Lilly’s French Cafe & Bar

Most horrific dining of experience of my life. Rude staff, lack of service, mediocre food and overall lacking in every way a restaurant could. NEVER AGAIN.

The service was poor, my French toast was burnt and the grapes on my fruit platter were moldy. Not impressed. I’ve been here for wine and cheese before though and it was great. Not sure what happened.

The mussels I ordered consisted a bowl of half empty shells and ultra salty soup. The service was also bad. Never returning again.

I love french food. I am an Escargot Conasseuer. There food is absolutely delicious but the menu doesn’t change that often. The location is quaint and on Abbott Kinney so lots of great sites and its right by the beach. The ambiance is romantic and subdued with gorgeous lights stringing the covered outdoor patio. I have been here 3 times (all for birthdays) and I have yet to be disappointed. The portions aren’t necessarily Italian Family style, but why would you go to a French restaurant to eat like an Italian?
This is a diamond in the rough. The Café Bizou of Venice Beach.

Bought an online deal to try this place– the food was actually decent (very small portions), but the dessert was superb.
I would say I’m sad to see this place has closed, however upon receiving the credit card bill for the other food items ordered, they had tacked on an extra $ 5 than the original amount on the signed receipt– super SHADY! I hope these people do not open another restaurant.

Walked by on a Saturday night, September 1, 2012, however it was one day too late. They were CLOSED, as in PERMANENTLY CLOSED. Spoke to the valet who was busy parking cars for another restaurant next door. He said they closed the night before on Friday.
Confirmed it by calling them. The phone number did not work, although their website was still up and running. What a disappointment in that discrepancy.
Looked on Eater LA and sure enough, it also mentioned they were closing Friday night.
So long Lilly’s, thanks for introducing my taste buds to endive, walnut and Roquefort salad (bitter, crunchy, salty). I will be forever grateful.

We live within walking distance of Lilly’s, which has been one of our «go-​to» places since it opened, and with good reason.
This past Sunday, for example, we wandered over with friends and their 9 month-​old daughter. No problem. The 5^th chair at our upper patio table was quickly swapped for a high chair, and our guests relaxed into what turned out to be a nearly 3 hour visit between the appetizers, dinner and dessert… and a Sancerre that was the perfect match for the food and the weather.
With good food and wine in a relaxed atmosphere where kids aren’t a problem, Lilly’s reminds us of when Abbot Kinney was West Washington, and Venice was more about a laid-​back lifestyle than a trendy one.

I want to like it. I keep trying it. Everyone tells me they like it. I don’t like it.
the food presentation is not great and the food is just OK. Although the wine list is great the drinks are not just average. I really don’t think I’ll ever go back. There are lots of other choices.

