Lilly's Cafe - Review

Friday was an early day at work for me, so I headed Uptown for some Vietnamese grub with my gal pals. We decided to give Lilly's a try since none of us had been there.

The atmosphere at Lilly's is fine. It's a bright and airy place, and it felt welcoming. Upon arrival, my table was wobbly, but it was corrected promptly by the waitress.

Our waitress was efficient, and extremely friendly. We never waited for drink refills and we were checked on appropriately.

For an appetizer, we split the crab rangoon. It was fantastic!!! They add bacon to it, and well...everyone knows that bacon makes everything better. There was a sweet dip to go with it, and it was a perfect compliment.

For my meal, I had the grilled chicken vermicelli bowl. My review of this dish here is pretty much on par with my review of the same dish at Namese (a new Vietnamese place recently opened in Mid City). While I thought this dish was good, I found it to be 1/2 the amount of food that I get at Tan Dinh, and not as good. It was just o.k. Had I not gotten an appetizer, I would've still been hungry. For the same dish at Tan Dinh, I usually end up taking some home (unless I'm a total pig that day).

My two friends both got pho, and they seemed to like it just fine. I didn't taste it though, so I can't comment on it.

If you're Uptown, and you're looking to have some Vietnamese, there's not a thing wrong with Lilly's. I'd go there again. BUT...if I have the time, and I want what I consider to be the best, I'm going to drive and extra 10 minutes and go to Tan Dinh.

I think bottom line is that I just love Tan Dinh. In my opinion, other than going to other places on the Westbank, or traveling to New Orleans East, nothing else touches it...except when it comes to service. TD still needs to work on that.