Lil’ Italian Cafe

Bad customer service, unseasoned bland food. It’s a shame because they used to be good

I really like this place. Great selection of Italian favorites along with spicy infused hoagies and subs. I usually have their sajji chicken sub. Great flavor, and very decent portion. Ask about lunch specials. tried their pizzas, I will say okay, not specular.

Was in the DC area and a friend suggested this place. Food was good, however the service was so slow. This is why I only gave 3 stars. Food took forever to cook. Servers definitely do not look happy. Not sure I’ll go there again. They definitely need to be quicker and the waiters need to have a smile on their face. I went when it wasn’t even busy there.

Newly renovated– I love the atmosphere. Food is great– especially the sandwiches and wings. Our family has ordered their pizza countless times, all halal/​zabihah toppings (ham and pineapple, mmm).
They have also catered an outdoor BBQ at a park for us, very reasonable prices and everyone LOVED the burgers.
Definitely try them out!

Meh. Ate here for lunch. 12:00 and only two other people here. First, they did not serve coca cola. Automatic star deduction. Caesar salad was bland. Chicken Parmesan consisted of pre-​fab chicken strips covered with sauce and cheese. Wife and son enjoyed their pepperoni pizza. Daughter said lasagna was so-​so.

I wanted to go to Super Phở, BUT IT WAS CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT! NOOOOOOO!!!
Okay, okay, calm down. I’ll survive somehow.
What’s this Italian place next door that I always walk by? Might as well give it a shot.
As the other reviews state, service is super slow, and it takes a long time to get the food out, including the salad!
I ordered the mozzarella sticks. They were likely just out of the microwave. Meh. The salad was boring and tasteless, almost as if it’s just a carrier for the dressing.
What’s interesting about this place is the Indian/​Italian infusion choices. I chose the spicy chicken sajji. It was spicy! Not raging hot, but close to it for me. By the time I finished the sub, I was at my spice limit. Most of my friends would have no problem with it, but I’m kinda sensitive to it.
All in all, I’m glad for having tried it. If you’re looking to try some new takes on old go-to’s, this might be for you.

Their food is great, I love their wings and we do their delivery every two — three weeks. Even though the little café is nice, I don’t like the ambience since it feels too diner — ish. I have never gotten cold food and in fact, the wings are crispy as if they were just out of the fryer. It could be since I live 2 miles away from them! Nevertheless, their food can be a little greasy (I usually ask them to make it LESS greasy) but they have strong flavor and delicious food!

The food was good, but the service and cooking were so slow that it really didn’t matter if the food was good or not. Ate in and we ordered a pizza for two of us and a chicken dish. The food took so long to come that a friend of mine had to tell the waitress that if it wasn’t out soon that we would leave. One thing I didn’t want to tell my mad friend was that her dish that she ordered had been given to someone at the next table who ordered the same thing, but, ordered it after she did which means hers went to a different table. I wasn’t surprised. The waitress sucked. I will def not be going back.

I have eaten at Lil Café at least 20 times over the past few years. Here’s the low down:
Food is good
Delivery sucks
Service is substandard
I work in their delivery area and ordered a pizza — it took an hour and the pizza was warm. It was the only time i tried their delivery service.
I usually eat at the restaurant or occasionally take it home to the family. The servers there are not actual waiters — that’s why they will bring you 4 plates when you have 6 people at the table and you have to ask for more. Or like when I was in line to pickup an order I had called in — there was no cashier so the server came over to help but started with people behind me!
My family and I like their food though. Some of my favorites are their chicken wings, Supreme pizza and their cheeseburger.
I would give 5-​stars if they improved their service.

Good little café in Herndon
Food quality used to be great, seems to have gone down some in the past few years.
When I was working in Herndon, I would practically be here every day. I tried every plate on their menu!
Service is horrendous, and that is giving it too much credit. The place has a nice NY feel to it though, almost like you are in a Seinfeld episode.
Stars:
Food — Needs to get better, looks like a lot of stuff is frozen and heated to order
Service — Need to really step it up here, very slow, food takes forever to come out and the person behind the counter seems like they have nothing to do, but won’t refill my drinks or clear my plates or bring my food.
Atmosphere — Love coming inside here though, like I said a NY feel to it, and I really like Seinfeld
Location — In 20 171 Herndon area — Busy area, place I am normally passing by on the weekends
Family friendly — Place is very much accommodating to family, service is not. Kids don’t like to wait 30 minutes for food. they get cranky, sleepy, and restless… not fun for parents either
Would I return — Yeah, if I want a sandwich and have 30 minutes to wait for it, sure. Quality of meat is good though, so it is one of those places if they step up the game it has the potential of being great.