Lilly’s French Café, where the restaurant manager asks his waitress while you leave, «Ont-​ils bien pointe?» (Did they tip well?)
(Yes it really happened! Cut to the incident at the XXXXXXXXXX sign below!)
— — — — — — — —
My gal surprised me with a Daily Candy voucher for a Tasting Menu for 2 here.
A perfect way to celebrate Bastille Day, I thought… Or was it?
Parking wasn’t too bad on a Sunday, as we found a free spot a couple blocks away in the residential area behind the café.
Arriving at 6 pm, we were the second couple to arrive as we were seated in the patio.
We showed our voucher and even though it said we could choose our 2 appetizers and 2 entrees, we were told we would be receiving the prepared Daily Candy Tasting Menu.
Flamiche: 4 small pieces of a goat cheese and leek tart, with a small side of herb salad. As a huge fan of chevre I was expecting to be blown away but it was just ok, nothing memorable. The house bread with the delicious cream cheese and chives was actually the superior appetizer.
Tuna Tartare: A palm sized serving of tuna tartare with avocado and papaya with 2 taro chips. This was a solid offering, with the added bits of papaya adding a fresh twist on an old fave.
Mushroom Ravioli: 2 raviolis filled with shiitake mushrooms, spinach, and ricotta with balsamic vinegar and grated parmesan. The shiitake was amazing, a shame that so little was to be found in the ravioli.
Chateaubriand: A palm sized cut of filet mignon with green beans, fingerling potatoes, and mushrooms. They cooked it as we wanted (medium rare) and it was okay, though on the salty side. We agreed the vegetables were more delicious than the meat.
Crème Brulee: A rich, slightly watery version of the old reliable — this still tasted very good — creamy and sweet. I just wish the top of the custard was browner/​crunchier.
Chocolate Soufflé: a decadent lava cake style desert — the single best thing we had all night. I’m not a dessert kind of a person, but this was special.
So after the meal we said we could come back for the desserts in the future. The food was okay, nothing mind blowing, but okay enough for us to want to try the other entrees. The patio got packed as the night progressed and it became pretty loud.
We received our bill and they forgot to take off the tasting menu charge with the voucher we submitted earlier. No problem, it was fixed and we ended up just paying for tax and we left them a 20% tip of the value of the tasting menu (about $ 50). Service was fine, the French lady and the guy waiter who hustled out most of our food did their job.
XXXXXXXXXX
But as we were leaving we see presumably the owner/​restaurant manager (who looks like Locke from «Lost») hanging behind the bar.
While we pass by we look over to him, to give him a polite nod and perhaps even tell him that everything was okay. (Would it kill him to look at us and wish us a return visit?)
Instead the manager ignores us with a haughty sneer and looks at the waitress.
He says to the waitress, «Ont-​ils bien pointe?» (Did they tip well?)
The waitress goes, «Oui, bien.»
And all this happens as we are right there in front of him.
First off, I took French in high school and college so I can conjugate verbs up the ying yang and TO UNDERSTAND THE FRENCH WORDS COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH.
Who the hell asks the waitress if the customer tips well when the customer is right there in front of you? Were we difficult? Were we a party of 20? Were we asking for substitutions and one of us was a militant Vegan? No, we were polite, smiling and didn’t care that the sun was directly in our eyes while we were eating (I put on my shades — granted I may have looked douchey but at least I was a polite one.)
Secondly I was going to leave a 3.5 star review that could’ve gone either way — 3 (most likely) or 4 stars (since Unilocal forces us to round up or down to the next number) but because of this CRASS and UNPROFESSIONAL FOOL you have lost a repeat customer and you are lucky you get only 2 stars.
So next time monsieur, respect de vos clients et ferme la bouche!

This review is for the Bar only at Lilly.
We arrived at Lilly’s on Friday night around 9:30 PM. By then, Abbot Kinney was quite sceney and the usual spots were PACKED. We walked into Lilly and it ended up being the perfect spot for a quiet after dinner drink and conversation. We went to the bar where the nice bartender helped us with our wine selections.
We took our drinks down to the couches in the front and enjoyed the balmy night (complete with the large windows open). It was close to closing, but at that point in the night, we knew we could get their attention if we needed to. We were left to enjoy our wine until we were done and didn’t feel rushed to leave as other patrons slowly left the restaurant part.
Full bar, great wine selection, quiet enough to have a conversation (eh hem OtherRoom). Great way to end the evening.

SLOWWWWW service. OK food that was surprisingly bland for being french food.
Overall the experience was just ok. We ordered the Tasting Menu, Moles Frites, Steak Frites, Escargots, and the Onion Soup.
Tasting Menu:
*small portions, but that’s what you would expect of a tasting menu
*first item on the menu I forgot what it was called, but it basically tasted like a small quiche
*tuna tartare — very good, but tasted like an asian dish with a seasame oil sauce
*filet mignon — good! but nothing unique
*ravioli — meh nothing amazing
*crème bruleee and chocolate soufflé — best part of the meal, but definitely not the best I’ve had.
Moles Frites: not much flavora, nothing special
Steak Frites: not as good as the filet mignon of course, but cooked well
Escargots: again, not the best I’ve had, but it’s nice that they take them out of the shell for you
Onion Soup: definitely not as flavorful as I would have hoped.
Service: SO SLOW. They did seem to always be running around, but definitely not attentive. I’m sure it’s a cultural thing, but I also think it’s an understaffed thing.
Looks like they have a definitely happy hour, so that might be something to try if I ever come back. Plus the drinks were decent. I had a glass of wine and the Cool Cucumber cocktail.
Atmosphere: overall very lively. Got pretty busy after about 8pm.
Parking: street parking behind abbott kinney has never failed me, but you may have to circle around a little.

