There wasn't really anything special about the food here, but the food wasn't bad either--just the standard Mediterranean The pita was cold and a little tough, as if they just pulled it from a refrigerated bag. The same goes for the hummus, it just tasted like those you buy at the grocery store in the refrigerated section. As for the main entree, the chicken kabobs and beef shwarma had nothing real special to them. And the rice that comes with the entrees had very subtle flavor. I feel a little generous giving the place 3-stars instead of 2. Though I didn't dislike the food, it's still not a place I would come back to. read more

The best Lebanese food in Houston, excellent service and flavor. You have to try their lebne, tabule salad, meat pie and house coffee.

It's a clean and casual place. They have table service for lunch and dinner, but counter service between lunch and dinner. I've had much better food for the same or cheaper prices. I got the chicken sandwich, which was $11 and came with fries. They have complimentary Lebanese coffee, which is slightly sweet and flavored with cardamom. The coffee was my favorite thing about this place. read more

Food is top notch; however, they have established new sit down service (perhaps weekends only), and after I was told to take a seat, I waited for 10 minutes and no one tried to take my order. I left. Poor customer service. Disappointing because the food is good. read more

Lili actually exists! And she bakes the best coconut cookies ever... The service is impeccable; I was warmly greeted upon entering and quickly seated. Alysia was knowledgeable about the special and made excellent recommendations. I had the beef shawarma, which was passable. The warm meat grape leaves were delicious and the cookie was divine. I also had the Lebanese coffee which was very strong and combined with the cookie, really brought out and enhanced its flavor. read more

Stopped in for lunch on Thursday and I was so happy to finally try this place, after years of driving by it. It did not disappoint! I ordered the chicken shawarma, ab fab darling, ate every bit of it. I even enjoyed the iced tea, maybe it was the insanely hot weather, but it was like God's nectar and I will be back. read more

I wanted to introduce my girlfriend to Lebanese food, and thought Cafe Lili would be a great place to do so. I usually order the beef shawarma and its delicious!! This plate also comes with a hefty amount of fries so you're guaranteed to walk away full. The service is good, the decor is simple, and it gets packed during lunch hours. My girlfriend also enjoyed the experience and suggested we go again. The hummus is average but overall its a cozy and pleasant experience. read more

One of the few places I cannot get sick of - very authentic, very very good. Quick too!

Oh so delish, from the yummy crispy fried califlower, the perfectly flavored Foul Mudammas, to the rice pudding and baklawa, we couldn't be happier. A friend sent us over and now we are calling all our friends to join us here for dinner next week! We didn't want to stop eating but they would have had to roll us out. But not before we had their complimentary cardamom coffee!! Thank you Cafe Lili for the best Mediterranean meal we've had in a long time! read more

Been here several times. Among my favorites-- hummus, shawarma chicken with garlic dip, yogurt cucumber salad. Coffee is great!

We absolutely love Cafe Lili and go there at least once a week. Yes it is a small, low profile place, but its strength lies in the quality of the food. It is healthy food! You can tell that all is made from scratch. We have many favorites: humus, baba ganoush, cucumber and yogurt, kibee, moussaka, stuffed cabbage, stuffed zucchini, meat pie, and you cannot leave without having a baklava and cardamom enriched coffee (pardon my spelling on all these items). The price is more than reasonable. Service is good. read more

This is one of my go to places for Lebanese food. The owner is always onsite and offering the customers complimentary coffee after their meals. read more

I met a friend last Friday at Cafe Lili in over a year and a half. She hadn't ever been. I didn't even know they'd added on. We're both Lebanese and share a deep appreciation of our food. And it did not disappoint. Everything was fresh and delicious! We both enjoyed a wonderful lunch. It was so incredible that I ordered my favorites to pick up Saturday: raw kibbe, tabouleh salad, grilled onions and dolmas. Special pickled turnips and real olives are a great appertif! And amazing rice pudding! The killer Lebanese coffee so carefully served by Lili's Man of the House. I'll be back very soon! read more

Perfect food, service and beverages. I had the grilled chicken special with grilled tomatoes. At first I thought I was going to be put off that it didn't come with rice like Iranian food, but OMG, this is wonderful and I lacked for nothing. The chicken was perfect, no room for improvement. The dish comes with salad or hummus, I had the salad. The salad needed a bit more vinegar or lime/lemon and perhaps garlic, not a lot of flavor, as is. The chicken is the chief feature, bam! I cleaned my plate. Nice wine, and great complimentary Lebanese coffee flavoured gently with cardamon. I am a happy camper, plan to come back for lentil soup, more wine and coffee!!!! read more

