Lilian's Restaurant

Let me first say that I've never eaten here before. I've only visited later at night at which point this joint looks like a illegally operated speakeasy.

I saunter to the bar to find a few young fellas necking Coronas. If you're gonna drink at this bar you better be ready to use whatever Spanish you know.

The bartendress is friendly, even if she is wondering what I'm doing there. The Negra Modelo is ice cold and reasonably priced. The tequila is tasty even if I was overcharged for the wrong tequila and probably given something else. What do I care, I'm drinking tequila in a place that I probably shouldn't be in.

As far as surrounding and decor go, I'd best describe this place by saying it looks like one of those bars in Desperado or Once Upon a Time in Mexico. All the normal standards of a restaurant but when you look closer it's just a room where people drink bottled beer (draft system is no longer is use here) and watch futbol.

The bathrooms are filthy and don't have paper towels, which shouldn't bother you because they don't have soap either.

I'm looking forward to visiting again.

I stopped in on a Saturday afternoon, just past noon. Lilian's definitely gives off a blue collar, working man vibe. When I was in there, there were several hombres at the bar watching soccer, enjoying beers, and, well...more beers.

The bartender was welcoming and friendly. She gave me a few food recommendations and I settled on the steak tacos al carbón which were decent.

The plate of three soft tacos and two 12oz cans of Tecate beer came to over $27 (pre-tip).

Lilian's isn't a place I would return for the ambiance. $5.50 for a single can of Tecate and $14 for three tacos is a little overpriced for that type of experience.

This place is rad. Imagine a squad of fine latin women dressed in short black skirts and revealing tops serving drinks and awesome Salvadoran and Mexican cuisine. It's kind of got a confused sportsbar/karaoke/hooters atmosphere. The music is loud so this isn't the place for quiet conversation.

The Salvadoran food is probably a little better than the Mexican food because I think the place is owned and operated by Salvadorans. But both are yummy. I recommend the burritos and pupusas. The quesadillas are nice as well. But my favorite is the yuca frita con chicharron. Basically, this is deep fried yuca (kind of like a french fry, only tastier) with deep fried pork served over a pickled cabbage salad. I suggest taking a bite with the yuca and pork and salad all combined on the fork. The combination of flavors and textures is exquisite.

In conclusion, this place is a good place to drink and respectfully admire the fine lines and curves of the female form and eat dope ass Salvadoran and Mexican food.

The food here is pretty good, although I have to admit, I'm not very adventurous -- I usually get the beef or chicken quesadilla or maybe some of the other Tex-Mex items on the menu. The Peruvian / Salvadoran items are a little scary but the cerviche was excellent the two times I ordered it.

But let's not waste any time - the main attraction of this place are the waitresses dressed in micro mini skirts, high heels and revealing tops. If there is another place in the DC area with a wait staff this good looking, please tell me!

On the downside, the music is way, way too loud -- you can't possibly have a conversation without screaming -- and the TVs always seemed to be tuned into a soccer game between Bolivia and Tanzania - really, who cares? Not even the regulars bother to watch.

this place is the worst I've been in the USA, we asked for some chicharrones that was very far away from the original recipe, it was pork meat half cooked in oil, the tacos were crappy AF, everything was a disaster don't go to that place if you expect to eat good food because they have no idea of what it is. I'm giving it one star as there is no a lower rating.

I give this place 5 stars for the food and 1 for the ambiance.

This place has the best pupusas in town, bar none. I love Dona Asusena's and have been to many a pupuseria in the area, but Lilian's beats them all. My favorites are the bean and cheese. They also have great baleadas -- a Honduran speciality (basically a pupusa, but with a large tortilla instead of the corn cake). The prices are very reasonable and the service is good. They take a while to bring you the food, but that's because most things is made from scratch on the spot.

The place itself is another story. It's clean and the decor is cute. What's a little disturbing is the fact that the waitresses are very underdressed and the miniskirts only get shorter at night. They're also a little too friendly with the patrons (pretty much all male). Doesn't make you feel too comfortable as a woman.

If they could just "unsleazy" this place a little bit, I would be a more frequent customer!

I dropped in Wednesday night before Thanksgiving for a few beers before I did some food shopping at "MOM's" next door. Place was packed with hombres who had the next day off from work. Caught up on the local Mt Vernon Ave gossip ... apparently the block next door has been sold and is going to be developed into an upscale condo/apartment complex. So long MOM's and CVS!

Now that urban renewal has come to Mt Vernon Ave I hope it doesn't mean that Lilian's is going anywhere, anytime soon. This place has one of the more attractive wait staffs in the DC area and one that is minimally dressed as well. Anyone who believes otherwise must have grown up in a strip club!

Anyway, how will the new upscale tenants enjoy being located next to a Mexican Hooters? I suspect there will be a few complaints, not necessarily regarding the girls in hot pants and boots, but the guys that hang around in front and the occasional visits by Alexandria's finest.

In the meantime, let's all enjoy the good food, the cold beer and the pretty girls.

The service here is low-class. My friend and I could have left without paying since no one was taking care of us for at least 20 minutes. It took 34 minutes for the food to arrive.

The ambiance is pretty hilarious. Bunch of men sitting around flirting with the servers. People standing outside playing bouncer. It would seem that everyone there knows one another, so if you are an outsider, like myself, you might not get good service.

If you are already drunk or you just want to drink and look at some booty, go there. If you are looking for a real mexican or tex mex experience, go to mexico, texas, or california, or make the food yourself...but good luck finding authentic ingredients in this area.

Ok, I have no idea what everybody's talking about. After visiting this place for a second time (Saturday evening), Lilian's is hardly a Mexican Hooters that people talking about. Nothing is falling out of anything here. And if you believe otherwise, then you're a 17th century Puritan. Food wise, this okay. Ordered the steak and fries ($13.95) which was a hearty platter. Food is okay but nothing out of the ordinary. You can probably find dishes cheaper along Mt. Vernon Ave. Kitchen is pretty slow. So I'm dropping this down to a 2-Star review because it's really "Meh, I've had better Latin cuisine elsewhere."