Lillian Pizzeria

Great New York Pizza the way I remember it when I was a kid. The best.

Probably the best PIzza in Forest Hills. No Bathroom. Cash Only. Expensive! Hidden gem! If you want even better Pizza, just head up to Howard Beach.

I was in the mood for a slice and checked Unilocal for a pizzeria that I haven’t tried before. I found Lillian’s and was excited to try to this spot based on the great reviews. I wasn’t familiar with this area in Forest Hills because it’s more residential and if you don’t live over there or visit family/​friends there isn’t a need to be there.
The pizzeria is on the corner and it definitely had that old school vibe. It was very clean and the staff was friendly. I was surprised to see the famous Lillian serving behind the counter. I read the two articles they had posted in the pizzeria about the owners and the establishment being in the community for decades. Now to the pizza, I had one plain slice and it was pretty good. Before I order slices with additions toppings I like to see if the plain is worth it and it was. It’s the best I’ve tasted in Forest Hills so far. I wouldn’t hesitate visiting this spot for some additional slices and extra toppings when I get the pizza fix.

Such a cute little place to enjoy a quick slice, the slate roofed corner location easily grabbed my attention from the very first glance.
I remain in utter awe and on some level of amazement on how Lillian’s can make such a sturdy yet millimeter thin crust that can hold the weight of the cheese and sauce.
The sauce was (kiss your three right tallest fingers) Muuuuuaaa, exquisite, the cheese was higher quality in taste than many of the Manhattan pizza spots and the crust, oh yes the crust… you just cant get that type of structure, balance and uniqueness anywhere.

I want to love Lillian, but alas I can only like it.
I went to Lillian’s hoping that this would be my new pizza spot. I’ve had Gino’s on Yellowstone, I’ve had Michael’s on Yellowstone, and now it was time for Lillian – the pizza that was suppose to be the best around. In my humble opinion, Lillian’s was just ok, better than Gino’s, about the same as Michael’s, but not the best I’ve ever had.
I called Lillian’s to order a pie to pick up for dinner. When I got there, I noticed that parking was a little tough. I found a spot quickly enough due to someone else pulling. Not a big deal and def not a deal breaker for future visits. There is a liquor store next to Lillian’s, so I thought I’d stop in, I had never been in there and like to frequent local businesses. The liquor store manager was friendly and helpful. I ended up buying a couple bottles of wine for me and my girlfriend. Enough time had past that I figured the pie might be done. I walked over hungry and eager.
Lillian’s is located conveniently on the corner, hard to miss. Inside is your typical old style pizza joint. I can’t say there’s anything remarkable about it, but you don’t really need anything remarkable, it’s a pizza place. I go to the counter and ask for a pie that I had ordered over the phone. The woman is friendly and brings it over. Here’s the rub though, cash only. Cash only is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to transactions. There are so many non-​cash solutions for business that there’s no real excuse to not make it as easy as possible for customers to choose their preferred form of payment. Still, not the biggest deal in the world that they are cash only. Here’s where things get worse though; they do not have an ATM in the place. Why? I get it, if you want to run a cash business, ok no problem, but at least have an ATM in the place to alleviate that pain point. I asked the woman at the counter where was the closest ATM, expecting her to say down the block or something. She says over on Yellowstone. I found that hard to believe that there’s a place running a cash-​only business with the closest ATM being a 10min walk from them, which makes it 20min round-​trip, not counting the walk back to the apt. Fortunately I had the car, but def something to keep in mind if you’re walking local. She suggested I go get money from the liquor store. Mind you, they don’t have an ATM. She wanted me to ask the guy at the liquor store to swipe my card and give me cash.
I went to the ATM on Yellowstone and came back for the pie. She seemed sorry that I had to go to all that trouble and again suggested that I could have gotten money from the liquor store guy. I conveyed, in a gentle way, that I was not comfortable with that. It’s not about the fact that I could have gotten money from him, but rather that it wasn’t his responsibility to provide cash for her business. I would have considered it rude if I were in his shoes.
I got home and the gf and I start in on the pizza. It was good, but not the best I’ve ever had. Pizza comes in all forms. It’s a gentle balance, a harmony of ingredients. The best pizza has the cheese, sauce, and dough work together in perfect harmony. Good pizza will highlight one or two ingredients. Bad pizza is a complete imbalance of flavor and texture. Lillian’s was a good pizza, but highlighted the dough too much for my preference. The sauce was ok, and the cheese was ok, but it was just dough on dough when in the mouth. My friend Kevin would have loved it, but that’s just not my preference.
Things to note here:
–Lillian’s is cash only!
–If you like dough-​y pizza, this is def for you.
–Parking might be difficult, but shouldn’t be a deal breaker

No hours listed here, but this small, family-​run pizzeria has been dishing out tasty neighborhood slices to locals for 40-​ish years, with publicity from Ray Romano and others.

