Saravanaa Bhavan in Hicksville closes
South Indian thali at Saravanaa Bhavan in Hicksville. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
The scope of Hicksville’s South Asian dining scene seems to expand every week, but one of its most distinctive restaurants has closed. Saravanaa Bhavan posted a notice on its door that it has “provided high-quality Indian vegetarian food for 40 years around the globe and will continue to do so from other units located in Manhattan.”
When Saravanaa Bhavan opened in Delco Plaza on South Broadway in 2016, it was notable for its enormous dining room and sleek, modern design. The South Indian chain — with 30 locations in India and another 80 around the world — was founded in Chennai, India, in 1981.
The menu, which featured more than 100 dishes, provided a broad tour of the fertile vegetarian cuisine of South India. It excelled with dosas and uttapams, vegetable curries, street foods, clay-oven and fried breads and thalis, whole multicourse meals served on shiny round trays. It was a fixture on Newsday’s Top 100 restaurants list.
There are Saravanaa Bhavan outposts at 81 Lexington Ave. and 413 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan, as well as in Edison and West Windsor, New Jersey.
The management of Saravanaa Bhavan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
