The other staff members who poured us drinks, served us food, etc were also very nice. HOWEVER, the service inside the restaurant ( the host, other people walking around) were so unfriendly and unhelpful. I asked someone where the bathroom was and they just walked by and completely ignored me. It is a very cold vibe and very unprofessional for a restaurant reservation that is so hard to get. The food is fine. Its good but you can find better or comparable italian food in NYC and you don't have to fight to get a reservation. I wasn't very impressed. The lamb was very fatty and chewy which for a restaurant that is so in demand is kind of appalling. Honestly, I don't understand how this place blew up the way it did. It is on the level with italian food you'd find in a mall in middle America.

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Managed to get off the waitlist on a Sunday at 4:30 outdoor patio for a party of 2. Was super excited but ultimately disappointed. I don't quite understand the hype. TLDR: Decent food but not worth the hype. High quality ingredients but somewhat of a miss on the execution. Get the sheep milk's agnolotti but everything else is forgettable. Ambiance - the outdoor patio needed fans. There was some umbrella coverage for most tables but some tables are partially exposed (they sat us at one at first but luckily they accommodated my request to move). The indoors was a little too cold - def bring a light sweater even for the summer if you're seated inside. Food - All the dishes were fine but nothing wowed me and honestly, this is going to be controversial, but I think the pasta at many other places (including Ci Siamo) are much better. Specifically: - Housemade mozzarella - This was fine but honestly a bit lacking in flavor. It was a bit too bland and definitely needed more salt. I took a few bites and gave the rest to my husband. - Focaccia - This was much more flavorful, though I wasn't a huge fan of the garlic butter. That also needed more salt and had very little taste to it. I similarly had just a few bites before giving the rest to my husband. - Little gem lettuce - The dressing was good but I didn't love the bread crumbs. I usually love bread crumbs in salad but I think these needed to be coated in oil and just a bit bigger. They were super tiny, wouldn't stay on the lettuce, and just falling all over the table. - Prawns - These were fine and had good flavor. They claimed the shells were edible but I was skeptical. My husband tried to eat them and decided they weren't charred/fried enough to be edible. - Sheep's Milk agnolotti - This was the best dish of the night. The pasta was pillowy soft and the sauce had just a touch of sweetness that I really enjoyed. Was not as much a fan of the sun dried tomatoes but my husband liked them. - Mafaldine pasta - This is usually my favorite pasta but I was sadly disappointed. I thought the pasta was a little undercooked and there was way too much peppercorn. I could only eat a few bites before giving it all to my husband. - Italian job gelato - The gelato was very good but I didn't love all the toppings and olive oil it came with. Service: Very friendly and attentive. Our waitress stopped by several times throughout the night after each dish to see how we liked them and frequently refilled our waters.

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I feel a little bad giving this place only 4 stars but there are just so many amazing Italian places in the city that it really has to excel to hit the 5. Lilia was good, but probably overhyped so it just didn't wow me the way Misi did and definitely not for the hoopla to get a resy. Also, the shrimp, although delicious, was shell on and almost impossible to peel which really turned me off. The Italian job gelato was a true revelation though -- a must try if you do go.

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We got a reservation for 4 on an early weekday, and the restaurant was actually still pretty empty, so it felt like there was a good chance you could just walk in. Super beautiful setting, with super high ceilings and great lighting. We started with the grilled artichoke, which was just ok. Not much meat to the artichoke, and the flavor was overwhelmingly cheesy. Would probably skip! We then got onto the pastas, and naturally this is where Lilia REALLY shines. We got the agnolotti, the pesto gnocchi, and the rigatoni, and all three were special in their own way. The pesto was unbelievably fresh, and really felt like they had just blitzed it together before serving. It also had a bunch of pistachios, almost a bit too much for my liking, but the rest of the table loved it. The agnolotti was the highlight for me; the filling was magical, so creamy and rich. The rigatoni had a super bouncy texture, and was a bit too al dente for me, but still very very good. The black bass was super tender, but it somehow imparted an extremely fishy taste to the potatoes that made the potatoes hard to eat. Wouldn't recommend this. If you were to come, stick to the pastas. Order as many as you can and family style it; they're all super unique and really were some of the best pasta dishes I've had!

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Great place for pasta lovers! Lilia and Misi are two of the best pasta places in Williamsburg. Highly recommended to try the agnolotti and mafaldini. If you are a cheese lover, try cacio e Pape fritelle. But never forget to save some space for dessert! The Italian job gelato is the best olive oil gelato I ever have before! It is ever better than a lots of gelato shop!

