Lily's Crêperie — Restaurant in San Mateo

I really wanted to like Lily's. It's a family-run business and I root for them frm my heart in every single day. Their crepes however... is really not that great.

To begin, the crepe itself is off. The texture is too rigid and does not have a thin cushion feel. Try cut it and you'll know. And keep in mind, all good creperies must start with a great crepe.

Then comes the concoctions. There's a wide variety and for a minute or two you feel like everything is going to be amazing. But whoever is coming up withese receipes probably has studied them online and really not figured out the balance you need to strike. Lemon, honey and butter but work but only as a zest.... not drenched in lemon juice. Thousand island dressing soaked pancakes with canned pineapple pieces? And you just do not put fresh hard strawberries and kiwis in a crepe and mush them with overwhelming amounts of cream. The receipes are right. But the owner really does not understand French baking and crepe creation.

On top of this, pile on more things to serve - smoothies, boba, etc. - and you have a very diverse menu with nothing being great.

I would highly recommend the owner to take some basic crepe courses or venture into other local creperies and taste their competition.

I want to cheer for this shop. But...

Lily's Creperie is a charming small space located in the Crystal Springs Village strip mall in San Mateo. Discovered while charging my EV, this was a great chance to kill time and enjoy an even greater snack. My fiance swore by the lemon crepe and it did not disappoint. I watched Lily make the crepe from scratch, placing fresh batter onto the piping hot griddle and flattening it out into a perfect circle. There's something so satisfying about watching a crepe being made. I love her generous use of butter as well, hoping it was the wonderful type they use in banh mi because if so, french butter is gloriously better. After some ample squeezes of fresh lemon, she folded the crepe, placed it in a to-go container and sprinkled some powdered sugar love with extra love on top in the form of fresh whipped cream. It is a treat worth waiting for, although at the time we went around 2pm, the place only had 2 visitors dining in. Parking is abundant so you should easily find a spot. Which means you should definitely go and give Lily's a visit. Bonus points if you also get the iced ca phe sua da. Amazing iced coffee that is strong enough to wake the dead....

Lily's Creperie had the most delicious and light crepes I have ever had! Large portions, but were not too filling and the cost was inexpensive. They had my favorite non-alcoholic drink too!

My boyfriend and I were on vacation to CA and stopped here on the way from the San Francisco Airport to San Francisco. I can't say enough nice comments on the place or the owner, Scott, who personally served us outside.

There is indoor and outdoor seating, though it's not a big place, but you can take it to-go. They have many gelato flavors. There's a crepe making station right at the front where you can watch your order being created. They have a return customer card for stamping, though, sadly, we couldn't use it ourselves, we gave it to a friend who had just moved to the area.

Purchased (for two to split): 3 Crepes (Savory smoked salmon buckwheat crepe, savory goat cheese buckwheat crepe, and dessert French brie crepe), Thai iced tea, and a green tea gelato.

Wonderful service, tasty food, quaint place, reasonable price, can't ask for better. If I lived on the West Coast I'd be a...