Gioia, Oyster Bay

Jesse Schenker, the resident chef at the helm of transforming Oyster Bay into a serious dining destination since the opening of 2 Spring in 2018, has unveiled Gioia, a love letter to the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy in the form of an intimate 10-table restaurant. “I love everything about Emilia-Romagna — mortadella, gnocco fritto, prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano; I love the use of butter and stuffed pastas," he said. "To me, the food of this region is equal parts comfort and culinary delight.” And Gioia is just that — cozy and comfortable, full of rustic, satisfying plates.

A cauliflower appetizer at Gioia in Oyster Bay.

Blue Waters Mediterranean Cuisine, North Bellmore

27-year-old Diego Vintimilla has turned a criminally small takeout-only eatery into one with a dining room whose tightly packed tables seat 40. Thanks to attractive pricing (including three-course prix fixe deals for $18 at lunch, $29 at dinner), an everyman ethos, and a penchant for surprising guests with free slices of Greek yogurt cheesecake topped by sour cherry sauce, this new Greek spot has begun to build a happy band of regulars.

Kunga Kitchen, Hicksville

At this new Asian spot you can try tsampa, a barley flour porridge rarely seen on Long Island menus but popular in Tibet, and allegedly eaten by the Dalai Lama every morning. The menu also features pad thai chicken, various biryanis and more.

Thin Cookies, Hicksville

Zohal Raja always loved baking. Strictly a hobby while she worked 9 to 5 in graphic design, she had plenty of time to play around in the kitchen when the pandemic hit. Fast-forward three years, Thin Cookies, which opened its doors in Hicksville, was born. Raja is currently offering three cookie flavors: chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, and Snickerdoodle.

Chocolate chip cookies at Thin Cookies in Hicksville.

Pietro's, Roslyn

After the 66-year-old Jolly Fisherman closed in May, the bread baskets were barely cold when Pietro’s of Manhattan announced that it would be taking over the pond-side location. Now it has opened its doors to the public. The menu is straight-ahead Italian American, featuring baked clams, Caesar salad, spaghetti with meatballs, linguine with clam sauce and more.

Nelly's Empanadas, Glen Cove

Nelly Mourelle has had a busy three years. The prolific empanada entrepreneur, who has locations in West Babylon and Deer Park’s Tanger Outlets, has opened her third space, on Bridge Street in downtown Glen Cove. The eatery offers the iconic Latin American handheld snack in 20 combinations ranging from a classic beef and potato to a rich four cheese to a playful, oozing spinach and artichoke. Breakfast fans should check out the bacon, egg and cheese empanadas, while cheeseburger empanadas are winners at lunchtime.

A six-pack of assorted empanadas at the new Nelly's Empanadas in Glen Cove. Newsday

Sabor a Colombia, Franklin Square

At this sprawling restaurant in Franklin Square, all the tables seem to be pointed toward the stage. That's where you'll find live music and dancing on the weekends. The photographic menu is stacked with meaty combo plates and all the iconic dishes of the South American country. During lunch, many tables order fresh juices like tropical papaya and guanabana in large jugs pierced with a straw.

Brooklyn Dip & Burger, Mineola

Like this eatery's first location in East Meadow, the new Mineola location has a sports-bar-meets-gastropub vibe and a full bar. The menu features sandwiches, burgers, wings, mac-and-cheese and more.

Deli Works, Melville

Co-owned by SeaQua Deli partners Pat Spates, Rick Nappi, and Steve Sanchez — who opened their Massapequa spot in 1983 — this spinoff spot offers robust, quality sandwiches, not-too-strong, not-too-watered-down iced coffee, and, of course, a killer bacon, egg, and cheese.

Bacon, egg and cheese on a kaiser roll at the new Deli Works on Walt Whitman Road in Melville. Newsday

Chip City, North Babylon

The proliferation of cookie chains offering warm, oversized, gooey-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside cookies, made in whimsical, irresistible flavors continues to spread: Chip City has opened its fifth Long Island location, in North Babylon. Like its predecessors, the North Babylon store features nearly 40 rotating flavors.

Mazza Mediterranean, Patchogue

When Wais Omar and his family took over the former Colosso di Rodi Greek Bistro in October, he didn’t want to disappoint customers who had patronized Patchogue’s only Greek restaurant, but he also wanted to fulfill his dream of cooking the food of his native Afghanistan. So he combined the two cuisines under the name Mazza Mediterranean. Alongside the Greek casseroles pastitsio and moussaka you’ll find lamb chops and one of the glories of the Afghan kitchen, kabuli palau, a braised lamb shank served with a pilaf of brown basmati rice festooned with carrots, raisins, almonds and pistachio.

