Lilly’s New Orleans Cafe

Man everything I sampled just gave my mouth happiness and joy. Chef hat’s off to you. I’d you have not eaten here just stop by thats, all I’m saying just stop by. You gout the gout foot take your meds nothing like a health fat boy diet

Great atmosphere came here with my wife on a Sunny Sunday afternoon and was in awe of the southern hospitality Chef Rock is a gem. We didn’t quite know what we wanted to eat at first so he let us try everything including the swamp juice which by the way is very tasty. Everything is superb!

Chef Rock was a pleasure to meet and converse with as we waited for our food. He gave us tastings of some stuff while we waited so that was great. The potato salad had a nice kick of flavor and the shrimp noodle salad was good.
We ordered a fish po’boy and the jambalaya (the gumbo wasn’t ready yet). The jambalaya was not the best I’ve had but it was good due to the flavor of the sausage and shrimp which was found in every bite; the sauce could have used more flavor but it was palatable. For the portion we got, it wasn’t worth $ 12. However, the fish po’boy was on point — flavorful, crispy, and perfectly fried. The sauce and toppings added to the flavor of the fish rather than overshadowing it. That was worth $ 9 and we will definitely come back for more po’boys.
The service was great and the food was good. We will be back to try other things.

Staff was super nice. Gumbo, I’m from the south and this gumbo was horrible. No crab, as the menu states, and the shrimp where tiny and over cooked. Flavorless really. Sorry too, because I miss me some good Gumbo.

What an absolute hidden GEM! Chef Rock (owner/​Chef) is an absolute Joy! His food is exceptional and he is the consummate host! Listen, if what you are interested in is exceptional food, a wonderful eating experience and the opportunity to support a budding new Restaraunt owner, this fits the bill. If your looking for an intimate atmosphere for a date… this is not the place. Chef Rock and Café Lily is all about the food. Call in, pick up your food and take a delightful meal home! The food is authentic, the portions are generous and the flavors are outstanding. My favorites? The Gumbo (taste like grandma’s with real crab meat), the Jambalaya is amazing and the Oyster Po Boy is a great tasting treat. Don’t forget to get the Shrimp Noodle Salad (macaroni salad with shrimp) and the Swamp Water (amazingly refreshing without being overly sweet) to go with your meal! Hey support this guy… he needs to have enough support to be able to open that next level Restaraunt in the near future!

Chef Rock response: You don’t know me or what my tastes in food is based upon. Also, you don’t have all 5 stars. Several reviewers and my friend felt the same about the food. Please accept that not all patrons enjoy your food. I stand by my review of the food but my rating is lower based upon your response. Accept the fact that not all patrons will enjoy your food or your non-​acceptance of objective reviews. Let’s hope that your business success or failure is not based upon reviews similar to my own. I STILL don’t like your food.

Horrible Spent 20 bucks on Jambalaya and it was a weird red sauce and rice barley any meat and the taste was way off never again

Loved the service and awesome experience we had there. The food is priced well and extremely tasty. My wife had the Basa fish and I had the shrimp poboy. I only wish I lived closer so I could go more often.

