Lily’s Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Atlanta

10/8/2022 - I had a good time with friends. The food was good, but I'm not sure if i would go again. The restaurant was suggested by a friend. We were all trying Lily's for the first time. It's located on Pharr Road, and I passed by it the first time (damn GPS!). Keep your eyes open so you don't miss it! Parking was $10 to self-park. I believe it was $20 to valet. We had to show ID to get in (it was 12:30 in the afternoon) and the attendant checked my purse. Once at the hosted stand, we chose to sit outside; the weather was perfect.

ATMOSPHERE - from what i could see, it really was a small intimate spot only made larger by the outside patio enclosure that sits on what may have at one point been the main parking lot. However, the enclosure is nice. It's fitted with tables around the perimeter, a central lounge chairs/table setup, heat lamps, and a fire pit. I didn't really pay to much attention to the inside. It didn't really have a traditional restaurant feel. It had more of a higher end or remixed diner look and feel.

FOOD - I ordered the fried lobster and shrimp mac and cheese. DO IT! The Lobster was more than I expected. Great flavor and cooked perfectly; which isn't always easy to do with Lobster. The fried shrimp was slightly overcooked which would happen if they cooked the Lobster and shrimp together. The Mac and cheese was also good. It had "something" in it, a spice or seasoning or something that addded a surprise flavor. It was great. My girlfriend ordered the shrimp and grits. The shrimp and sauce (with onions, peppers, and spinach) were good, the grits were still too "gritty". Her husband ordered the chicken & waffles with eggs. He ate it all. The proof was in a clean plate.

So, all in all we enjoyed ourselves, the atmosphere definitely allowed for that. When we arrived there weren't many guests, but by the time we left, it was pretty full and I could tell it was about to be on and poppin. Time for us to take our old behinds...

I will give it up for the ambiance, vibes, music, and the appearance of the establishment. That was the very nice part. I was really looking forward to it. The first thing I noticed was that absolutely no one was wearing a mask... the manager, cooks, waitresses and bartenders... NO ONE. The service was fantastic from the jump with Brianna as our waitress. She was very helpful and pleasant. We placed our orders and got stuff off of the happy hour menu... wings, drinks and Mac and cheese. The wings were great and the drinks was strong, which was a plus! The mac and cheese was nothing unique though. Nothing worth raving over... We enjoyed our time there then we get our bill (pictured in this review). How does this make any sense at all?! We ordered four happy hour food items ($24 total before taxes) and three alcoholic beverages ($19.50 total before taxes) and then the total ends up being $56.70 (with taxes and an unknown mandatory gratuity for TWO PEOPLE during happy hour 🙄). After doing the math, it was like they taxed us both as individuals and then did 20% gratuity per person or something.... it was like being charged 40% of the $24 & $19.50 added together.....At that point I had really only figured it out after giving my card so that is on me. The business showed up as an AD on my IG feed so I was excited to try a new black owned spot....but I will no longer patronize this establishment because of the surprises that came with the charges for the food and alcoholic beverages. There are other establishments (black owned or not) that do happy hour during the week that don't pull stunts like this... I learned that a Ghanaian man owned it and I wanted to support a fellow African and black owned business but mmm mmm I will NOT be coming back. Go here if you got money to blow... you get food worth maybe $30 but the bill ends up being $45-$50 for...

The venue is great, but the parking is a haste.. okay let’s get to the service and food review… the food was NOT worth the wait. I had ordered the “Southern Style Shrimp and Grits.” The grits were gritty and hard, but at the same time soupy. The shrimp was delicious but I wish they would take the tails off of them. The mimosas were good as well, however most of these menu items are well overpriced. $45 to NOT share the bottomless mimosa. Literally, only YOU can have the bottomless mimosa for $45! The servers, oh my goodness the servers, the servers are passive aggressive. It’s so busy, packed, and loud in the facility that you will be forgotten to be served, unless you look amazing and tip great. It seems like you have to dress up to par, and I’m talking name brand designer clothes and cars, to be taken serious as a customer. To better help you understand the wait time, each table have a sign that says 2 hours. That means, you can only be at the table for 2 hours. Oh, and they AUTOMATICALLY include a 20% tip onto the bill.. so let’s recap - the food and drinks are too OVERPRICED, the time it takes to even order food and receive the food will take longer than an hour, the servers are pretty but attitude is ugly, the comfortability of the whole establishment is a 4/10. The only thing I liked about it was the decoration and the music they played. However, it’s so loud in there that it’s hard to converse with someone. Definitely book a reservation and have EVERYONE there and on time because they only offer a 5 minute grace period and then after that, you’ll be waiting for 30mins -...