Marrygold, Wantagh

The food at this new vegan eatery bears watching. The pineapple fried rice is a hearty mix of raisins, peas, carrots, peanuts and slivers of soy and wheat-based proteins. A plate of glossy General Tso’s features faux-chicken, but then General Tso’s is faux-Chinese too, so you hardly mind. The vegan drumsticks are better than some from actual fried chicken places, and the Tom Kha soup comprises a heavenly blend of coconut milk, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and non-chicken nuggets.

Vegan General Tso's chicken at Marrygold, a new vegan Asian fusion spot in Wantagh. Newsday

Shanghai You Garden, Westbury

This Peking duck powerhouse from Queens has officially opened its third location at the 99 Ranch Market food court in Westbury. Packed into a plastic takeout container, the duck has crisper skin and more flavorful meat than many upscale restaurants. And at $18.95 for a half duck with enough meat for leftovers, it's a steal. Or, just stop by for a piece wrapped up like a taco in the puffy white dough. Served in a decorative paper box and garnished with sweet hoisin and slivers of leeks and green onion, it's one precious bite.

Cinnabar, Massapequa

Despite the name that sounds like an alcoholic cinnamon roll shop, Cinnabar is quite dazzling. The new Asian fusion spot excels at dim sum, Sichuan cuisine and sushi alike, and the bar even punches above its weight with unexpected cocktails like the Open Sesame, which works sesame oil into a sweet citrus vodka drink rimmed with sugar.

Burger Village, Huntington Station

From its beginnings as a single burger spot in 2013, Burger Village has grown a decade later into a franchised outfit with three Long Island locations — Hicksville, Farmingdale, and now Huntington Station. Founded by four brothers — Sam, Nick, Vick, and Ravi Yadav — who have spent 23 years in the food industry, the goal was “to accommodate burgers for everyone,” Nick Yadav explained. Besides a classic beef burger, there’s bison, turkey, elk, lamb and boar burgers. Salmon, ostrich and grilled chicken round out the offerings. Non-burger items include hot dogs and BLTs.

Martini’s Chophouse, Port Washington

Into the oft-churned Main Street location that was most recently Restaurant X, comes Martini's Chophouse, an intimate restaurant-lounge with an eclectic menu (from chicken waffles to Cajun penne Alfredo to hanger steak) and specialty cocktails.

Beach Bird, Oyster Bay

Serving chunky, white meat tenders — in fingers, nuggets, sandwiches, over waffles, in salads — as well as breaded or naked wings, this is one new place you can absolutely bring the kids. The vibe is beach-casual with its blue-and-white checkerboard serving paper; there’s even an Instagram-ready neon Beach Bird sign for the influencer set.

K-CITY BBQ, Levittown

Located in the former home of a Chinese buffet, K-CITY is the latest and most extravagant example of a growing trend that combines Asian barbecue and hot pot. At the back of the cavernous industrial space, a cadre of chefs moves hunks of beef through a deli slicer for the Korean barbecue grills on each table. Sushi chefs prepare rolls and place sashimi into white ramekins. The rows of buffet tables stretch before them: A stunning seafood bar that includes an entire table of fish cakes, not one but two sauce stations and enough raw meat to supply a butcher shop.

Hercules Churrasqueria, Franklin Square

At this new eatery that takes over the former Franklin Square diner, the menu is based on the Portuguese/South American concept of the churrasqueira, which seems to be growing across Nassau County. The format is the same: Choose a grilled meat and the table piles up with salads and side dishes.

Vicinato Kitchen & Bar, Hauppauge

Less than a year after Gusto Osteria opened in Hauppauge, it has rebranded as Vicinato Kitchen & Bar, still Italian but more casual and affordable. “We wanted to be more upscale casual than fine dining,” said general manager Jess Lyons. “People in this area were looking for chicken Parm, a meatball appetizer, so we changed the menu, and we brought the prices down a bit too” “Vicinato,” she noted, is Italian for “neighborhood.”

Kissaki, Manhasset

Kissaki, the swanky Japanese concept known for its omakase experience, has opened its newest location in Manhasset, joining other locations in Water Mill, Manhattan and Greenwich, Connecticut. The lush, moody décor commands as much attention as the elevated sushi menu.

