Seven Stars (AKA: New Lily's Garden)

Visited: January 22, 2010
Guests: CD
Overall: We'll go back.

We loved Lily's Garden when it used to be on Putnam Pike in Greenville, but it closed a while back and we've been mourning the loss ever since. So when the owners of Lily's Garden opened Seven Stars on George Waterman Ave in Johnston, we couldn't not try it.


SusieB's review:
Holy crap, we ordered a lot of food! Where to even begin . . . the edamame, shrimp nime chow and veggie nime chow (somehow, we were served 4 orders of nime chow instead of the 2 that we ordered, but I wasn't complaining, I love leftovers!) were all pretty typical of this sort of restaurant, and were all really tasty. M and I shared a bowl of Cambodian rice noodle soup - imagine the typical "bowl" of soup that you would get in a restaurant, then multiply that by 3 or 4, and that's about how big this was. It's definitely meant as an entree, so we both had a small bowl of it and then both brought leftovers home. It was SO good, both before and after I added hot sauce to it (M is rubbing off on me), and I plan to order it often in the future. After all of this, we still had dinners coming - I had chicken pad thai, and after I finished eating it looked like I hadn't even touched it. I think I got 4 more meals out of the leftover pad thai alone. The decor isn't overly impressive, but it doesn't have to be - this is very much a casual place. The staff is SO friendly and nice - when we mentioned how much we used to love Lily's Garden, the owner came out to say hi and chat with us about what dishes we'd like to see on the menu! It's in the strip mall with Pick n Pay, it's BYOB, it's ridiculously inexpensive (all of this food, including days and days of leftovers = $20 each, including tip), it's delicious and I can wear jeans and sneakers. Needless to say, this is my kind of place.

Gina's Review:
I have to start by saying that I love all BYOB places. I'm not sure why, but they are just more enjoyable and fun. Cousin Donna and I split the Fried Nime Chow and the Crab Rangoons both of which were very yummy. We also ordered a Side Salad w/ Ginger Dressing and I must say that we were both dissappointed. The greens were very fresh, but the problem was the dressing. It was not the traditional ginger dressing and it was very bitter. And I'm sure it didn't help that the greens were literally floating in the dressing. I wanted to order the Spicy Pepper Shrimp, but it wasn't on the menu and when we mentioned this to the owner and told us that he could make it for us anytime! Yeah!
I also had the Shrimp Pad Thai and was very happy with it and would definitely order it again. The portions are enormous so I would definitely split entrees. And even when you split you will have leftovers. I will be ordering take out very soon!

LD's Review:
This is Lily Garden reincarnated. The girls & I went to dinner here last Friday night and I must say that it was a great way to end a very long work week. Where to begin...First of all don't be put off by the fact that it is located in a corner of a mini strip mall, it is very bright and clean inside (which a huge plus in my book). It is BYOB which I love, saves you money and you can bring your favorite beverage! Now to the food. It feels like we ordered the entire menu. We shared shrimp & veggie nime chow, good so good, fresh & tasty. Although we ordered one of each we ended up receiving 3 shrimp orders and 1 veggie. We didn't care, leftovers are a good thing. Oh yeah we also ordered edemame(?). On top of this we were given free soup while we waited!! What's better than that. Believe me I was quite full after all of this but no....I had also ordered one of my two favorite dishes Thai Red Curry with Shrimp. Unbelievably good but what a huge portion, so of course that went home with me. There were a few to goes that night. Our waiter mentioned to the owner that we patrons of Lily Garden and the next thing we knew he was at the table to say hello and welcome us. When we mentioned that we were fans of the black pepper shrimp that they served at Lily Garden and that we couldn't find it on the menu he told us that he could make that for us anytime. Yeah!!!! I am so looking forward to going back. Next time I'm going for the Shrimp with Lemongrass!!! Now to the best part the cost..cheap, cheap, cheap. This restaurant is a winner in my book.