Lily's Bistro — Restaurant in Lake Wylie

Good but not great “casual” fine dining. Went with wife, adult daughter and her boyfriend early Friday evening around 6. Less than a dozen filled tables. Seemed empty for a Friday night and was no more crowded when we left closer to 7. Hostess was very pleasant and attentive, but overall service was very slow. My daughters meal came out 5 minutes later than everyone else’s, and it always feels awkward eating when someone doesn’t have their food.

We did start off with bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar with small side of diced tomatoes. For what we got, seemed too expensive and many places bread is complimentary.

Wife loved the mussels and I thought quite good as well.

Daughter had crab cakes with salmon and she seemed to really like.

Boy friend had a filet and looked like he hadn’t eaten in weeks as it looked like dish had been through the washer (he was on leave from Navy so that may have had something to do with it). It came with tobacco onions, which gets name from looking like loose tobacco, and looked really good. His plate looked fantastic overall.

I got the short straw because my rib eye was very fatty (should have been trimmed on end or charred better) and overly seasoned. Meat tasted good but too salty and blue cheese on top took away from taste of steak. I do not recall description calling for blue cheese topping, but that could be my bad. Garlic mashed potatoes were also overly salty, small portion under steak, and broccolini portion was also small and more like garnish over steak. The meat tasted great where not as seasoned.

Service was very slow, and not certain how many servers based on small number of customers. I said casual fine dining as that is how it felt. We were in shorts as many others and there are vinyl upholster booths. Signage refers to Italian bistro, but doesn’t really feel like anything specific and overall atmosphere felt like a bistro.

Prices were borderline high and all the entries we ordered were $18-$30ea. Bill for 4 was around $120 with tip, and only 1 had a beer. There are less expensive items, but $20-30 per person is probably average, and...

Called to order take out. We ordered pasta and meatballs, and then wanted to order something else. The person we were speaking with suggested the chicken parm. I thought, "okay, that should be a good meal and not over the top." Well, upon arrival to pick up the food, I was shocked to see both a container (that held the pasta/meatballs) and then a large tray, which contained two pieces of chicken parm and a large helping of pasta. That was not expected, especially for one person to consume. I had assumed that ordering a chicken parm meal that I would get something in the $20 to $25 range. Well, the meatball meal was about $18. The tray of chicken parm was $52. I just felt somewhat deceived, as I was given no indication of the price and of the size of the meal. Nor was I ever asked how many people I was feeding when I placed the order. It felt like a money grab, and that it was an opportunity for the restaurant to make a quick buck by doubling up on the meal. Now, of course, I have to take some responsibility here, as I assumed that the meal would be proportional in size and price to other chicken parm offerings by other restaurants. I never asked the person taking the order about the price or the meal size (again, using the logic of being aware of comparable prices for comparable sized meals in the area). And, I understand that taste is subjective. However, I wasn't too impressed with either meal, and didn't think the sauce was all that good either. Each chicken portion had a slice of mozzarella cheese on it that was barely melted. The breading didn't have much in the way of seasoning. The texture of the meatballs was decent, but they were also somewhat bland. Of course, being second generation Italian may make my review unfair, as I compare everything to my...

Went with my husband, my sister and brother-in-law. When I called to make a reservation I was told they give the fine dining experience and they don't rush you as in other restaurants, which I thought was great and exactly what we wanted. My brother-in-law suggested that we order the apps first and wait to order the main course as he didn't want to be rushed and I assured him that wouldn't be the case since I was told this was 'fine dining experience'. We went on a Tuesday, server didn't place the cocktails on the table but handed them to us, first mistake. Then the apps weren't served all at the same time and neither was the main course, having us wait until all plates arrived before beginning. Fine dining, you wait until all plates are ready before bringing them out. We were still working on our appetizers when the main courses arrived or half of them; then I had to hand my unfinished appetizer to the server instead of her picking it up or returning until we were ready and then she again handed me my main course instead of placing it on the table. Really disappointed in the service. The rest was great, the food was good but the service left much to be desired, we felt rushed. I would like to go back and hope the server has had some 'fine dining' experience. Responding to Jerry: The receipt says the server name was Rachel - I would also like to add that if a dish is prepared with something other than what is described on the menu the server should let us know. My husband ordered the pork loin with haricot verts. It came with a chopped salad; which is fine if you don't have haricot verts however she should have mentioned that you were out of haricot verts and it would be served with a chopped salad or could have offered...