Lily's — Restaurant in Minet el Hosn

We had an absolutely terrible experience at Lily’s Downtown on the evening of 7/7/25. What was meant to be a calm and enjoyable dessert outing turned into a frustrating and honestly humiliating situation. The service was shockingly poor, and the staff — especially the waiter assigned to our table — treated us with complete disrespect.

From the moment we sat down, we felt unwelcome. The waiter was cold, dismissive, and acted as if our presence was an inconvenience. He wouldn’t answer our questions, made zero effort to be polite, and spoke to us with an attitude that bordered on contempt. It honestly felt like we were bothering him just by being there.

On top of that, he insisted on a so-called “minimum charge,” not out of policy, but clearly to pressure us into ordering more — and ironically, that charge wasn’t even added to the bill. It was clearly a made-up rule just to get us to spend more.

But the worst part? When we tried to cancel an order that had already been placed but wasn’t even cooked yet, he outright refused, again with no explanation. Just a stubborn, arrogant “no,” as if we didn’t even deserve basic customer service.

We left feeling uncomfortable, disrespected, and honestly angry. It was one of those experiences that ruins your night — and unfortunately, no dessert is worth being treated like that. I wouldn’t go back even if they offered the meal for free. The attitude, the manipulation, and the total lack of professionalism were beyond...

On a springy day, where the taste buds are blossoming like flowers, eager to new experiences, I went to catch up with my friend over lunch on the terrace.

I called earlier to reserve, and a sweet host booked me a table. Upon arriving, a professional staff with genuine smiles welcoming us and guiding us to our table.

The terrace is beautifully set, a simple decoration and light touch of color.

First things first, one of the tastiest bread baskets I had, and a side of olive and walnuts tapenade.

What I loved the most was the professionalism of our waiter Houssam; besides being knowledgeable of the menu, he was very helpful in the modifications we requested in our order.

We had:

Regular garden salad, that was not on the menu, yet was prepared to us

Grilled salmon salad with raspberry vinaigrette: generous bunch of greens topped with the flaky salmon strips, the flavors marrying perfectly together; recommended dish. Not a fan of avocado, I requested additional veggies on the side and was not deceived!

Shrimp orzo: a lightened version of risotto, aldente with a tomato sauce and crowned with shrimps with basil. Chef you are very creative!

A highly recommended restaurant with reasonable prices and...

The service has become a little bit slow with no notice of new people walking into the shop (it was not crowded or peak hour).

Food and drinks are exceptional as usual.

Prices need to be revised as the cappuccino costs more than a salad.

Very pleasant atmosphere in both summer and winter.

Tried desserts this time, tiramisu in a cup with multiple layers of biscuit was brilliant and the baba au rhum tasted like a proper...