Griffin Kitchen & Bar opens in Roslyn

Long Island native Pasquale Abatiello cut his teeth in local kitchens (among them Porto Vivo and Red in Huntington and Barrique in Babylon) then spent years commuting to Westchester where he was the executive chef of the six-restaurant Wood & Fire group. But the new father of twins decided it was time to work closer to home and, for the first time, become an owner as well as a chef. Early May, he and his partners opened Griffin Kitchen & Bar in Roslyn.

He surveyed the local landscape and saw a lot of Italian, a lot of fine-dining mini chains, but not a lot of restaurants whose owners were chefs cooking every day. Actually, at Griffin, there are two chefs cooking daily. Abatiello is joined by Frances Cappi, a veteran not only of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen in Manhattan but also Ceriello’s Fine Foods, the great Italian specialty market in Williston Park.

The two men put together a menu that blends comfort and sophistication. Starters ($17 to $16) include mussels with white wine, mustard and tarragon; fried Rhode Island calamari and rock shrimp with cherry peppers and aioli; burrata with homemade focaccia, Spanish ham and balsamic vinegar. You can craft a casual meal from one of the salads ($17 to $34) and / or sandwiches ($18 to $33) such as the grass-fed Griffin burger, the fried chicken with slaw and Cheddar or the French dip with rib-eye, horseradish cream and jus.

Entrees ($25 to $44) range from baked three-cheese macaroni and mixed seafood grill with prawns, calamari and red snapper to pork schnitzel with chicory-arugula salad or St. Louis-style ribs with slaw and hand-cut fries. Prime steaks start with a blackened 14-ounce flat iron with smoked chipotle butter ($48) and top out at a 22-ounce bone-in rib-eye with horseradish cream ($69).

The location, a one-time salon in the same shopping center as Kotobuki and Besito, has hosted a few short-lived food ventures: Neither Cool Mess (est. 2018), an ice-cream-focused eatery, nor Limani Mezze (2021), a [slightly] lower-priced offshoot of the Greek original a mile west, lasted more than two years. Last year, a sign went up announcing the arrival of Mia’s, but it was taken down before the offshoot of the Brooklyn-based bakery opened.

Abatiello and his team are giving the spot all they have, with a swanky design that’s all sleek wood, plush leather and cool lighting. A bar-lounge gives way to one bustling dining room and, beyond, another quieter one that can be turned into a private room.

Griffin Kitchen & Bar, 1512 Old Northern Blvd., Roslyn, 516-277-2888, griffinkitchenbar.com. Open Monday to Thursday 4 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4 to 11 p.m., Sunday 3 to 9 p.m.