My friend and I loveeeed our dinner at Lily. We've both been wanting to try it for a while, and i'm glad we finally did! The food here is so creative and the presentation is so pretty. We ordered: - Beef carpaccio $26: I loved the addition of bone marrow in this! It definitely tasted decadent and rich. I wish they gave more of the rice cracker though. - Jackfruit pizza $18: We heard this was popular so we got it--no regrets!! I LOVE jackfruit but I couldn't imagine it on "pizza". All the flavors played well together into a perfect bite. - Shaking beef salad $32: Another popular dish--this was good but not a favorite. It was a good portion and the beef was very tender, but the flavors fell a little short for me. The price is also a little high. - Vietnamese coffee creme brulee $12(?): We weren't gonna get dessert but this was so tempting! I love creme brulee and this did not disappoint. We were surprised to see how big it was and the gold flakes on top! It had a perfectly crackly sugar crust and a creamy balanced creme. Lily is definitely pricy, but so worth it. I'd love to come again with girlfriends or my hubby! read more

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Great vegan options! A few dishes could be made gluten free or vegan upon request but there was at least 1 appetizer, 1 noodle, and 1 entree dish which was enough. For 2 people, we ordered the jackfruit pizza, wok seared vegetarian chow fun, and cauliflower curry and definitely filled us up. My favorite was the jackfruit pizza because it was the most different but it was pricey ($22). Service was good and the place was crowded. We waited about 45 min on a Saturday night at 7:30pm. read more

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Lily is an amazing Vietnamese food option for vegetarians with plenty of selection and restaurant week was no disappointment here. With an excellent selection of mocktails and cocktails, we started off with a jackfruit pizza which was delicious. The two entree options were cauliflower curry which lacked volume and protein but the fried tofu chow fun was excellently tasty and filling. Finally the desserts were all super unique. The warm tapioca pudding was probably my least favorite since it kind of tasted like a fruit oatmeal but the crème brûlée and banana bread pudding were out of this world. The service was really good and the owner even came and personally came to our table and made sure we had a good time. The ambiance was incredible - follow my instagram @veggiegainsgal to see a reel of how aesthetic the restaurant looks. read more

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Everything on point: food, service, ambience. I'm Vietnamese and very picky about my food. Went there on Sunday night for the Early Girl special where you get an app and an entree for $38. We also ordered the jackfruit salad to share and mocktails to drink. It surprised me the "pizza" was so sweet. It's a novelty but not something I would order again. Everyone was happy with what they ordered (cha ca, bun cha Ha Noi, cauliflower steak). My pho app was beyond tasty, although small. I've never had a small bowl of pho before, so I took a picture to show you how cute it is. Chef's Kiss! read more

Lily - Beef pho app. - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

We really enjoyed visiting Lily! Infatuation SF had this spot on their list and we thought it would be a great place to try before visiting the DeYoung museum. Went on a Saturday around noon, only a couple other groups there but the ambiance was still nice. Great late 90s/early 2000s playlist for music. Service was great and we took advantage of the Fri-Sun lunch special - pick a drink, appetizer, and entree for $32(?). Lots of great options for mains and drinks and the plates were all good portions. Loved the flavors on our dishes - Salad and Salmon Strawberry rolls, catfish Po boy, and BBQ Broken Rice plate (well worth the upcharge). Would gladly come back here again and recommend to others! read more

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Wowow dinner here last night was incredible. Went with a few friends and the food was delicious. We ordered the fried tofu, chow fun with chicken, garlic noodles with beef, oxtail, and the whole fish. I was a little surprised at the price tags on the menu, but honestly the food was all so so good. The fried tofu was lightly battered and so soft on the inside. The chow fun flavors were ah-mazing and the noodles were prepared in a way I've never had before. The chicken in it was delicious too. I don't typically love garlic noodles bc I find them to be kinda plain but they were so flavorful here and the beef on top was great quality. The whole fish was delicious too. The mmmmmango drink tasted like a smoothie. The non alcoholic coffee was delicious too, and def strong. On top of the food, service was great. I'll definitely be coming back!! read more

