Lillian Brasserie

Unfortunately our dining experience at this elegant restaurant was both underwhelming and disappointing. The majority of staff presented as overly formal and smiling clearly not encouraged. From a food perspective, both main courses were definitely not on point. Hospitality …. ‘the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests’ Yes… we were greeted in this way at the entrance to the restaurant however that’s where it finished. We found it quite difficult conversing in competition with the (not so) background music and asked if the volume could be reduced. Obviously the young manager considered the request unreasonable as nothing changed. Comments on our dishes … The potato crisps needed salt, the smoked eggplant dip was quite nice. The lobster & leek croquettes, the prawn & crab also the scallops and wood roasted greens were delicious. Linguini arrived lukewarm and became ‘gluey’ very quickly The King George whiting ($55.50) presented nicely, was overcooked. Why crumb such a delicate, sweet piece of fish and serve it with an over powering sauce américaine? Sadly the flavour of the fish was totally lost. Dessert, vanilla bean soft serve sundae, was fun and enjoyable.

We went for lunch for a friend's birthday. Maybe because it was a weekday service was a little slow to start but quickly warmed up! The leek croquettes and the mini apple and pear tarte tatin are absolute highlights. The oysters are freshly shucked and very tasty. No issues with quality there. The pasta was also good, I think we got the special not the spanner crab. It had great depth of flavour. The wine and cocktail list is extensive and well curated

A group of us went here for a friend’s birthday on a saturday. The first impression wasnt great, the greeter took the coats for the people in front of us but directed us directly to our table without asking to take our coats (maybe it’s too busy). The whole place is very crowded, but expected since it’s on a weekend. We got the seasonal menu which is $135 per person, and got the additional linguine for extra $25 per person. We also got a bottle of wine, and they have a wide array of wine options to choose from. The starters were good and well seasoned, but not too impressive. It takes a while for the main to come and it was very disappointing. The chicken was bland even with the watery “sauce”, some of the lamb is overcooked and some is a bit rare, the saving grace are the chips and greens. There were 2 types of dessert, both of them is very average for the types of establishment. The whole course took 3 hours, which for me it’s a bit too long. *TLDR; service was average, food was on the bad side

A superb evening out. This restaurant impresses from the moment the lift opens (on level 2), you know you are in for a special time. Lillian’s is beautifully fitted out - warm colours, lots of leather & subdued lighting, its posh yet in a casual relaxed style. Service is exemplary - friendly, helpful & without the stiffness that some fine dining establishments project. The wine list is large & varied & they’ll make just about any cocktail you ask for. The food is what stood out. Although not a big menu - everything we ordered was simply delicious. Portions were surprisingly generous & sharing several dishes is easily arranged amongst 4. Standouts were the octopus carpaccio (special of the day), the whiting & the chicken (made for sharing) in a rich chilli infused tomato jus - nicely deboned, it was tender, moist & perfectly cooked. Even desserts were excellent & large enough to share. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening & it ticked all the boxes for a fine evening out. Definitely recommend for a great evening out to celebrate. Plus we were pleasantly surprised at the bill - worth every cent!

Lillian is a a euro-style Brasserie offering contemporary European cuisine in Melbournes CBD. It was named after the late fashion trailblazer Lillian Wightman, to which the outdoor terrace overlooks her former store site. It is the more casual, yet just as impressive sibling to @societyrestaurant. We walked in on a weekday to take advantage of their Sping Lunch Specials, a menu offering $44pp unlimited oysters and a selection of dishes for just $29.90. Skipping the booze we went for a non-alch option of the sparkling Rose drink, a sweet option. The sheer size of the Steak Sandwich had us in awe, boasting a thick, fluffy focaccia bread and the most tender sirloin steak but it was a little too saucy for me. The Caramelised Goats Cheese Salad needed a bit more flavour, but had a great texture. The cheese was too potent for us which were weren’t expecting. Lillian has accomplished Contemporary Australian Restaurant of the Year 2022 and RCA Awards for Excellence. Although the lunch specials slightly missed the mark for me, I do still have high hopes for their A La Carte menu. We will be back. ⭐️ 3.3/5 💸 $$$

A restaurant that oozes “Business dinners after office hours in New York” vibes. The vibrant interior and but homey modern setting is what brings the attraction. Out of all the food we ordered, the star would be the pork chop and the veggies. But if I were to be frank, Society (their sister restaurant) has better food. Not a bad effort for Lillian!

We went to Lilian Brasserie for lunch, and got their sharing 5-courses Seasonal Menu @135pp which consisted of green olives/potato crisps, cured salmon/burrata/veal carpaccio, sirloin/roast chicken/fries/greens, pavlova/lemon meringue tart. Despite being told the portions were “generous” (spoiler alert: they were not, which was to be expected for this sort of restaurant, but it was simply unnecessary to tell us so), we got the additional spanner crab linguini anyway (48$). The highlights to me were the veal carpaccio, served with capers almond and a touch of horseradish the flavours simply worked well together, and the crab linguini that was elegantly paired with lobster oil & tarragon. The rest were average; sirloin, cooked medium, was tasteless, roast chicken had a single flavour of acidic, desserts lacked creativity. Food aside, service was absolutely horrendous; we had to: ask for food menu, ask to order, follow up where food was, wait so long in between courses, ask for the bill, ask to pay. It took us 3+ hours to complete a mere 5-course meal, it was that slow. And no it didn’t include tea/coffee time as we were not offered. Some staff were friendly, one was like “we don’t usually allow set menu for only 4 people, it’s usually a minimum of 6 but we’ll allow it for you” and “we don’t usually allow kids to dine in here, it’s mentioned on your booking confirmation but we’ll allow it this time” (checked my booking confirmation, 16+ for dinners only). Thanks for making all these exceptions guys! Just for next time, we’d be happy to dine elsewhere no need for all the troubles.