Roving Pop-Up Mili Permanently Lands in the Lower East Side

1. It was love at first hairnet.

While this is the first project for Pabón and White as owners, the two have both been working in hospitality for years. The duo originally met while they were both working for different restaurants under Mattos Hospitality at the same time, with White as the general manager at Altro Paradiso and Pabón as the executive chef at Estela.

They’d occasionally seen each other at staff meetings, but White says their relationship really began when they were sent on a cheese education trip to Vermont.

“We got put on this little road trip to taste cheese, wear hairnets, and drink beer,” White remembers. “I was like, ‘Let’s fall in love.’” The rest is history.

2. They perfected the concept at pop-ups across the city (and the pond).

Since April 2025, Mili has been popping up at restaurants around New York City; Naples, Italy; Mexico City; and beyond — with a total of 18 activations completed and nearly always drawing crowds. Their lengthiest foray was a three-month residency at Park Slope’s Runner Up, an opportunity that they say really solidified their desire to launch their own restaurant.

“It felt like our own little 12-seat restaurant, with us running around together,” White says. “The length of it really made it feel like it was ours.”

Pabón and White spent their time refining the concept for what would eventually become Mili’s brick-and-mortar restaurant, jokingly referring to the journey as their “investor tour.” Aptly, they did end up meeting their business partner early on in the process.

“I think a lot of couples think about what their restaurant would be like, and we were no different,” White says. “We started to do these pop-ups because we wanted to open a restaurant but we didn’t know how to make it to the next phase.”

Anyone who visited the pop-ups will recognize the menu and sensibility of the permanent restaurant, though, the couple says.

“We’re excited to set in and be able to do things the way we want to do them,” White says.

3. Designed to be shared, the menu leans towards French technique with seasonal ingredients.

The menu at Mili is designed to be shared, with around 15 plates on offer. Some of the most popular dishes from their pop-ups will be on the menu, including the fan-favorite savory cheese with cheese curled on a girolle and served with caramelized onions, grilled grapes, and finished with a semolina sesame cracker.

They’re also doing a “more dramatic” version of their sunchoke tart, made inside a puff pastry and served with taleggio cheese sauce, herbs, and lavender. The kitchen is also equipped with a dry-ager that they’ll use to make Hudson Valley duck.

In addition, there’s a fresh green salad with sesame dressing and hot honey, monkfish with onion sauce and sea lettuce, and housemade bread and butter service. For dessert, there’s a flan, a soba cha (buckwheat tea) milk custard, and pear cake with walnut ice cream.

“We’ve been having trouble defining it with a word or a cuisine,” Pabón says, elaborating that they’ve been using “New York Creative” for now. “I would say it leans French with technique, but it’s very seasonable. I’m going to be working with the farmers at the Union Square Greenmarket a lot.”

4. When it comes to the beverage menu, the couple is keeping things entirely domestic.

Mili’s beverage list is entirely domestic, from the vermouth to the wine. The bar will be a “full bar lite,” they say, with primarily wine alongside beer and a small selection of classic cocktails.

One of those classics that White is most excited about is the Sake Negroni made with Brooklyn Kura sake, Meadowsweet amaro, and vermouth from Channing Daughters winery in Long Island.

“You can get your hands on anything in New York,” laughs White, about the abundance of variety she’s able to curate from.

White previously worked in the Finger Lakes for a period of time, and says that she fell in love with New York State wine while she was there. She’ll also pull from New Hampshire, Texas, and Virginia.

“Obviously, I’ll hit your Californias and your Oregons,” she says. “We’ll be leaning in to some things that are expected, but a lot of it will be slightly off center.” Mili will have nine wines by the glass, and around 75 full bottles in their cellar.

5. The space is designed to be cozy and theatrical all at once.

It won’t be difficult to spot Mili from the street, with its bright yellow exterior and large glass windows at the front that open up when the weather’s nice.

There’s a small bar at the front, and an open kitchen that’s visible from any one of the restaurant’s 34 seats. They’ve even added mirrors throughout the space so that diners who aren’t facing the kitchen can still see inside.

There are a lot of natural textures throughout, and a centerpiece cooking stove from France, coming together in an aesthetic they refer to as “high-low.”

“We talk a lot about the motto of ‘service as theater,’ and I think having the kitchen also be part of that theatrical song and dance [is important],” White says. “We want it to be fun. We want it to be a place where you can come in more than once a week.”

Mili will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m.

Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.