Lily - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Really loved the service and attention to detail when it came to being greeted by the host, the servers and waitstaff checking up and chatting / cracking jokes here and there! Ambiance of the restaurant was lovely, elegant, intentional. Rice paper salad (5/5) was extraordinary--never had anything like it before and loved the combination of flavors. Fried catfish with banh hoi (5/5) was superb as well. I loved the accompanying herbs, fresh veggies, pickled veggies, and the presentation of it. Bo kho hue (3/5) was a bit of a miss for me. The presentation was stunning and the idea of it was such an interesting, deconstructed take on a dish I am so familiar with! but the rice noodles that were on the edges of the plate were a bit undercooked/cold and still somewhat raw, whereas the rice noodles that were in the middle of the plate/coated in the thick stew was able to cook a bit more. A couple bites into this dish, it started to feel a bit heavy and monotonous--would have loved to have had some sort of acidity or herbs to break up those bites. Calamari (4/5) was very good, crispy, fresh tasting. I wasn't a fan of the pool of fish sauce at the bottom of the plate since it soaked the calamari crispy batter and made it a bit soggy. (can't recall name but) Kumquat Yogurt Non-Alcoholic sinh to Smoothie/drink? was SUPER GOOD (5/5). It was so refreshing and fun and the perfect balance of tangy/sour/tart/sweet. All-in-all, a really wonderful experience. I'm Viet and grew up eating Viet home-cooked food and at restaurants, and now love to see innovation, elevation, and creativity when it comes to Viet dining experiences! read more

Elevated authentic Vietnamese cuisine with a modern take. Ambience is nice and cozy. Service is attentive but not overbearing. They will let you know when it's time to finish up so the next seating can be served. read more

Was craving some viet food and my friend recommended this spot. I've heard about it a couple times so thought I'd finally give it a try. Interior is very warm and cozy, with table seating and the bar seating. I'd recommended the chefs bar and not the regular bar though since you'll be at the windows facing outside. Service was a little lacking since we sat at the bar near the windows and had to flag someone down to help us after 15 min. COCKTAILS Strawberry Daiquiri: Really nice twist on a classic daiquiri. Not as sweet as other ones I've had and they added pop rocks candy to provide a little crunch which was interesting. Can't taste the alcohol and basically is a smoothie. 4/5 Green Jasmine Iced Tea: In contrast with the daiquiri, this one was really spirit forward and I didn't enjoy it. It really tasted like a green tea with a shot or two added to it without any other mixers to add dimension. 2/5 APP Fried Tofu: Love the choice of using a soft tofu rather than regular tofu for this. Regular tofu is a little too firm and always has that skin when fried. I believe here, cornstarch or some other starch was used to fry the tofu, adding a nice crispy skin to the tofu which gave it overall more texture. The mustard dipping sauce was ok though since I'm not a fan of mustard, but tofu by itself was good. 4.5/5 MAINS Bo Ne: This was a really good dish. Filet mignon was cooked to perfection. Scallops were slightly crispy on the outside with that nice crust while remaining soft and juicy on the inside. The special XO pate that came with the bread was the show stopper though. I would literally buy their XO pate if they sold it. 4.25/5 Bo Kho: I might be a little biased since my mom made a different style of Bo Kho and not the Hue style that Lily makes it. Broth was super rich and very nostalgic of how I like Bo Kho. However the oxtail was not my favorite. The meat was a little gelatinous and wasn't pleasant to eat. 3/5 DESSERT Banana Pudding (?): I forgot the exact name but that's what I think this was LOL Super moist and flavorful and the banana had a nice brûlée to it. It wasn't too sweet either, making the dessert enjoyable and not too decadent. 4/5 Overall, I had a decent experience. Since I'm used to cheaper viet food the pricing threw me off but I can see myself maybe coming back if I ever want to try more elevated/fine dining viet food. read more

