Lillian’s Cafe

Horrible service. Meal took 40 minutes even though place was empty. Meals served cold and undercooked. Manager came to table with handful of cash said sorry and kept counting cash. Don’t waste your time. Can’t wait til they leave to make way for something good!

I am a local in Niantic and have been to Lillian’s several times. I would say there’s a lack of consistency particularly in the service and sometimes the food. I was there last week with 3 friends, we had salads with the topping which cost about $ 20. I do not think 20 with the topping is high for a good salad. However the salads are served in a soup bowl which I think is way too small for that price. We asked for a side order of bread from our waitress, who was not a particularly friendly person, and we received lightly toasted bread. on the dry side with no butter offered. I wish the best for this restaurant. I will offer this… what makes a restaurant excellent is the attention to details. Maybe a little attention to the service front end would make a better dining experience. Wishing you the best

Brittany treated us like we were family. Perfection on the Grey Goose Martini slivers of ice floated in chilled Vodka, the shrimp spice app. With a cucumber twist had just the right amount of heat. It’s worth the visit, and service and atmosphere delightful.

Very disappointing to drop our rating. Ordered a steak special, 12oz blackened sirloin with Brussels sprouts. The steak was one of the worst peices of meat I’d ever had and sent it back. It was a tough, grisly piece of meat not worthy of a $ 26 price tag. They made it right and comped the meal. Took our friends here 4 days later, every single one of our meals were cold. To be clear, not looking for comped meals, looking for good meals. We won’t be back, had so much hope for this place. Close to being good, but not quite. Not sure what the issue is, but it’ll be a while before and if we go back. Servers were great, sorry ladies.

We were really excited to have a new restaurant in town. We’ve tried it 3 times and we won’t be back. The steak was over cooked and very tough. The kale salad was awful. It was too tough to chew! And 9.00 for a glass of wine! Outrageous! This is not NYC!

The food is fine. That’s the most important thing. Nice wine selection.
But… There are some front of the house issues. The hostess stand seems to be the hangout spot. They talk very loud and are cracking jokes. Unprofessional.
There seems to be some manager who was in my opinion is dressed unprofessionally walking around talking to tables, problem is he didn’t know when to stop and at one point was discussing his personal problems… Big No No… He also carried clean silverware out in the bin it was washed in from the dishwasher. The hostess was cleaning the front door with spray from a bottle close to our table. Again Big No No…
To help this place, they need to look at state regulations for cleaning during service. Managers should dress as front of the house managers. Also they should talk to the customers about appropriate topics.
Hostesses should not look bored and be chatting with servers. And near the front door they need to add something to block the cold from rushing into the Resturant when the door opens.
When you charge $ 40 dollars for a bottle of wine you need to match it with better service.

Fast service, nice ambiance, good beer selection & food was excellent. Highly recommend the steak & fries!

Second time here, very unique menu. American food with a twist. Had the beef carpacio, Thai chicken soup, and steak frites. All was absolutely amazing, steak was a tad over cooked but it happens still delicious. Very good beer, wine, and unique cocktail selection. If anyone says this is pricey it’s most likely because they are people who frequent 99 or chili’s. Good food isn’t cheap, not that this is the expensive. Had 2 apps, boyfriend had an app and we both had steak dinners and 2 drinks each. 90 dollars with amazing quality. Highly recommended and so happy they’re in my neighborhood.

For what the area has to offer, the food is excellent. My boyfriend and I are staying at a bed and breakfast for a few nights and wanted a place we could walk to. Coming from Manhattan, we are quite particular about our food. From the service to the ambience, everything was wonderful. The butternut squash soup was amazing. We ordered from the ‘specials’ menu which had a very nice selection. The lounge area was packed with what seemed to be regulars. Presentation of food was wonderful and the steaks we ordered at medium rare was on point. Most importantly, we never felt rushed.
If I lived in the area I would come here at least once a week.

Loved the food but for the price I would like to be full! $ 16 for two salmon fish tacos is a bit much and isn’t very filling. The menu should let you know there’s only two. Maybe a side of chips or rice?
My husband loved his steak and the staff was super nice. Otherwise a nice experience.

