ilili Restaurant

bowled over by this beautiful place! def wasn't expecting anything special and they proved me wrong, wrong wrong! gorgeous settings AND food, your ... more

Our favorite new restaurant in Flatiron....amazing food and good vibe - go with a date or with a group of friends. You will not be disappointed!!!!! Pros: Location, Food, Ambience more

Really, really. . .seriously good Lebanese food. 6 of us went for dinner and ordered all kinds of plates from the Baba Ghannouj to the Beef Kabob & Red Mullet yet nothing had a shortcoming of any sort. I wouldn't call this fusion at all, straight up Lebanese, possibly better than mama's (shhhh.....). The downstrairs was a bit of a yuppie ""scene"" not usually my style but would go back again simply for the delicious food. Yes it is new a joint but hopefully the chef doesn't lose steam, I know he had me going! The restaurant was busy but held true to the reservation and the service was still attentive although the 3 hosts (females) didn't seem to know what they were doing, egh. . .we got sat! OHHH! Did I mention the drinks, HELLO! I had the ""From Beirut with Love"" or maybe it was ""From Tripoli with Love"" nonetheless it was the truest love I have had thus far. \r \r Forget the stars.....rated...4 hard nipples (my partners' included) comparable to a soft breath on the neck. It doesn't get better. Pros: THE FOOD Cons: i guess if you don't like sharing. . .the small plates more

New York City has finally been blessed with a superb Lebanese Mediterranean Restaurant. Master chef and restauranteur, Philippe Massoud, has managed to raise the bar on all aspects of Lebanese Mediterranean cuisine. Ilili's menu, portion size, and atmosphere have been crafted to perfection. I do not leave without ordering the Kibbeh Nayeh as an appetizer. The portion sizes allow for sharing, so we usually order many appetizers and entrees to share amongst our party. The specialty drinks are not be missed either - the Beruit Lemonade is my favorite. I spend my time between New York and the Middle East, and can honestly say that Ilili's cuisine is by far the best I have come across. I hope Mr. Massoud will open more locations in the near future- the Lebanese Mediterranean category will flourish with his years of expertise. Ilili is an experience not to be missed. more

Went to ilili with a small group and it was EXCELLENT! ordered 11 dishes for 5 people and it was just enough. Every single thing brought to our table that night was absolutely delicious. I have yet to eat a better medditeranean fusion meal. Worth mentioning: the Chankleech, warm eggplant, the black cod was to die for. Meat dishes were perfectly cooked and juicy. Cocktails were interesting, service was impeccable(our waitress was super helpful and very nice) and the decor is great. I would definately recommend this place to anyone and revisit many many times!\r more

For the pricetag I expected better sized portions. The food was ok, but I kinda felt uncomfortable at this restaurant. It has a snobbish like feeling to it. At the end of the day, we are talking about kabobs and falafel. more

mediterranean small plates! definitely get the lamb chops and any of the wagyu beef dishes. the mixed... more

My wife and I dined at Ilili on Valentine's day and were blown away by the entire experience. We didn't order the pre-fixe, opting to order a-la-carte instead. All the food is served mezzo-tapas style, which I guess means portions sized somewhere between traditional tapas and that of a standard main course. The service was extremely knowledgeable - my wife asked which of two dishes the waitress would recommend, and got a remarkably thorough description right down to the subtle flavors each had. The food was full of a wide variety of rich flavors: the brussels sprouts were grilled to perfection, complemented by jammy apricots; the duck shwarma wraps were juicy, topped with sweet pomegranate seeds; even the baba ganouj seemed to be in another league.\r \r The dining room was visually stunning; the service was quick, knowledgeable, and attentive. Pros: Service, food, ambience Cons: Parking (always a problem in Manhattan) more

We celebrated Valentine's Day at IIiIi and were so impressed. I'm Lebanese so naturally I knew the food and how it should taste - kudos to the owner and chef. Each plate was filled with flavor and the presentation was outstanding. The vibe is hip and fun and because it's tapas, you can sample so many different items. I suggest the Kibbeh (tastes just like my mom's home cooking) - the chicken shish taouk was fantastic. \r \r The cocktails were also amazing. Our waiter, Tony, was one of the best servers we've ever had in NYC; knowledgeable and attentive to our every need - he was awesome.\r \r In NY, we have every food option but have lacked a fine dining Lebanese experience - it's finally here and we will continue to go back to IIilI many times over. A must try! Pros: Amazing food, tapas to sample many different things and fantastic service more

