LA420 restaurant opens in Great Neck

It was a long time coming for LA420, a New American restaurant that recently opened along Great Neck's car-centric Northern Boulevard.

Its predecessor, 420 North, closed in 2013, and it got on the radar of new owner Tina Huang around 2022. It's not her first restaurant. She also has two locations of Mihana Japanese Bistro in Woodbury and Commack, as well as K-CITY BBQ hot pot & sushi in Levittown. She and her partners spent nearly four years renovating the space before opening  in March, says manager Joey Tse.

There's now a moody room with an upscale lounge vibe, dark accents and a logo resembling a hieroglyphic beetle.

The menu is like a greatest hits of bistro cuisine, with dishes such as seafood linguine, herb-crusted chicken, a wagyu burger and a $156 tomahawk steak. The menu is particularly heavy on small plates. We were able to make a dinner out of them, starting with some crabcakes ($26) and working our way through a plate of three nicely cooked scallops in a miso creme sauce ($25) before hitting on the most substantial small plate, a duo of slow-cooked beef ribs ($25) topped with a crunchy rosemary potato mix. 

As nearby New York City works its way through a legal battle over the fate of foie gras, LA420 might become one of the few places to savor the duck liver. They double the pleasure factor by serving it on toasts alongside a plop of uni sea urchin, two buttery delicacies in one ($32) — although it feels a little extra to try and get both the Hudson Valley foie and the uni in one bite, especially when there's also a quail egg and scrambled eggs in there too. Thankfully, the toasts are large enough that you can alternate bites. Too much of a good thing can still be good, if you know how to work it. 

LA420, 420 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, 516-708-1555, la420restaurant.com. Open 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4:30 p.m. to midnight Friday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.