This is exactly what New York pizza is supposed be without any bells or whistles.
They do not deliver. They do not have specials. They do not experiment with new creative toppings. They just make pizzas, strombolis, calzones and subs. Same recipe since I was a little hooligan. Family owned with wonderful yet simple service.
It’s so hard to nail down the «Best Slice of Pizza» in NYC. There are so many (although the proper ones are slowly becoming extinct). So I say to anyone who states they have the number one slice around, the truth is it’s actually unqualifiable. I believe the remedy is to have a handful spots in your mental Rolodex, preferably at least one in every borough and have your goto spot wherever you might be. This concept might only be rational to hardened New Yorkers, I admit.
Even you don’t think Lilliana’s is great you will not be disappointed, I promise.

After a year on a low-​carb diet, I decided to treat myself to a slice, and the reviews on here said «this is the place.»
You guys were not wrong. Outstanding pizza, perfect crispy thin crust, I added sausage and meatballs, outrageous.
Will most definitely return!

Amazing pizza!!! The winner for me was really the sicilian slice, I was lucky enought to get a freshly baked batch which was perfectly soft on the inside with the perfect crust on the outside. The best sicilian ive ever had. The sauce on the sicilian also had an awesome flavor to it. Id say the plain cheese was good but not as amazing as the sicilian.

Lillian’s may be one of the most adorable pizzerias I’ve been to. Between being nestled in a beautiful section of Forest Hills, to the Tudor-​ish outside, to the old couple that runs the place, there’s a lot of cute shit here. The place itself is pretty bare bones insides, but as you could expect the proprietors are extremely friendly. As one photo on this page attests, Ray Romano is fond of the place (he grew up in Forest Hills) so that’s one wa the place gets press. Otherwise Lillian’s is a solid neighborhood slice joint, and a very worthwhile one at that.
I got a regular slice which was very good. The crust was crisp with a nice amount of bready character. The tomato sauce was good but it was very lightly applied. The cheese was a little oily but was good quality otherwise. Overall the well above-​average crust carried the slice and made it better than it would’ve been otherwise. My friend got the garlic knots which I didn’t care for; they seemed to have been baked in the oven and then brushed with only a light amount of garlicky oil, which may be more health conscious but not nearly satisfying enough for a Jew like me. Regardless I would grab a slice here on a regular basis if I lived nearby. If nearby I’d definitely stop by again to try other stuff!

Such a low key authentic New York classic slice of pizza, I love this place
Tell em’ Ray Romano sent you

Owners and employees were very nice, we weren’t impressed with the food. We were expecting more from the pizza and the pepperoni garlic knots after reading all the reviews, honestly we were a bit disappointed. Pizza and garlic knots were ok (nothing special) broccoli pinwheel was good

Oh my goodness! Best pizza I’ve ever had in Queens! (And definitely one of the top 10 pizzerias in all of nyc, in my opinion.) Tucked away on an unassuming street in the quaint Forest Hills Gardens neighborhood, this mom and pop pizzeria turns pizza-​making into an art form!
I ordered a slice of their garlic/​tomato and plain pizzas while my bf ordered a calzone. The calzone was only ok, but man, those slices of pizza were scrumptious! I like to make sure a pizzeria serves a solid plain slice before trying their other slices, because no pizzeria deserves praise unless they can master the basics, right? Let me tell you, Lillian serves a mean plain pizza! Perfect crust to sauce to cheese ratio, fresh and flavorful ingredients, cheese that melts and strings with each delectable bite, crispy crust with just enough pillowy doughy goodness to delight your senses… Ahh, pure pizza heaven!
After stuffing my face with the plain pizza, I dove into the garlic/​tomato pizza with twice as much fervor cause now I knew that Lillian’s pizza meant business! My tastebuds practically sang with joy with each bite. Perfect balance of garlic and tomato flavor and, again, super fresh ingredients (in fact, the tomato was so freshly sliced, it was still crisp and sweet, not wilted and soggy like the tomato slices you get on most pizzas).
You know how you know that I’m not lying when I say that this was the best pizza I’ve ever had in Queens (and arguably all of nyc)? I was satisfactorily full after the two slices but I still went back for one more! They had three pizzas available when I was ordering and after finish those two slices of heaven, I just couldn’t resist trying the third: Salad pizza! Man… I’m salivating just thinking about that third slice. As full as I already was, I ravenously stuffed my face with the third. It was that good. Like a high-​end, flavor-​packed salad atop an expertly baked pizza crust, the salad pizza represented the best of both worlds: soft mozzarella mixed with a hint of tangy ranch dressing, gently enveloping crisply fresh cucumber slices, crunchy lettuce, and tender sweet tomatoes, all over one of the best pizza crusts you’ll ever have the joy of eating.
If you are lucky enough to be in the neighborhood, definitely make the trek to Lillian and definitely try all the pizza on display. Skip the calzone. I’ve heard good things about their garlic knots but other than that, stick to the pizza. This is a pizzeria for a reason!
**Also, REMEMBER TO BRING CASH!
Food: ⁵⁄₅ — Amazing. Simply amazing.
Service: ⁴⁄₅ — Friendly and quick.
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅ — Clean and spacious, just your typical pizzeria. It’s in a cute part of town though.
Overall: ⁵⁄₅ — Best damn pizza I’ve ever had in Queens!