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Parents were in town and I'd seen good things online about Lily, so brought them here for dinner the evening after Thanksgiving! Busy and full around 6pm but still able to grab a seat immediately at the bar. Lovely, lively ambiance inside with gorgeous decorative mural along the walls. While most of the restaurant is dimly lit and intimate, the open kitchen is bright and bustling -- we actually were fascinated watching the chefs work sitting right in front of the oven while they cooked. Calamari was delicious, perfectly paired with fruity and floral notes. Filet Mignon was also good, done medium rare, but unfortunately a little charred on the outside. Scallops were delightful, though a bit heavy handed on the salt. There's fun little surprises tucked into the plate, like sausages, bread, and dip. The garlic noodles with beef were the most disappointing. It was so very salty that we left around 3/4 of the dish untouched. However, the chef and waiter said it was usually not the case (perhaps just a simple mistake) and that the dish was very popular. Nevertheless, they responded to the feedback kindly and promptly. Overall, Lily offers a pleasant dining experience. Its attention to detail, whether in the environment or in the dishes themselves, is impressive and their service is impeccable. Ultimately, we didn't feel inclined to return, given that the quality of the food relied more heavily on presentation rather than taste and fell short of justifying its high price point. read more

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Tl;dr: high end viet food that doesn't match its price or taste. -fooooood- Cha gio vit kieu phap: Deep fried "spring rolls" were very dry. It was just duck wrapped inside, kinda like tuna in a can. Sauce was a fancy description of honey mustard. I personally wasn't a fan of their take on cha gio. Carpaccio: the best dish here. Bone marrow was perfect. Put all 3 ingredients for an explosion of flavor in your mouth. Bun cha: it's all in the broth and the broth wasn't there. The meats inside were also a little dry. Chow fun: It was okay. They were rolled like Chinese "cherng fun" with Maggie seasoning and lemon as a sauce. Nothing special except its price. read more

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Food was wonderfullly creative for vietamese cuisine. Not only tastes delicious but such attractive plating. Lunch special allow us to try different items. Service waa very good.. friendly attentive professional. Will be back.. read more

Lily - Broken rice combo plate & garlic noodle w chicken. Yummy strawberry crispy rocks & mango drinks. - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

My husband and I with our little baby girl tried this restaurant yesterday for brunch/lunch. We arrived around 11:15pm and no one was in there (people started to appear around noon). We chose just two dishes: the garlic noodle for me (I added the chicken) and the broken rice for my husband. My portion was huge (it feeds at least 2 people), but I ate by myself. I really enjoyed it. Flavors are strong, but everything is well mixed so you can taste every ingredients in the plate. Also my husband liked his plate a lot. The service was pretty good and we enjoyed also the ambience. The only problem for us was they didn't have a changing station for our baby (as many places in the city). But they were very gentle because they gave us a red envelope for our baby. read more

Lily - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

4.5 stars! We were able to sneak in without a reservation for the early girl menu around 5:30pm and were warmly welcomed by (I think) the chef! The menu is a great deal with tons of food. Drinks were very unique and tasty! I had the fermented lime drink which was delicious and tart. Between my friend and I we had the rice paper salad, fried tofu app, vegetarian garlic noodles and chow fun. Obviously a lot of dishes had the fried tofu and the chow fun had I think the same sauce as the appetizer but it was really good and worth trying! Lots of leftovers and great portions for the quality and price. read more

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Good food, really bad service. The included gratuity perhaps demotivated serving staff.

We came here on a Sunday night for dinner with no reservations but were able to get table seating. We ordered two appetizers and garlic noodles, but the appetizers were huge. For two people, we were both pretty content after the appetizers. We ordered: *beef carpaccio: also came with bone marrow and a large sesame cracker. This dish was so flavorful. *bo luc lac salad *garlic noodles with surf and turf: it was the same filet mignon as the bo luc lac salad. We took it to go as we couldn't finish it after the first two dishes. For drinks, we tried the strawberry daquiri and preserved lime blended margarita. The strawberry daquiri just tasted like a strawberry yogurt. The margarita was very salted plum forward. Will definitely be back to try other menu items. read more

