New Long Island restaurants to try

Punjabi Chaap Corner, Hicksville

This quick-serve vegetarian restaurant, founded in India in 2012, has opened its first Long Island location in Hicksville. The draw here is the eponymous chaap, a mock meat made from soybeans that is wrapped around a wooden stick and grilled or roasted like a kebab. The menu also features paneer (cheese), potatoes, chickpeas and other pulses, plus Afghan-style momos (dumplings) and the great Indian street food, pani puri.

Marinara Pizza, Greenvale

The fare at this new pizza joint may look familiar — simple cheese, Margherita, white, Grandma and Sicilian pies; more elaborate ones topped with Buffalo chicken, eggplant Parm, Caesar salad or spinach and artichoke — but the presentation is outstanding. The most striking pie may be the MVP, with its bright, regimental stripes of marinara, vodka and pesto sauces.

Paros Grille, Great Neck

Ten months ago, Jimmy Tsolis made the heartbreaking decision to close the Seven Seas Diner, a place he'd spent the majority of his adult life. Diners are no longer profitable businesses, the Greek native lamented at the time, and a full concept change was the only hope. That new concept is Paros, an upscale Greek restaurant serving the classics alongside a changing menu of fresh-not-frozen seafood sourced from their longtime supplier, Marine Fishery. There is valet parking in the evenings, and an emphasis on cocktails and imported Greek wines.

Viva Tulum, Baldwin

At Viva Tulum, an immaculate storefront on the south side of Merrick Road, with seven tables, four bar seats and a flat-screen TV at top volume, the offerings exceed the usual Tex-Mex fare by adding American comfort classics to the mix. In addition to the tacos, nachos and burritos, there’s also mozzarella sticks and potato skins. The standout is the trio of birria tacos with dipping consommé alongside. And don’t miss the aguas frescas.

Yankee Doodle Dandy's, Islip

Josh Gatewood is on a mission to get Northerners as excited about fried chicken tenders as are Southerners. He established three Yankee Doodle Dandy’s food trucks in Manhattan to spread the news, and with partner Anthony Mastrantonio, has now opened the first brick-and-mortar location, in Islip. The tenders can be had on a platter such as the “Winner Winner” with fries, thick-cut and griddled Texas toast and your choice of potato salad, coleslaw or a pickle spear. There's also chicken sandwiches, grilled cheese and shakes. Nothing on the menu is more than $15.

Mateo's Cantina, Wantagh

The menu at this new Mexican spot is substantial, but not overwhelming, with portions on the heartier side. The usual suspects make a showing: quesadillas, smothered enchiladas, hefty chimichangas, meaty tacos and DIY fajitas. More upscale flourishes include grilled skirt steak, shrimp aguachile and a red snapper Veracruzana. The back of the menu is full of cocktail options, from margaritas to micheladas, wine and an array of Mexican beers.

Mito Modern Japanese Cuisine, Babylon

This sleek Japanese fusion concept is now open in the historic Bank of Babylon building. Mito is just as flashy as its predecessor, Monsoon, and its biggest strength seems to be its sushi. The soft opening menu dances between Japanese and Chinese standards, with a whole section of wok dishes (kung pao chicken, General Tso's, etc.) as well as a respectable dumpling program.

Honami Sushi Hibachi & Lounge, Huntington Station

“We wanted a place with high-end-style sushi that’s still affordable,” says co-owner Wei Xiao, of this cavernous, new restaurant — airy, bright, with blond wood everywhere — that seats up to 350, including 10 at its sushi bar, several on the patio (weather-permitting), many around a dozen hibachi stations in an area off the main dining room, plus a dozen more in an attractive private room with tatami mat-style seating.

Oak & Orange, Mineola

This cafe is still in the soft opening phase, but the Japanese egg salad sando, made with a generous amount of Kewpie mayo, is a highlight of the current menu. In addition to a small number of salads and baked goods, Oak and Orange also serves coffee from Southdown, and has a small market that focuses on artisanal food products from women- and minority-owned vendors.

Abbott's Frozen Custard, Lindenhurst

This custard chain, founded in Rochester in 1926, has opened its first Long Island location in Lindenhurst. Abbott’s uses a base mix that is hand delivered to the store daily, where the custard's flavors, of which there are a rotating eight, are churned fresh in custom machines that remove all the air from the mixture. Vanilla, chocolate and chocolate almond are always available, and at the Lindenhurst opening, pistachio pineapple, rainbow cookie, peppermint, cotton candy and a dairy-free cherry were also being featured.

Duck Donuts, East Meadow

If you’ve spent any time in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, you’re probably familiar with Duck Donuts, which has opened its fourth Long Island store in East Meadow’s Meadowbrook Shopping Center. Joining sister spots in Hauppauge, Selden, and Garden City Park, the brand’s customizable doughnut concept is one of the more straightforward in a category that has been defined by the oversized, stuffed doughnuts of companies like North Fork Doughnut Company and Grindstone. Duck Donuts are a little smaller, a little simpler and a little less expensive.

