Miss Lily’s Cafe & Catering

This place has changed a lot since we were here several years ago. The servers were sweet, although it’s a strange order-​at-​the-​counter process. Everything else was mediocre at best, except the price, which was ridiculous for what you get. I ordered the shrimp and grits, which was amazing 7 years ago. This was bland and nearly flavorless. My husband had filet bites which were equally bland. Both the grits and the mashed potatoes seemed instant. We were in and out in 20 minutes, minus $ 45.

Wife had smoked wings and I had the special, Chicken Parmesan. Wife liked the wings but I have had much better. You now order and pay at the register when you come in. Give you a number and bring the food out to you. Don’t like that system. Good selection of draft beer. Overall, I would say the food was pricey for what you got, and just acceptable. The new way of ordering totally turned me off however and will not be back. The food and service were much better last year, so not sure what happened to the place.

I ordered the Fried Green Tomato BLT and husband ordered the Rueben! Amazing food! Quick service. We were visiting from out of town, but if I was a local, I’d eat here weekly!

Had dinner here. Food was very good service was good. Tea was perfect. Not to sweet. We didn’t do dessert but it looked good.

Came here to eat after a bike ride at Cades Cove. It wasn’t bad! The prices were a little out there, but other than that I didn’t mind because I was pretty hungry. I ordered the Chicken Salad Sandwich which came on a croissant. Have I had better? Yeah, sure, but this was just okay. The service wasn’t too bad either, but it seemed like they were prepping for a catering gig or something so it was a little hard to see the waiter. We came in right before they opened. One thing that I do have to mention was that they let me use their bathroom before they opened, coming as I had to go real bad, so props to them for that!
I think what surprised me most about the Chicken Salad was that it had chunks of apples in it. I wasn’t a big fan of that. I know that chicken salad is not an exact art, but hey I just wanted to warn those readers who are like me and not like apples in chicken salads. However, the croissant was nice and fluffy which was nice, GAH WHY APPLES?! Also, I had a side of greens. It had a sour vinegar-​y taste? Anyways, I wasn’t a big fan of the greens either. I’m surprised that this place has such high marks. Maybe, I didn’t order the correct dish, but hey the other dishes were nice double digit prices. If you’re not doing well with something so simple as a croissant and chicken salad, what makes you think I’ll order something more expensive? …
You’re right. I probably would just to see if this place really deserved any hype that they get. Next time I visit, that’s what I’ll do and I’ll report back!

Absolutely amazing. Started with fried green tomatoes. Had the pulled pork and my wife had the strawberry salad with blackened chicken. Then we had the banana caramel cake for dessert. Home made food with much of it coming froma garden on the property. We were very impressed with the meal and the service was wonderful. A strong feeling of southern hospitality. My first 5 star review.

The food here was excellent. You could definitely taste the fresh ingredients. The fried green tomatoes were best I’ve ever had. This was followed by seasonal berry salad with chicken and Reuben sandwich entrees. This place missed a five star rating given its lackluster service. All and all, great lunch spot.

The wait was a little long but we had a big group. I initially thought prices are just a bit high for lunch at 9 $ appetizers but well worth it after trying the food. Got the fried green tomatoes and LaConte quesadilla (spinach, artichoke and mushroom) both of which were excellent. Tomatoes were nice and crisp with a delicious sauce and the quesadilla was great. Friendly staff with some interesting semi local beer on tap and nice desert selection. I’d certainly recommend it if you have some time.

Excellent food, salmon, ribeye steak, salads, everything was so fresh, cooked perfectly, great local place to eat at

We were disappointed that the Dancing Bear Lodge restaurant was closed. We had eaten there on our last trip to Townsend. We chose Miss Lily’s Café as an alternate. We were pleasantly surprise with the quality of food and service. Our waiter Dan was very professional and attentive. The food was absolutely delicious. I got the blackened all he tacos which was an appetizer for my entrée along with a salad. The tacos were spiced to perfection and the poppyseed salad dressing was delicious. My husband got the special for the evening which was salmon steak and it was also tasty. We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area.

This is a Foodie’s haven in the Smokies. Great trout and crab cakes. Wine list is quite good. I can highly recommend the lovely little gem.

