LI'S RESTAURANT - San Antonio, Texas

Gerry E.

The contingency plan restaurant that turned out better than the original. Dinner reservations for a large group at a Korean place but 1/2 of the group won't be able to make it on time so we cancelled our reservations and scrambled to find another place which will be able to accommodate us. Found Li's Restaurant who welcomed us even though it was last minute on a Saturday evening.(IKR!?!). On arrival, we were seated right away. Drink orders taken but then, the place really filled which got us worried as there were only 2 people working the front. Yes things got hectic, but the staff remained calm and cool and courteous and managed the crowd superbly. Long story short, they were very quick, the food was delicious and we had a great time! 👍 👍👍

Elena D.

Food was ehhh. Hostess was friendly and provided good service but the food was definitely lacking. Many items were not available and having to stink my hand in the toilet tank to flush was unfavorable.
Kimchi was lacking in flavor, tasted very watery, egg drop soup had a very weird flavor, wok seared chicken’s veggies were completely raw, crab Rangoon was fine and garlic sauce chicken was ok. We are NEVER going back.

Christine

Ordered delivery from Uber Eats. Got
Mini Steam Buns, 2 orders of Pork Bao Chashu, General Tso's Chicken with fried rice, and Orange Chicken with white (it wasn't an option to get fried). The pork buns were delicious. I liked the steam buns. They were like soup dumplings with liquid inside. The general tso's chicken had good flavor, but I would have liked it to be a little spicier. The orange chicken wasn't my favorite. The meat was mostly dark meat, maybe some white in there. Overall I liked it and will probably order again and try some of the other dishes.

Dr. E.

The menu is fabulous....even though we were expecting some sushi options from their online description, the menu must have changed as there is NO sushi here anymore.

So....we decided to try the poached lamb....we did not request it spicy, yet it came out covered in red peppers. After meticulously removing each one with a fork, it was still a pretty spicy dish. On the receipt at check out we saw that we paid for "spicy lamb". I wish I had known in advance to request it not spicy. Now I know!

Green tea was very tasty and elegantly served in a heavy teapot (which is great) and wide rimmed cups for rapid cooling. Loved it!!

My dry saute lamb hot pot was delicious...the egg drop soup was full of egg yolk, creamy and fresh tasting. I'd dare to say some of the best egg drop soup ever!

My one star reduction is because service is lackluster at best. The wait staff hung out at the bar area, spending most of their time on their phones..even with repeated hand waving and motioning, trying to catch eye contact, nothing. We had to get up and walk to them multiple times to get refills, ice water, and to order more rice.

This could easily be a top notch all 5 ⭐ place if they would up their service game. All the workers treated the customers as something on the side and that their activities were more important. Please Li's....work on this! You're menu is too unique and your presentation too upscale to settle with meh service.

Yen Y. C. G.

This place just changed management!!!
Whoever had less than 4-star experience before needs to go again to try to food and service.

The chef and manger work very hard to find the perfect ingredients even cooking oil to make the food with these four factors, the color, the fragrance, the taste, and presentation.

You have to try the Sizzling Seafood. See video below!

Joseph K. (.

A Chinese friend of mine found this place for us to try while visiting from Florida. As per his comment thisnis an authentic Schiuan Chinese Restaurant! Highky recommended, Wonton soup is incredible along with Sichuan Spicy Chicken, Fried rice, House made dumplings and so on!

David A. R. W.

Updated 3/18/2021: Li's for many years pre-covid was one of our go-to restaurants in the Stone Oak area. When management changed a couple of years ago, the food quality wasn't entirely the same at the time we visited and they had seemed to be training a chef. During the pandemic, it seemed like it was takeout only. I only discovered today that they have outdoor seating so we definitely wanted to go back.

Their menu has truly evolved over the years since we've been visiting. 2 dishes we ordered were dishes we've ordered before: dry-saute green beans and snow peas saute with shrimp. We did start off the meal with a few appetizers: veggie spring roll, ultimate pork belly, and Chinese kimchi. I felt the food portions were generous and definitely more than what my husband and I could finish in one sitting. It's ok, we love leftovers! The pork belly's taste reminded me slightly of the Filipino adobo. The Chinese kimchi was new to me. It is made of cabbage but definitely not spicy at all. The spice used includes mustard seed and preserved tofu. We wanted to try the wings since Izzy told us that they're going to have a food truck soon (location not yet decided) featuring the wings. We tried the cumin saute and salt and pepper. Both are more like a dry rub, were very flavorful, and definitely need a dipping sauce like other wings. If you like the cumin taste, the cumin saute gives you a full punch and a slow spicy kick to it. Their bestseller is the crispy spicy savory wings but my palate can't take much heat so I've missed out.

I do miss the cold noodles but Izzy says it's in the plans to bring back more menu items soon. Be on the lookout in 4 - 6 weeks because Li's will be rebranding to a totally new name. My maiden name will no longer be part of this restaurant.

Please be patient when dining in. They're in the process of hiring staff. My husband is already eyeing trying the poached fish the next time.

2 years ago: Li's was one of our go-to Chinese restaurants for quite some time. Dinner tonight was the first time we've been back since they changed management. Our favorite string beans was still pretty good, though slightly salty. My husband ordered the chicken and shrimp lo mein and it was pretty tasty. The eggplant is also a favorite we used to order. Today was not good at all, very greasy and sour. We told the waiter and he didn't charge us. They're training a new chef which explains why the food is on the more salty side. Hope it gets better.

Christopher C.

I travel quite a bit for work and like to find new places to eat. I was really kind of craving some Chinese food so I searched Yelp and found this place Li's restaurant. it wasn't too far from the hotel staying at and it had some pretty good ratings so I followed through and I really am glad that I went here. the atmosphere is great the food was delicious and the staff was very friendly and conversive. I ordered the Szechuan fried rice with chicken I also got some of the steam buns and I couldn't help myself so I got some of the gyoza and everything was very delicious.

1- Atmosphere- the restaurant was really nice and definitely carried a feel of that Chinese style with a modern kick. They have an outside patio which I'm sure would get pretty slammed when it's a good day outside. This place is perfect for families friends just about any gathering.

2-staff- I'm not sure if he was one of the co-owners or anything but I was speaking to one of the staff there and he was very nice very conversive and had great suggestions. sometimes having great service just enhances the mail because you have that surrounding of just good wholehearted people.

3- food- the food was delicious I had some jasmine tea which was great and then I had some of the Szechuan chicken fried rice and I had to complimented with not only their steamed buns which were amazing but also the gyoza. all the food was pretty simple on flavor it wasn't overbearing it wasn't lacking.

Li's is getting a 5-star rating specifically because of the entirety of their capability a creating a fun environment great service and delicious food. I'm only here for a couple days and I may just find myself back there for one more go before I leave back to California.