This was our first time here. From the outside it seemed like this restaurant was more upscale. We love the setting with wide French doors that open to an outside patio, large restaurant inside and bar area. It looks like the building has been completely renovated. Once at the table it seemed that way too. There were a lot of unique food choices on the menu.
We only ordered a small meal with a couple of cocktails so this review is more about our experience than anything. The cold squash soup was good but grainy, like it wasn’t completely puréed. I didn’t finish it. The salad was swimming in dressing. The cocktails were very good but seemed small. The Spicy Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita and Blueberry Mojito were made just right and I’m picky about my cocktails. We love it when a restaurant has unique cocktail choices.
What bugged me was the staff. The owner’s friend was helping and he looked like a customer and it seemed odd for him to be serving tables. The waitresses were college kids, which is fine, but every one of them wore a different outfit and one had shorts so short I thought she was prepared to go out for a run. I do have to mention that the waitresses were super friendly so that is a plus.
If this restaurant wants to be considered upscale and charge $ 12 for a cocktail and $ 26 for an entrée they had better get uniforms for their entire staff and name tags. This turned me off from wanting to come back. Buy grey t-​shirts and have them wear black skirts. Have the hostess wear a black dress and voila, you can complete the upscale image you are going for. Oh, and tell the waitresses if they are going to talk about their customers to go in the back and don’t stand in the front of the restaurant.

Great spot and great food.
Had appetizers and main courses. Shrimp with dumpling fantastic. Calamari perfectly fried with a lovely sauce. Pad Thai a little spicy, but good. Salads perfect including yummy scallops as option.
Nice open atmosphere and good service. An absolute gem with innovative food on Main St. in Niantic.

Great location, clean, hostess Allie is efficient and accommodating. Bartender and server were ok, maybe inexperienced? Loved not feeling rushed at end of night. Food was delicious from fabulous oysters and fried artichoke appetizer to yellow fin tuna, sea bass and steak frites. We will be back. Back for lunch today — outstanding meal and service. Chicken bruschetta is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.

A bit expensive for what you get. Calamari just ok. Recovery room has bigger portions and delicious. Menu sparse. First visit burger was overcooked, second visit crab cake good, pad thai overpriced for rice noodles and tofu. Wings very ordinary, frozen type with hot sauce. Nothing special. Black Sheep’s are much better. Don’t mind paying if food is creative and good. Anything is better than Main Street Grill however.
Biggest gripe is the décor. Pictures are not matted, too small for walls, depressing looking. Where is the beachy cheer? Yellow walls — not typical in a hip restaurant. Lots of wasted space with door in center. Stark, cold feel to the dining room. Don’t want to sit in there. Can’t imagine what it is going to be like in the winter. The door will allow lots of cold air in.
Main reason I’ll go there is to just chill at the bar.

Very Disappointed HIGH-​PRICED!
Our friend, my wife and I were very excited to try a new restaurant around town but our experience was not what we expected.
When we arrived we were greeted by a hostess and were seated immediately. The menu was short, but all the items seemed terribly expensive and limited. As we read over the specials and main entrees we had decided on the fried calamari for and appetizer and the tuna, swordfish, grilled veal chop and salmon tacos for the main meals.
The appetizer of fried calamari came out for the table and the portion was extremely small.
The food came out in a timely manner, but once it was placed in front of me I was shocked at what I saw… for $ 20 I got two tacos, with a sliver of salmon in each of the small flour tortilla swimming in a sauce garnished with radishes! The other meals were just OK given there price.
At the end of our meal we found ourselves very disappointed. Overall, the food was adequate, but extremely overpriced and portioned terribly. The service was average but for what you pay for your meal it is not acceptable. I will not be returning to say the least. I had such high hopes and found myself terribly disappointed.
Save your money and venture to another restaurant.

Visited on The 4^th of July Weekend & Was Glad For The Tasty Samples of Different MicroBrews & They Even Gave Us a Complimentary Dish of The Shrimp To Split Between the 4 of Us,…Awesome !!! Didn’t Stay Long as We Were Headed Out To The «Hideaway» in Old Lyme (Which Was Closed), Booo on Them !!
Anyway,…We’ve Been Back Since & The Pad Thai Was Spiced W/​Red Pepper Seasoning Which My Girl Didn’t Care For, But I Thought Was Ok. Portion Was Ok, But A Tad More Quantity Wise,…Would Have Been Even Better !! We Both Had That Dish !! Beer is $ Pricey & Adds Up Quick When You All Have a Couple,…But Staff Was Friendly & Décor is Real Nice w Local Paint Scenes of The Area on The Walls… Sooo All is Good w Lillian’s,…Just Expect to Dish Out a Little More $$ «Moula»…lol…

