New Hyde Park Diner closes, reopens as Lava Diner

The menu at the new Lava Diner looks pretty typical — until you get to Page 7, where you'll see dishes like lamb shawarma, chicken biryani and fattoush salad.

The diner is located in New Hyde Park, just a block away from the Queens border to be exact, on a stretch of Indian restaurants, markets and sweets shops, and next door to the Hillside Islamic Center. 

What may be Long Island's first halal diner, the Lava Diner has just gone into a storied building that most recently held the New Hyde Park Diner. Before that, it was the Gateway Diner, and before that, the County Line Diner, which dates back to the 1950s.

Co-owner Abdullah Al Ahad said he was looking to open a halal diner and made a deal with the previous owner, who was planning to retire. He's also in this venture with business partner Sabbir Ahmed and chef Khaleel Salman who is behind the Lava Shawarma mini chain, which has four locations, three in Manhattan and one in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The group also plans to open a coffee shop, Dot Sugar, next door to Lava Diner in a few months. 

Al Ahad said he didn't want to close the diner for a single day because that would drive away customers. So the New Hyde Park Diner had its last day May 14, and then the group changed the meat in the kitchen that night and reopened the next day as Lava Diner. The grand opening was more successful than the group imagined, as more than 1,000 customers came through the doors. 

"We were very surprised by the response we got," he said.

They were met with some pushback on Facebook recently when they announced their opening, and some commenters complained that the diner no longer serves pork bacon or alcohol. So the team accommodated them by adding back turkey and beef bacon to the menu, Al Ahad said. 

Most of the menu seems unchanged, until the end where you get several new pages of Arabian and South Asian specialties. In addition to the shawarma, there's also the iconic Egyptian macaroni and lentil plate koshari Jordanian mansaf lamb and rice, and Palestinian chicken maqluba. On a side note, the menu also has some quirky AI generated food photos, including a pixilated plate of tuna salad and a falafel sandwich with a ramekin that just floats in the air. 

The koshari wasn't available on Newsday's visit but the kitchen did put out a stellar mezze plate ($14) with spreads that were just too good for a diner of any kind. The plate came with thick hummus, labneh and a creamy baba ghanoush that were all flecked with olive oil and fresh herbs. The plate also came with hot pita and perfectly fried falafel balls. It felt purposeful. 

Because this is a diner, it was appropriate to order a sandwich, so I opted for the Lava lamb kebab wrap ($14). It arrived at the table cut into bite-sized medallions, arranged nicely on a plate and dusted with sumac.

Each piece was stuffed with little bits of savory lamb meat and sliced onions. Very tasty, but it was almost overshadowed by the other item on the plate. There's one thing you can expect from a halal spot that you can't always get from a diner, and that's great french fries. 

Lava Diner, 160 Hillside Ave., New Hyde Park, 516-354-2022, lavadiner.com. Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday.