ilili Disappoints

Four stars on yelp?
Why????

I get that yelp is supposed to be a user generated platform but that is the inherent problem. Literally anyone, and anyone is referring to individuals illiterate when it comes to taste, food and restaurant, can give ill deserving restaurants 4-5 star ratings. I know what you're thinking, what makes me different than these other yelp users? I'll give you this much, after tasting the food at ilili there is no possible way it could merit 4 stars and for that, I am unlike these yelp users. Anyone who gave ilili this many stars either lacks taste buds or is restaurant and taste illiterate. Yelp is littered with reviews from people who think they know the slightest thing about what good food actually tastes like but, in actuality, have no idea. I had read about ilili when it first opened and had seen it's pop-up at Madison Square Park Eats a couple of years in a row but never took the opportunity to try it. I live for my weekend ventures to new restaurants and figured a four star yelp review would prove impressive.
Lesson learned, skip the yelp reviews and make you're own judgements!

The Food

Lebanese

I went in hoping for a warm and tasty plate of fresh hummus paired with crispy falafel. I was not satisfied with either. The hummus was nothing special and lacked flavor completely while the falafel did not have that perfect falafel combination of crispy outside with spicy, moist and steaming-ground-chickpea inside. The only thing it did have was a cool presentation of falafel cubes instead of balls. (see photo below). Points for eye candy. Although, in a restaurant the real points should be for mouth and taste candy. 

Hummus & Babaganoush

Cubed Falafel

The babaganoush was too smokey. I normally don't love smokey dishes but when done right, I don't mind. This dish, I minded.
The warm eggplant, served with tamarind molasses was sweet and tangy although the small slivers of eggplant were somewhat (not totally though) drowning in the tamarind sauce. I'll eat anything with eggplant and enjoyed a few bites of this dish. Honestly, too many bites became too much with all that tamarind. 

Eggplant & Tamarind Sauce

We also ordered mouhamara which I had quite high expectations for. I've tasted home made mouhamara and have also futilely attempted to make my own. Expecting a paste of spicy and somewhat crunchy (its made with ground walnuts) paired with a hint of sweet and tang, this mouhamara was bland and lacking in any of the former as well as any real flavor.

I walked away feeling like the fries were the best thing on the menu and they weren't fantabulous either. I wouldn't say to run back for them or anything. They were cut fresh and seasoned with loads of herbs and spices. They were good though. I'd order them again if I were, god forbid, dragged back here.

I did not leave feeling satisfied with my Sunday lunch, was quite disappointed and proceeded to clear my palate with the lemony fattoush salad and mint tea. 

Attempting to fill up on tea and salad because nothing else was satisfying

Ambiance

ilili seems to believe it is a fine dining establishment. It starts the customer off with beautifully folded napkins, lots of forks and spoons and well dressed, pretentious waiters to go along with it. And yet, the food is no where near on par with fine dining. Everything about the presentation seems to be trying too hard to be  upscale. The waiter's "have you dined with us before" question, paired with his long soliloquy on ilili's type of cuisine as if no one in this melting pot city are familiar with Lebanese food, was ridiculous and seemed like posing pretentiousness. It would have been quite possibly tolerable and acceptable (and only possibly because poser pretentiousness is never really tolerable) if the food was actually on par with it's fine dining decor and presentation.

The crowd was mostly families and couples and the space seemed quite large for the number of people dining. 

Wait Time & Resos

There was no wait and we were happily seated immediately. I'm sure that you could most probably walk in on any given night and be seated quite immediately as the space is quite large.


Too harsh of a review?
Maybe...
Honesty is always the best policy.

Good For: I don't really recommend it being good for anything. It's nothing special. 

If you are still interested in giving it a try it's good for dinner or lunch with friends and/or family. 

ilili

5th Avenue

(Between 27th & 28th)

http://www.ililinyc.com/