I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THIS PLACE AGAIN!!!
Went in because my fiancée wanted some peach cobbler. She took one look at the TINY servings that «chef rock» had on display and decided to pass. I try to support local business as much as possible so I ordered their jambalaya. It was like tomato paste with mushed up rice. no flavor, except tasting like tomato paste. When «chef rock» was plating my food AND went to get the cornbread biscuts I saw him look back at us. Didnt think anything of it at the moment, but when I got home I found out why. The biscuts were rock hard!!! My dog wouldnt even eat them!!! Me being the nice guy I am, gave them a second chance. I was informed of a Crab Boil he said he hosts the first friday of every month. For 35 DOLLARS. when the time came, turns out there was no crab, so I got «pasta» (spaghetti noodles and pepper) The salad was good though! bUT FOR 35 DOLLARS DEFINITELY NOT WORTH IT And the swamp juice goes good with pineapple ciroc! But unfortunately the food is terrible. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME!!! Cant wait til they go out of business, hopefully the next people to set up there will be better. O, one more thing, when we went in, I had asked him about the catfish burger, he acted like he didnt hear me! LOL… Guess that was the last people that were there.
Update… this culinary school dropout is HILARIOUS!!! I still have nightmares of that eraser rice!!! My post is as real as the as the sweat on your brow when youre in there playing easy bake oven new orleans style! The review I gave was accurate and honest! I am amused at the fact that you wrote back in defense of your food, which you couldnt pay me to eat! I think you misunderstand the purpose of Unilocal! Consumers give reviews for other potential consumers! I get it… youre passionate about what you do, right! Ill tell you one thing, CHEF NOT! Youre a better writer than cook!!! Dont worry about a refund, youll need that money to help move your business into storage! Ill give it another year! Or could it be sooner??? Yall been closed alot lately…

When we walked in, the chefs personally shook our hands and told us about how their grandmother came from New Orleans and that they were fulfilling her dreams by recently opening this café. They gave us free samples of everything on the menu and it was all delicious! We had the Jambalaya and Cajun smothered potatoes which were great. We couldn’t help but also get the very sweet yams to go.
This was a great, soulful stop and we highly recommend it to anyone looking for a personalized tasty meal.

Our first time at Lily’s today. Fantastic food… sampled just about everything on the menu. The standouts for me were the red beans and rice, the jambalaya, collard greens, potato salad and yams. (Try greens with a little corn cake for a treat.)
Make sure not to miss the swamp juice… a mix of lemonade, mint, water and «a few secret ingredients.»
Save room for the pecan pie, sweet potato pie and pound cake, or take them to go (that’s what we did).
Will definitely be back to try the chicken dinner and the fried fish.

If I were just reviewing personalities, I would give Chef Rock five stars. But I went there thinking I was going to get some great food. I was VERY DISAPPOINTED. The two stars are for the chef’s acting abilities, and for support I give ANY local business trying to make a go of it. The «Chef» did great. Acted like a cook. But the food gets a zero. Even a minus, because I had to eat something else afterwards to get rid of the taste. For real. Read on:
This is NOT New Orleans food. It is barely food at all. Truly it is way overpriced swill. There are practically no spices. What they call «jambalaya» is a bad and very expensive joke. If I were to reconstruct what I stupidly paid TWELVE DOLLARS for, here’s how I would make it:
Boil up about a cup of watery Uncle Ben’s quick parboiled rice — for a really long time. Then I would rinse it a couple of times to be sure the flavor and nutrients were gone. Mash it s few times with a slotted spoon to make sure none of the grains are intact. Then I would stir in about two, maybe three tablespoons of tinned tomato paste. Boil up some Safeway or Sunnyside turkey franks. For a long time. Pour the hot dog broth over the watery spice-​free Uncle Ben’s. Take one of the hot dogs and cut it in half. Slice that half into about 8 slivers. Shake some cayenne pepper on them to make them seem like hot links, and stir them into that 16-​oz styrofoam cup of rice and tomato water. Feed the other half of that meat to the dog. He might eat it. The cat surely won’t. Okay, we’re almost done! Now add about a tablespoon of salt. Put the top on, shake well, and VOILÁ!! Collect twelve bucks!
And the joke was on me for TRUSTING ALL THOSE FIVE STAR REVIEWS. Shame on you people and shame on Unilocal!for letting so many phony reviews through. I can only guess that he has lots of friends. Time for a secret shopper? It will be a long time before I trust a bunch of five star reviews again. Mine is for real. Don’t let them off the hook.
Yes, I believe in supporting local businesses. I did enjoy meeting «Chef». What a character. Sure taught me a lesson. I am a Richmond resident too, and the bottom line is, I miss NOLA, and wish there was a local joint where I could get some REAL cajun food.

