Lily Reviews

Visitors to San Francisco need to make the trek out west to the Richmond district to try out this authentic and highly refined food. Sure, there are plenty of hole-in-the-wall pho spots all over town, but like the Tenderloin, the Richmond district's avenues are generally frequented by locals. I used to live there and this would be the type of place I would walk to. Between the buses and ridesharing, the location shouldn't be a deterrent for anyone to visit. The chef is legit and knows his stuff, bringing his extensive background of Vietnamese and French flavors, with a touch of Thai and Chinese notes thrown in. The menu seems to change frequently, which is great. Anything with rice noodles has been enjoyable, as well as the soups and curries. You might even find a dish with oysters or escargot. If something looks interesting on the menu, order it. Chances are it will be something new and unique and well worth the experience. Service is always great with a friendly and helpful staff. A great addition to the neighborhood and well worth the visit from whatever part of the city you are coming from.

The food was exquisite. The service was very good. An unpleasant surprise was the 20% "service charge" for tips. Interesting menu with many choices.

Four of us had dinner here on a Friday night. The food was delicious, the server was very energetic and helpful in choosing dishes. He recommended choosing dishes to share family style, as the plates are quite large. This was great because we all were able to try a lot of items. My favorite dishes were the calamari appetizer and garlic noodles.

We chanced upon this gem as we found street parking right in front of the easy-to-miss-if-not-local restaurant. As we got out of car the food aroma hit our nose in a pleasant way and we looked around to notice we were standing in front of a restaurant. Our original destination was a block away and by the time we arrived at 7 pm or so, they already had stopped taking bookings and so we decided to try our luck at Lily. And My family and I are glad that we did. The place was packed full but luckily we got a bar area seating after about 15 minutes wait. We were being welcomed by friendly stuff and waitresses which is always a positive sign for me. And then came the food. Menu options were limited but interesting. We opted for duck confit egg rolls and rice paper jackfruit ‘Pizza’ for our appetizers. The ‘Pizza’ was beautiful work of art. And it was as fresh as a salad can get. The mango, jackfruit, edible flowers and micro green along with special sauce on top of wafer like base was out of this world in terms of taste, texture and flavor combination. Even my 10 years old, who doesn’t care for greens much, lapped up the portions I served to him. The egg rolls were good but the dipping sauce is what elevated the rolls to a different level from regular ones. For drinks both my husband and I chose cocktails- coconut margarita for him and one called maaaaaango for me while my son opted for a jasmine tea flavored also with litchi. Again, drinks blew our minds with look and taste. The one I opted for was more like mango lassi spiked with rum and rimmed with tangy chili and salt mix - something that took be back to my childhood days when we used to savor sour raw mango coated in mixture of red chili powder and salt. For main course my kid wend with garlic noodle and shrimp, husband opted for lamb shank with crispy noodles and I went with a cat fish dish called La Vong turmeric market fish. Each dish was presented beautifully and tasted as good. Be warned, the portions are huge for main course. But they will happily pack the leftover. Once we were done with our main course we knew there is no room for dessert. I noticed the desserts being served to others looked as beautiful as other dishes. I am sure those tasted good as well but we were just too full to even share a single dessert. Alas I can’t say I will go back later for dessert because we are from east coast. But if I ever return to the SF, I am definitely going to go back to this amazing place. Keep up the good food and ambience ‘Lilians’.

About 7 of us ate here. We ordered about 10 things including appetizers to share family-style. My favorite thing was the banh mi. The beef for this sandwich and accompaniments were awesome. Drinks are fancy. Service was good. We had way too much food. Seems like the waiter should have advised us that we had too much food. It's a pricey place. The cauliflower dish may have been the cheapest at about $28.

Family run with amazing flavors. Went with a group and had a wonderful time. The garlic noodles are to die for. And the desserts amazing. Also made the shaking beef vegetarian by subbing in tofu. Desserts also so impressive.

Probably the best Vietnamese food in town! I am a vegetarian and loved the jackfruit pizza. Make sure you leave space for dessert. Dine in: Yes Indoor seating: Yes

We had an absolutely incredible meal here. The shaking beef fillet of beef salad and the Vietnamese rice paper and peach salad were fantastic and I’m still thinking about how delicious the Sonoma Liberty duck confit egg rolls were. The service was attentive but not intrusive and I’m looking forward to returning the next time I’m in San Francisco.

A modern interpretation of Vietnamese cuisine. Food is sophisticated yet retains most of the bold flavor of Vietnamese dishes. It reminded me of Slanted Door when it was in its original location in outer Mission. Lily easily deserves one Michelin star. The wine selection includes good choices for both European and American wines. We did not order any wine that evening because we went there with two out of town friends and one of them drinks only Italian wine, and I brought a 16 year old Barolo from my cellar. Lily did not charge me for corkage!

This spot is highly over rated in every way. The decor is fine, the eatery itself is long and narrow like a shotgun. The older male waiter was rude and humourless. He did not smile once or check on us. The food felt like Arts and Crafts served cold. Pretty to look at with muddied flavours. Over hyped/ Over priced.

This is one of my favorite places when we visit our daughter in SF. It’s pricy in my standard, but the soup is to die for. The filet mignon is tender and the soup made from the oxtail is the best beef soup I have ever tasted! We also ordered a jackfruit pizza this time and we were not disappointed! The restaurant is well organized and the service is top notch!

Fusion Vietnamese food. Food was excellent and the service was even better. I had the Banh mi Bun Bo french dip sandwich fir lunch. Shared appetizers,warm octopus salad and duck confit spring rolls. Prices were a little high but worth it.

Our daughter found this place on line, and it certainly is an unexpected gem in a safer part of San Francisco (Richmond District). We lucked out with street parking only yards away for a Saturday lunch. We spent a full month in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. and this food was better than anything that we ate in Asia, with very fair prices (considering the expenses in San Francisco). GOOD JOB and highly reccomended. Beautiful, new, and very clean!

Went on a Saturday night for dinner with another couple. Had heard really good things but had no idea the culinary experience we would have. Carpaccio appetizer and the Jack fruit flatbread were excellent to start. We then had the crab and tomato soup which was incredible. Finished with the cod. Impressive fish! the entire team that took care of us were attentive and engaging. They add 20% to the bill to cover the expenses of employing the staff in SF. Still very affordable for the experience. Ambiance is perfect as well.