Konoba Craft Kitchen & Tasting Lounge succeeds Hush Bistro in Huntington

The sad saga of Huntington’s Hush Bistro (Aug. 2017 to Dec. 2018) has a happy coda: Konoba Craft Kitchen & Tasting Lounge has moved into the cozy, wood-paneled space on Gerard Street.

Konoba is a collaboration between owner Daniel Pedisich and chef Bruno Oliveira. The two men also run Bin 56, the wine bar that is less than a half mile away on Stewart Avenue.

“It’s a more central location,” Pedisich said of Konoba, “and the kitchen is so much bigger. It’s going to allow Bruno to do a lot more.”

Oliveira’s menu comprises cheese and charcuterie, salads, sliders and burgers, small plates and larger plates. Most dishes could be characterized as upscale pan-Mediterranean (fried burrata, filet-mignon carpaccio, lamb shank with wild-mushroom risotto) but an observant diner will notice a distinct Croatian bent. Croatia is directly across the Adriatic Sea from Italy and shares many of its culinary traditions. (Lidia Bastianich, the chef, author and television star was born in Istria, a part of Croatia that, at the time, was part of Italy.)

“Konoba” is Croatian for “tavern” and among the Croatian specialties are kupus salata (a salad of shaved cabbage with roasted hazelnuts), cevapcici (a grilled kebab of lamb, beef and pork accompanied by fries and avjar, a red-pepper spread) and fuzi, the great Istrian pasta, here served with shrimp, white truffle and Parmesan cream.  

Proud of his gastronomic heritage, Pedisich uses Croatian olive oil and also features a number of Croatian wines on the well-curated wine list. Chef Oliveira is Brazilian by birth but, said Pedisich, “I’ve spent the last seven years schooling him and making him wear a Croatian World Cup T-shirt.”

Konoba is at 46G Gerard St., Huntington, 631-824-7712, konobahuntington.com.