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Our Story

Lilia brings the best of Italy to Williamsburg where wood-fired seafood, hand crafted pastas, classic Italian cocktails and warm hospitality come together to create a casual dining experience.

Missy Robbins

Chef & Owner

Missy found her Italian soul in her five years as Executive Chef at Spiaggia from 2003-2008 in Chicago. Focusing her skills on fine dining Italian allowed Missy to find her true passion in cooking and to more fully understand regional Italian cooking.

Missy returned to New York in Fall of 2008 to be the Executive Chef of A Voce Madison and A Voce Columbus. While there she maintained Michelin stars at both locations for the entirety of her tenure and also was honored to be one of Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2010.  Missy moved on to open her first solo venture, Lilia, in early Winter of 2016. Shortly after, the beloved spot earned three stars from the New York Times. Missy's first book "Breakfast , Lunch, Dinner...Life" was published in September 2017. She was most recently recognized as Best Chef New York City in 2018 by the James Beard Foundation. Her second book, PASTA, was released in October 2021.

Pasta

Flour. Eggs. Water. Hand crafted. Simplicity at its finest.

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Pesce

Inspired by seaside fish restaurants in Italy. Simply grilled over wood, roasted, stewed, or preserved.

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Giardino

The garden - celebrating harvest with squash, treviso, escarole

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