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“Charming bistro in the Oregon District”
Review of Lily's Dayton

Lily's Dayton
Ranked #14 of 823 Restaurants in Dayton
Price range: £8 - £20
Cuisines: American
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Restaurant details
Dining options: Reservations
Description: Lily's Dayton is the 2020, Covid-era re-imaging of independent restaurant Lily's Bistro (2013-2020). We are a tropical-inspired, budget conscious, inclusive, warm, and welcoming eatery & drinkery in the Oregon District in Dayton, Ohio. Our menu created by Executive Chef James McBride combines Lily's favorites like our fried chicken, shrimp & grits, deviled eggs, and other American Southern dishes with eclectic flavors like bao buns, pork belly or vegetarian ramen, and bahn mi/po boy sandwiches designed to pair with our tiki-inspired craft cocktail program. In addition to cool wines and local craft beers, we also always have our house beer on tap for $2.50! We hope to see you soon for some good food and tasty cocktails!
Reviewed 20 September 2014

Had a terrific lunch at this charming restaurant in Dayton's Oregon District. Although we came in behind a large group of people, we were quickly greeted and seated. The menu offered daily drink specials and I had a tasty Bloody Mary to accompany a terrific appetizer of watermelon cucumbers feta and basil. Who knew these tastes together would be so delicious! The havarti grilled cheese was great as was the edamame hummus wrap. Really great service too.

Date of visit: September 2014
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Thank JDSSpartan
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (225)
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210 - 214 of 225 reviews

Reviewed 31 August 2014

After walking around the Oregon District, I decided on this place for a carry out for my dinner. Inviting building, inside lovely decor. Friendly Staff. I went for the Watermelon/Cucumber Salad with basil and feta cheese with balsamic vinegar dressing. Delicious! I also decided to get a side order of their mac n' cheese--oh my! YUMMY! I was told it had feta cheese in it. It was very yummy! I would definitely visit her again if I would get a trip again to Dayton! Thanks for the friendly service!

Date of visit: August 2014
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Thank GJG_957
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 11 August 2014

Attended a paint and dine event here. The painting portion was great fun. The food was ok and slow to arrive. The waiters were friendly and seemed to want to be accommodating but kept saying the management would not allow things. Such as enough table room to accommodate painting and eating. There was only one other couple besides painters on the patio for the two hours yet an extra table could not be spared. The management had a bit of an intolerant attitude like they did not want the painters there. Bottom line is this: this was my first time at Lilly's and the only reason I came there was because of the art class. I will not go back because I felt treated like an inconvenience rather than welcomed as two customers that dished out 65 dollars for so so food.

Date of visit: August 2014
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1  Thank klipa
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emily M, General Manager at Lily's Dayton, responded to this reviewResponded 2 January 2015

Hello-
I'd like to apologize that you had a negative experience at Lily's (my and my family's restaurant) last Friday. Ashley from Barstools and Brushstrokes and I have worked together on numerous events and to our knowledge have never had someone leave so unhappy. We really enjoy working together and love having the painters at the restaurant!

I was off site at another event the night your group was in, and I don't know why anyone refused to bring you another table. I am the General Manager and I talked to our Bar Manager who was in charge that evening and it was the first she heard of your group needing more space. I'll talk to the servers as well to get a better idea of what happened so we can work to fix it in the future. I also spoke to Ashley from the painting group and we are going to consider reformatting the event to allow separate time to eat and paint.

Additionally, Barstools and Brushstrokes would like to invite you back to another class, free of charge, at Lily's. And we at Lily's would like to offer you a $25 gift certificate to use toward that meal or another one.

Again, I sincerely apologize about the experience and hope you will give us the chance to make it up to you.

Regards,
Emily Mendenhall
GM
Lily's Bistro
emily@lilysbistro.com
937-723-7637

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 31 July 2014

Date night with the wife, and our first choice was closed--so Lily's was our happy plan B. There were a couple of points where they were less than perfect but overall a delightful experience.

We were seated promptly on this Thursday night; the indoor dining area was mostly empty, the outdoor patio was full, so we opted for indoor. The decor is pleasant if a little sterile--pale greens, gray-painted concrete floor, some hanging plants and artwork--tables adorned with a little candle-in-a-glass and a single flower in a ginger beer bottle. Operating as an honest bistro, the menu is a little all over the place--you can lunch here on a grilled cheese and a PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon?) for $7, and on Sundays they do brunch.

The best thing here was the service. Our table was visited by about five different employees, each one eager to please--they work as a team, seamlessly. I think one of the people was the owner, who engaged me in a lively discussion about gin which inspired me to order a second martini--and it proved she knows her gin!

So, it's restaurant week around here, and I noted that their specials were all items from the regular menu. My wife didn't want any of the restaurant week items and so went with their regular menu and ordered the scallops--she's a big fan, and thought theirs were good, but was surprised at how much she enjoyed the green beans on the side. I went with the restaurant week offer, 3 courses for a small price (I didn't look at my receipt--it was either 20.14, 25.14, or 30.14) and got the grilled peaches appetizer, the pork tenderloin, and the dark chocolate torte. We shared the appetizer and dessert.

Well, the appetizer made me happy. It was a halved peach, stone removed, and the center filled with chevre and nuts, drizzled with a balsamic glaze. So the peach was tart, the drizzle savory, the goat cheese creamy, and the nuts textural--I wondered if it needed more cheese, but gosh, it was good.

My entree is where the yellow flag goes up. This pork tenderloin is customarily done medium, and topped with a peach-habanero salsa. The salsa was uneven--some forkfuls had more peach and were balanced, others had more habanero and were not suitable for diners with sensitive palates. I happen to enjoy a good mouth-burn, so I didn't complain--but for the general American taste, I think the chef ought to tone down the hot peppers. The side of butter-sauteed zucchini and yellow squash was a nice complement.

Finally came the flourless dark chocolate torte with pepper ganache and whipped cream. Fabulous! The dark chocolate cake had such a texture, I rolled each bite around on my tongue savoring the texture and richness.

This restaurant's location has had a chequered past. Previously it was owned by a woman who operated it as a nice French bistro--then changed the concept to German with less success--and finally went to jail for insurance fraud. The new owners seem less pretentious and more grounded in their approach, so I have hopes that Lily's will be a dining option for years to come--I genuinely want to enjoy their food and service again.

Date of visit: July 2014
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Thank TR26
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 25 July 2014

We were seated inside right away and ordered drinks and an appetizer. The drinks took too long to show up and the appetizer toke forever and wasn't good. Several minutes later our waiter removed the appetizer board, but did not take our food order. Fifteen minutes later he reappeared and we placed the food order. This is where things really went bad. Our food did not show up for nearly an hour. There was only one other table in our section with customers. My dinner was pathetic! It consisted of three slices of tomato, a scoop of corn, and a very tiny piece of salmon. I left hungry!
The service was bad, the food very marginal and small, and the bill was huge. I will not go back.

Date of visit: July 2014
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2  Thank Matthew M
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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