Bhaijaan Indian restaurant opens in Hicksville

Swanky Indian restaurants are ascendant on Long Island, and raising the bar even higher is Bhaijaan, which just opened in Hicksville. It takes over the old Trullo D’Oro, but utterly transformed that rustic Italian into an unrecognizably glamorous space.

Dinesh Sabharawal, who owns the spot with his son and daughter-in-law, Sahil and Neha Sabharawal, said that most of the decorative elements were imported from India, from the custom-made ceiling tiles to the lush, patterned carpets. I never visited any mid-century Bombay nightclubs, but I suspect they might have resembled Bhaijaan.

The Sabharawal family operated Pippali, a regional Indian spot in Manhattan, until 2024. Dinesh, who lives near Hicksville, said Long Island’s South Asian community was clamoring for an upscale dining experience closer to home. "There are many good, simple Indian restaurants here, but none where you can take your date or have a business meeting. There is no other Indian restaurant nearby with a great bar."

Bhaijaan’s signature cocktails are inspired by traditional Indian ingredients: An old-fashioned made with paan-masala-infused bourbon and cardamom bitters; a clarified mango lassi; a St. Germain-hibiscus sour inspired by shikanji (Indian-style lemonade). The wine list is unusually thoughtful — when’s the last time you saw a Piedmontese Barbera or a pinot noir from Pays d’Oc in an Indian restaurant?

To run the kitchen, the Sabharawals recruited Kuwar Pal Singh, trained in New Delhi and a veteran of Indian, Kuwaiti and Australian kitchens. He was most recently the assistant executive chef at Manhattan's vaunted Tamarind.

His menu ranges all over the subcontinent, with stops in Delhi (butter chicken), Kerala (lobster in a coconut-based moilee curry) and Lucknow (whence hail the impossibly soft "galouti" kebab patties, served on flaky "warqi" bread. There are a handful of snack "chaats," including an extraordinary vegan dish of smoked sweet potato, fried lotus root and green-tomato chutney. You’ll also find biryanis with chicken, goat and jackfruit (vegan) and, from the tandoor oven, lamb chops, goat ribs, Cornish hens, branzino and even vegan soy protein. Any meal is better when accompanied by one of the tandoor breads and a warming pot of stewed yellow lentils (dal) sparked with garlic. That recipe came from Dinesh’s mother.

"Bhaijaan," he explained, translates to "brother, confidant or protector." And the family hopes that sense of familiarity and warmth transcends even the impressive food and decor.

Bhaijaan, 294 N. Broadway, Hicksville, 516-280-3333, bhaijaanny.com. Open Tuesday to Sunday 5 to 10:30 p.m.