lili's bistro on magnolia

chicken salad sandwich was quite flavorful and good, the other is the half combo salad and grilled chicken seasoned well. been here a few times i've liked other things better like the house burger

nice cozy place down on magnolia. i would recommend reservations or showing up early. also, it is a bit pricey but the food is well worth it. wine selection coukd be better. clean dining area, didn't get a chance to see the restrooms.

great food, very good service. yes, this is also a wine bar, but the food is well focused and executed quite well.
we started with the tzatziki medley (traditional greek tzatziki cucumber-yogurt dip served with a side of tabouli, a side of their bulgher & berries and fried pita bread wedges), and the phyllo wrapped halloumi (tasty, but a little too greasy).
for the entrees we ordered the day's special (polenta crab with a cajun shrimp topping) and the crab cakes. wow! even the sides and the tomato wedge were tasty.
for dessert i went for the new item they have: vanilla ice cream served with almond chocolate and bacon. hard to describe, but you've got to try it.
fyi: if you don't call ahead for a reservation, you will be seated outside if you show up during their lunch/dinner rush(which is fine for people watching if the weather is behaving). but there are only 8-tables outside and no place for anyone to wait around if you are out of luck for a table. so be prepared: they are well managed and courteous but leave no room to accommodate clueless diners with no manners.

i can't get that burger out of my mind.. living in texas all my life, and enjoying good food, i've had a lot of burgers. i've never had one in the same league as the gorgonzola burger on sourdough at lili's. it is simply amazing. like fort worth hole in the wall said, it kills you with happiness. we've loved everything else we've tried here as well, including salads, grilled chicken and tenderloin. our friends enjoyed the salmon very much. the gorgonzola wedge salad is heavenly. i don't normally care for iceberg lettuce, but this dressing makes it worth it.

we've always had good, pleasant service. the atmosphere is lovely. the patio is wonderful in good weather. the prices are not outrageous like they could be with such good food. we keep going back because it's all wonderful. parking is definitely an issue, though.

went to lili’s for dinner with friends and ordered appetizers, dinner, wine, and dessert. food was good and we had a nice time. then, the owner (wearing a white coat with vance on it) came in a belligerent huff and told us he needed the table and that we had been “hogging” it for 45 mins. just full on accusatory, guns blazing, all angry and aggressive. we had just finished paying only a few minutes earlier and immediately got up and left. no one had told us they needed the table, and we had paid for a $300-plus bill. we were shocked. on the way out, one of our group told him that the food was good but that he would not be back. vance then followed us outside and belligerently told us we did not own the table and that we had stayed long after finishing our meal. we had not. he then proceeded to yell at us, followed us down the sidewalk, jabbed his finger in one person’s face, and slapped the cell phone out of another’s hands. his behavior was completely unprofessional and beyond rude. after pointing out to him that he was following us down the sidewalk, he then asked us why we were walking away as if he truly wanted to fight. i am aghast at his behavior and should have called the police on the spot. jabbing your fingers in the face of someone else and slapping the phone out of someone’s hand is assault. it is most definitely not the behavior of a professional. we will never return.

great food, pleasant service, prefer the larger side near music for evenings. nice wine list. patrick aims to please in all things. we are repeating customers.

i had lunch here on a fairly busy day. the service seemed a bit confused at the start, as no one knew we were their table until i pointed out we had been sitting there for about 10 minutes. once that was squared away, the service was on point. i ordered a salmon salad with korean noodles, and it was outstanding! dessert was great, too. i was pleased. i'll definitely return.

this is a fantastic little place. from tube exposed brick wall to the live piano music, lili's has brilliant ambiance and the food is some of the best to be had in fort worth. while everything i've ordered here has been nothing short of magnificent, lili's donuts are the best thing i've ever tasted!

