After a beautiful day exploring Williamsburg, we stopped in to Lilia without reservations but our fingers crossed tightly, hoping for the best.
We waited a quick 45 minutes & were then guided to our seats at the bar.
Red wine was of course our pick paired deliciously with the pasta dishes.
Dessert was an olive oil cake & cappuccino.
Delicious & fresh pasta is always a good time
Had a lovely time! The pastas were SO unbelievably tasty, unique, and a great portion size and the mozzarella appetizer was so fresh. Shared everything with one other person. Cute intimate vibes inside. Would love to go back again soon!!
The food is highly regarded and it lives up to the hype. The best dish, and one is what seems like it's mentioned every review is the Sheeps Milk Cheese Filled Agnolotti. As everyone describes it, it's like a fluffy pillow or delicious cheese and saffron with an amazing butter and honey sauce. Absolutely worth ordering.
Other great dishes include the grilled clams and grilled shrimp. Both are loaded with spices and flavor. The clams also have a bit of a kick (spicy).
As good as it is, the ambiance isn't great. Try to book inside if possible. We got stuck outside next to the hot subway grate. The tables felt rickety and it just didn't give you the feel of a fine dining establishment.
Overall go for the food, but not if it's with a date your trying to impress.
I had a delicious meal at Lilia. I did not have a reservation and had to wait about 30-45 minutes for a table at the bar. The bar is reserved for walk ins.
While I waited I got a cocktail in the back where they have a coffee bar. If you want, you can also order apps while you have a drink in that area.
I also ordered the baked clams which were delicious. This isn’t necessarily my favorite place but they do have a few great signature items and have a delicious wine selection with a yummy cocktail menu.
Extremely difficult to get a reservation but worth the hype. The three of us got nine dishes to share along with two drinks per person. The total came out to be around $400 including tip.
My two favorite dishes:
🧡 Grilled Cabbage, Crispy Shallot, Caraway, Brown Butter
🧡 Sheeps Milk Cheese Filled Agnolotti
My least favorite:
☹️ Milano Sour Cocktail
☹️ Grilled Clams with Bread Crumbs
took the cake for best italian food i've had in the city without a doubt. the mafaldini and the agnolotti are must-try's and the italian job gelato was to die for. i have genuinely never had a dessert so delicious and unique in my life, lilia's really got me looking up where to find fennel pollen just to try recreating this bite of heaven. focaccia was a great starter too, all around amazing meal. vibes were so nice, the outdoor seating was really nicely done. our waiter gave great recommendations. 10/10 would most certainly go again
Came here for a birthday dinner for inside dining and the service and ambiance were spectacular. We ordered the agnolotti, gnocchi, and lamb steak. The agnolotti is a must get. The pesto gnocchi was the best pesto I’ve ever had as well, but gnocchi was slightly over cooked. The lamb steak was a surprise! It was cooked perfectly and I did not expect it to be be that delicious. The fennel and spices were overwhelming at times, but all you had to do was scrape it off! This is the best Italian restaurant I’ve been to in NYC, and would definitely recommend this to friends. 4.7/5.
Had an outstanding time here! Tried Misi a few weeks ago and was slightly underwhelmed but Lilia was 10/10. Sat outside on the patio, great service. Waiter recommended ordering 2-3 dishes per person and that ended up being perfect. Appetizers - don’t skip the cacio e Pepe fritelle or the focaccia. Little gem salad & grilled artichokes were okay, loved the clams. For pastas we tried the gnocchi, agnolotti & Mafaldini. The agnolotti was definitely the stand out, such a unique flavor. We were too full for dessert so will have to come back
Amazing how everyone knew the menu and the service was good. Decrease in stars cause everything was set with little room to customize like less garlic. We had mentioned that the clams were a bit over cooked but it did not seem like they had cared for our comment.