This place seems like a hidden gem, no wonder it has so many stars. I got the tomato slice and cheese pizza and it was pretty good. The garlic knots are probably the best I’ve ever had at a pizza place. YUM!

Tucked away in a little side street of Forest Hills is Lillian Pizzeria, a very solid neighborhood pizzeria that serves up quality NYC pizza!
I didn’t have a chance to try pizza fresh out of the oven as I placed a to-​go order and had a 15 minute drive home, but a few minutes in the toaster had the slices hot and crispy again, just the way I like it.
I generally like to keep my pizza simple — plain (a.k.a. cheese… but who says that?) is the way to go, but my girlfriend had a request for toppings and it sounded so good I couldn’t say no. We ended up ordering a pie with fresh garlic and extra cheese, and they didn’t skimp on either!
The pizza had a great crust that was full of flavor. After a few minutes in the oven, the pizza crisped up and had a nice bite to it, as good pizza should.
I live in Elmhurst, and with Singa’s now gone, there aren’t any great options in the neighborhood. Even though Lillian Pizzaria is about a 30 minute round-​trip drive for me, it’s definitely worth it and I’ll be back to try more.

We were in the neighborhood and wanted to get a quick bite to eat. This pizza place is located conveniently in this residential neighborhood and it is a great pizza joint. You open the door and immediately smell pizza heaven. The regular slices didn’t look that appetizing but after heating it up, it gets two thumbs up. Got the regular ($ 2.25) and sicilian ($ 2.35) slice — they were both crispy and flavorful. I really enjoyed it besides the fact that it was super oily. Nice staff. I think the woman who took our order was Lillian. You can’t go wrong with pizza and glad we discovered this place in the area.

After braving the 60mph winds this cold sunday evening, we found our way to Lilian’s pizza! Clean– cute and cozy best describe this place. $ 2.25 a slice is good… Pizza– thin crust– sauce is bland says 3 friends — cheese also bland. Minus two stars for the oil– way tooooooo oily. So was it worth braving the winds and barking dogs in this foo foo area… …No. Nothing personal Lillian, just Unilocaling the truth…

Ordered a large plain pie, chicken sandwich and meatball parm.
The food came out quickly and the staff there were nice.
The pizza crust was thin and yummy with a perfect balance of cheese and sauce. The sandwiches were pretty good as well. Definitely worth the walk from Queens Blvd.

This place really is a hidden gem in FH and coming back here really does feel like home. Top 3 american style pizza joints. I always go with the classics– a regular slice which is great, and a sicilian as well as garlic knots (both BOMB and my favorite in all of NYC). Lillian and Tony are great and always happily greet me. I’ve been coming here for 20 years now and it’s always a great experience. One thing I’m really not a fan of though is the fact that its cash only. Making a stop at the bank before coming here is a pain but is definitely worth it when that craving sets in.
But seriously– I even go just to quickly pick up garlic knots. In love.

I am so happy I was walking my dog with my boyfriend. My boyfriend decided to run in to get to Sicilian slices. He has been coming here for years. I loved it so much! It’s rare that I like pizza that isn’t brick oven.
Please note that the eggplant Roll is to die for!!! The customer service here is superb.