Lily was that rare dining experience that etches its splendor on your palate forever. We went there for the prix fixe deal on Valentine's Day and enjoyed their 8 course beef menu. I had no idea there would so many ways to make beef so savory and incredible. Beer rolls, Wagyu beef in pho, meatballs in a special sauce that fires up the senses. Their cocktails were utterly delicious too. I eschewed my normal wine selection for another class of their fine Japanese whisky cocktail and undid my belt and chilled! Kudos to the waiter who was warm and attentive throughout. Big guy with a gentle nature. I had grown weary of that snotty San Francisco attitude which was so pervasive during my 25-year residence in the Sunset, but there was none of that here! Just a great down-home feel in what is a five-star experience. read more

Lily - 3 separate treatments of beef in a single plate! - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Our family just had a great x-mas family dinner. Rob (person who served our table was the best - he was super helpful and informative to selecting our dishes. Our first time here and would recommend - especially delicious was the Imperial waygu beef carpaccio, whole fried fish (ours was snapper) and their special x-mas dessert mochi ice cream... read more

Loved santel our service provider who was warm and went above and beyond to make sure we understood the menu from start to finish. So for that we will def be coming back. The bone marrow was exceptional. All the flavors harmonized and the herbs really made this dish sang. Highly recommend. Bun rieu was very creative and had luscious flavors. Though being Vietnamese I still felt it could use more tomato flavor Pork chop was very high quality and was a generous portion. Something I always appreciate. Will be back for many reasons but perhaps it was the service that made the experience memorable read more

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Lily never disappoints. The food leaves you coming back for more and great staff. Santel was our server and always gives us excellent service, I love how detailed and intricate Santel is when going over menu items .. it is superb dining experience. Just the little things go a long way. Always a go to restaurant when I'm dining in SF. read more

Setting: Dimly lit, upscale dining vibe with open kitchen Food: Loved the unique jackfruit pizza appetizer, liked the shaking beef salad and bun rieu ($55) I would love to come back for the duck rolls and garlic noodles Service: Attentive. Water was always filled. Overall, my friend and I enjoyed the food. I would love to come back. read more

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Fantastic service at nice location that see the cooking in action. Love the lunch special menu and the options that are offered. The drinks are tasty. The appetizers aren't too heavy where you still have room for your main dish. I tried the spring rolls and they were crispy and still moist inside. You will not go hungry with your main dish. Loved the fired garlic in the garlic noodles, and the chicken is nicely grilled. The banh mi sandwiches are massive and filled to the brim. Definitely try this restaurant. read more

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Delicious food! I had been waiting to check this place out. Came with some friends on a Sunday, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We ordered the garlic noodles with steak, duck egg rolls, and mussels in curry sauce with ramen noodles. All three dishes were super tasty. The beef in the garlic noodles was cooked perfectly, melting in your mouth. The duck egg rolls were very tender with the crispy outside perfectly complimenting the stuffing. The mussels were good too, but a bit difficult to eat as a shared dish. I also got a side of their hot sauce which comes in a little jar that I was able to take home. The restaurant has a really nice decor and ambience, and we sat at the chefs table where we could see them make the meal. Highly recommend this place! read more

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Came here for dinner, and the food was pretty good overall. - jackfruit pizza: super pretty, but it was just okay. We didn't finish the whole thing, and I normally finish everything in front of me - BBQ Berkshire pork chop with broken rice: this was my favorite thing we got. The pork chop was huge and really yummy! - surf and turf garlic noodles: this was tasty, but it was just like a typical noodle dish so not that special read more

Lily - Jackfruit pizza - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Beautiful space and ambience with a unique and fun menu. The jackfruit "pizza" appetizer has a flat crispy rice paper crust and topped with jackfruit, veggies, and herbs - pretty and delicious! I ordered the special crab noodle soup, and I especially enjoyed the glass noodles and various crab - be warned the portion is huge so you will definitely have leftovers. read more

