Lilia
“The first bite of the caco e pepe fritelle must have been what it felt like when the people in the back of the "Snowpierecer" train ate sushi after living off bar of compressed insects for years.”
“Missy Robbins (the incredible chef) came to our table and made us really feel at home.”
“We continued with agnolotti filled with sheep milk cheese & saffron and an excellent malfadini spiced though tender.”
Lilia
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Lilia is housed in what used to be a garage, which doesn't exactly sound glamorous but it is such a stunning dining space! Minimal Nordic aesthetics as my friend describes – or in laymens terms, an upscale ikea. Soaring ceilings, neutral tones, everything sets you up for an elegant but Brooklyn-cool meal.
For a table of 4, we shared 4 small plates, 4 pastas, and 2 desserts. Portions are smallish (we also love to eat).
Cacio e pepe fritelle: fritters that seem basic but are so much more. Great starter- you can't really go wrong with fried dough.
Cauliflower: so many flavors, so delicious, perfect.
Grilled ramps: ramps are so trendy and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. This wasn't bad, but I wasn't blown away.
Grilled Scallops: I love scallops, and this was an interesting preparation with yogurt and walnuts. I wish the flavors had a bigger punch.
Blowfish tails: sounded good but didn't turn out to be what I imagined. The fish were had lots of bones and the accompanying gremolata fell flat.
Rigatoni: a comforting classic with a bit of heat.
Malfadini: my favorite dish! I love the shape of the pasta. It's simple, satisfying, and I just don't know how it can be so good with such minimal ingredients.
Agnolotti: cheese-filled pillows, delicate fragrant sauce. It's what dreams are made of.
Pappardelle: another classic, but I wasn't as impressed with this.
We ended the meal with two soft serves with toppings as recommended by our waitress. The chocolate pairs well with orange and hazelnut.
Overall, the pastas were the real winners of the night- order a bunch to share and you can't go wrong!
Kind of a let down. Expected more. Visiting my daughter and wanted great Italian food. Arrived Friday night at about 7 and the only seating was outside, which was fine but inside looked really nice.
We shared three things, all recommended by our very nice server.
The first dish was excellent. A solid 10. It was a simple toasted Italian bread with a slice of mozzarella and it was slightly melted and had some garlic,salt and spices. It was fantastic and set the bar really high.
Next we split a pasta dish and fish. Even though I ate there less than 48 hours ago I don't remember either dish enough to provide more detail. Both were good but very ordinary. With prices reasonable but not inexpensive, and better choices in the area, would not rush back.
Pasta done perfectly!
In my opinion definitely deserving of all the accolades its gotten. Reservations through Resy were a cinch, and probably not as hard to come by now these days compared to when the place first opened. The space itself is gorgeous and warm – actually taking over the space of an old auto shop. Quite casual and unpretentious. Option to sit outdoors along the street is nice too (especially because sometimes it gets really, really hot inside).
Quick rundown of the food that we got: cacio e pepe fritter was good, but wasn't mind blowing – I think partly because my expectations were so high after everyone mentioning it in their reviews. Whole artichoke was excellent – served open faced with this hot/garlicky oil that was super delicious. Agnolotti – omg, that cheese filling was out of this world! Mafaldini was exceptional – the pasta had the perfect texture/bite and that peppery goodness…wow (probably our favorite of the night). Rigatoni was very good, but I think was not as memorable as the agnolotti and mafaldini.
Only thing keeping it from 5 stars for me was the service. It was passable, but our waiter seemed really aloof/disinterested and never smiled the entire time….then again, it was pretty late in the day so he could have been worn out. Anyhow, didn't really detract too much from the whole experience though.
Lilia is a must try for anyone who loves all things pasta!
Thank you, Lilia, for restoring my faith in the art of food. Because that's what Lilia is serving — art. Well-crafted, thoughtful, complex, and ridiculously delicious art.
My friend and I arrived for 6:30 reservations on a weeknight (you'll need to make them a couple weeks in advance) and were seated immediately.
The vibe of the restaurant itself is awesome, and a bit non-Williamsburg-esque. It was something like a blend of rustic and industrial style with an upscale edge. And I love that they cleared our plates and silverware between courses; that is incredibly underrated.
Now, onto the food! We ordered:
Grilled ramps
Grilled squid
Baked clams
Sheep's milk agnolotti
Malfadini
Olive oil cake
Plenty of wine
The ramps were light and flavorful — if you've never had them (think sort of a subtle scallion) you should.
The squid and clams were delicious. I think the squid was my favorite of the two — the squid itself was perfectly cooked, and the preserved colabri tomato and fennel pollen (I still don't know what that means but I want more) took it to a whole new level.