This place had the most reviews, and warranted a look. When we walked in, the lunch hour was picking up, but we were seated quickly.
The menu has some tempting options, and we were intrigued by the fried green tomatoes, but opted for lighter fare, as we were about to leave on a hike.
For starters, the chicken salad was heavenly. It was mixed in with apples and walnuts, and reminiscent of a Waldorf salad. It was served up on a cresaunt that would not let a Parisian down. It was light and buttery, but clean. It really did remind me a bit of my recent trip to Paris, where I lived on the things.
The Reuben was a heavier alternative, and of course messy, but flavorful. The sourcaut was made in house, and the meat was nice and tender. Finally, the trout went down well, and was accompanied by feta and baby asparagus.
The sides of collared greens were well seasoned, although the sweet potato casserole was really just overly sweetened sweet potatoes, and not to my liking. Those who like their sweet potatoes sugared would probably have no problem with the dish.
The service was ok, but not overly warm or anything. Kind of forgetable, but not bad. It was also the lunch rush, so perhaps they were just busy. Our food wasn’t slow or anything.
All in all, I didn’t have high hopes for finding a good meal in this area, but this place proved me wrong. Give it a try, for sure.

Food was very good, but pricey and small portions. Service was friendly, but slow. On tap beer selections was small, but good. Again, small portions for price. A good option in Townsend.

Came here cause it was recommended by the owner of our cabin. We both got the lunch special and it was good not mind blowing. Portion was just right which made the price ok. Bought some homemade cookies which were a little pricey but good. Glad we tried it but probably a one time deal.

Stopped by for lunch at 1:00. The place is NOT busy, less than ¼ off the tables are occupied. I ordered the turkey salad, he ordered the brisket sandwich with a side of soup. (They didn’t offer fries as a side). The soup came out promptly and was a decent tomato basil, but the crackers were stale… no biggie. It happens. I can’t comment on our food as here it is 40 minutes later and we are still waiting for our food. Will not be back.

I don’t think my experience was reflective of Miss Lily’s potential. It’s a beautiful location with an enjoyable atmosphere and decent service. They have a decent alcohol selection for the area.
I went on a night where they hold meetings for a «beer club». Which is cool, expect they were so loud my girlfriend and I could barely hear each other in the next other room.
I took other Unilocalers recommendations and tried the Trout & Crab Cakes and the Fried Green Tomatoes… but my girlfriend basically hated it, and I wasn’t too keen myself.
Sorry Miss Lily, it just wasn’t up to snuff.

While visiting Townsend, we decided to have dinner here. I read other reviews on Unilocal before going and should have gone with my gut and skipped this place. Although the big whiteboard stated the ribs were on special, all the ribs were gone when we arrived. I understand that they only make so many a day, but when you run out… take your eraser and erase the white board. I settled on the beef, which was tasty enough, but the portion was not generous. I wanted a baked potatoes, but they were out of these as well. My wife ordered chicken, which was very average and very dry.
Overall, the service average, the food below average, and the prices were what we expected for a resort area.

That was the rudest staff I have ever seen!!! We watched 3. groups leave because hostess and a waitress were so rude! The ribeye was $ 22.00 and was full of fat and gristle. We spit out more than we could chew. The salad was bitter lettuce and the Bp was still cruchy, not done. We will not be going back!

I really wanted to give this place a higher ranking, but alas, was very disappointed by my experience.
We were seated relatively quickly and given a food menu. There were 4 ladies across from us who looked liked they were enjoying their girls lunch. I eyed their Italian cream cake and brownie, and by the look on their face, the desserts tasted amazing! We ordered our lunch from a waitress who seemed overworked and just wanted to finish her shift ASAP.
20 minutes passed and no food… Everyone else around us who came in after us have already finished their meals…
When we finally got our sandwiches (yes, sandwiches), mine had obviously been sitting in the counter for a whole due to the soggy bread on the underside. It was supposed to be ham&cheese sandwich, grilled. :(
Über disappointed and won’t be won’t be coming back! I was looking forward to trying their cookies and Italian cream cake …

Well another way too over rated place. First site was a cute place, service was friendly but very slow, did not see much of our waitress. We order soup of the day which was Chicken Gumbo, i wonder did the chef ever had a real Gumbo before in his life or not, cause that sure was not a Gumbo it was more like chicken and rice soup, then we ordered Grill Chicken Caesar Salad, the salad was loaded with dressing, it was so soggy !!! the chicken was ok, then I ordered Hill Billy Philly, boy was that a joke or what, dry, tasteless and, gross!!!
we sure won’t be going back next time. That is a shame cause the place is so cute.