new favorite destination!. i visited lili's bistro last night with my boyfriend and had one of the best meals of my life. i made reservations, arrived 10 minutes early, and we were sat immediately. the ambiance of the restaurant paired with the live piano music was fantastic: low lighting without being cave-like, lovely oil paintings on the wall, candlelit tables, comfortable seating and wonderful exposed brick, beams and ducts. lili’s gave off good vibes as soon as i crossed the threshold.
as it was half price wine night (tues-wed-thurs), we ordered the house white wine, which was deliciously dry and crisp, good to the last drop. for apps, we ordered the legendary gorgonzola fries, as well as escargot. both small plates were fantastic, served piping hot, packed with herbaceous flavor and cooked to perfection. there was absolutely nothing wrong with them.
for entrees, i ordered the autumn risotto and added salmon with a twist: our server, amanda, recommended that i add a thai chili glaze to the salmon, and i wholeheartedly agreed. the risotto dish was intensely delicious. it is without a doubt one of the most amazing meals i’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. the sauce, sweet and tangy currant, crunchy pistachios and unctuous salmon sent me to the moon! my boyfriend ordered the seafood trio. the seafood trio’s crab cake was outstandingly crunchy and flavorful, the shrimp and salmon had all the right seasoning and were cooked expertly. so many other restaurants tend to cook seafood ‘til it turns into rubber, but not lili’s. they clearly have an experienced kitchen staff who are bold about their seasoning and very comfortable behind the stove. we were much too full for dessert, but their tempting dessert menu, namely those donuts with coffee ice cream, do call my name loudly. next time for sure!
amanda had finesse, charm, intelligence and a helpful mindset that is sought after in such an industry. she is clearly a professional, passionate about food and service, and is committed to making lili’s bistro the star that it is.
i am most certainly returning with my boyfriend, and would love to bring friends and family along!

poor professionalism. i have had the worst experience with lili’s catering and owner.

due to the lackadaisical attitude i received trying to book a rehearsal dinner at lili’s bistro, i sent the following abbreviated message to the owner vance martin. “lili's bistro is one of my favorite restaurants and was our first pick for a rehearsal dinner location, unfortunately working with lilipads has been extremely unsatisfying. i found the entire process very unprofessional. i have worked with several other restaurants in fort worth and have not experiences anything like it...”
after sending this message i posted the identical statement to trip advisor reviews, which i believe is an honest recap of my experience. after posting i received this message from the owner: “ it was my intention to find a way to try to smooth this over even though you had booked with someone else, but after reading your spiteful and mean spirited attack on tripadvisor.com, i really don’t have much to say to you. you’ve said it all. i often wonder if people like you would be as brazen if they too had a target on their back and could have their jobs critiqued by the public. i doubt it. enjoy your miserable life.”
i have never experienced such a lack of professionalism from an owner, i honestly wonder how he stays in business. after my experience i went back and read several poor reviews on trip advisor which had very similar experiences. vance himself even committed on some of the experiences with as much hostility as i received.
i am a small business supported, but this is one i refuse to support. i truly hope you do not experience the same disrespect as i have.

sub par. saw all the reviews on here and said, wow, why haven't we tried this spot? and now i know why we haven't. got the french dip, and the meat was dry and tasteless (even with the au ju). girlfriend had the adult grilled cheese, which was bland and could probably be better executed at sonic. seemed to pair well with the undercooked fries though. maybe it's just those two dishes that are bad, i don't know. fried pickles were decent. dirty menus. dirty tables. underwhelming service with a touch of bad attitude. i knew we should have went to the little red wasp instead...:/

beautiful and tasty. the food is delicious, the atmosphere is lovely, what's not to like?

wow! beautiful decor. super quick service. the mufuletta sandwich was the best i've ever had. fantastic place. i'm here from out of town and wish they'd open one in atlanta so i could experience more.

some good, none great. atmosphere, check. beautiful jazz piano, check. excellent food, not so much. some of it was pretty good but nothing stuck out as overtly wonderful. i even went for lunch and tried a burger. the music might not be as professional, but i'll stick with a fred's burger any day.

my favorite restaurant. my husband and i visited lilis last weekend. what a real treat. the place is just all around awesome. christy was our server and the service was excellent. the wedge salad is always a good pick but my macaroon flounder is what brings me back. it has a honey ginger lime sauce. the gouda cream corn makes eating vegetables fun. i would suggest making a reservation because it fills up quickly.