Lily - Crab noodle soup - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Went here this past Sunday after wanting to try this place for 6 months now. Made a reservation for 5:45 (Dinner) and it was BUSY AF. The waitress was hella helpful and looked exactly like The Waitress from It's Always Sunny, which was a funny coincidence. We didn't know what or how much to order and she was very insightful. My partner and I both ordered the Young Coconut Pina Coladas which was very refreshing and had a gorgeous presentation. App-we shared the duck confit spring rolls. Really tasty by themselves- great crisp to savory filling ratio and the accompanying sauce was sweet and mustardy, well paired combo. App-we also ordered the bone marrow and carpaccio. Bone marrow was great, but could have been roasted a bit longer, carpaccio was good too but between the 2 of us we couldn't finish this plate because it was really heavy. Entree-we got the garlic noodles with chicken. Bit too much pepper, tho the pepper paired well with the noodles. (This dish gave my partner a stomach ache same day, and me as well when i ate it as leftovers the following day). Dessert-we got the creme brulee. It was alright. The cashews on top were a nice touch. The dessert was on a wide shallow dish instead of the traditional creme brulee ramekin which made for a more even distribution of flavor and texture, but it was not torched evenly. Some parts didn't have a nice hard surface while other parts were down right burnt and tasted like it. Good but idk if I'm gonna come back. Was interested in the pho but its 42 dollars with a 14 dollar fee to split on top of that which is excessive. My least favorite part was how dirty the bathroom was, which makes me not interested in coming back at all tbh. Overall the space is hella cramped and it doesn't appear very ADA accessible. I saw a family with a wheelchair bound person and they were struggling to navigate the restaurant. read more

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One word! Amazing! From the server staff, the energy in the restaurant and the most favorable and fresh food in the City! We sat at the bar and watched the chef prepare the most amazing dishes. Make sure to make a reservation. read more

Lily - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Loved the lunch special they offer. Drink appetizers and a full entree ($32). I love the broken rice and the strawberry yogurt together. read more

Very easy to make a same day reservation on Sunday night- 5:45 PM. Came with a few friends after a long day of touring apartments. My favorite has to be the grilled octopus salad and the banh xeo. The lamb shank looked really good but it was a little bit too salty for me. I wisu it had come with rice or something instead of salad to balance it out a little more. The duck eggrolls were pretty standard- i enjoyed them but probably wouldn't order it again. The garlic noodles were really good- the noodles had a good bite and the shrimp was very fresh. It was balanced and easy to eat. Would probably return for it again. read more

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Came here for lunch with a fiend on a Saturday and had their lunch special: drink, appetizer, entree. Fantastic food! The chicken pho was so comforting. The broken rice plate was an amazing sampling of several delicious items: charbroiled chicken, pork, and beef with lots of fresh herbs and nuoc cham. Ambiance is quite chic and charming. Great for a date or a birthday dinner. Can't wait to come back for dinner! Service was so friendly. Servers answered questions about the menu and provided solid recommendations. read more

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Came here on Thursday evening and it was packed. It was hard to find parking as well. We did not have reservations but we were able to grab some seats at the bar area. We didn't realize that the restaurant changes the menu up, so some of the stuff we wanted to try was not on the menu. We decided to get mmmmango, filet of beef carpaccio, garlic noodles with chicken, and filet mignon and diver scallops. Mmmmmango 3/5: this is a little mango smoothie with some alcohol. I expected the mango flavor to be more intense, but it wasn't. It was just okay. Filet of beef carpaccio 4/5: very decadent with bone marrow. The filet carpaccio had great flavor (a little tart) and was melt in your mouth. Love that they used the Vietnamese cracker as a vessel. I'm. Not sure if it's worth $26 though. Garlic noodles with chicken 2/5: for garlic noodles, this had no garlic flavor. This is like a chinese stir fry thick egg noodle. Definitely need some sriracha to kick things up a bit. The dish is very pretty, but had nothing to back it up. Filet mignon and diver scallops 4/5: this was very different from what we expected, as we thought this was a banh mi. Instead, it was a rice dish with lots of filet mignon, egg, rice, diver scallops, pate, pork cake, and chinese sausage. There was a French bread on the side, with some pate sauce and cream cheese. The filet mignon was cooked to perfection and had great flavor. This dish was $54, but there is a lot of filet in the entree, so it was not a bad price. The diver scallop was very big also cooked to perfection as well. Everything was good, but as an entree, I'm still a little unsure how I liked everything together as a dish. Overall, everything was good, 3.5 stars rounded to 4. Please note that there is an automatic service charge of 20% on top of the higher prices. read more

