Ilona, a new restaurant in Boston’s South End, has been nothing less than busy and booming! I have had the pleasure of dining here twice now, with my most recent visit being a tad more intimate than the first.
My first time at Ilona was with a group of 10 people, to celebrate my birthday last year. It was wonderful to be able to order many items off of the menu and share among the group. The style of food is “Mediterranean to the shores of the Black Sea,” and the majority of the plates are meant to be shared.
The restaurant itself is stylish, with teal booths, and baby pink chairs. The plates and walls have a floral element, and upon entering, you’ll notice a beautiful mural of a woman’s face surrounded by red flowers.
For this most recent visit, my partner and I shared the pikilia, manakish, crispy eggplant, and baked beans. His main course was the slow-roasted lamb. The menu is fairly straightforward, so we didn’t need much from the waitstaff; most of the staff were attentive, filling our water frequently and clearing plates from our table. My only qualm with our waiter is that he didn’t return to check on how we were enjoying our meal.
Now, let’s delve into each of these dishes:
We started with the pikilia and manakish. Pikilia is essentially a variety of dips and breads. At Ilona, they serve a flatbread similar to pita, grilled and brushed with za'atar, called manakish. The dips brought out included beet tzatziki, spicy feta, and muhammara. Of these three, my favorite was the tzatziki, while the spicy feta was my partner’s choice. However, I found it to be too salty for my liking.
Next came the crispy eggplant. This dish had such a great texture and was so flavorful. While eggplant dishes are generally savory, this one aired on the sweeter side. It was on a bed of pomegranate yogurt and honey. A silly comment from my partner was that it reminded him of funnel cakes. The crispiness of the exterior and sweetness reminded him of a carnival dessert! How silly!
The last of our shared plates were the baked beans. While the name may sound generic, it was a delightful bowl of lima beans served in a tomato-based broth with kale, Swiss chard, dill, and feta. I thought it was fantastic! My only wish was for it to be served with bread for dipping into the broth. Fortunately, we had ordered extra manakish. If I were to change anything about this dish, it would be to use a thicker tomato-based sauce rather than a broth, as it could have been less watery.
The slow-roasted lamb was the final dish of the evening. Although I do not eat meat, I was able to sample the sides that came with the lamb. The lamb was served in its juices with grilled pita and tzatziki on the side. This tzatziki differed from the first one that came with the pikilia dish as it wasn’t as smooth. I enjoyed trying this variation but found the garlic content to be a bit overpowering. As for the lamb, although I didn't taste it myself, it was described to me as "cooked perfectly, but the flavor is underwhelming."
We decided to pass on dessert as we were already quite full but thoroughly enjoyed our experience. Ilona offers a variety of Mediterranean-style dishes that are perfect for sharing. I was delighted to have the opportunity to dine there again and look forward to trying the owner's other restaurants, such as Kavo Neo-Taverna and Puro Ceviche Bar.
⭐️ Rating: 8.7/10
Please note that I will be away this coming week and will post later than my usual time of 10 a.m. ET on April 23rd. Expect an evening post or 10 a.m. on the 24th. Thanks!