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First, when I walked in, the guy asked me "what I was there for" .... obviously I'm there for a reservation. Once I gave him my name, he laughed? which was strange. I was dressed nicely and just waiting for my table. Then, finally after being taken to our table by another girl, we weren't assigned a server or offered water until 10 mins after being there... it was 93 degrees outside and reportedly the hottest day in NYC to date. Already a horrible start. On top of that, then our waitress, Elle T, provided horrible customer service to us compared to the other patrons (who were 99% white). She asked if we had any questions and my boyfriend asked her if she could point out the vegetarian dishes on the menu if she doesn't mind and she literally rolled her eyes. She went "it's pretty straight forward."..... I'm pretty sure that's a normal question to ask, considering some of these places put chicken broth or stock into their pastas. And even if she doesn't think that's a normal question to ask, it's her job to answer it without being rude. I would potentially give her the benefit of the doubt if she had a long day or dealt with rude people because it was 5:15pm but the dinner service did just open at 5 and unless she's been working since 9 AM I can't imagine a polite question upsetting you. She seemed particularly annoyed by us, not sure what we did.... We were exceptionally polite, just had religious dietary restrictions. After getting the food, she kept asking how it tasted etc and we said it was good, for the Mafaldini my boyfriend was like it's delicious but asked for extra chili flakes on the side and again she rolled her eyes! I swear I've never had such a pretentious waiter. She didn't even make the food and she's this upset. In general, we felt there was disdain towards us while we were eating and made us uncomfortable. This review is only a result of Elle T's pretentious and rude service. Every other person who came to our table- whether to clean it, give us water, check on us, give us the food, was kind. I wish we had asked for a different server would've had a much better experience. And the last con was that there were so many flies flying around, as said in many other reviews! Gross! Food was good but unfortunately the overall environment made us uncomfortable and made it hard to enjoy our meal. Service in general was significantly better at Misi (or anywhere else). This place is pretentious and you're better off elsewhere.

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Reservations for Lilia are one of the most impossible to get. Ended up walking in on an early Saturday night hoping for a table for 4. By luck, there was a no show, and we were able to get seated after their grace period ended. They told us they would need the table back in an hour and thirty minutes, but that was plenty of time for us. We got a bottle of orange wine. We asked for recommendations. I don't remember the exact bottle, but the price was at the lower end of the spectrum of their offerings. However, the wine was crisp and fruity. Everything a new wine drinker would appreciate. Started off with the housemade mozzarella toast. It was so smooth and creamy. The mozzrella itself was very mild, but the textural contrast between it and the bread was heavenly. The small bits of bottarga on top provided a little bit of saltiness and the lemon a little bit of acidity. My favorite bite of the night had to be the chicken liver crostini. It was so smooth. The tiniest bit of bitterness from the liver. Freshness from the spring onion, and a bit of sweetness from what I assume the balsamic. The crisp of the crostini. It was amazing. Fettuccine was good but not my favorite pasta. Cooked well, but I wasn't wowed by it like I was by the agnolotti. The sauce of the agnolotti was amazing sweet and savory, buttery and silky. The sheep milk was surprisingly not that strong which I preferred. The pocketful pasta was so soft in my mouth. The dried tomato gave a bit of brightness. One of my favorite pasta dishes in NYC to date. I would skip the grilled lamb leg steak the next time. While it was cooked to a perfect temperature, it was still somewhat chewy. There were also gristle pieces as well still. A little saltier for my taste too. If you can, definitely come in to try Lilia.

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.. the vibe is wonderful. Service is magic. Always a great night at Lilia.

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What a meal! The food, the ambiance, the service - everything everything. Getting a reservation is a sport here, but once you're confirmed - you're golden! We arrived on time for our reservation and our table was perfectly set for us! It's a tasting menu with so many options to choose from! The food came out as it was readied and it was simply delicious! We definitely were stuffed by the of everything but it was worth every bite! Definitely plan ahead and come hungry - it will appease all your hunger pains! Hoping to make it back one day!

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Sorry to report this place is actually worth the hype! I came 20 minutes before opening on Thursday and got seated 10 minutes later without a reservation. (I'd recommend coming early - on a weekday - if you're like me and don't plan your dinners months out.) I sat at the bar which got crammed after a while so if you can get table seating inside or outside. I ordered the Focaccia, Grilled Pawns and Sheep's Milk Agnolotti. It was interesting how everything came out slowly and one at a time so I would plan for atleast 2 hours to eat here. Honestly the food was amazing! I wish I had room to try the Italian job but that gave me an excuse to come back. Must try!!

