We were looking for a brunch spot near Javits Convention Center. We actually walked over to another place that was just a few blocks away, opened much earlier in the morning. But, when we got there, there was a crowed of people waiting for their seat outside the door, so we decided to go somewhere else. Lilly’s was our second choice, and even though they were a bit further away from the Convention Center, we made our way over there. It was easy to spot with a nice big flag above light wooden exterior.
We got there just as they were opening up for brunch, so we were the first ones to walk in to the restaurant. The inside was a typical, long and narrow set up as many restaurants in the city. It had a really nice, looong bar with bar counter, and crazy amount of bar stools. They had table seating across from the bar, good amount of them.
Even though it is long , the front wall is mainly window, so it brought in good amount of natural light. They also had two smaller window at the back wall, helping with the light in that area. They had really nice interior, exposed brick, wooden beam on the ceiling, original (?) flooring, bringing out the warm and cozy atmosphere. At the back side, the tables were high bar tables, and they had pipes under the booth chairs to help climb up on the seat. Not a fan… It is not easy for short people (like me).
But, the ceiling in this area looked like the original, ornamental ceiling which was really nice. They also had really funny, antique looking sign that said “My Goodness My Guinness” that gave me a chuckle.
I also like the tables, they looked like recycled wood from wine container or something, really cool. Each table had different stamping on it, very original!
We started our brunch with a cup of coffee ($3) which came with free refill. It was a good cup of coffee to wake us up and get our stomach ready for some food.
We ordered Crispy French Toast ($13) and The Lilly’s Breakfast Burger ($15). I somehow thought their French Toast would be small, but as you can see next to the burger and fries, they are pretty good portion.
Crispy French Toast comes with a choice of bacon or sausage, and we chose bacon. And my goodness the bacon was amazing! It was not too thin, and had kind of sweetness to it. Juicy and packed with flavor. They know how to do bacon!
The French Toast was rather interesting. They seemed to be coated with corn flake or something similar, creating that crunch. It was not super crunchy or anything, but giving just enough so that you can enjoy the softness of the bread with crunchy exterior. Again, it was a good portion, and have I mention how awesome the bacon was?
The Lilly’s Breakfast Burger was huge! It comes with 8 oz beef patty, fried egg, bacon, cheddar, onion, lettuce and tomato. It also comes with side of hand-cut fries. It is like the breakfast of champions. You will have crazy amount of energy after the meal (unless you are ready for a nap already). The fries were nice, potato-y, and addictive. They were nice portion and not oily or greasy, which was great.
When I put the burger together, I seriously wondered how I was going to be able to eat it… As soon as I gave it a squeeze, the egg porn started. I cut the burger in half, and about the time I finished cutting, I squeezed out the egg, which was unfortunate… The burger was cooked a bit more than how we requested, so it was a bit more on the dry side. I prefer super juicy burger patty, but the egg helped some on that part. The patty was still tasty and flavorful. The veggies were super fresh and buns were soft and airy. Overall, it was a good burger.
The restroom is located at the back of the restaurant. There is a sign that says Restroom next to their espresso machine, and just follow the sign through long corridor.
They have Men and Women bathroom, and it was nice size, clean and well lit. It is always good to have more than one bathroom, no matter how large or small the restaurant is.
Our server, Shannon was really nice. She was friendly, tentative, and took a good care of us with a smile. Another cool thing about them was that on the bottom of their drinks and dessert menu, it said “5% off food with a Yelp Check-In.” Of course we checked in with Yelp, and showed it to our server. It only applies to “food” items, not drinks. She made sure to take 5% off from our tab, thank you Shannon! It was a nice brunch, good food and very friendly service. I really liked the atmosphere, warm and inviting. I am glad to have found another nice brunch spot in the city!
Lilly’s Craft and Kitchen – 675 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10036