Ok, I’ve gotta leave a comment and a long one on this place because it friggin SUCKS!!! They are rude and the food is horrible! I can’t believe this place is still open after reading comments about horrible service and horrible food going all the way back to 2007.
Came here for Mother’s day. We were a party of 9. We were seated quickly because we had reservations. And after the quick seating it just went downill from there.
The waitress takes our drink order and then leaves. Still not serving us our drinks, she comes back to take our food order. A few of us ordered the steak sandwich and everyone ordered starters with their meal. Some soup, some salads and mine was fruit. We then reminded her about our drinks. We wait maybe about 20 minutes and they bring out maybe half of the starters. We then remind them of the other starters and the drinks again. Yup, still none of us have received our drinks yet. They then after 5 or 10 minutes bring out a couple more starters. Still everyone hasn’t received their starters yet nor their drinks. We had to ask them at least 4 times for our drinks before they brought those out. My nephew had to go and serve himself his starter which was soup after reminding them about 4 times and receiving nothing.
There was a waiter helpng our waitress bring out the dishes who had really bad B.O. Actually I don’t think our waitress brought anything out. Moving on…
Then come the meals. Only half of us received our meals. They came around the same time my nephew served himself his starter. My girlfriend got her steak sandwich first. Took a bite and started pulling out all this fat from that bite of steak. I could see her gag reflex kicking in. She pretty much stopped eating at that point.
Then a couple more meals come out. My sister ordered some kind of crêpe with cheese melted in. She receives it and it has no cheese. She tells them and they bring her some cheese on the side. The cheese is supposed to be melted in the crêpe jackass!
The ones who received their meals first are just about done. Two of us haven’t received our steak sandwiches yet. A lady at a table next to us starts screaming at the waiter because of the same issues. My sister complains to the waitress about this and rather than saying, «Sorry, I will check on that now» she gets rude and makes excuses and says, «Well, you are a table of 9 and they are working as fast as they can». WTF is that??? So is that the reason for the food coming out wrong too and for us not receiving our drinks???
I finally receive my steak sandwich and I have to go through it and cut all the fat off. When I finished doing that there was a mound of fat on my plate. And let me tell you, I am so far from a picky eater. I eat anything. And I am about as easy going as they come. This place sucks!
So, we get up to leave and we notice the table behind us that sat right when we did, were just receiving their starters. WOW!!! After seeing that, I can say the best thing about this place is they don’t discriminate. They are horrible to everyone!
Not only am I never going back, but I am spreading the word as to how ridiculously horrible this place is.

**CUTE FRENCH BISTRO IN VENICE**
My date and I were big fans of anything Abbot Kinney.
We booked easy reservations on Open Table.
Sat in the back patio.
V-​Day décor were a bit on the cheesy side, but I wasn’t going to ding them for that.
They’re FRENCH.
Romantic, a bit noisy, but good service.
ORDERED (to share with date):
*MUSSELS ($ 22) — A bit bland, but went well with the fresh fries.
*ESCARGOTS ($ 9) — Oily and delicious. Great to dip the remaining sauce with the fresh breads.
*STEAK FRITES ($ 22) –Medium rare and fantastic with vegetables. It was a big plate and we could not finish it.
A $ 28 bottle of the La Griveliere was a true bargain.
Casual, yet elegantly fun.
We dined like true Europeans.
3 hours of intimate conversation and a good bottle of wine.
WILL RETURN.
RECOMMEND if you’re in the mood for French bistro fare.

This is a very French style restaurant… meaning a few things:
1) Do NOT come here in a rush. I’ve been here quite a few times for business and celebratory lunches. We are never here for less than 1.5 hours and that is not b/​c we plan it out that way. The servers are friendly (usually have the true French accent) and attentive, but they are not trying to get you to eat quickly and get out. The style of the restaurant is to enjoy the ambiance and the food.
2) The food is mostly French cuisine. This is not a bad thing in my eyes and I truly have enjoyed all of the entrees I’ve ordered here. Since I’ve only been here for lunch, I can’t speak to the dinner menu, but I can say that the artichokes are always a hit with our group for the appetizer and the salads and soups please the diners as well. The fish is always met with «mmmm“‘s (the open face mahi mahi sandwich, the salmon, and the salad with ahi tuna especially) and my Croque Madame/​Monsieur makes me a happy diner. The desserts are also often ordered and shared w/​out any complaints… crème brûlée, the bread pudding, anything… You can’t really go wrong with their items. They also have pre-​fixe menus at times, including during dineLA, so that is also a nice added bonus at times.
3) The ambiance is pretty great. I haven’t sat inside ever (its usually so nice outside that we choose the patio), but I have gone through when entering or to use the restroom. Its quaint and seems cozy inside, with a touch of intimacy/​romance if needed. As mentioned, we choose to sit on the patio which is a green-​ish area (meaning plants to add to the seating area) and big enough for large and small groups. Since it is not a rushed dining experience, I appreciate the outside being a pleasant area to sit for the 1.5−2 hours we tend to be there and makes me glad to be away from teh office at times. =)
Lastly, note that parking on Abbot Kinney is/​can always be hectic. Luckily, the restaurant has a parking lot in the back for Joe’s & Lilly’s, so you can park there. Its supposed to be valet, but sometimes we just drive up and park b/​c it seems silly to stop when we can park just there. But we still have to pay unless you get validation.
As you can tell, I definitely enjoy dining at Lilly’s and will be glad to return soon (hopefully within the next week since it is dineLA and now I’m just getting excited about their menu as I think about it!). My tips are to come hungry, but not too hungry or in a rush.