Very tasty food. We all liked what we ordered. As a table, we shared the spicy shrimp app. Nice mild red pepper-​garlic sauce on the shrimp.
The buffalo wings were big and juicy. Good sauce.
The mussels were very good, I loved the coconut curry sauce.
Grilled Chicken sandwich was very good with creamy garlic and fresh focaccia bread.
The crème brûlée was a hit for dessert.
I’d recommend everything we ate!
Only knock of 5 stars was I thought $ 8 for a Dogfish Head 60 minute was too high. Good craft beer selection, though.
Niantic needed a good place like this.
Very friendly staff and great service.
I would come back for sure!

Very Disappointed TOO EXPENSIVE!
My boyfriend and I were very excited to try a new restaurant around town… but our experience was not what we expected.
When we arrived we were greeted by a kind hostess and were seated immediately. The menu was short, which is something I am usually a fan of, but all the items seemed terribly expensive. As we read over the specials and main entrees we had decided on the pad thai and salmon tacos. My dish, the salmon tacos, was priced at $ 20, my boyfriend’s dinner, the pad thai, was $ 14… trying to keep an open mind… we were excited to get the food.
As we waited we began to feel ignored, our waiter had started a conversation with the hostess, and my many attempts of flagging him down, to ask a price on a drink, had failed. I finally managed to get another waiters attention, and he kindly went to find out the price for me. With the price being $ 12, I had decided to pass.
The food came out in a timely manner, but once it was placed infront of me I was shocked at what I saw… for $ 20 I got two tacos, with a sliver of salmon in each of the small flour tortilla… the entire dish size was comparable to that of an appetizer. When I looked over at my boyfriend I could tell he shared a similar sentiment, his dish was also small, although he had a buffet in comparison to mine, and he felt that the dish had no real flavor.
I had finished my meal quickly, seeing as there was practically nothing on my plate, and my boyfriend had offered me a bite of his… personally I felt that it was ok, but for $ 14 the portion was pathetic and the flavor was lacking… especially when there is Spice Club, a popular thai restaurant, right down the road.
At the end of our meal we found ourselves very disappointed. Overall, the food

Cute place, in a great location with a great menu. The place is just getting started — it was packed on 4^th of July, opening weekend, and they ran out of chicken salad at lunch.
We sat inside rather than wait for an outside table. Waiter in training had a lot to learn, but staff was friendly, drinks and wine selection good.
We decided on appetizers — fabulous shrimp in spicy sauce and steamed mussels. An extensive dessert menu, but we decided to pass this time. We will come back and hope they get the hang of the Niantic crowd as they mature.
$ 70 +tip for 3, including 2 glasses of wine and a drink.

Lillian’s Café — Niantic, CT 6 357 — 6÷30÷2015
Located right in down town Niantic in what used to occupy a health food store you will find the newly renovated Lillian’s Café. Nicely decorated with a friendly patio in front with tables and umbrellas with a touch of local beach community that will give you that «we needed a new outdoor place like this» feel…
Because it was a nice day we opted for outdoor seating. Nice large umbrellas give the right amount of shade so that you can enjoy outdoor dining without feeling like a roasted chestnut in an oven. For an older person the patio seats may lean back a tad more that they care for.
Our server was extremely friendly and they have a main menu as well as lunch and dinner specials.
The Chili was really good. A bit different than most in so far as it had a heavy tomatoey flavour… I really enjoyed it. My Caesar was good as well. I would suggest they make their own croutons (easy enough to do– we make them at home) as opposed to the store variety but thats just me. I eat in a lot of restaurants so my standards may be a tad bit higher than most…
Then there was the grilled chicken with roasted peppers and cheese on herbed focaccia bread with Audrey’s fries… I’m assuming Audrey is the chef… Not bad…
But the crowning moment was the house made bread Pudding! Wow, I could eat a tray of just that!
Come try it. We’ve needed a new place here in town for some time. They don’t take reservations so plan your arrival times accordingly… I think you’ll like it…
They’ve only been open since last week Wednesday so I’ll come back in a month and try them again…