lilly's pizza

that crust goes beyond pizza dough; it is daftly flavorful and a sin to leave on the plate. expertly seasoned and surprisingly sweet, mouth wateringly soft and crunchy in all the right places. the calzone’s marriage of toppings/filling and dough is expertly balanced.

i wanted to love it and i only kinda liked it. dang, what a bummer! the inside is great, the beer menu is nice, the salads are yummy (lemon tahini dressing!!), the pizza crust is so good! i ordered the sir walter and ended up getting a sir salter! woo wee, that prosciutto was salty! i know it should be salty so i believe they should have used a touch less. or slice it thinner. it was more kin to country ham than prosciutto. it completely took over the other flavors, like the smoked gouda and the roasted garlic, that i wanted to taste so bad. i'll definitely go back and give it another try. the buddah looked yummy!

best pizza in the triangle. chill on the outdoor patio with a dante's inferno - bbq chicken pizza and a cold blue moon or hoegaarden.

perfect place to chill in five points on the patio drinking beer and having a slice of pie

but the 'hood is so fashionable!. it ain't hard to fool bubba into thinking he's getting good pizza, and if you divert his attention with off-beat decor and a groovy scene he'll eat anything. expect a mix of pseudo-ows weirdoes who drove up in their beemers mixed in with rock-ribbed country clubbers who walked through the hopelessly fashionable neighborhood to get there. if you beat the parking pinch and manage to find a hard wooden chair; they'll make you an pizza that is as edible as anything dominoe's serves and apologize for nothing. its lillys, dammit.

don't order the pizza!. i took a guest once and they ordered the pizza. why not, it makes sense. i ordered my regular calzone. my friend "liked" his pizza, but i didn't like it at all! and i love this place. i always order the calzone and i would devour one everyday if i could. their pizza is very thick and their dough is sweet, but this is not a problem with their calzone, which is perfect! grand portion, and their dough and sauce are in proper order. also, i have had their lasagna and if it were a bigger portion, i would always be torn on what to order, but their calzone is the best i have ever had and i have had a few. their side salad is really enjoyable, but not worth the $4.

homemade organic tomato sauce, mozzarella, all-natural ground beef, black olives, parmesan & feta graciously topped one of the most delicious, surprisingly thick, and best darned gluten-free pizza crusts i have tasted.

good, but not the best. the selection of toppings is unbeatable - you have lots of choices and some great combinations, more than you will find at most pizza joints. unfortunately the crust does not stand up as well, not because it is "too thick" (i like my crust thin to medium thickness) but simply because the texture is not quite there. it's a bit too bready and chewy for my taste. the seating area is also quite small and has always been very loud and crowded every time i've visited.

not worth it. we went well out of our way to go there, only to have part of our order forgotten. apology? no, just told it'd be 8 more minutes (so they didn't even fess up that they forgot). another 20 minutes or so later, we are forced to hunt down our pizza again so that we could take it home in a box and eat it 40 or so minutes later. ridiculously awful service, and the pizza was not good enough to justify that kind of wait. what is even more pathetic is that the place wasn't even busy - i can't even imagine how awful that would be. i will not go there again, and i would caution others against it, unless they like to get hangry.

love it!. unbeatable pizza - love that they use mostly fresh local ingredients. my mouth is watering right now thinking about the bbq chicken pizza. worth the wait and the price, and the atmosphere.... you have to experience for yourself.

absolutely dire. actually, the gluten-free pizza is dire -- almost as dire as the inedible bella monica gluten-free pizzas. sorry, but really, the standard of gluten-free pizza i have found in raleigh is unbelievably awful. i think sometimes people with celiac disease are so grateful to find anything gluten-free that they are delighted to find anything, however bad it is.

if you have the chance, try the gluten-free pizza at risotteria in new york city. there is simply no comparison. or make your own. it is easy -- no kneeding involved when you are using gluten-free flour.

unless you are absolutely desperate for gluten-free pizza and don't care how bad the pizza is, i would avoid lilly's pizza.


-----14 mar, 2009-----

10/10 for effort. it is rare to find a place that does gluten-free pizza, and lilly's does. but if you want gluten-free pizza, do call ahead to make sure they have gluten-free pizza, as they had none left the first two times i called.

on the other hand, when i went to pick up the pizzas i had ordered, i was a bit shocked by the off-putting decor of the place, and the copious piercings of one of the serving folk.

the pizzas themselves were ok but not such that i am anxious to return there. perhaps i should give them another try: i do know that they use fresh ingredients and, for example, their pesto is real pesto, made from basil, pinenuts, olive oil and parmesan, so should be good. but the gluten-free pizza base was not that good (it was very sweet and not the best approximation to pizza base i have had) and there was not enough of the toppings on it. perhaps the main problem for me was that the basil used was one of those dreadful liquorice-tasting varieties rather than basil that tastes like basil. i hate liquorice flavored anything, especially basil.

i am sorry not to be more enthusiastic: as someone with celiac disease who wants to support any restaurant offering gluten-free food, i am happy that lilly's pizza exists. if they could work on that gluten-free pizza base a bit, and insist on basil-flavored basil instead of the liquorice stuff, i'd be a regular (take-out) customer.

quite bad, actually. first: the pizza. yuck. their dough is too yeasty and soft- kind of gummy. and grease runs off of the slices of pizza as you eat. the pizza combinations are very creative and sound delicious. unfortunately the quality of the ingredients kills them.
the atmosphere is horrible- staff yelling out people's names when their order is ready, people fluttering about to get more plates, napkins and silverware- or hovering to try to find seating in such a small place. the noise can get pretty intense. if you happen to like their food i would definitely recommend getting it to go and enjoying it elsewhere.
you can tell the staff get frazzled and/or just give up. expect non-existent service. if you go during non-peak hours you can sit at the bar, have a beer and a friendly chat with them while they make your food. once a crowd comes- all bets are off.

let me cut to the chase. lilly’s pizza has a serious oven problem. their dough comes out uneven and grossly undercooked in many cases. i’m not the first to complain about this and i hope that the word goes out loud enough for the owners to make a much nee

best pizza in raleigh! my fav is "south of the border"

interesting, original and delicious. lilly's is not to be compared with "new york" style pizza joints. their claim to fame is the wide selection of gourmet-style pizzas, which are tasty and delicious. i recommend "the gus" which has portabello mushrooms and several kinds of cheeses...outstanding flavor.

it's very popular locally so can get cramped around prime time hours...pick something a bit before/after and you'll have better luck with wait times and seating.