Had a lovely meal! Great shareable dishes. Outdoor seating is nice for good weather. Our waiter and the whole team were very helpful with making choices. Still thinking about the Italian job. Malfadine, cucumber salad, mussels and fettuccine were my favorites.
Overall, the food was great. The focassia was definitely the best. Their seasonal pasta was also phenomenal.
The Italian job gelato had way too much olive oil, and the artichoke was ok..
They were also really weird about the table and not super thoughtful.
Overall, it was great
As expected, the agnolotti and grilled clams were classics that did not disappoint. The agnolotti was unlike any other pasta we've tried and had a slightly sweet tinge. The grilled clams were also very good. We thought the rigatoni was nothing outstanding.
Unexpectedly, what really stole the show was the olive ice cream. We saw many people take it to go as well which inspired us to try. We paired it with the olive oil cake and it made for a wonderful end to our meal!
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Does Lilia live up to its hype? Yes!
We have visited the restaurant twice on separate weekends, and each time, we were blown away by the amazing food. If you're struggling to secure a reservation online, don't fret - simply visit Lilia in person and their friendly staff will be more than happy to assist you in finding a reservation.
If possible, I recommend booking a spot inside the restaurant as the outdoor seating area is on the sidewalk, and you may be approached by strangers asking for money. The interiors have a minimal and industrial design, which fits perfectly with the neighborhood's vibe. Although the service was very attentive, we received our starters before our drinks arrived, and when the drinks finally arrived, the starters were already lukewarm.
The food at Lilia was absolutely amazing! To start, we had the cacio e pepe frittelle, a salad made with heirloom tomatoes, and grilled artichoke. The frittelle and artichoke were both incredibly delicious! Moving on to the main course, we tried both fresh and dry pasta dishes. I personally found the dry pasta portions to be slightly bigger and more delicious. The mafaldini dish was particularly outstanding and I highly recommend trying it! Even my Italian wife, who is usually very picky with pasta, loved it.
Overall, I can definitely say that Lilia is the best pasta restaurant I have been to in New York so far, and I'll surely be back in the future.
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I came here on a Friday night for dinner with two friends. I honestly had never heard of this restaurant, but apparently it’s extremely popular. We sat outside, which I’m not really a fan of; would love to try this place again indoors.
We got a bunch of dishes to share: the prawns, grilled clams, mafaldani, agnolotti, ravioli, little gem lettuce salad, whole artichoke, olive oil cake and the gelato. All of the pastas were superb; perfectly cooked and the sauces they came with were perfectly balanced. The portions were also decent; I feel like most nice Italian restaurants don’t provide healthy portions for the price, and I can’t say Lilia is drastically different, but you won’t leave hungry. For the antipasti, I wasn’t a big fan of the artichoke or the grilled clams. There wasn’t a ton of flavor there and with the artichoke, it just seemed like I was eating a ton of sauce and cheese. The rest of the antipasti was fantastic, though. I thought the deserts we ordered were just OK; definitely could have skipped them.
Overall, I think this is a solid restaurant and I would love to come back again.
Always a good time! Their pastas are all impressive and their bread and pistachio butter is one of the best things in my opinion! Sad their gelato machine was down on this visit but would recommend the Italian Job if you come to Lillia.
If you can get in, it’s totally worth it. The pasta is some of the best I’ve had. Very friendly staff. I would recommend to agnolotti pasta and the bread appetizer with mozzarella cheese
Wonderful casual chic menu and restaurant. Very approachable and the food is a twist on Italian classics. Our favorite courses were the chocolate gelato soft-serve and the grilled artichoke!
Grilled scallops were the highlight of dinner the consistency was so smooth and it literally melts in your mouth.
The pasta were made to a perfect Al dente which I appreciated, the sheep milk agnolotti was too sweet for my preference though.
Mozzarella with garlic bread was ok, bread was too hard.
Lamb leg steak was a little weird with the spices, didn’t seem to fit together. Very fennel-y?
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