New Long Island restaurants to try

The Stone Goat, St. James

The Stone Goat, a two-floor restaurant in a space that had most recently been the St. James Public House and O’s Food and Wine Bar, opened Nov. 26. The ground floor dining room offers upscale mains from chef Alfred Hand such as Aquebogue's Crescent farm duck, Cornish hen, a 12-oz. filet mignon and Iberico pork chop. Customers of the previous Public House will recognize the familiar taproom structure and vibe on the second floor, said Mike Koullias, general manager. The pub-style menu there includes items such as duck wings, fish and chips and a bison burger served with bourbon bacon jam, white Cheddar and caramelized onions. On weekends, bottomless brunch starts at 9:30 a.m.

 Prainam Thai, Port Washington

 Prainam Thai in Port Washington is the acclaimed sister restaurant to one-room takeout joint Tonnam Thai in Bohemia. Owners Vorragun "Brian" Vongdarunee and his wife, Kasamaporn "Masi" Chansaksri, serve up fabulously executed curry puffs, a classic appetizer on Long Island Thai restaurant menus, with a crusty shell that breaks into pure mashed potato comfort. The grilled squid will please more adventurous eaters, as it is beautifully presented rendered and sliced into plump strips. Other highlights include crispy duck curry, a hallmark of the menu at Tonnam and equally pleasing here, with an ample portion of tender duck breast in a red curry. Even shrimp pad thai is a hit, tangier and richer in flavor than most restaurant versions.

Qahwah House, Westbury

The Westbury store is the first Long Island location of a Michigan-based Yemeni coffee chain that already operates shops in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. In this big, bustling cafe you can kick back with an iced caramel macchiato and an individual strawberry cheesecake or you can savor a slice of honey-drizzled khaliat al nahl, honeycomb bread filled with cheese, while you sip a cup of mofawar, spiced coffee cut with evaporated milk. Yemeni coffee here is made in the traditional fashion: Beans are ground and blended with spices — cardamom for the mofowar and Sana’ani medium roasts; cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and coffee husks for the Jubani light roast — and then added to a small pot of water and continuously stirred over gentle heat to extract all the nuanced flavors. The finished coffee is carefully decanted (so as to hold back the grounds) into a glass teapot that will perch atop a small votive candle that keeps it warm.

Lâu Vietnamese Pho, Bethpage

Lâu's first location opened six months ago in St. James and now owner, Jackie Li, has taken over the former Ruby Crab space in Bethpage. While Lâu serves several varieties of in-demand pho, Vietnamese rice noodle soup, Li diversified by adding appetizers such as sugar cane pork, which is ground meat with chestnuts and lemongrass all wrapped around a sugar cane stalk that is grilled over an open fire. Garlic sautéed okra, the plant also known as "lady's fingers," is steamed then sautéed with housemade garlic sauce. New entrées include beer clams with garlic, shallots, basil, cilantro and scallions in a beer broth, and roasted short ribs are served with rice noodles. Lâu's chicken banh mi, the popular Vietnamese sandwich, comes with a toasted French baguette with pickled vegetables.

Eben-Ezer, Oceanside

Charming new Salvadoran spot Eben-Ezer in Oceanside has a small deli at the front, but you can also order from a menu that includes Central American classics like sopa de mondongo or beef tripe soup and fritters made from deep-fried palm flowers and green beans. Order the refried black beans with bistec encebollado, tender strips of steak bathed in a reddish sauce with peppers and onions. It's a classic recipe that's found all over Central America and presented here alongside a square pyramid of rice and ripe avocado slices. Or you could go straight for the pupusas. The griddled cakes are just thick enough to give each bite a hearty corn flavor, and just thin and crispy enough to highlight the cheesy center. The are served stuffed with ingredients like beans or Salvadoran loroco flower.

Bubbakoo's Burritos, Huntington Station

Started on the Jersey Shore’s Point Pleasant in 2008, Bubbakoo’s Burritos was ahead of the country’s Mexican fusion burrito trend. Its first Long Island store, in Huntington Station, joins 100 other locations across 16 states. Bubbakoo’s concept is entirely customizable, featuring overstuffed burritos with wacky filling options, tacos, bowls, chips and guacamole, queso and loaded fries. Burrito options abound, from the Papi Hibachi featuring hibachi-style steak and shrimp, cilantro white rice, pico de gallo, black beans, sour cream and cheese — to the Pineapple Express loaded with breaded, crispy chicken, pineapple, Gochujang sauce and cilantro rice. The hybrid "burritodilla"  is akin to a loaded quesadilla with rice and other nontraditional quesadilla fillings that start. For twists on loaded French fries: Think Nashville hot fries with spicy chicken, queso, and pickles, Philly cheesesteak fries, or bacon and queso-drenched spuds.

