Eric’s Italian Bistro opens in Mineola

Rejoice, George Echeverria fans. Today marks the official opening of the chef’s new restaurant, Eric’s Italian Bistro in Mineola

Echeverria’s first restaurant, Soigne in Woodmere, was a South Shore favorite for eight years before the chef headed north to Huntington to join the team that opened Amicale in Huntington in 2011. A year later he took over the kitchen at Andiamo in Mineola, with another set of partners.

Andiamo closed earlier this year, but the kitchen and dining-room staff have made the move to Eric’s. Echeverria is the sole owner. The restaurant is named for his late Uncle Eric. “I owe everything to him,” he explained. “I lost him a long time ago, and this is my way to honor him.”

As at his previous restaurants, Echeverria’s menu is a blend of Italian-American, New American and updated Continental. Dinner entrees include chicken scarpariello ($19.95), coho salmon with Dijon emulsion and horseradish mashed potatoes ($24.95), and pan-roasted filet mignon with pommes frites and Gorgonzola Bordelaise sauce ($32.95). The lunch menu is less formal and less expensive; most items are less than $15. There’s also a special takeout lunch menu of pastas, salads and sandwiches — everything is $9.95.

Eric’s Italian Bistro is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week,  at 70 E. Old Country Rd., Mineola, 516-280-5675, ericsbistro.com.