I stopped here with family while being on a business trip. Very nice small place, we all order few different things from the menu! Chicken sandwich, hot wings, Mediterranean salad and spicy chicken calzone! Food was amazing with very reasonable portions. We were seated right away by the window and the food was served with 15 min. I would defiantly stop by again!

The employees don’t go out of their way to be rude here, but they also don’t give off an aura of being happy. They come off as more annoyed that you’re there.
The employee taking our order seemed perturbed by me only wanting a Rubin sandwich with no sides, and that my coworker only wanted a simple salad. When we placed our orders he tried to pressure me into getting fries, and when I insisted I didn’t want them he pointed towards a billboard and said, «Did you see our specials?» It was as if he was going out of his way to get me to order something else. It was rather obnoxious.
From there it seemed as if our table was no longer a priority to the gentleman as he never once returned to refill drinks, or ask us how the food was when he finally brought it. When we were done, we actually had to walk up to the counter and ask for our check.
The sandwich was acceptable. It wasn’t bad, but it was far from great. The meat was pretty skimpy, but it at least tasted fresh and hot.
Overall, I wouldn’t return for the simple fact that the customer service just isn’t there.

I have only tried the subs from here but for me, that’s enough since they are that good. Their Saji Spicy Chicken and Buffalo Chicken subs are by far my favorite. I have read other reviews about pizzas not being good so I wouldn’t even risk it.
The subs with fries are plenty for someone who only visits the area a few times a year.

Excellent food, best quality meat and fresh bread. Their wings are better than BWF and the price is comparable especially since the wings are larger here than at BWF

Terrible!!! Ordered the cheese pizza with extra cheese, it taste like it was frozen with no extra cheese. The cheese was still in shredded form. Maybe its just me, but I expect my pizza to be hot, bubble, and actually taste good. My husband ordered the fettuccine alfredo. He said it too taste awfully. The sauce was just milk and flour, no flavor. Spent $ 40, waited an hour for the food, and cannot eat. I called immediately after receiving the food. The deliver guy could not have been out the neighborhood. The woman who answered did not care, did not try to address the situation, simply told me a manager would call me. After a manager did NOT call me, I called Grub Hub, since I placed the order through their site. THANK YOU GRUB HUB! They spoke to the manager got me half of a refund back from the manager. Grub Hub has also given me a coupon for our next order. DO NOT order from Lil’ Italian Café, horrific food and customer service.
–10 Stars

This place is own by Pakistani (I guess) not Italian and serve halal food (no pork). They have most Italian items on their menu, but tastes are not same as actual Italian Restaurant. So don’t expect too much.
There Saji Spicy Chicken is really good. I usually access their coupons from Zabiha app and save money on my each visit. A 9 inch sub with fries total with tax is $ 7.41.
I tried their pizza and wing and they suck, like I said Desi people cann’t make pizza.
But anyways, I always love to go back there.

Many bad reviews but I wonder why…? Its not that bad.
Outdated look and feel — YES. It looks like Shakeys pizza and the silver diner had a baby and called it Lil Italian Café… but hey, are you there for food or ambiance?
The food is basically your average full menu diner. I’ve had a burger and a steak and cheese from here and its not bad at all.
The waitress was very accomodating and attentive, we had a group of 6 people during lunch and no issues.
This place is good for a quick deli style lunch if youre in the area and dont want fast food.

Let me make this easy, if you want food poisoning — eat here… I’d give it 0 stars if possible…

I wanted to like this place, just couldn’t get there.
They have a great location and get steady traffic but the food here
is average at best.
They give Italian restaurants a bad name!

I had dropped my car off for an oil change at Tires Plus, and ventured with my husband across the road to see what was at the plaza. We decided to check out Lil’Italian and grab some food while we waited.
The staff was slow to bring our drinks and take our orders. They weren’t rude, but weren’t overly friendly either. My husband and I both ordered the veal parmesan. We regret it to this day. The prices did not match up with this low quality food. It wasn’t much more than a frozen veal patty from Sam’s Club with some Ragu and cheese tossed upon it. Bleh. Neither of us could finish our meals.
We have no intention on returning there.