A Lebanese friend of mine suggested this spot out and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. We walked in on a Saturday evening with no reservation; the hostess was very pleasant (even though it was pretty crowded around her) and seated us withing 15-20 minutes (we enjoyed our pricy martinis at the bar-bartenders were very nice). The service and the atmosphere were on point. Our server let us know immediately that this restaurant served tapas style. A bit pricy for tapas, but nevertheless, we enjoyed our meal. We ordered the Beef Shawerma(perfectly spiced with sumac), cheese rolls(delicious), grape leaves(I'm very particular about grapeleaves-these leaves were fresh and the lemon/salt balance was wonderful), hommus and fattoush (needed more lemon zest and salt but decent) and of course fresh hot pita. It sounds like alot but somehow we managed room for desert without needed to be rolled out the place. I ordered the turkish coffee and my friend ordered the white tea (water and rosewater extract) with the Essmalieh desert(crunchy thin noodles served with achta cream filling and covered with sugary syrup. Overall we ended up paying about 60 each incl tip. That's not terribly bad, but it is on the high side, considering it was one martini each and just two of us. \r Overall it was a great experience and I'm definitely coming back again. The shawerma sealed the deal. Cheers. Pros: Food, atmosphere Cons: Nothing else around more

The staff is extremely nice, very pleasant and attentive --almost unusually so. I came there for drinks only, so I missed out on the food unfortunately. They mixed up a few drink orders, but who doesn't really? Even though I didn?t try the food, I will say that Lebanese food probably often gets a little overlooked, so it's nice to see a place of this scale and caliber entirely & solely devoted to it. Since I didn?t experience the food, my use of the word caliber refers to the design of the interior space ?which is almost wondrous to look at. Possibly a bit borderline gimmicky, but fascinating nontheless. On the flip side, however, the volume of the music during the after hours scene was unbelievably OBSCENE. Way beyond the heart-attack variety and into the permanent loss of hearing zone. It was fit for a dance party in a place 10 times the size of this one and you STILL probably wouldn't have been able to hear the person next to you yelling full-throttle. I actually thought I was on candid camera. Maybe one can't lay blame on the establishment, because it was the DJ's doing --but on the other hand they didn't intervene and ask them to tone it down 8 notches. more

I was a little surprised to read the previous review. I have been at this restaurant three times since it has opened and never left feeling hungry. In fact, I felt like I should be carted out of there after the abundance of good food. Everything is handmade and nicely arranged: from the tiny, transparent manti to the fun duck shawarma, nothing disappointed me. Get the grill items - cannot go wrong with those, and each comes with a pita bread with a different set of spices. It's true that their service is still a bit shaky--it is a new place, after all--but they are diligent and eager to help. The wine list keeps growing with each visit. In short, I strongly recommend this place. Pros: Great food, not loud Cons: small desert menu more

I had dinner with friends at Ilili the other nite and I was really looking forward to it based on the previous review. But I have to disagree with most of what the reviewer said about this place. True, the atmosphere is very inviting with the high ceilings and candle-light. It was perfect for meeting friends or a casual date. A funny thing about the restrooms..there are instructions on how to lock and unlock the doors! One of my friends got locked in and had to call us to get him out! One of the other restroom doors had broken glass that was all taped up and according to the waiter a guy had gotten stuck inside, didn't have his phone and had to kick his way out! A word to the wise..if you go to this place bring your phone to the restroom or just hold it! The service was fine, though the waiter did bring the wrong beer both times my friend ordered it! We had the hummus, babaghanoush and brussels sprouts as appetizers. The brussels sprouts were wonderful, roasted with grapes. The hummus and baba were bland and nothing special. I ordered the lamb chops and while the flavor was delicious, there were only about 4 bites of meat and nothing was served along with them. My companions had the shawarma which apparently tasted fine but was also tiny, and the lamb kebob which was completely over-salted. We shared the chocolate cake for dessert which was very good and the coffee and espresso were both excellent. However, after we paid our bill of nearly $200 (including drinks) we were all still hungry! I would not mind paying that much for dinner if I had come out at least satisfied. Unfortunately Ilili was a let-down and I would not go back unless they included side dishes or salads with their entrees. Not worth your time or money..there are hundreds of restaurants in NY that are much better! Pros: Inviting atmosphere, close to subway, nice wine list Cons: Tiny portions, inconsistent service, not worth the prices more

This brand new addition to New York City's dining scene is absolutely wonderful. Middle-Eastern food with a twist, it offers an exciting and yummy variety of dishes from heavenly jumbo prawns in olive oil to beef kefta mixed with foie gras and everything in between. My favorites were the tuna kabobs and the beef kafta. Whether you have an experimental palate or like solid and high quality middle-easters food, you will find something to your liking here. My husband and I went there last night and I cannot wait to go back and try everything else. No spice, no detail, no nuance is missed! The dining room is quiet, with soft music in the background and high ceilings to absorb the noise. The service, while new and perhaps still gaining experience, is attentive and diligent. It's not a super-romantic place, but would be perfect for groups or for quiet dinner-time talk. Pros: everything, pretty much more