Ilili

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Lebanese cuisine gets an upscale contemporary spin at this north-of-Flatiron restaurant-cum-lounge from chef-owner Philippe Massoud. While the menu offers the usual melange of mezes, kebabs and shawarmas, the ingredients are anything but typical. An appetizing duck shawarma comes stuffed with pomegranate molasses and fig, while a Wagyu kebab blows every other skewer out of the water. Ilili’s version of a falafel includes the customary chickpeas, but it juices things up with fava-bean-puree dumpling. The loft-like space itself is dramatic: think Mondrian meets Frank Lloyd Wright, with geometrically shaped partitions and ceilings amid a profusion of gold, red and earthy textures.