Lily's

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The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the 2010 edition.

Tucked away in Merchant City, Lily’s may look like your average café from the outside but the menu tells a different story. Successfully combining paninis, burgers and baked potatoes with Chinese dishes, the noodle soup sprinkled with roast sesame seeds and sliced spring onions is a particular highlight. There are also dim sum, spring rolls and wraps with sweet Thai chicken, mandarin or Peking duck. The salads are similarly inspired by the Orient, with chicken caesar sitting alongside an Asian pork salad. With refreshingly different fillings such as Italian sausages and egg, the sandwiches are served on thick, crusty bread and come with a crisp side salad. If you are on the go, take-out is also available. The rather functional décor isn’t as imaginative as the menu, and although staff members are polite, it is sometimes hard to attract their attention.

• High point: Noodle soup that’s a meal in itself
• Low point: At the quieter end of Ingram Street