88 Burger, West Babylon

The Asian-influenced steakhouse Wagyu Steakhouse in West Babylon has undergone a concept change and is now 88 Burger. Here you'll find one of the best burger deals on Long Island: Prepared with Angus beef, most of the half-pound burgers on the menu are priced at a mere $12.The half-dozen burger choices mostly stick to classics, but there's a smoked short rib burger with barbecue sauce as well as a Wagyu beef burger. The most unusual is the Superior Choice Burger which, despite the average-sounding name, tastes like a Hawaiian burger with pineapple and bacon. There are also katsu dishes on the menu, including a pork tonkotsu with Japanese brown curry.

The Marker, Glen Cove

The Marker opened at Glen Cove Golf Course with spectacular views of the Sound, and you don’t even have to pay a greens fee. This is the latest venture from Kent Monkan, who already operates The Brass Rail in Locust Valley, Heirloom Tavern and Choppers Burger Bar in Glen Head and The Wild Goose in Port Washington. Starters include duck-ricotta ravioli with roasted corn puree and risotto croquettes. Sandwiches include a Parisian cheeseburger with Comté cheese, caramelized onions and arugula and blackened chicken sandwich with spicy aioli. There are pastas such as cacio e pepe with truffles and shrimp scampi with linguine. Mains include a roasted half-chicken with green beans and mushroom risotto; macadamia-crusted salmon with grilled bok choy and red-curry coconut sauce and Long Island duck breast with parsnip puree, braised leeks, oyster mushrooms and lentils.

Caracara, East Northport

Caracara Mexican Grill’s second location in East Northport opened with the same menu as Caracara's Farmingdale location, which opened in 2011. Specialties include creamy vegetarian enchiladas with two corn tortillas loaded with corn, onion, mushrooms, spinach and habanero cream salsa. Ceviche is made fresh daily using shrimp, mahi-mahi or a mix of both with calamari. Cocktails include a tequila martini and hand-muddled mojitos.

Ford's Garage, Lake Grove

With its 1920s service station vibe, Ford’s Garage has opened its first burger restaurant in New York, at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. 
Inspired by the Ford Motor Company, the massive space has seating for 275 diners anchored by a vintage black Ford hanging above the bar. Decor includes kitschy memorabilia — licensed by the Ford Motor Company — from gas pumps to napkins made from blue shop towels. The menu, like the decor, also plays on nostalgia, with a roster of comfort food that begins with Black Angus burgers piled high with a selection of cheeses and toppings such as applewood smoked bacon, fried eggs, caramelized onions served on brioche or pretzel buns branded with the Ford’s Garage logo. There’s even a Jiffy burger with peanut butter. Past burgers, there are soups, sandwiches and classics including fish and chips, pulled pork mac and cheese, ribs in bourbon barbecue sauce and Mama Ford’s homemade meat loaf. For the carb-averse, there is an ample selection of loaded salads. 

Anna Pizza + Wine, Woodbury

At Anna Pizza + Wine in Woodbury, longtime student of pizza Danny Aggelatos is using decades of apprenticeship to create some of the best Neapolitan pizza on Long Island. Anna, named for Danny and his wife Angela’s daughter, takes up residence in what had been Pizzabar 141. He pulls his own mozzarella and pickles his own long-hot peppers. His clam pie is made with a suave reduction of clam juice and cream; the mushroom pie is earthy, with roasted shiitake and maitake mushrooms laying atop a whipped garlic-confit cream and brightened by barely caramelized onions. The small-plates menu features ravioli simply dressed with lemon, Parmesan and butter, perfectly cooked broccolini with lemon and Grana Padano, a Caesar salad with radicchio and, drumroll please, head-on shrimp that taste mostly of the sea but also of lemon, chili and parsley.

The Dirty Cheesecake, Smithtown

At just 17 years old, Deer Park resident Lili Hassanin has been instrumental in helping her father, Tarek Hassanin, open the family’s second bakery on Long Island — The Dirty Cheesecake in Smithtown. Made By Lili’s, their first LI location, is in North Babylon. The Smithtown shop's signature item is an extravagant cheesecake on a stick, which is dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with a variety of toppings. Flavors range from raspberry madness to dulce de leche to a colorful Funfetti birthday cheesecake. Other popular desserts include banana pudding and slices of the three-layer Lili’s cheesecake with a chocolate chip brownie base, topped with cheesecake and cookie dough. The Smithtown location also has an espresso bar and serves almond and chocolate croissants.