In town from Los Angeles for the weekend. EXCELLENT stop for dinner! Food lived up to every expectation! Hummus is silky smooth and wonderful. Service was prompt and friendly. If I lived here, this would be a favorite and frequent stop! read more

I came here with a few girlfriends and we shared 3 entrees family style. Food portions are huge so the price is a little hefty. Not horrible though. During lunch there are no waiters so you have to order at the register. I was surprised by the chicken which I usually don't order at halal places because I fear it'll come out dry. I actually enjoyed the chicken more than the beef here, which is surprising. Order a side of cucumbers and dip into the hummus! The pita bread isn't impressive so I'm glad we had the cucumbers. read more

My wife, son and I visited this place on Saturday after thanks giving, it was in a shopping center and not "Tucked Away" as some of the reviews mentioned. Never the less it said Lebanese cuisine, the magic word for great food ... But... here it goes, we walked in and an older gentleman sitting down pointed us to the cashier to order and then advertised that they have some Lebanese meals for lunch that were not on the menu, he was eating Spaghetti. We wanted a pot of hot tea, we were handed tea cups and earl grey tea bags, we declined. The Cashier/Server/Cook/ recommended the grill mix which is one skewer each of Kafta, Chicken and meat with a side of rice and Hummus, we ordered tow of those and Humus Awerma "with meat" and Falafel. It did not take long and the food arrived, definitely was not off the grill, the chicken was still white and not charred as supposed to be, the meat had the vinegar taste in it, the Kafta was frozen then cooked and had a musky taste and chewy texture and the rice was mushy. The Hummus Awerma "with meat" was cold and the meat had a a different taste and over lemony, the Falafel was under cooked on the inside "usually that is because of over heated cooking oil". Two orders of meat plate, one order of Falafel and one hummus Awerma "with meat" for almost $100.00. I am sorry for the this low review, I drove from San Antonio expecting some good Lebanese Food but came out to be a surprise and disappointment, Lebanese food is a joy of great taste and not what we were served. read more

I never write bad reviews but I was really underwhelmed by this place. I saw this place on triple D and love Mediterranean food. I ordered hummus, it was okay but the bread they gave was room temperature pre brought and bad. I asked the person who brought my salad which was also incredibly mediocre to get the bread heated up but apparently they couldn't be bothered. I ordered the chicken kabob half order which was good but over priced-12.99$ for 4 pieces. Place is completely mediocre at best and over priced. Won't ever eat there again. read more

This is my favorite Lebanese food eatery. Everything here is good! Some of my favorites are stuffed grape leaves, humos, tabouli salad, fried kibbe, spinach pie, beef schwarma, The spinach pies are addictive. This is a great place to take out of town guests. It is nothing fancy, just a cafe setting. The staff is friendly and if you order take out they get it ready quickly! It is a simple place that you wouldn't expect amazing to come out of, but it is a must try in Houston! read more

Slow service it took 30 min to make 2 chicken shawarmas, employees fought in front of me, and the food was overpriced and gross. I ordered the chicken sandwich which was so bland. I could make a better one at home. The tabouli was good but needed some lemon juice and olive oil, plus the parsley was not finely chopped, you would not expect this at a home cooked Lebanese restaurant. With all the competition out there, Lili's needs to step up their game! read more

My boyfriend and I found this place while driving around! The food was great- we had beef shawarma platter and the veggie platter. Also, you can't beat the service. Everyone was attentive and wonderful. read more

All you need to do is taste the tabbouli, and you're hooked. As a Lebanese halfsie, married to a Palestinian halfsie, I have a hard time finding anything that satisfies us both like a fabulous meal at Cafe Lili. My husband always goes for the Chicken and Rice with laban (Lebanese yogurt), and I am a huge fan of the moujadra (lentils with rice and fried onions). The pickled turnips and olives always make me feel like I've stepped into the past, not to mention Lili herself, holding court in the restaurant like a true Arab matriarch. In Houston, this restaurant is top-notch: authentic and delicious. read more

Great food. Best fried cauliflower I have ever had. Food and service really great. Perfect for mid day grub

Yum! Friendly staff, yummy food in heaping portions. I wish they'd had more seating options inside and some additional beer options. But the food was really good. We'll be back! read more

Nothing great to write about and nothing bad to share as well, stop by if u have time, the quantity is good , quality is average , at the most decent. read more

Good standard Lebanese food with all the dishes available you would expect. Prices are reasonable for what is served. Service is fine. Stuffed grapes leaves were good, as are the falafel sandwiches. The lentil soup was not bad, but not my favorite in the houston area. As the star rating puts it "A-Ok" but not spectacular. read more

Bad service. The restaurant smells and I am surprised that so many people like this place. There are million other mediterranean restaurants on Voss/Hillcroft thats way better than this place. I found a curly black hair in my food. I mentioned it to the staff and they insinuated that it might be mine. I will never set foot in this place. read more

This is one of the most excellent meals I've had in a long time! Such great options, and wonderful service. Try the Lebanese coffee.