I came here for dinner on a pleasant Saturday night. We sat in the patio and it featured a dimly lit romantic ambiance. Having recently watched «Julie and Julia», I just had to have the Boeuf Bourguignon. It came in it’s own pot which was a nice touch. However, the dish itself was a disappointment. The sauce and veggies were fine, but the beef quality was lacking, especially for a $ 22 dish. The beef was dry and tough, especially surprising in a stew. I’ve had other dishes and it seems that everything is just overpriced. I doubt Julie or Julia would approve!
Bottom line: only come here if you can’t get into their next-​door neighbors Joe’s or Primitivo.

I came in the other day to meet a buddy for lunch in between Santa Monica and LAX. This seemed like the best location, and I had never tried Lilly’s lunch. The food was excellent and the price is great. In fact, a multi-​course lunch can be enjoyed for only $ 12. We sat on the back patio and admired the garden, though it was getting rather chilly.
Lilly’s is definitely a great business lunch spot! I’ll be back.

I came here a while back for dinner.
The words I would use to describe: trendy, crowded, rambunctious, expensive
Unfortunately — while I remember the atmosphere perfectly, do you know what I don’t remember very well? The food.
Yes, sad to say I don’t even remember what I had; or my friend. And that, I think, is the problem with this place. That being said it’s perfectly serviceable. I’m just not a huge fan and would probably never go back (even though I live in the neighborhood).

*** I am copacetic with the upgrades. ***
Lilly’s used to be primarily a quaint pastry
shop but competition forced diversification.
Abbot Kinney is bustling with so many new
bars and restaurants now that lil Lilly’s had
to up its game, I suppose, and I really like it.
Now they have a full bar, beer & wine on tap,
complete food menu, pastries, outdoor patio,
ladies nite Tues, DJ lounge nite Thurs, and
rotating art work too. Yet somehow, Lilly’s
still has maintained its quaint bistroesque
vibe that is calm and relaxed, a nice mix.
*** I’d say that it’s a perfect date spot. ***

Came here for lunch with two other friends. When we got in, they told us we could sit anywhere. The place was empty. We sat ourselves at a table with five seats. As soon as we sat down, the owner came over to us and told us to move to another table. Apparently he wanted to keep it open in case a large party came in.
We sat ourselves at a smaller table with four seats. I ordered the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with their soup.
After we ordered, another two customers had come in and sat at the table near us. Ordered. Then I noticed that they got their bread before we did. They also got their meals before we did… although I know one of the meals was the same as mine.
The food is alright… but it wasn’t good enough for me to come back. It’s not worth the price. $ 12!

This has been one of my spots since *gasp* before Unilocal!Blackboard eats brought me back for some discounted fare. Funky interior décor (abstract plastic wall-​art) and a lovely outdoor patio behind the bar make this a cool hangout. One suggestion would be to put shades up, it was a mighty bright sunset last night…
The fare is pretty good. The waffle fries that come with the duck confit are like nice crunchy chips, and the cheese plate comes with the creamiest, most wonderful brie. The Charcuterie plate is stacked mile-​high with wonderful slices of house-​cured meat.
Service was great. I didn’t even notice the waiter had took my glass to get me a refill until he plopped it back in front of me! Sneaky, sneaky! He also joked around with my bf that he would only get a little of the crème brûlée dessert we shared, so he gave him a smaller spoon than mine (which my bf didn’t notice until the waiter pointed this fact out as well).
There were a bunch of other tables that had also came to use the blackboard eats coupon… i hope this means more traffic for them. I’m just as big a fan as ever. I would definitely come here more if parking around Abbot Kinney wasn’t such a freaking hassle.