Midtown Lunch

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent posts about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

A few Saturdays ago, I ran into some friends I consider to be pretty awesome catching a cab in my neighborhood. They were on their way to Midtown to have brunch at Lillie’s in Times Square, which they described as “beautiful” and “pretty cool”. Although Chris was unhappy with their hidden online prices, and Sarah was somewhat disappointed with the food quality in the Union Square location, I wanted to find out if their happy hour was anything to rave about.

Read more »

A while back, we noticed that Lillie’s Victorian Bar & Grill had opened on 49th St between 8th & Broadway. Despite generally good reviews on Yelp, we didn’t get terribly excited about visiting based off of the comments (Summary: Decent place for a drink, otherwise generic pub food) and Sarah Z’s tepid review of their original Union Square location.

But curiosity did me in. After a visit for drinks with co-workers a few months back, I was impressed with the grandiose (if a bit cluttered) space, fair drink prices (for the area) and pleasant staff. I decided that their food deserved a look, and of their expansive menu of pub grub, only the Welsh Rarebit and grilled ham and cheese fell within our $10 ML limit. Since Sarah’s rarebit, if you can even call it that, wasn’t garnering rave reviews, I figured one couldn’t go wrong with the ham and cheese sandwich.

Read more »

The restaurant scene at 49th St and 8th Ave is getting more and more interesting. Following hot on the heels of E&E Grill House, Lillie’s Victorian Bar & Restaurant has recently opened just a few doors down. Although most of the menu is well above the $10 mark, there appears to be a few sandwiches that meet the mark, including a Welsh rarebit sandwich ($10) and a grilled ham & cheese, both served with hand-cut fries. Although we’ve yet to try this new Lillie’s the original version in Union Square has earned a ‘Critics Pick’ designation from New York Magazine, and a solid 4 stars on Yelp so the indicators are promising. Early adopters, please let us know what you think in the comments.

Lillie’s Victorian Bar & Restaurant, 249 W 49th St (btw. B’way+8th Ave). 212-957-4530