Always a great place to visit. Weve had their chicken shawermas, night specials, salads. its all wonderful! Today we ordered swiss chard lentil soup and the chicken shawerma plate and it was excellent. Full of flavor! read more

This place got featured on the food network which is what led us to trying it out. They have very good daily specials and they're appetizers were our favorite part! The hummus is so so tasty which they give you as much pita bread as you'd like with it. We also tried the falafel appetizer which was also so gooood! Super flavorful and nicely crispy! I would also recommend the fried kibbie which was my boyfriends favorite since he prefers to eat meat items instead of vegetation options. It had a taste of its own that made it stand out from the other dishes and was delicious. However the reason I didn't give it the full five stars was because even though the sides and appetizers were very good, the main entree itself didn't compare to everything else. After eating so many things that were bursting with flavor, the entree tasted bland. We got the chicken kabob that was served with rice and the garlic sauce. I would come by again however, I would just order appetizers and sides as our main meal. read more

No frills needed! The food here is super fresh and seems homemade. I have been eating Lebanese food for most of my life and this is the best I've ever had. I have literally never had a bad meal here but my favorite thing is the grape leaves with a bowl of lebne. The tabouli is too great to pass up so I always get a side of it as well. I will admit that the prices do seem a bit high but it never keeps me from going back for more. read more

One of the best all-time favorite restaurants. Very fresh I love the customer service. The female owner is always in the back smoking on her hookah and she is not the more out going when you first meet her but her husband and son make sure everything runs smoothly and greet you with a smile. I seriously LOVE this place and the food is always amzaing. read more

Great food, staff and atmosphere! This place only serves authentic Lebanese food. I also like the fact, that one of the original owners used to be a wrestler. My family loves this place, and we visit every time we're in the area. Go check them out! read more

The food was really good but it took quite a long time to prepare. Also the service was really shoddy. They forgot to bring g out several parts of our order. I was amazed that there was no complementary hummus with the pita at the start and the prices are pretty steep for what you get. Main entres were tasty but we probably won't return read more

Some of the options were good to decent (the kafta kabob, for example), but the prices were too much for the portions. My boyfriend got a "full order" of kafta kabob that was fairly small and 16$. This seemed a little off for a cafe. Can get similar plates, with better tasting food, and bigger portions at various restaurants. Can't think of a single place that charges as much for this plate. I feel like 12$ has been the average, at both 'nicer' restaurants and more informal places. Also, the rice that came with the above mentioned meal was fine, but came with little cut up pieces of vermicelli in it which I thought was weird/ not to my taste. There wasn't anything here that I tried that was a stand out. read more

We were looking for a good place to have our dinner we decided to go to this place i didnt like the hummus and the shawarma wasn't good at all kebbeh wasn't as good as we use to have it in other places, they told as the chicken special was overpriced (18$!!!!) as what i can notice that the most of reviewer abt this place on yelp didn't try other places it's over priced for nothing we spent over 55$ for 2persons and we weren't happy ...i will never go back read more

Very clean family owned establishment. The son and father are very pleasant and inviting, you can tell they take great pride in their business. The food is always good and taste homemade. read more

Haven't had grape leaves this good since my last visit to the Holy Land. Amazing food and service. We had a huge feast with my hubby, ordered everything from the beef kebabs for two, to 4 dozen grape leaves to 2 orders of hummus to tabbuleh to lebne lol. We enjoy this place so much and in just one and a half weeks we've been there 3 times thank you for your awesome authentic food!! Never change please :) read more

Cafe Lili - Beef kebabs, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, etc! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Houston, Texas

This is our favorite restaraunt in Housotn. Not fancy, not pricey. A place for friends and family to come together and enjoy a meal. I love the veggie plates & the after dinner coffee is great! I tend to stick to a few items (nothing wrong with the menu!!! It's just a habit) but when I take friends they always enjoy everything. Good parking, easy to find, nice staff and clean restrooms! Dining outside is also an option. read more

Good authentic Lebanese family place. Diners, Drive Ins and Dives featured. Maybe my expectations were too high...it was all good... enjoyed the Labneh and the Kafta Kebob was well done. Just wasn't as excited as I thought I might be. Plus, it was on the pricey side. For similar money I would pick Kasra. read more