Felicia opens in Long Beach

Long Beach has a sultry new bistro in its lineup — Felicia, named after first-time restaurant owner Felicia Nicholas, has been buzzing since it opened in July. The scene gets even livelier on weekends, when you really need a reservation to get in. 

An industry veteran and former corporate event planner, Nicholas spent the past 15 years working her way up to manage Chadwick's American Chop House in Rockville Centre. But she always wanted a place of her own. So when the Park Avenue space opened up, she jumped on it.

A Long Beach resident who knows what it's like to dine during the offseason, she decided to give the dining room a chic revamp and focus on shareable small plates.

"When it’s quiet and cold out in January and March, I want people to have somewhere comfortable they can walk into," she said. "That’s how I like to go out to eat. I like to try things. It helps the conversation with the people you’re with."

Potted palm trees sit at the front, recalling the location's previous days as El Malecon de Cuba. The Miami nightclub vibe heightens in the moody corridor of the dining room. It starts at the bar, where you'll likely have to wait for a table as Ali Howley shakes you up a drink. The wine list is small but the cocktails ($16) are plentiful. A place like this is begging for something fruity, perhaps the Almost Famous with tequila and strawberry-infused Aperol, which adds an herbaceous note to a drink that's light on the booze.

Felicia is the kind of place where the specials loom larger than the menu. On a recent evening, the half-dozen offerings from chef Jeff Chavez included a delightful orecchiette with peas, whole shrimp and lobster meat ($38). The menu is dominated by salads, boards and small plates from Asia and the Mediterranean/North Africa. The crispy Brussels sprouts ($12) are a surprise hit, much meatier and fatter than the usual fare. As for the short rib ($36), the chef turned the juicy wine-braised beef into a perfect cube that shreds away at the pull of a fork. 

Felicia, 26 E. Park Ave., Long Beach, 516-417-8900, felicialbny.com. Open 4-9 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 4-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. 

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.comAndiBerlin

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.