Cafe Lily

This place is a true hidden gem. Tried their plov — perfectly cooked rice with tender chunks of meat, carrots, and spices that deliver deep, savory flavor in every bite. The giant steamed manti + rich sour cream 🤤🥟 Flavor explosion! Definitely will be coming back for their other dishes.

Must have passed Cafe Lily more times than I can remember… and finally went for lunch, 2x. Solo and then w/ a friend. A Uzbek restaurant, mix of Russian and Korean fusion cooking… I used to live near another spot that served up really delicious Uzbek food on 19th Avenue! Situated on a quiet street with a mish-mosh of shops, and tinted windows, can seem uninviting… and staff could be a bit slow with service, so if you’re in a rush, come when you have time to enjoy the meal. My first meal was of course to try their version of "cold noodle"… similar to the Korean style cold noodle but not made with buckwheat noodles. Here, they serve it with white noodles and tops with veggies and beef. The soup was not icy cold but also vinegary. It was good but I prefer the Korean style naeng-myeon which offers more chew & texture. My 2nd meal, had to try my other fav - Yuk Kae Jang; but here they call it Yu-KajJan. Now this one is interesting, the soup comes out bland… and you mix in the aromatics to your taste and eat over a bowl of rice. I actually enjoyed this a lot and would recommend this! My friend got their crispy potatoes & mushroom, it was ok. Nothing special. Also tried their meat manty - didn’t like this, the skin was dry and tough to eat, the meat was a little gamey - perhaps bc it’s lamb. We also got their fern salad and the sauce, delish! Soak it up with the toasted bread and your belly will thank you! The price is ok, not too crazy but also not an everyday lunch outing. Overall would come back for the Yu-KajJan & Fern salad.

Wonderful experience at Cafe Lily. Great delicious food at a very fair price. We ordered the tripe salad, beef tongue Tashkent salad, the beef manty, the Korean fern salad, and the Kuk-Si. Everything had really lovely flavor and I really enjoyed the combo of Korean and Central Asian flavors. The filling on the manty and the kuk-Si were particularly spectacular. Try this place out!

came here with a group and we shared the kuksi and plov mains and the pigodya and korean side dishes and fern salad for appetizers. i’ve never had korean fern salad before and it was amazing along with the other dishes! and very satisfying to wash it all down with compote 👍 it was worth the longer train ride to try this delicious cuisine!

I went with a friend to try out this Korean-Uzbekistanian spot in Brooklyn based off of a TikTok that emphasized that the food itself is not a fusion but the food of a "dying culture." As some who loves to eat I know that culture is preserved in the food, so o just had to check it out with my friend before they left NYC for the next few months. Highlights below! Wait staff was super attentive and friendly Service was fast and very considerate Very patient with us as new comers Drea’s meal- Pigodya —— Good portions Came with a spicy sauce: a little salty but very good! The meat is very tender The cabbage has a good flavor and very well seasoned The dumpling dough itself was very airy Vegetable/beef broth Super juicy but not too liquidy Needed some acidity like some soy sauce or something vinegary My meal Fried salmon I do wish I had more greens The salmon was very good! I do wish it was a little more tender but I love the way it was fried We also shared some of their homemade compote which was super fresh and refreshingly sweet! If you’re in the neighborhood you definitely should give them a try 🇰🇷🇺🇿

Absolutely delicious food. The service was great too — very kind and friendly. I came here a bit later so the restaurant wasn’t quite as full, so the food came quickly and it was all very yummy! Definitely get the compote pitcher, only $10 and very very tasty. And don’t miss the fern salad, it was a highlight for us! Not something I get to order often

I first discovered this place on Instagram. I had the Kuksi as my first dish, and it instantly took me back to the cold Korean noodles I had in Seoul. It was delicious! I also tried the Manty and Plov, both of which were tasty. I ended up too full to finish the Plov, but I’m excited to have leftovers for breakfast tomorrow! 😋 The customer service was outstanding. Everyone was so friendly and attentive. The young lady who helped us gave an excellent recommendation to try the Kuksi, and the gentleman made sure the food came out to the table. I would definitely come back here again.