There are no words to describe this culinary experience. Out of this world!
Cindy Fu
TLDR: butter knife.
Brian Burck
What a bunch of great people working there. Great food, great staff and great ambiance.
Jenny Ma
We just had a wonderful experience celebrating a dear friend's birthday tonight. Our lovely server was wonderfully helpful and accomodating with our guest of honor's dietary restrictions and noise level toleration. She was incredible at setting us at ease and taking care of the details (special food preparation, serving our custom birthday cake, etc.) to make the night special. The food was fresh and well-prepared. This spot has amazing service and an intimate setting for special meals with friends. Highly recommended for superb hospitality.
Gloria Hicks
I always enjoy the food here. Not overly expensive and decent portions. Nice atmosphere
Anuradha H.
Went to this place for Valentine's Day dinner. They had 4 course dinner for the night. This is a family owned beautiful restaurant. When we called in to reserve and told I am vegetarian they were happy to serve mushroom ricotta for main course. First course was four cheese gnocchi, second salad and for desert they had option of chocolate mousse and cream brûlée. The food was really good. Their service was a little off, staff was polite and nice but they kept us waiting too long to even check for drink or water. We thought they might be busy, but they did same with bread and got our bread and first course together. They rushed us to salad, a server came with salad as we were not even half way through first course. He was not serving our table, he came with salad and said if you still want time we can hold it in kitchen and bring back later, it was uncomfortable considering there was no place for another plate on table. They didn't ask us for refill on wine. May be they were very busy. We liked the tasty food anyway.
Kady E.
I came here for dinner by myself while visiting the area for work. The bartender was very nice and the food was delicious! I had asparagus wrapped in prosciutto then the marinara gnocchi with a glass of red wine. I wish I could come back to try everything else on their menu which looked great.
Judy Jun
Good/kind service and nice dishes for convenient price. Good deals at happy hours.I love small dishes!
Ruth Ann Young
Best food on the Eastside for sure!!
Amanda Bredlow
I searched far and wide for a restaurant able to accommodate my ladies night out birthday gathering party of 20 & this place really did great! The chef thoughtfully arranged the desserts I brought & the server brought them out at the right time. Food is delicious, great atmosphere, great value. I got the gnocchi & meatballs. Server Rose was able to do 20 separate checks & get everyone’s food out amazingly at the same time. We had a great time!
I like plain food. Okay, yes, I like Kidd Valley and Ivars and 5-Guys and Taco Time. I even like the Pancake House in Redmond, but when it was time to celebrate my wife's birthday with a nice up-scale meal, she chose the Lilac Cafe in Kirkland. We had eaten there before, but I didn't post a review. This time was different. My daughter Fred (long story) and two other friends joined us. They all like "real" nice food. I followed Fred's lead and ordered the Atlantic Salmon with (grilled?) Brussel Sprouts as the side. Wow. It was melt-in-your-mouth great. My friend ordered the Ravioli and it too was a million miles above Chef Boyardee (which I love). My wife's chicken Caesar salad was also very well done and tasty. The portions were generous and served at the right temperature. The waitstaff was attentive and accommodating. It cost about $119 for five adults and a (delightfully well-behaved 11-year-old). Not bad at all. We'll be back.
W Hensley
They serve big portions and for convenient prices. very kind staff. 5 stars from me.
Q I.
1. Service was unresponsive and slow. 2. The vinegar in the salad was over powering. 3. Carbonara was too salty. I was only able to eat two bites and I didn't even bother to take it home. 4. The beef short ribs were not flavorful and tough. Polenta fries were also salty. On the positive side, the beautiful tiles and ceramic plates decorations made you feel you are in a small European town.
Elissa H
Nice restaurant. Went with son and his girlfriend. They are "foodies" but didn't think it was that good, and don't plan to return. I thought it was nice. Had nice ambiance too.
Joanne D
Server added 20% tip to our bill without saying a word. When I asked she said it's a large group therefore 20% tip is automatically added. We had only 5 people! Don't mind of giving tips, but calling 5 people a large group and then added automatic charge just doesn't seem kosher .
