My friend invited me to attend the friends-and-family opening of the new ilili Midtown on East 53rd Street. Finding the front door was a bit tricky; I’m sure by the time you read this, they should have addressed the visibility issue with signage.

I was seated in the bar area, awaiting my friend, when Ian, the beverage manager, greeted me and poured a glass of the fresh, fruity Sunset Rosé from Château Ksara, Lebanon’s oldest winery. I so enjoyed it, and how well it married with our starters.

This space is very bright and inviting, unlike the darker original NoMad ilili, which was initially designed as a club. As guests of the restaurant, our only expectation was to provide honest feedback, and I arrived just an hour into their first service. The prices are just for reference.

Ian served us Chateau Ksara’s Old Vine Carignan, another Lebanese wine, this one with darker fruit and spice.  As you’d expect, their cold mezze—like the Baba Ghannouj ($15)—was perfection. Not so the too-cinnamony moussaka ($16), with undercooked eggplant slices or the over-flavored tuna crudo ($28).

And, the manti dough ($25 for five), the spiced lamb dumpling, was undercooked. I’d call it raw. But we almost licked the plate to get every drop of its chili-labneh. I’d go back for that.

Unfortunately, the prawns were undercooked ($28), while the octopus was slightly overdone, yet the flavor and the potato croquettes made it worth it.

Neither of us was a fan of the crispy whole snapper ($85), as it was over-fried and had little edible meat.

Desserts were yummy. From the Knafe Bil Jibneh, an inverted sweet cheese tart softened with orange blossom syrup ($21), to the sweet and crunchy bite-sized baklava.

For the first hour of service, I’d say it was quite good, impressive actually. I recommend giving it a try, as I’m also familiar with the good food at ilili NoMad!

ilili
Midtown
157 East 53rd Street (between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue)
New York, NY 10022
646-653-0330
ililirestaurants.com