lillian's italian kitchen

dinner sat night. very crowded. noisey.foodvery good. but too much trouble to wait in the street to be served. no reservations. would not go back unless on week nightl

it was a decent dinner. not a big menu, big place but too crowded.
basic appetizers and dinner menu. we got the burrata cheese with prosciutto (this was the best thing for me). hubby got the short ribs with pasta and i got the special which it was angel hair pasta and seafood. tomato sauce needed more love but the scallops were perfect.
dessert was pot the creme for my hubby and tiramisu for me. tiramisu was dried ... the mascarpone cream was ok ... but a good tiramisu needs the espresso and more sugar for sure.
we came because a lot of our friends told us it was the best italian place around. being half italian it's hard for me not to compare thefoodto my mom's pasta and so on. so ... it's a good place and pretty affordable. the staff was pretty attentive and nice. would i go back? probably not but it's a good italian-american place.

fantasticfoodreasonably priced for upscale italian. would dine here regularly if we were locals. a little noisy, but otherwise good ambience.

first time there. read great reviews, come to santa cruz annually so we wanted to try it out. called in a reservation (recommend) and got there 25 minutes early but still got in at original time. they have a small dining area and it was a little crowded but comfortable. it was well worth the wait, thefoodwas great and the staff was very friendly and attentive.
we had the cheese/spinach ravioli with marinara, sunday gravy (their recipe) w/ meatballs and italian sausage, and lila's special with filet mignon. we loved it all, especially the special! we highly recommend trying it out if you haven't,or call your order in by phone. it's reasonably priced and excellent food.

belly bursting happiness. lillian's is right down the street where i live, so it proves to be my favorite local restaurant and a usual for my boyfriend and my "date nights." it's small, crowded, and loud, but a lot of the time i like that-it's a hopping spot in a small space. thefoodis insanely good for santa cruz, perhaps the best i've tasted in the area spanning all kinds of cuisine. they're insanely rich and decadent sauces match well with their amazing pastas, which i'm told they get fresh daily from a small pasta maker in san jose. so yeah, happiest i've been in a santa cruz restaurant. call ahead, be hungry, be happy.

what's the fuss about?. i had heard a couple people rave about this small restaurant and one of them took me to dinner here. i did not find thefoodto be that flavorful and the portions are small. i certainly would not recommend anyone to go out of their way to dine here. that said, it was not bad, but it is not anything special in my opinion.

good but - 'b'. i was not extremely impressed. atmostphere was nice,foodwas good but not great. the flavor was very basic but did not have much flavor. pasta sauce was actually not very memorable and lacked a sense of spice - even a background spice. and i had the dish 9sunday gravy) that should have been slammin with taste - with 4 different meats in the sauce, etc. there is such a thing as simple, homeade traditional tomato sauce that just resonates - but this sauce was thin with not much body. the starters were trying but.... either a restaurant is simple with a rich, homemade flavor or more gourmet with real potent flavors. this was just alright. folks that consider this the best italianfoodthey have had in a while definitely need to get out more or buy a good cookbook.

pretty and voluminous. i love the interior design of this place but the sound is very loud, i imagine a heavy dose of sounds absorbing materials hung around on the walls and ceiling may be covered in some pretty fabric could make a huge difference is many of the customer's comfort.


-----11 apr, 2010-----

never on sunday!. attention urbanspoon!
lillian's italian kitchen is "never" open on sunday.
delicious as theirfoodis i imagine the owners are real italians and maybe they choose to observe the sabbath by not working on sundays.

we went by on a saturday to make reservations for valentines day which happened to be a sunday, and they said, no no no, we are never open on sunday.

i come from a italian family, i have eaten at lillian's twice and i can tell you, with out a doubt, lillian's serves some of the best italianfoodi have had the pleasure to eat!

a. miles

wow this place is great. one of those small diners with killerfoodyou would see onfoodnetworks diners drive in's and dives. the sunday gravy is awesome. hey fieri, a visit is in order! heartily recommended!