PopUp Bagels, Roslyn

"Not famous but known" — that’s the tagline for PopUp Bagels, a Connecticut-based, carb-and-schmear sensation that took off during the pandemic. After spending the last few summers as a pop-up shop in the Hamptons, the brand now has its first brick-and-mortar shop, in Roslyn. More dense, with a chewy center and crispy exterior, PopUp Bagels are served warm alongside requisite cream cheese made for "ripping and dipping." Bagels come in poppy, sesame, plain, salt and everything varieties. Cream cheese flavors change weekly and are often collaborations — like the current Grillo’s Pickle de Gallo. There is also a weekly specialty butter, like the recent shallot version.

Pinsa, Syosset

It certainly looks like pizza. But the bubbling, round flatbread coming out of the oven at Pinsa in Syosset is, in fact, pinsa, a close-but-not-identical relation that lends its name to the two-month-old establishment. Pinsa is a Roman specialty that dates back at least two millennia. Its origins are shrouded in mystery but the modern version is made not only with wheat but with other flours (rice, soy, oat, millet, etc.) so that it can be a bit lower in gluten. And whereas pizza dough is stretched and topped in one fell swoop, today’s pinsa crusts are par-baked naked, and then topped and finished when they are ordered. Syosset’s Pinsa was, until September, a pizzeria called Acqua E Farina where chef-owner Luca Pizzuti had been slinging Neapolitan-style wood-fired pizza since 2018. Pnsa toppings range from American-style shredded mozzarella and tomato sauce, a Margherita made with fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and arugula, to a fanciful pistachio pie with mozzarella, ricotta and caramelized onions.

James & Main, East Rockaway

There's an old-time atmosphere at James & Main, a new, cavernous restaurant perched on the canals of East Rockaway. Service industry veteran Danny Quinn spent about a decade collecting all of the elements for his first restaurant. He rebuilt the entire dining room in the space that used to be The Fishery. The menu, developed with chef Andrew Krug, is a mix of crowd-pleasers, with a nod to fine dining. There are grilled oysters and beef tartare, but also other Long Island standards like zucchini and eggplant crisps. The most sophisticated item on the menu might be deviled eggs, which are stuffed with a wisp of smoked trout as well as its bright orange roe.

Sydney Burger, West Hempstead

Sydney Burger looks like one of the many halal burger joints that dot the streets of Nassau County, but there's something different going on here —  an Australian touch. The signature halal smash burger is a petite ground beef patty topped with three layers of melted cheese that mask the relish and housemade roasted tomatoes. The most iconic ingredient is the fried egg paired with carmelized onions, a classic Aussie ingredient. The restaurant also carries other Australian items like roast capsicum sauce (pepper sauce), chicken salt (for the French fries), Australian ginger beer and a bacon jam made from beef. Chef Sydney Gouda offers burger specials with venison and kangaroo meat when he can get it from his distributor. He also bakes his own brioche that he uses for an Aussie meat pie. The regular menu is full of mashups like a croissant smashburger, loaded bolognese fries and an ice cream sandwich tucked into a brioche bun.

Roadtrip, Bay Shore

Roadtrip, replacing Rock City Dogs in Bay Shore, takes diners on a culinary journey across the country with weekly-changing specials focused on the most beloved delicacies in particular states. Roadtrip's main menu is ambitious, especially with a weekly highlight of dishes from a featured state. For starters, think Maine with apple cider mussels or California with lollipop street corn. There’s Vermont maple peppered bacon  and chili-lime Brussels sprouts with grilled pineapple, inspired by Hawaii. Sandwiches include a classic Philly cheesesteak or a spicy Carolina pulled pork on Texas toast.Entrées include house-smoked St. Louis-style barbecue ribs to Cajun seafood tagliatelle to a Gulf Coast mahi mahi.

The Barnyard, Farmingdale

The long-empty Grecian Grill spot in Farmingdale has found new life as The Barnyard, a Caribbean restaurant focused on the foods of the islands. Run by husband-and-wife team Don and Xiomara Romain, the menu features oxtail empanadas, accompanied by a killer jerk barbecue sauce, and akra or malanga fritters, a Haitian delicacy with a habanero kick, to start. Xiomara spices the chickens, Dom concocts addictive sauces like mango-clove. Wings come in four varieties: curry, jerk, island BBQ and hot honey. Complimentary plantain chips pop up on every table at lunchtime, when the jerk chicken cheesesteak is a way to dip a toe into the spicy dish that is offered as an entrée at dinnertime. The pillow-soft bread — made at Farmingdale’s Lakewood Bakery — is loaded with juicy, spicy chicken thighs with a light cheese sauce. 

