Lily Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Kennett Square

Lily's used to be a solid Asian Fusion spot in the local community but has unfortunately declined in quality quite shockingly in the past couple of years. I have eaten here at least 50 times since 2013, so I say this with a sad amount of confidence. Incorrect orders, questionable food quality, inconsistency, upcharges and price increases are some examples of what has led to an overall deterioration. Five years ago I would have gladly given this restaurant a 4 or 5 star rating. Fortunately the atmosphere and friendly customer service remains mostly intact, but I'll outline below some reasons why you may want to reconsider eating here in 2023.

In our latest order, the chicken lo mein was rubber-like, borderline inedible (we didn't eat most of it). The chili garlic edamame, a favorite, was somehow bland and they placed a lemon in the order instead of a lime. An overall lack of attention to detail has been apparent in our most recent visits/orders. They forgot to include a shrimp tempura order. We called and they were cordial and willing to refund us, but we didn't want to give our credit card information over the phone. Mistakes happen and we understand that, but it just seems like something is...off now. There have been several errors in recent years, from no soy sauce/chopsticks included (minor) to completely wrong/forgotten orders. The quality is also very hit or miss now whereas it used to be pretty solid.

For the price of some of the entrees, it's a hard pill to swallow. The sushi dinner entree is now almost 30 dollars which is ridiculous. Salads are no longer included and are an upcharge of $1.00. The wonton soup has about 2-3 pieces of meat on average. I may sound harsh, but I'm trying to be objective and mostly sad at the overall state of the restaurant.

Lily's sister restaurant, GuGu, fares a bit better, so you may want to consider stopping by on your way to Longwood Gardens, or consider Wasabi 3 in the Longwood Shopping...

I picked this restaurant based off previous good reviews and their gluten-free menu.

Make sure you have quarters for the parking meters as street parking is not free before 6:00 pm and there is no lot behind the restaurant. The meters are .25 cents per 15 minutes. We went for lunch at noon on a Thursday and there was no wait to be seated. The entree choices on the GF menu were pretty good but you are paying dinner entree prices and the lunch bento boxes are not really a GF option. The waitress was unsure of any sushi rolls being GF but would have been happy to find out for me. My guess was if they were GF they'd already be on the GF menu so I stayed away from any rolls.

I had the GF mongolian beef and peppers and I believe my friend had the regular orange chicken entree. The beef entree was very flavorful and the beef was cooked perfectly. I wish they didn't serve it with an entire chopped green pepper, you can only eat so much pepper at a time. I was able to finish my dinner entree without much effort. The orange chicken was at least 2x as big as my serving and my friend said it was delicious and had a full meal to take-away.

This is probably a great place to get sushi rolls as nearly every table around us was ordering that for lunch but again I didn't trust it being GF. Give this place a try for GF and regular asian food, you won't be...

Lily's is me and my wife's favorites restaurant. Been there many times, dates, double dates, friends' night out, rehearsal dinner (in their new banquet hall), even asking for her dad's blessing!

Call me old fashioned if you want, but I'm no steak and potatoes kind of guy (nothing wrong with em...), I love me some sushi. This place has the best sushi for the best pricing I have seen, only equalled by Kotobuki in Washington DC, but the experience here is much more pleasant. Ambiance is fantastic, staff is incredibly friendly, and I love BYOB. Bring your own beer or wine from nearby wineries or breweries and they pull out glasses for you and open your bottles, no overpriced alcohol.

One friend I brought here spent the rest of the night raving about the general Tso's chicken, actually. I have never had anything I was not pleased with. The sweet potato rolls are a huge hit with sushi lovers and the "eew but it's raw!" crowd alike, and they have some delicious but more standard steak and salmon dishes as well if you have several of those types in your party (whom you should snap out of it as quickly as possible).

Do visit, will not regret. Then check out the rest of...