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Came here on a Sunday in a whim. They open at 4 pm for dinner, start taking reservations 28 days in advance and thought “no way” I would get in. At 3:30 pm the doors were open so I asked the hostess if there was a chance of getting a table for two. She was very accommodating and said she had a table if we were done by 5:45 pm which was fine. Despite a few mixed reviews, most people love Lilia. We had a great experience and you can tell the staff is well trained, courteous, has the customer in mind and they are well staffed. Kudos to the owner. Great ambience, nice vibe, awesome bar and seating, people were willing to sit outside, even though it was a little chilly. The restaurant provides blankets. They put a nice spin on the dishes. They find a way to put a unique flavor. They are a little pricey, some dishes are a little on the small size, and I would have liked to see more variety on the menus for entrees. They are know for their pasta dishes. I had a margarita which was good, although a little on the small side. We started with the house made mozzarella on toasted garlic bread. It was very fresh and flavorful, you can taste all the seasoning. We shared three mains, two were pastas. Loved the spaghetti, pine nuts and lemon reggiano. Also the fettuccine with lamb sausage, lemon passato and pecorino romano cheese. We also had the grilled bass, salsa verde over coal roasted Yukon golden potatoes. Couldn’t pass up on desert. Had the lemon ice which was vanilla gelato, candied lemons, and lemon granita. Also had the apple crostata with honey and creme freiche. We spoke to several repeat customers who were extremely happy. They also have a small cafe in the back of the restaurant with a separate door. They have a nice following. I would definitely recommend them.

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This was a great meal! We shared a bunch of dishes so we could taste a lot. The artichoke and Caesar salad were great! The mussels were so tasty with the pesto like sauce. We tried 4 different pastas. The mafaldini, parpadelle, agnolotti with honey( my fave) and the simple rigatoni ( I would not get again). The vibe is hip and cool, service was excellent and I would definitely come again. You need to make your reservation in advance as this is a hot spot and not easy to get into.

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If you like peppery pasta, then you may like the mafaldini with peppercorn. I thought it was okay. The sheep's milk cheese filled agnolotti on the other hand was delicious! It had saffron on top and the sauce paired well with the cheese. I was very happy with this dish and would come back to have it again. I made a reservation for 4:15pm for 1 and was seated at the bar very close in between people. I would opt for finding a second person to come with next time and aim for non-bar seating.

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If you are anti Israeli war crimes, anti genocide, or just anti overpriced italian food cooked by a zionist - do not eat at this place. Their founders are donors to israel and issued a bs statement that "nobody deserves to feel unsafe" - of course they would never care about Palestinians as they struggle to survive an "unsafe" genocide everyday with 30,000 dead. BOYCOTT.

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Best Italian food I've ever had! Sheep's milk agnolotti, beet casunziei and focaccia are definitely a must! Can't wait to come back!

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I dedicate this review to the man in front of us who tried to snag a walk-in table and was promptly told to come back at 9:40pm. In my opinion, Lilia is truly worth the hype (just depends on what you like and what you get). The sheep's milk agnoletti is one of the top five pasta dishes I've had in the city. If you love pouches of greatness that come in the form of filled pasta shapes, this is your go-to order. The after taste of honey made me a happy girl. The mafaldine was also spectacular and well worth it. Go for the lemon granita dessert if you want a light palate cleaner (this wouldn't be my first choice dessert, but the soft serve/gelato machine was broken and will continue to be out-of-service for the next few weeks, as of the time of this review). One of my favorite parts of this dining experience was getting to walk past the open kitchen, where a well-oiled machine of chefs are cutting out pasta shapes, stirring sauces, and making magic happen. I wasn't huge on the fried cacio e pepe balls. Maybe it's just me, but I found it to taste vaguely reminiscent of the Trader Joe's mac and cheese balls...but the latter have a more exciting texture/richer flavor...

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We were very lucky to get seating at this very popular Italian restaurant. Food was AMAZING! There were no dishes that I didn't like or disappointed, this particular pasta "agnolotti" was beyond this world!! Service was impeccable, we'll definitely be back! (That's if we get lucky to get seating again. Lol)-

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Yes: it's as good as everyone says! Went here for a special occasion and felt a higher level of detail to service versus a lot of other places. Loved the dishes and attention that Lilia provided!

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TLDR: If you can get into Lilia do it! Lilia has been on my New York wish list for 6-7 years. I looked at Resy on a Monday morning and sure enough, there was a 4:15 bar reservation for 2 available. My friend who I was visiting said sure, let's do it! We can be in Brooklyn early. Well we got a spot right across from it and walked in right at 4pm. We luckily got a table instead of bar seating. Our server was great. Extremely knowledgeable about the menu. I'll go through everything we ate. Cacio e Pepe Fritelle: it was like a cheesy popover that got tossed in the fryer and rolled in pecorino cheese. It was light and airy considering. Housemade Mozzarella, Toasted Garlic Bread, Lemon, Bottarga: it was my favorite of the three starters we had. The garlicky bread and creamy cheese are great on their own but they are complemented so perfectly by the acidic pop of lemon, the umami of the bottarga, and the most perfectly placed flakes of Maldon salt. It sounds so simple but it isn't. It's so good. The third starter we had was the Grilled Artichoke, Garlic, Orange, Parmigiano, Breadcrumbs: again this was done perfectly and the meat of the artichoke was flavorful and tender. Obviously you're here for the pasta so we went with the Mafaldini, Pink Peppercorn, Parmigiano and the Sheep's Milk Cheese Agnolotti, Saffron, Dried Tomato, Honey. Where do I even begin? The mafaldini noodles were perfectly ruffled and cooked so they still had a nice chew. The pink peppercorns have a fruity flavor that was addictive and nice with the creamy cheese. I was expecting the mafaldini to be the standout but for me it was the agnolotti. The dough was impossibly thin. The sheep's milk cheese was light and creamy and the punch of the dried tomato and the sweetness of the honey was just delicious. I would order this again and again. My dinner date gets to go back in a few weeks for another dinner. I'm so jealous. I'll be in Missouri dreaming about the pasta and this great meal I had at an impossible to get into restaurant in Brooklyn that most New Yorkers have not been to!

