry Praws are fresh and perfectly paired with papaya salad.
— Very good strawberry gelato

My husband and I stumbled upon the Lilac Café yesterday before taking in a movie. This is a new, intimate, sweet little gem located in downtown Kirkland. We were in time for their happy hour menu and ordered a couple of very well made cocktails and 4 different «small plates.» Each dish was far beyond satisfying, the flavors do not disappoint. The food will definitely bring us back, but our server really topped off the experience. Great service and setting the tone for a memorable dining experience is an art. He was very informative, completely present, personable, has a great smile and makes you feel happy to be there (I do love great service!) We look forward to visiting the Lilac again and again, trying out the full menu and desserts!

Highly recommend you try this inconspicuous gem. We stopped in for happy hour and ended up ordering appetizers and salad as well. The crab cake sliders are amazing. They come two per platter so you can share. Also had the eggplant bruschetta which was good but not as tasty as the sliders. The salads were fresh and light. The service is attentive and the atmosphere is pleasant.

Let me firstly state that Lilac is not in the best location — very easy to miss.
In the time I’ve lived in Kirkland, this venue has changed hands many times so when I noticed on a morning walk that it had changed hands again, I had no great interest in trying it out… until I heard via the local grapevine that it was owned by Lynn (from Lynn’s Bistro next door) — now who doesn’t love Lynn’s? I just had to try it.
Went last night with a friend for happy hour. The selection on the HH menu is small, but what got my attention were the ‘Small Plates’ on the general menu. So many to choose from!!!
Food is wonderful and affordable and the staff are just lovely.
If you want a quiet place for an affordable yet quality meal, give this place a try — and spread the word, I’d love this one to stay!

Comfortable neighborhood café.
Sister restaurant to Lynn’s Bistro with some of the same wait staff and Lynn is involoved possibly as a partner, not sure
4 persons at the bar and then an open area with 8 tables and then another area with aprox 10 tables– so its small
Yummy food, well priced wine list
Currently only open dinner beginning with HH at 4pm
Not a «hot spot» for the bar scene, but very nice for food and easy going dinner
Try the fried broccoli –I have the past 3 times I’ve visited

Happy hour here is great! Small plates and a glass of wine with great service and friendly chefs.

Grand opening hell ya!!!
So this place is all about small plates. First of all, i’m a big plate girl.
When it’s a possibility that i’ll have to share, I get weird.
The good news is, with this place, even a girl with a big appetite will leave happy!
Let me give a run-​down:
1) Asparagus wrapped in bacon: duh! Delish.
2) Jalapeños wrapped in bacon with crème cheese: DUH.
2) Ahi Poke: fresh but savory in a philo-​ish mini-​crust. perfect.
3) Beef sliders: was that feta? perfectly cooked, juicy, A-​mazing
4) Lamb and polenta: skip. I think I tasted anchovy but didn’t want to…
5) Salmon quesadilla: there was horseradish and herbs that made it ADDICTIVE.
6) Shrimp gazpacho: the perfect amount of spice and freshness
I forgot some of the delicious things I ate, but just remember: big appetites must order accordingly!
Savor, sip and enjoy :) I’ll be back.

I’m so glad my friend Karen O. and I got the scoop about this grand opening!!! Such a perfect beautiful evening to match with delectable eats and free champagne.
Fave Foods:
1. Salmon (Lox) Quessadilla: sounds weird, but totally isnt!!! Served cold, the light crispy texture of the baked tortilla compliments the soft bite of the lox. Sandwiched in between is a smooth spread of cream cheese/​horseradish. YUM!
2. Crabcakes: exectly what you would expect. Meaty crab bits with a crunchy outer layer. SO GOOD!
3. Shrimp Gazpacho: this had a nice kick to it! Not overpowering in the least and the vegies they used were fresh and portioned correctly.
4. Bacon Wrapped Asparagus: no need to say more. Just try it.
5. Pork Belly and Kimchee sliders: holy hell I could eat these breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tasty beyond belief, the sauce they made was mouthwatering and wishing they offered more helpings. All yummy wrapped in an open face humbow!!!
6. Shredded Papaya salad: a nice, light, fresh tasting, thai inspired dish that had a great dressing and bits of peanut on top. Yum yum yum.
The employees really let the food sing during this event and kept it coming at such a fast pace! Every time I would bite into a new tasting, another would be on the way!!! By the time we left, the event was still in full swing and the house was packed. I’ll be back again most definitely with anyone who will join me.
Why the one-​star deduction?
It’s pretty dark inside. The grey walls don’t help. Do they have air conditioning? Didn’t seem like it.

The selection of small plates is excellent with great and fresh ingredients.

Looking at the exterior, you wouldn’t necessarily be intrigued to walk in as it is down aways from most of the other downtown Kirkland restaurants, on a corner and somewhat easy to miss, but after looking at the menu I decided to give it a try. Glad I did. There are mostly small plates, so it would be great to go with a group and just order everything to share for the table, or for date night as the ambiance is sexy. The food was amazing, with such great flavor profiles packed in each dish. I’m a picky eater and am particular about what I consider good food and this hit the mark. The clam linguini, curry prawns, beet salad and pork belly was freakin good. Excited to go back for round two.

So I only discovered this place after eating at Lynn’s Bistro, Chef Lynn Tran of Lynn’s Bistro owns and operates Lilac Café, which is directly next door! Since I absolutely love the food at Lynn’s bistro I decided to check it out.
Lilac Café has a feminine and romantic feel with low light, original floral themed artwork, and lavender walls. When you walk in you are instantly greeted by the server, and may choose your own table. The atmosphere is perfect for date night. It’s casual meets upscale with a french geared menu of small plates, sides and large plates. I went with two friends and we discovered that most of the dishes are easy to share, so each of us got to taste of a wide variety of the menu. We ordered pork belly sliders which were my personal favorite, SO BOMB, so juicy and tender! We also ordered the sweet potato fries, salmon slider, fried brussels sprouts, and the coconut curry prawns. Everything came out piping hot and tasted very fresh. Service is quick and the servers are very nice, professional and attentive.
The café has a full bar selection of liquors spirits and cocktails. Mac&Jack and Two Beers IPA are on tap, they also have a selection of bottled and imported beers, as well as a full wine list, including several local wine company’s.
Overall I really enjoyed the low key yet upscale feel of the place, my friends and I sat and chatted long after the food had been devoured. Service was very great, and the food was ridiculous! I definitely recommend Lilac Café, plus it has a really nice location in Downtown Kirkland, so once your done there you can walk along the water, or check out downtown!
I give Lilac 5 stars and will definitely be returing. See you there!