There are no words to describe this culinary experience. Out of this world!
TLDR: butter knife.
What a bunch of great people working there. Great food, great staff and great ambiance.
We just had a wonderful experience celebrating a dear friend's birthday tonight. Our lovely server was wonderfully helpful and accomodating with our guest of honor's dietary restrictions and noise level toleration. She was incredible at setting us at ease and taking care of the details (special food preparation, serving our custom birthday cake, etc.) to make the night special. The food was fresh and well-prepared. This spot has amazing service and an intimate setting for special meals with friends. Highly recommended for superb hospitality.
I always enjoy the food here. Not overly expensive and decent portions. Nice atmosphere
Went to this place for Valentine's Day dinner. They had 4 course dinner for the night. This is a family owned beautiful restaurant. When we called in to reserve and told I am vegetarian they were happy to serve mushroom ricotta for main course. First course was four cheese gnocchi, second salad and for desert they had option of chocolate mousse and cream brûlée. The food was really good. Their service was a little off, staff was polite and nice but they kept us waiting too long to even check for drink or water. We thought they might be busy, but they did same with bread and got our bread and first course together. They rushed us to salad, a server came with salad as we were not even half way through first course. He was not serving our table, he came with salad and said if you still want time we can hold it in kitchen and bring back later, it was uncomfortable considering there was no place for another plate on table. They didn't ask us for refill on wine. May be they were very busy. We liked the tasty food anyway.
I came here for dinner by myself while visiting the area for work. The bartender was very nice and the food was delicious! I had asparagus wrapped in prosciutto then the marinara gnocchi with a glass of red wine. I wish I could come back to try everything else on their menu which looked great.
Good/kind service and nice dishes for convenient price. Good deals at happy hours.I love small dishes!
Best food on the Eastside for sure!!
I searched far and wide for a restaurant able to accommodate my ladies night out birthday gathering party of 20 & this place really did great! The chef thoughtfully arranged the desserts I brought & the server brought them out at the right time. Food is delicious, great atmosphere, great value. I got the gnocchi & meatballs. Server Rose was able to do 20 separate checks & get everyone’s food out amazingly at the same time. We had a great time!
Restaurantji Recommends
I like plain food. Okay, yes, I like Kidd Valley and Ivars and 5-Guys and Taco Time. I even like the Pancake House in Redmond, but when it was time to celebrate my wife's birthday with a nice up-scale meal, she chose the Lilac Cafe in Kirkland. We had eaten there before, but I didn't post a review. This time was different. My daughter Fred (long story) and two other friends joined us. They all like "real" nice food. I followed Fred's lead and ordered the Atlantic Salmon with (grilled?) Brussel Sprouts as the side. Wow. It was melt-in-your-mouth great. My friend ordered the Ravioli and it too was a million miles above Chef Boyardee (which I love). My wife's chicken Caesar salad was also very well done and tasty. The portions were generous and served at the right temperature. The waitstaff was attentive and accommodating. It cost about $119 for five adults and a (delightfully well-behaved 11-year-old). Not bad at all. We'll be back.
They serve big portions and for convenient prices. very kind staff. 5 stars from me.
1. Service was unresponsive and slow. 2. The vinegar in the salad was over powering. 3. Carbonara was too salty. I was only able to eat two bites and I didn't even bother to take it home. 4. The beef short ribs were not flavorful and tough. Polenta fries were also salty. On the positive side, the beautiful tiles and ceramic plates decorations made you feel you are in a small European town.
Nice restaurant. Went with son and his girlfriend. They are "foodies" but didn't think it was that good, and don't plan to return. I thought it was nice. Had nice ambiance too.
Server added 20% tip to our bill without saying a word. When I asked she said it's a large group therefore 20% tip is automatically added. We had only 5 people! Don't mind of giving tips, but calling 5 people a large group and then added automatic charge just doesn't seem kosher .