LILY'S ORIGINAL — Restaurant in Zurich

Let me start by saying that I’ve been a loyal customer of this restaurant for years—I've dined in at least 50 times, probably a lot more, and order take out often. Until today, it was one of my go-to places. Unfortunately, this visit was by far the worst experience I’ve had in a restaurant in a very long time.

Upon arrival, I ordered a Kirin and my partner asked for a Coke Zero. When the drink arrived, it was a 0% alcohol Kirin, which I hadn’t ordered. When I mentioned the mistake, the waiter insisted that I had ordered the alcohol-free version, claiming he had asked me if I wanted the alcohol free variant and I’d agreed. That simply didn’t happen. I’ve never once been asked that before in all my previous visits, and being essentially told I was wrong left a bad taste—before I even had a sip.

We had also ordered the starter platter to share, which was brought to the table with a level of rudeness that was hard to ignore—no words, no eye contact, just placed abruptly in front of us by a clearly unhappy waitress who disappeared before we could ask for side plates. I had to go inside to request them, and when I did, I was told to go back to the table and she’d bring them—though clearly not willingly.

When our main dishes arrived, also delivered in a rude manner, we weren’t offered the usual condiments or spicy sauce, so again, we had to go in and help ourselves. The Pad Thai was good, but the Pho Bo was below standard this time—I couldn't even finish it.

When I went to pay, I was asked how everything was. I said, honestly, that it wasn’t great this time—and was met with a cold stare and complete silence. No apology, no follow-up, nothing.

It’s disheartening to see a place I once relied on go so far downhill. Loyalty seems to count for nothing, and the service today felt dismissive and careless. Everyone can have an off day but this was more than that. If someone is so unhappy working for you, it affects loyalty. After years of being a regular, I can sadly say: I'll never be back and never order take...

They do have a wide variety of dishes, but only a few are vegetarian and a only couple are vegan. I asked them if they could replace the chicken with tofu and there was a surcharge. But when I ask them to prepare a plate wihtout egg the price was the same. Restaurant policy, I guess.

I ordered a glass of tap beer (their own craft beer) and it was flat. We ordered some starters to share and the waiter brought one out of three wrong. The food was tasty, but I found the portions to be rather small for the price. Most of other asian restaurant include rice as a side if the main dish does not contain rice or noodles, but it seems that not in this place. Our friend had to pay extra for the rice to go with the curry.

All in all, 150CHF for 3 starters, 4 main dishes...

Lily‘s has been one of my favourites for nearly 20 years. The food is nice and consistently good, however in the last years it has become increasly expensive to the point I can no longer afford to go there. My kids have grown and they‘re no longer happy with kid menu selection. Last time we went we spent CHF 160 for 2 adults and 2 children for „a quick lumch“ for food and iced tea! The 5 little spring rolls for a starter is already CHF14 PER PORTION (!) a big Ice Tea is nearly CHF7.. just not family friendly! We are now happy down the road at the new Thai place. Selection is not as big but food is equally good and prices are...