Struggletown BBQ, Mount Sinai

For John Leonard, barbecue was “a backyard hobby gone crazy.” Now, 10 years after he started competing on the barbecue circuit, the hobby has blossomed into a full-blown restaurant, Struggletown BBQ in Mount Sinai, a partnership with his son, Jake Leonard. The menu starts with the classics: Brisket, burnt ends, St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken and pastrami. There are also “mac bowls” (smoked meat on a bed of three-cheese-sauced shells) and a rotating chili-of-the-week.

Village BBQ, North Merrick

Village BBQ in North Merrick may be a sliver of an eatery but, for Randy Brown, it’s the Big Time. This is the third location he’s occupied in three years — but it’s the first one that isn’t inside a gas station. There may only be two tables and an open kitchen, but the menu ranges all over the barbecue and soul-food repertoires. The brisket is jigglingly tender, with a coal-black bark, and it can be ordered by the pound , as a platter or in a sandwich. Also from the pit: Beef plate ribs, St. Louis ribs, rib tips, chopped BBQ (pork shoulder), chicken (barbecued and jerk) and turkey wings.

Pelicana, Plainview

This Korean fried chicken juggernaut with 3,000-plus locations worldwide has opened its first Long Island location in Plainview. Fried chicken parts — not lacquered and smooth like most KFC, but craggy and crumbly like American KFC — are available in every possible permutation, including bone-in whole birds  and wings, all of them best when tossed in Pelicana’s OG sauce (available in three levels of spiciness), although other sauces exist, honey garlic and barbecue among them.

The Rabbit Hole, Merrick

Nine-year-old Merrick seafood restaurant, Anchor Down, has relaunched as The Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill. “The demographics in Merrick have definitely changed,” said the chef-owner. “A lot of my customers were older and, during COVID, many of them moved to Florida.” The new wave in Merrick, he observed, was younger families, often on tighter budgets and looking for a more contemporary experience. To make The Rabbit Hole more affordable, Rosenbluth created a small-plates menu with a dozen items priced $18 or less. Also under the $18 mark: Soups, salads, burgers and tacos. None of the larger entrees — among them, chicken Milanese, hanger steak, braised short ribs and a rabbit roulade served over ratatouille — costs more than $24.

Ruta Oaxaca, Woodbury

This top Mexican restaurant has opened another Long Island location, in Woodbury. As with all Rutas, the Woodbury menu features starters such as shrimp flautas, guacamole customized to heat preference and spinach-and-corn empanadas; taco trios of birria, carnitas and al pastor; quesadillas; entrees such as grilled octopus; and daily brunch favorites like huevos rancheros and chilaquiles. But it’s the restaurant’s passion for and execution of Oaxacan dishes, especially those with Oaxacan mole, that have put Ruta on the map. The chicken mole enchiladas are definitive, their tortillas heavily stuffed and heavily smothered by a sauce redolent of cinnamon and smoke, its flavor drawn from weeks of kitchen prep time and centuries of southern Mexican cooking.

Inka Fé, Great Neck

Tucked into a strip mall just north of the main restaurant district on Middle Neck Road, Inka Fé may have Long Island's largest selection of Peruvian desserts. 24-year-old Marjory Moreno opened the new cafe with her mom in the former home of a kosher restaurant named Mr. Plov. In addition to desserts, there's a small restaurant menu featuring Peruvian staples like ceviche and varieties of arroz chaufa, the fried rice dishes commonly served in chifa.

Gioia, Oyster Bay

Jesse Schenker, the resident chef at the helm of transforming Oyster Bay into a serious dining destination since the opening of 2 Spring in 2018, has unveiled Gioia, a love letter to the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy in the form of an intimate 10-table restaurant. “I love everything about Emilia-Romagna — mortadella, gnocco fritto, prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano; I love the use of butter and stuffed pastas," he said. "To me, the food of this region is equal parts comfort and culinary delight.” And Gioia is just that — cozy and comfortable, full of rustic, satisfying plates.

Blue Waters Mediterranean Cuisine, North Bellmore

27-year-old Diego Vintimilla has turned a criminally small takeout-only eatery into one with a dining room whose tightly packed tables seat 40. Thanks to attractive pricing (including three-course prix fixe deals for $18 at lunch, $29 at dinner), an everyman ethos, and a penchant for surprising guests with free slices of Greek yogurt cheesecake topped by sour cherry sauce, this new Greek spot has begun to build a happy band of regulars.

Kunga Kitchen, Hicksville

At this new Asian spot you can try tsampa, a barley flour porridge rarely seen on Long Island menus but popular in Tibet, and allegedly eaten by the Dalai Lama every morning. The menu also features pad thai chicken, various biryanis and more.

Thin Cookies, Hicksville

Zohal Raja always loved baking. Strictly a hobby while she worked 9 to 5 in graphic design, she had plenty of time to play around in the kitchen when the pandemic hit. Fast-forward three years, Thin Cookies, which opened its doors in Hicksville, was born. Raja is currently offering three cookie flavors: chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, and Snickerdoodle.

