Lilys Sandwich — Restaurant in Austin

Terrible … just terrible …

Ordered the broken rice plate, com tam, and was served regular white rice … amount of food on the plate was not worth the the $13 … small bowl of broth with the dish had no flavor whatsoever … the bun mang vit had no taste or flavor, bamboo’s shoot tasted like it came out if an expired can; no taste … can imagine bamboo shoots with no taste? Unbelievable !!! Ordered the goi cuon, took over 15 minutes before the owner brought out a prepackaged read made to-go order … the peanut/satay sauce was diluted down with so much starch that it had the consistency of rubber cement; and it wasn’t sweet; really weird … btw, I always order goi cuon, and I could not eat the second one … my first uneaten goi cuon in my 57 years … overcharged bill by $20, we caught it, he “accidentally” included the previous to-go order … and better have cash on hand (not stated on entrance)

Atmosphere is 5 stars because the...

No frills, a gem of a ‘hole in the wall’ joint. Simple and delicious cheap (price) food. They have backery/sweets for sale in the front that looked divine, will be back to try later. Pork banh mi- perfectly crisp exterior and fluffy interior bread, balanced fillings - hefty portion of pork balanced by slightly sweet pickled carrots and daikon with a kick from the jalapeños. Bun bo hue- deeply savory soup base with chewy vermicelli noodles, tender beef, pork was a bit tough, ideal onion to noodle ratio per bite, plenty of bean sprouts on the side. Pork and mushroom banh cuon- perfectly cooked springy rice wrap with juicy pork and mushroom mince filling. Topped with fried shallots, basil, and cilantro. Not commonly offered at Vietnamese restaurants and this place’s is heavenly. One of the best Vietnamese places I’ve been to and I’m from Houston. Will dream of the banh cuon and banh...

I gave Lilys the benefit of the doubt before posting this review. I travel an hour and a half to go to the asian markets in Austin because the ones in SATX are limited. So 1st time at Lilys - I order in bulk, went with a CC did not know they only accept cash. Ordered 10 sandwiches. 5 combo, 5 Che. They gave me 5 of some roasted pork thing...I should have check when I was there. 2nd time - the combo I ordered the meats did not taste right. It tasted stale. 3rd visit - grabbed a dessert from the fridge, got home, opened it up, and it was spoiled....It was sour smelling and I am just disappointed. Mind you we travel up with coolors and Ice blocks. So its in a cooler. Never again. If you go, check and inspect your food before leaving. Not the best banh mi, just convenient with bad service. But I didnt expect service to be good because its a Viet...