NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Lilia
Included In
Lilia’s host once informed us that the surest way to book a prime time reservation is to call 30 days in advance at 10am sharp. This was upsetting to hear, obviously, since we don’t even schedule vacations a month in advance.
Years have passed and not much has changed. Lilia is still hard to get into, and people still plan visits to this Williamsburg restaurant the way art dealers collect Basquiats or crypto-bros accumulate NFTs.
Coming here grants you access to a special society: those who have eaten at the city’s most exclusive Italian restaurants. Once you sit down, though, Lilia’s industrial-looking space feels nothing like a glitzy club where diners hope they get blue Instagram checks with dessert. The only real reason to fuss over getting a table at Lilia is their simple, perfect pasta.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Lilia has mastered the art of editing themselves silly. They tune out all the Trendy Italian Restaurant bullsh*t, so all that’s left is necessary, carbohydrate gold. Somewhere else, a diavolo sauce might come with mussels or squid to provide some heft. But Lilia’s simplified version focuses on ribbed rigatoni curls, each of which absorbs the sauce made from chili flakes and San Marzano tomatoes. The noodles are chewy and dramatically large, and they look more like balloon animals than rigatoni you’ve seen elsewhere. Why cover that up with anything but a light layer of sauce, grated pecorino, and fresh oregano leaves?
Lilia’s grilled vegetables and seafood take a similar no-nonsense approach. The restaurant always offers a couple seasonal vegetables roasted in the wood-fired oven, although you’d really be missing the point if you came to Lilia and built your meal around those non-pasta dishes. “The Italian Job” gelato, on the other hand, tastes like a makeout session between jugs of heavy cream and high-quality olive oil. We encourage you to sit with this imagery while you enjoy Lilia’s very good gelato.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Consider Lilia’s paired-back approach a gift, since your New York City life is convoluted enough already. Sure, the lore around Lilia makes going to this restaurant feel more like a circus than it needs to, but it isn’t too hard to finagle a bar seat by showing up ready to wait or by calling on the early side of the day you'd like to go. (And we firmly believe the bar area is the most romantic spot in the house anyway). Whether you choose to talk about your visits to Lilia like someone tweeting about their non-fungible tokens, well, that’s between you and your rigatoni.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Cacio E Pepe Fritelle
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Vegetables
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Grilled Clams
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Sheeps Milk Cheese Filled Agnolotti
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Rigatoni Diavola
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Malfadini With Pink Peppercorns
photo credit: Noah Devereaux