Now, for the famous pastas. The malfadini lived up to the hype. It was so *different* and yet so comforting. But my friend and I agreed the sheep's milk agnolotti was the star of the night. The pasta was beautifully cooked and the sheep's milk cheese… My god. So luscious. And so addictive. Just order it.
After such an incredible meal I will say I was disappointed by the olive oil cake dessert. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Mario Batali's cake, but this was just too dense and dry.
Still, Lilia deserves all 5 stars. Such a treat! Go!
So we snagged a Saturday night table at the hottest spot in the Burg. It's on the swanky/hipster border, with fairly well heeled patrons as you'd expect coz it ain't cheap. We had the clams which i liked and i don't even like clams, pretty spicy little mofos. Then two pastas, the maldafini or something, pasta with peppercorns and cheese, which had a great flavor but would've been better served hot (it was room temperature). And spicy tomato rigatoni, with an anise flavor. All the pasta was al dente. Then the branzino with salsa Verde, which finally on the fourth dish we found why people swoon over this place. You should get the branzino. Possibly twice. And then ice cream, that was kinda soft and delicious. The woman serving was really nice. With a bottle of one of the cheapest wines, and a well deserved tip, it was $180 for two and we were not overfull, so not a bargain. But the branzino was worth it.
It sure is hard to get a reservation at this place.
However, if you do, I'd say that it's totally worth it.
The restaurant is bright, airy, and spacious. The wait staff is courteous and attentive without being distracting.
You come here for the pasta – I'd recommend coming with a group of 4 or 6 and trying them all like we did. But if you can only order a couple, I'd say the simplier the dish, the better it was.
I also recommend getting the cacio e pepe fritters. Get enough so no one has to share one.
If they have sardines on the menu that day, order it.
Other than that, my only issue is that it's so far away from where I live. If it wasn't for that, I'd definitely be back.
Does Lilia live up to the hype? In my opinion, no. Is it still a great restaurant? Yes.
Our group had 10pm reservations for a Sunday night, which was the only time I could get when I was booking a month out. This place is very popular!
Food: Everything we had was great, but the real stars here are the appetizers.
Cacio e pepe fritelle- SO GOOD. Pillowy and delicious, while capturing the flavors of a classic casio e pepe pasta
Bagna cauda- This is a hot fish dip with vegetables. Which sounds a bit gross, but is actually wonderful. The dip is warm and the crisp variety of vegetables complement it perfectly.
Whole artichoke- I love artichokes and this one was cooked perfectly.
Cured sardines- Personally am not a fan of sardines, and I still enjoyed this dish. The fatty butter, sour capers, and fishy sardines come together wonderfully.
Crispy little fish- These were amazing. They are exactly what they sound like- crispy little fish
Malfadini- In reading reviews for Lilia in the papers, I came to think of this as the item to order. And it was very good. The pasta is fresh, the pepper provides a pop without being overwhelming. But, I don't think it's worth waiting a month for a reservation for.
Ricotta gnocci- The gnocci themselves were tender and delicious, but I found the sauce a bit too "green" tasting and thought it overpowered the delicate gnocci
Sheeps milk cheese filled agnoloti- Very good, a tad on the sweet side in my opinion. Not particularly exciting.
Softserve- for desert, we had the vanilla and chocolate soft serve with various toppings. I thought this was a fun way to end the meal, and allowed for some level of customization. Our table preferred the vanilla to the chocolate.
Service:
Despite our 10pm reservation, we still had to wait at the bar for a bit. Service was attentive and our server made very helpful wine recommendations.
Ambiance:
Lilia feels very trendy and has the crowds to match. The decor itself is very clean and feels almost Nordic inspired. I really liked it.
Basically the perfect restaurant.
Trendy Italian food in a chic atmosphere. The type of place where I feel like everything would be good.
Apps: cacio e pepe fritte, ramp focaccia, mozzarella garlic bread, and cauliflower with spicy sorpressata. All were delish! Be warned though, the mozzarella garlic bread is only one piece of bread. And it's so good you definitely won't want to share. We did asked for bread for the table, and they said they'd bring it, but they never did..whatever I'll let that one slide this time.
Entrees: Malfidini and agnolotti. Both were perfection! The malfidini was super cheesy and not spicy at all. The agnolotti oozed with cheese in all the right ways. Both are great choices to order. However, they did come out luke warm. Fortunately they took back the plates but they did act a little surprised by it. I assumed it was just a mistake. The second time I came the pasta was luke warm as well. However, it was so good that I looked past it.