Chef Rock is Fantastic! The 15 minute wait for fresh fried chicken flew by while I learned about his Grandma Lilly. The sweet potatoes and mac-​n-​cheese were very nice. The pecan pie was the highlight. I’ll be back.

We were only in this place for about 20 minutes but left feeling like we took a short vacation.
So much warmth from a man who sincerely loves providing home cooking that you won’t find anywhere else. Chef Rock is the real deal.
Get there on Wednesday if you want the gumbo before it runs out.

I have been a fan of Cajun food since I was a teenager. I love it so much that I learned to make gumbo, but I am always looking for Cajun restaurants. I have had fried oysters, Cajun potatoes, mac ‘n cheese, swamp juice, jambalaya and gumbo at Lilly’s. Everything is super delicious. Chef Rock is so personable that you just wish he was your best friend. I was having a housewarming party and catered from Lilly’s. Food so good needs to be shared. I had fried chicken, Cajun potatoes, green beans, mac ‘n cheese, corn cakes, and lemon pound cake. Everyone enjoyed the food, and it was a blast.

The good thing about this place is you get to sample everything so you’ll know what you want and chef rock was really friendly. From the samples, both the red beans and the greens were bland and flavorless. A little salt and pepper would’ve gone a long way.
I ordered the seafood platter (chose fried shrimp) with the greens and Cajun smothered potatoes as sides and the lemon pound cake dessert. The greens I already knew had no flavor but the potatoes were good and the shrimp was battered and fried perfectly even though the portion was a little bit skimpy.
All in all, it was an average experience and priced a little steep at over $ 16 total. Nothing that a few tweaks couldn’t change, like making sure the sides are well seasoned and adjusting the price to fit the portions.

Chef Rock is THE #1 SOUTHERN CHEF in SF Bay Area, PERIOD. I love this place, the people & of course — THE FOOD. The food is made with pure love like my grandmother made … It’s new hole in the wall on the Richmond/​El Cerrito border that’ll have your mouth watering (like mine is as I’m typing about my experiences). So, if you’re like me and you need a «fix» of some soulful, good-​tasting, high-​quality soul food Lilly’s is for you … TRUST, you won’t find it at another place … Not Brenda’s and the like … Although FARMER BROWN’S is still top-​notch for dining; especially the Brunch.
So, if you’re looking for good, authentic Nao’ Leans’ cuisine that won’t break the bank, go check out Lilly’s, a true DIAMOND in the rough for good SOUL FOOD.
… Now let me call & place my order … this made me hungry just thinking about Lilly’s
P. S. I love talking with Chef Rock & company about my good-​ol’ days when I’d visit NEW ORLEANS … you will too if you’ve experienced «the boot» pre-​Katrina ;-)

What a disappointment ! Come on guys… anyone who has lived in the South knows this is not good soul food.
The red beans and rice — a cup of rice with a cup of beans poured over it in a plastic container for $ 12. Where the heck is the MEAT !! The jambalaya was a mess — flavorless and beat up. The Swamp juice — come on — dipped out a ice cooler that was placed on the floor. Wait till the health department sees that .
So much for patronizing local food establishments.
My advice — give it a pass.

Lily’s New Orleans Café is just a serving counter, not a full service eatery.
one table to sit down at is in front outside of the store.
menu posted on window and signboard near cashier: «po boys, jambalaya, fish & chips, sides, desserts».
drill: order at cashier, food cooked, brought to u in 10 minute ish,
eats: oyster ‘po boy w/​side (12)
–hoagie size hot dog bun, bun not warmed up
–only 3 – 4 small sized oysters, so no juice.
had tomato, red onions, lettuce, and sauce
–potato salad mostly mashed, not much solid potatoes, tasty though
take outs:
–fish & chip (13) uses tilipia, basa, cheap frozen fish, so passed.
–portions small so prices are commensurate with that
–open only thurs thur sunday. check hours.
note: so many asians were here, i almost thought it was a boba place…