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Love this spot for their lunch special! You're able to choose a drink, appetizer, and entrée for $32, including during the weekends! I tried the vietnamese iced coffee, duck egg rolls, and cha ca fish noodle bowl. The iced coffee was STRONG and came topped with a salty duck egg crema, which added a unique twist to an already delicious drink. The duck egg rolls were piping hot and perfectly crispy. I've had cha ca once before and this was such a great version, with a generous portion of fried fish on top. I love the freshness of the dill and added texture from the giant shrimp chip. The staff was so nice and accommodating for our large group. Recommend making a reservation during the weekend - it was pretty packed around lunchtime on a Sunday! read more

Definitely not your traditional Vietnamese food, I went here for Restaurant week since I wanted to try a new place out. My friend got Garlic Noodles & Fried Tofu and I got their Banh Mi and Pho. It was definitely not what I expected it to be like, but if I had go recommend Lily for something, it would be their drinks! The restaurant was really modern and clean, like a place where'd you go after work to have something to eat and a nice drink as well. I definitely thought the strawberry smoothie was a banger, especially since it had pop rocks in it. But, I would come here for drinks primarily rather than their food truthfully. read more

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Great modern Vietnamese spot! Creative dishes, nice vibe, and good veggie options. A bit pricey, but worth it for the quality !

My favorite restaurant! All the items on the menu is super delicious!!! Love it! Not my first time here and it is always amazing. Highly recommend to anyone! read more

Lily - Strawberry daiquiri - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Food favorites: shaking beef salad (topped with dragonfruit crisps which I thought was really unique and interesting), duck confit spring rolls Service: attentive and knowledgable Vibes: very westernized Vietnamese food; tasteful floral theme throughout the restaurant name, decor, and food read more

Lily - Shaking beef salad, duck confit spring rolls, chicken - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Amazing service and food. I got the beef marrow pho and it was excellent. Fruit cake wasn't for me but the ice cream and sauce were perfectly salted and flavored. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Not too loud either for such a crowded space[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Delicious food and creative menu. My turmeric fried catfish was plated beautifully and tasted as good as it looked. Casual, kind, and welcoming service. Minus a star because it was the nosiest restaurant I've been to in recent memory. I had a hard time hearing my dining partner even though we were seated next to each other. Overall, I'd gladly return and explore more of their menu. read more

Lily - Classic turmeric fried catfish - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Loved this place! Always walked past it on clement but finally got around to trying it out. It's a more upscale viet food restaurant and the food was so well done! We enjoyed everything we got, and the portions were huge. The staff is so kind and personable, will definitely be back! read more

Lily - Shaking beef, mixed veggies, and shrimp and fries - Vietnamese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I'm visiting from New York and we got some high standards for food. My tour guide has said she wanted to try this place so I thought, why not? It'll be both our first time and we'll be surprised by either good food or bad food together right? We called ahead to make sure they had seating for us and they did. When we got there around 6:30PM, most of the tables were occupied and we got seated at the bar, which was great because it fascinates me to be able to watch my food being made in front of me. For appetizers we ordered the carpaccio and the spicy glazed wings. The wings came first. So to preface it, I can't handle spicy but will eat it. The wings are crispy and juicy, and boy was it spicy. I was literally dripping in sweat after the first wing, but it was so good I had to have another. Even the parts not glazed had great flavor itself. The carpaccio is probably my favorite, with the bone marrow. It was extremely flavorful and made me want more after each bite, and it had the dual effect of cooling down the spice from the wings. A win in my book! Our main was the heritage pork. It was actually really flavorful and we thoroughly enjoyed eating. We were also able to chat with the head chef, Robert. Extremely personable and friendly as well as funny. He was joking around with patrons all night and we got in a few jabs with him. He also took the time to explain the concepts for the menu. Overall, the experience was just fantastic! read more

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