Pietro's, Roslyn

After the 66-year-old Jolly Fisherman closed in May, the bread baskets were barely cold when Pietro’s of Manhattan announced that it would be taking over the pond-side location. Now it has opened its doors to the public. The menu is straight-ahead Italian American, featuring baked clams, Caesar salad, spaghetti with meatballs, linguine with clam sauce and more.

Nelly's Empanadas, Glen Cove

Nelly Mourelle has had a busy three years. The prolific empanada entrepreneur, who has locations in West Babylon and Deer Park’s Tanger Outlets, has opened her third space, on Bridge Street in downtown Glen Cove. The eatery offers the iconic Latin American handheld snack in 20 combinations ranging from a classic beef and potato to a rich four cheese to a playful, oozing spinach and artichoke. Breakfast fans should check out the bacon, egg and cheese empanadas, while cheeseburger empanadas are winners at lunchtime.

Sabor a Colombia, Franklin Square

At this sprawling restaurant in Franklin Square, all the tables seem to be pointed toward the stage. That's where you'll find live music and dancing on the weekends. The photographic menu is stacked with meaty combo plates and all the iconic dishes of the South American country. During lunch, many tables order fresh juices like tropical papaya and guanabana in large jugs pierced with a straw.

Brooklyn Dip & Burger, Mineola

Like this eatery's first location in East Meadow, the new Mineola location has a sports-bar-meets-gastropub vibe and a full bar. The menu features sandwiches, burgers, wings, mac-and-cheese and more.

Deli Works, Melville

Co-owned by SeaQua Deli partners Pat Spates, Rick Nappi, and Steve Sanchez — who opened their Massapequa spot in 1983 — this spinoff spot offers robust, quality sandwiches, not-too-strong, not-too-watered-down iced coffee, and, of course, a killer bacon, egg, and cheese.

Chip City, North Babylon

The proliferation of cookie chains offering warm, oversized, gooey-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside cookies, made in whimsical, irresistible flavors continues to spread: Chip City has opened its fifth Long Island location, in North Babylon. Like its predecessors, the North Babylon store features nearly 40 rotating flavors.

Mazza Mediterranean, Patchogue

When Wais Omar and his family took over the former Colosso di Rodi Greek Bistro in October, he didn’t want to disappoint customers who had patronized Patchogue’s only Greek restaurant, but he also wanted to fulfill his dream of cooking the food of his native Afghanistan. So he combined the two cuisines under the name Mazza Mediterranean.  Alongside the Greek casseroles pastitsio and moussaka you’ll find lamb chops and one of the glories of the Afghan kitchen, kabuli palau, a braised lamb shank served with a pilaf of brown basmati rice festooned with carrots, raisins, almonds and pistachio.

Marrygold, Wantagh

The food at this new vegan eatery bears watching. The pineapple fried rice is a hearty mix of raisins, peas, carrots, peanuts and slivers of soy and wheat-based proteins. A plate of glossy General Tso’s features faux-chicken, but then General Tso’s is faux-Chinese too, so you hardly mind. The vegan drumsticks are better than some from actual fried chicken places, and the Tom Kha soup comprises a heavenly blend of coconut milk, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and non-chicken nuggets.

Shanghai You Garden, Westbury

This Peking duck powerhouse from Queens has officially opened its third location at the 99 Ranch Market food court in Westbury. Packed into a plastic takeout container, the duck has crisper skin and more flavorful meat than many upscale restaurants. And at $18.95 for a half duck with enough meat for leftovers, it's a steal. Or, just stop by for a piece wrapped up like a taco in the puffy white dough. Served in a decorative paper box and garnished with sweet hoisin and slivers of leeks and green onion, it's one precious bite.

Cinnabar, Massapequa

Despite the name that sounds like an alcoholic cinnamon roll shop, Cinnabar is quite dazzling. The new Asian fusion spot excels at dim sum, Sichuan cuisine and sushi alike, and the bar even punches above its weight with unexpected cocktails like the Open Sesame, which works sesame oil into a sweet citrus vodka drink rimmed with sugar.

Burger Village, Huntington Station

From its beginnings as a single burger spot in 2013, Burger Village has grown a decade later into a franchised outfit with three Long Island locations — Hicksville, Farmingdale, and now Huntington Station. Founded by four brothers — Sam, Nick, Vick, and Ravi Yadav — who have spent 23 years in the food industry, the goal was “to accommodate burgers for everyone,” Nick Yadav explained. Besides a classic beef burger, there’s bison, turkey, elk, lamb and boar burgers. Salmon, ostrich and grilled chicken round out the offerings. Non-burger items include hot dogs and BLTs.

Martini’s Chophouse, Port Washington

Into the oft-churned Main Street location that was most recently Restaurant X, comes Martini's Chophouse, an intimate restaurant-lounge with an eclectic menu (from chicken waffles to Cajun penne Alfredo to hanger steak) and specialty cocktails.

Beach Bird, Oyster Bay

Serving chunky, white meat tenders — in fingers, nuggets, sandwiches, over waffles, in salads — as well as breaded or naked wings, this is one new place you can absolutely bring the kids. The vibe is beach-casual with its blue-and-white checkerboard serving paper; there’s even an Instagram-ready neon Beach Bird sign for the influencer set.