I walked in and immediately felt like I was sitting in Big Mamas kitchen talking with my cousins! This is huge is our southern culture! Family and friends always bond with food and good conversation whether it’s through church, holidays, Sunday dinner or whatever.
So, since it was my first time… they all introduced themselves and gave me a little history about this food. They also allow you to sample everything like Costco!
I have never been a fan of Swamp Water, but theirs is a must!!! Very lite and refreshing.
The banana pudding is nothing to play with! It’s not the instant mess that most people grew up on.
Last but not least, they have Trappey’s…the true Louisiana Hot Sauce!
The flavor of the food was really good and did not have loads of salt in it like most. This is awesome for hot sauce lovers like me because sometimes hot sauce makes it too salty.

I have never really been to or stopped in Richmond before, never having a reason to until my sister started working there a while back. So, after an eye appointment in Hercules, I decided to pay my sister a visit during her lunch break. Turns out I didn’t have time to pick anything up to eat until after I left her. I Unilocaled the area, and found that this place was «hot and new.» I was in the mood for an oyster po’ boy going in, but was happily surprised by what I found.
Upon entering I was cheerfully greeted by Chef Rock who was boisterous and full of energy. He gave me a little cup/​taste of everything, the swamp juice, and their deserts. Everything tasted great, so after some deliberation, I ordered my oyster poor boy with a side of mac and cheese, and an additional side of the smothered potatoes. While cooking the chef made conversation and was very polite. I found that they had just opened in October.
I let him know that I am actually Creole, so I was a pretty good judge of some good southern food so I was being sincere in telling him everything was very tasty.
The place is small with one small round table. So, it’s more of a take-​out place, but that’s okay. I patiently waited to eat after getting home… the sandwich was amazing! The bread was soft and perfectly dressed with mayo, mustard, and their spicy cajun spread. The mac and cheese was pretty good with some spices and favors going on, however, the sandwich stole the show. The oysters were fried perfectly, lightly breaded and juicy and tender on the inside.
I want another right now writing about it… damn! What a dilemma.

Amazing people, amazing food. My partner and I strolled in on a Sunday afternoon with an appetite. First off we are greeted warmly, asked if it’s our first time, and then told the story of the restaurant. I won’t tell you what it is, so you all can hear for yourself :). We were given samples of every dish before we ordered. We really got a sense they had true pride and passion in their recipes, and that was validated once we tasted everything.
We ended up getting two oyster po boys,
Yams, greens, gumbo, Mac n cheese, sweet potato pie, and pound cake. The prices were wonderful-​just to throw that out there.
Po boys– not soggy, especially considering the deliciousness inside. The oysters were SO GOOD, id love a bowl of just their oysters. This was my personal favorite of everything we got. My man is from North Carolina and very picky about everything when it comes to southern cooking-​and he is super picky about oysters and he absolutely loved them. I wanted another one the moment I finished mine. In fact I want another one now that I’m writing about it, haha.
The gumbo-​absolute perfection. Best gumbo we’ve had, better than ones we tried in New Orleans. They add a chunk of the crab to the gumbo, and it was phenomenal. the flavor was so wonderful and perfect for a chilly day. Yum. This was my second favorite thing.
The pound cake tho!!! It was so so so amazing. You need it. I wish I would have gotten more so I could have it with my coffee in the morning.
All in all you can’t go wrong here. The atmosphere is casual and friendly. And the people who run it are just lovely lovely people. We will for sure be returning. Also-​they now take card as well as cash, very convenient.
Oh I also feel I should mention that my mans favorites were the sides (greens, yams, and Mac and cheese). We regretted not grabbing potato salad because it was really good as well.

O’boy o’boy o’boy, I’m sooo glad I stopped here. They have a small menu. I got to sample several items which prompted me to order five items, but it’s okay, I can try out the rest of the menu tomorrow — lol.
He was out of oysters for a po’ boy, so I choose the gumbo, red beans, mac ‘n’ cheese, greens, and sweet potato pie. Everything is packed in plastic containers, so I put them into bowls and/​or plates before photographing the food at home.
The gumbo is solid — crab, sausage and shrimp — it’s all there. Be prepared to get a little messy with this. I got a section of the crab body and part of a leg and was sucking on crab shells to extract the sweet crabmeat. Call me a happy camper.
The greens were delicious, cooked with bay leaf and shredded pork with hints of smokiness, and the right amount of tang from the vinegar.
The mac and cheese is the real deal. You won’t find it swimming in cheese sauce. You won’t find peppers, onions or pimentos mixed into it. You will find macaroni. And cheese. Cheddar cheese. It’s good. It’s honest.
He does a good red beans and rice — lots of smoked sausage and smoked turkey over rice. The menu says «with corn cakes» but I didn’t get one. Maybe because I ordered it as a last minute decision and only a small size. But it didn’t matter because I already had plenty of food.
Sweet potato pie. Ohhh, yeeaaahhh. The crust was perfect. Crisp and flaky, no soggy bottom here. The filling is not too sweet because «Mom doesn’t use white sugar, she uses brown sugar». The texture is smooth and the spices compliment the flavor of the sweet potato filling, so you’re not thinking «ummm, I taste cinnamon, I taste allspice, etc.». Instead, you’re thinking «man, this is the best sweet potato pie. Ever.»
The owner and his family are super-​friendly. Dad was sitting behind watching his son, pitching in when it got a little busy and mom was in the back cooking up something that smelled good.
It’s best if you order for take away. It’s a small eating area — two tables, a few seats. If you are going to eat out the containers he packs the food into, it’s fine. But if you want to serve them in a bowl at home, you might ask to have the rice put on top of the gumbo or jambalaya so when you empty the container, the rice will end up on the bottom of the bowl.
Definitely going back — I want to try his oyster po’ boy. And banana pudding. And Southern lemonade pound cake. :D
:.:.: edited 16nov14 to add :.:.:
The white board has daily specials, so expect it to change periodically.
I went back today to order the oyster po’ boy. While I waited for Chef Rock to make my sandwich I had a chance to learn a little more about the restaurant and how it came about. Short story is that the restaurant is named after his grandmother. It was the dream of Rock’s mother, Mary and her mother to open a restaurant together. Sadly, Lily passed away in 1995 and it has taken nearly 20 years to make this dream come true. I am sure the food they prepare has been handed down from one generation to the next.
Now, for my sandwich … the oysters were dredged in a well-​seasoned cornmeal breading/​batter and fried. Chef Rock asked if I wanted «everything» on it. I had no idea what everything was, but I said yes. [Note: after review my photo of the menu, «everything» includes mayo, mustard, lettuce, cajun sauce, pickles and tomatoes.] And I’m pretty sure there was sliced pepperoncini in there too :-D
Before wrapping it up he asked if I wanted cheese on it as well, which I declined. He also offered to slice it in half, but I wanted it whole so it would stay intact until I got home. The sandwich was delicious. I was craving oysters and this one definitely satisfied my appetite. I am definitely looking forward to trying his other po’ boys!
I also ordered another piece of sweet potato pie, the banana pudding and Southern lemonade pound cake to take home as well. The custard in the pudding is delicious, not too sweet and tastes like fresh bananas. The pound cake has a delicious lemon flavor — also not too sweet — and went very well with my shot of espresso. I was really, really good and didn’t eat all of the desserts, just a couple of bites each.
So, that was brunch for today and I am totally sated. They are closed Monday through Wednesday which is a good thing for me. I’m going to have to do some extra workouts and exercise so I may continue eating here!
For the upcoming holidays, they are adding peach cobbler to the menu. I think they are also adding some traditional Thanksgiving foods as well, so you don’t have to cook — they will do it for you. You can also order a whole sweet potato pie as well.
This family loves food. They love to cook and they do it well. If you are looking for soul food, look no further. Come here and you’re home.