Orient Garden, New Hyde Park

Tommy Tang, owner of Chinese restaurant Orient Odyssey in Jericho, knew that he’d found his perfect second location when he came across the vacant Park City Diner in New Hyde Park. It had almost twice the capacity of Jericho’s 100 seats, plenty of parking and lots of potential customers. Tang left the bones of the old diner, which closed in 2020, but added contemporary light fixtures and lots of marble and granite. The menu features hundreds of items, from Chinese-American staples to authentic Cantonese dishes and dim sum.

Tap & Tapas, Northport

Most of the places serving tapas on Long Island have no particular affiliation with Spain, the country that came up with them, using “tapas” interchangeably with “small plates.” But Tap & Tapas in Northport is Spanish through and through, from the lineup of wine-friendly bar snacks to the whole leg of Iberico ham that stands proudly on the bar to the deep wine list that ranges far beyond Rioja and Albarino into the precincts of Listan Negra and Treixadura.

L'Uccello pizzeria, Greenlawn

James Tchinnis is doubling down on his hometown of Greenlawn. A year ago, he opened the contemporary small-plates specialist Swallow Kitchen & Cocktails — which had previously landed in Huntington and Montauk. Now, he has entered the pizza fray with L’Uccello ("bird” in Italian) right across the street. The menu is straight-ahead neighborhood pizzeria. It starts with garlic knots and fried calamari; continues through Neapolitan, Sicilian and Grandma pies (all available gluten free); pastas including spaghetti and meatballs, penne alla vodka and linguine with clams; mains such as chicken Parm, Francese and Milanese, shrimp scampi and sausage and peppers; Italian heroes and a handful of salads.

Casa de Catrina, Carle Place

This lively new Mexican restaurant, themed around Day of the Dead, is tucked into a shopping center near Roosevelt Field mall. The menu features heavy hitters of regional Mexican food, including piggy-shaped molcajete stone bowls stacked with meat and seafood.

Pappa Gallo, Rockville Centre

With its dramatic nightclub vibe — dim lighting, vibrant Latin American murals, lush velvet furnishings, a stage for music and a massive backlit bar — Rockville Centre's new Peruvian restaurant is a stunner. Featuring an upscale take on a cuisine full of bold flavors and authentic recipes, it’s not only about the food; there will be nightly entertainment.

The Union, East Meadow

This new restaurant replaces The Carltun in Eisenhower Park. Chef Tom Gloster brings a menu that is seasonal, modern and eclectic. It will change four times a year, but for now features a classic French onion soup; Brussels sprouts with yogurt, mint and almonds; Little Gem lettuce salad with roasted butternut squash, burnt honey and goat cheese; double-cut pork chop with roasted grape, wilted spinach and whole-grain mustard; grilled branzino with tomato-caper stew and smoked olive oil and a 10-ounce burger with Cheddar, onion jam and homemade pickles and fries.

Smok-Haus, Hicksville

You’ll need to squint to see the Smok-Haus logo at the barbecue spot’s new location, sandwiched between a hair salon and a billiards-supply house in a strip mall on South Broadway in Hicksville. Open the door to the narrow shop and all you’ll see are three ordering kiosks and a cashier. This location is takeout only, but you'll still be able to enjoy everything from classic ribs and pulled pork to smoked pastrami and dark-chocolate chili.

Coo Coo Kitchen, Glen Cove

This fast-casual Queens outfit with locations in Long Island City and downtown Flushing is now in Glen Cove, in a district surrounded by Central American delis and an old-school luncheonette. The spot is making one of the area's best Asian chicken sandwiches, and serving a whole range of fruit teas and yogurt drinks.

Jiang Nan, Syosset

From the outside, the new Jiang Nan looks like an unassuming Chinese restaurant tucked into a Syosset strip mall. So it's astonishing to step through the doors and be greeted by a life-size peacock figurine, its white feathers cascading down an indoor tree, perched at the entrance of a stylish dining hall. Duck is the showpiece in the spot's staggering menu of regional Chinese specialties.

Tocolo Cantina, Glen Cove

It’s been eight years since Lloyd Rosenman and his partners opened the modern Mexican restaurant Tocolo Cantina in a shopping center on a busy stretch of Old Country Road in Garden City. For his second act, Rosenman went in an entirely different direction: Downtown Glen Cove. Tocolo 2.0 takes up residence in Village Square, the new luxury apartment building that is a cornerstone of the city’s hoped-for renaissance, and it is a big, beautiful affair with multiple stylish dining rooms, a lively bar and outdoor seating.

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