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Went to Lilia for my birthday dinner and had an amazing time. The ambiance was great, dimly lit, very classy but cool vibes. I would definitely return for the agnolotti, and would recommend it to others looking for a nice night out! We had the following dishes- Appetizers: (all so good, would recommend all) -roasted squash- 8/10, on the oily side but very delicious -cabbage- 8/10, some ppl in my group liked this the best -focaccia- 9/10, can't complain, super soft bread with a delicious green butter, we literally finished all of the butter Pastas: Sheep milk cheese agnolotti- 10/10- MUST ORDER, still dreaming about this, so so good, mildly flavored but the cheese, honey, and pieces of tomatoes work so well together, this was everyone's favorite pasta Gnocchi pesto- 8/10, very very delicious Rigatoni- with red sauce. 5/10, forgettable and would skip this Papparadelle with veal bolognese (seasonal): also 5/10 and pretty bland, would skip this Dessert- olive oil cake and Apple pastry dessert were also delicious!

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We were staying in Brooklyn and were very curious to try Lilia, given the hype and how difficult it is to make a reservation. Unable to make a reservation, we decided to try getting there ahead of time and waiting before the restaurant opened at 3:50. Despite it being extremely cold that day, there was already a line forming as we got there. Luckily for us, we were able to get seats at the bar. Since there was only the two of us, we couldn't order everything we wanted to and had to choose wisely. We ended up ordering the Cacio e Pepe Frittelle, mozzarella toast, mafaldini, agnolotti, and for dessert, the chocolate torta and apple crostada. I would probably skip the mozzarella toast- it was good, but not outstanding and worth the price or stomach room (ha!). The fritelle were delicious, very rich and heavy, a bit too salty for my taste. The pastas were the star of the show. They were cooked perfectly and had unique tastes I haven't come across in traditional Italian restaurants. The desserts were amazing! The chocolate torta with espresso mousse was so tasty and the crostada was also very delicious. Truthfully, I'm not sure I would wait outside in the freezing cold to eat an early dinner here again- but I definitely want to come back and try more of the items on their menu!

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I am not sure if it was the infatuation or all the reviews that got me so hyped up for this dinner. Sadly it was very over hyped and not worth the round trip uber ride. The snap peas were my favorite dish and the gelato was my second most memorable delight. All the other dishes didn't give me what I was expecting. I wouldn't recommend the shrimp as they were messy, hard to eat and not too appetizing. The vibe of the place was great but I really wished they weren't trying to be so cool, just order the Aperol.

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My friend and I took a chance coming here since there are never reservations available. Luckily, they had two seats open for the night in their cafe area. Little bit of a wait, but when it was time to eat, we went all the way in. The focaccia was hands down incredible. Warm, flavorful, and perfect texture with every bite. Next we tried 3 pasta dishes. The Sheep's Milk Cheese Agnolotti melts in your mouth, by far the best of the dishes for the night. Rigatoni Diavola was a classic and the Ziti Genovese was so so good. We wanted to try more, but we were stuffed. The service was great with a friendly staff. Would highly recommend. For sure coming back!

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Service was good for a Saturday night, place is warm and vibe but the food was ok... ordered all the 7 pasta, lemon was by far the best. Wouldn't go back, to over hyped

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Great service, incredible food. Get the Sheep’s milk cheese agnolotti.

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This is one of the best restaurant experiences that I have ever had in NYC! Beautiful dining room, very open with views of the kitchen. Wait staff was amazing - the teamwork to ensure that guests had a good experience was outstanding. The food was AMAZING!!! We tried every pasta on the menu and every one of them was spectacular. The clam appetizer was my favorite but all of the appetizers were very good. Save room for dessert. Sadly the o e cream was broken. We gladly settled for the chocolate tort, apple tart. Delicious! Highly recommend Lilia if you cam get a reservation

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One of the best places in NY

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