Tava, a new Indian restaurant, opens in Glen Cove
Chicken vindaloo at Tava, a new Indian eatery in Glen Cove. Credit: Supandeep Singh
The Singh family has been tickling Islanders with tikka, plying them with paratha and currying favor with — OK, you get idea — for two decades, first at House of India in Huntington, and more recently at Bellmore’s Mango. But now the tandoor has passed to a new generation. Cousins Supy and Kam Singh, 24 and 30 respectively, offer both authentic Indian fare and youthful cheekiness at Tava, their new Glen Cove eatery.
"We are serving up traditional recipes with a modern vibe," Supy Singh said of his 40-seat restaurant, which opened in November. The seven-seat bar is where said vibe comes to expressive life. A pair of beautiful murals line the wall behind it, one featuring a bride elaborately decked out in traditional dress. She is the inspiration, one supposes, for a concoction of vodka, turmeric, honey, cilantro and cucumber dubbed the Tipsy Bride. "In our culture it was very frowned on if women drank," Singh noted. "We are trying to be progressive."
Potent and progressive, at least in the case of drinks like Saari Not Saari (tequila, vodka, rum, masala), and a whiskey-and-tamarind-based concoction named for the hapless Lord Mountbatten, who presided over Britain’s withdrawal from India and disastrous partitioning into two countries (all $14).
The by-the-book main menu, meanwhile, features a fine mixed tandoori platter ($25), sturdy renditions of butter chicken and tikka masala (both $19), saag paneer ($17) and lamb korma ($20), and a perfect plate of tandoor-fired lamb chops ($32 for a rack of 4).
And while Tava is his first stab at restaurant management, Singh has long prepared for this moment, having spent much of his childhood with his parents, aunts and uncles in the kitchen at House of India. "I grew up eating there," he laughed. "Eating and distracting my family from working."
Tava is at 61 Glen St. in Glen Cove, 516-277-1684, tavacuisine.com. Opening hours are Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 11 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. Closed Monday.
Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.