Red Cajun and Grill, Dix Hills

This tiny new shop in Dix Hills is one of the most legit places to get a bowl of pho on Long Island. The name Red Cajun and Grill might have you thinking New Orleans, but it actually refers to the Viet-Cajun crab boil restaurants that are popular with the Vietnamese community. Viet-Cajun restaurants often pair items like spicy crawfish with noodles, utilizing both Cajun and Vietnamese flavors. Owner Suong "Annie" Pham prepares her own spice blend for the seafood boils, which are steamed in plastic bags that you rip open at the table. A pound of Cajun crawfish is stacked with potatoes, corn and sausage. Pham also serves rice plates and banh mi sandwiches stuffed with meat, mayo and pickled carrots.

Hummus Fit, Lake Grove

Since owner Liana Mavruk started working out of Holbrook’s tiny Hummus Mediterranean Grill kitchen in 2015, Hummus Fit has taken off as a fast-casual takeaway concept embraced by clean eaters. With more than 20 locations nationwide, the latest LI location has opened in the former Good Steer, Lake Grove’s once-iconic steakhouse. The building was gutted to make way for a gleaming white grab-and-go eatery with a make-your-own-salad and bowl bar for on-location dining. Choose lettuce, a wrap, or grains, a selection of toppings and proteins, douse with dressing of your choice and feel good about your lunch. An entire wall of refrigerated meals range from 400-500 calories, including a grilled chicken parm wrap, feta meatballs with orzo, steak and chicken fajitas, or the themed Steer-O-Rito with flank steak, jasmine rice, tomatoes, and chipotle poblano sauce in a soft tortilla.

Fora Cafe, Port Washington

The menu at this stylish cafe in Port Washington features an all-day breakfast section with dishes like shakshuka and cilbir, a hard-to-find egg dish that hails from Turkey. Two poached eggs are completely submerged in tangy Greek yogurt and scatters of green herbs. A bright chili oil made from Aleppo pepper swirls around the yogurt cloud, so that when smeared on the sourdough bread, every bite is creamy with a touch of spice. Co-owner Engin Koksal is from Istanbul and opened the shop with his wife, Leyla, whose family owns Krinti Mediterranean Grill in Woodbury. Try a strong cup of Turkish coffee, which is prepared in a traditional cezve in the back and served in a delicate porcelain cup.

While in Kathmandu, Glen Cove

Nepali momos, or dumplings, are back on Long Island: While In Kathmandu has opened in Glen Cove, serving Nepali staples that have been hard to come by since Everest Himalayan Cuisine closed in Bellmore two years ago. Momos here are filled with chicken, shrimp, water buffalo meat or vegetable; all are available steamed, fried or in a creamy, tomato-based broth. Nepali-style grilled skewers are served on a bed of rice that has been beaten flat and then dried to preserve it. Owner Bikash Kharel’s dishes split the difference between Nepali street foods and those of other nations, including the masala fries, masala wings, "not tacos" made with spiced chicken or jackfruit enfolded in a freshly made roti and garlic naan served with hummus. He also tries his hand at Nepali-inflected buffalo burgers and fried chicken sandwiches.

Great South Bay Brewery, Ronkonkoma

Great South Bay Brewery is the first restaurant to open at the new Station Yards multiuse development in Ronkonkoma. Executive chef Chris Palmer honed the menu to popular pub fare — burgers, wings — but you’ll still find the crab Rangoon egg roll as well as another egg roll that contains a whole stick of gooey mozzarella from the brewery's other locations. The two paninis on GSB’s menu are warm sandwiches whose fillings are tucked into freshly baked pizza dough — the grilled chicken, with fresh mozzarella, romaine and Caesar dressing, and the Mulberry Street with chicken cutlet, mortadella, burrata and vodka sauce. Of the 24 taps at the bar, 20 spout GSB brews; the remaining four feature other local brands such as Sand City, DUBCO and Riverhead Ciderhouse.

Rincon Criollo, New Hyde Park

This legendary Cuban restaurant has been wowing customers in Queens since 1976. Last year, the Acosta family decided to close their storied Queens eatery and reopen in New Hyde Park, their second on Long Island after Huntington Station. The menu includes many of the classic Cuban dishes that founder Rudesindo Acosta served since the '50s in Cuba, like the roast pork dish lechon asado, the ground beef stew picadillo and the slow-cooked shredded beef dish ropa vieja. 

Los Panas Venezuelan Food, East Rockaway

The small counter service spot in East Rockaway is putting out some of the finest Venezuelan street food around. Arepas are made fresh daily, and the kitchen stuffs the crispy corn cakes with so much filling that you have to pull some away before you can bite in. Customize your own with black beans and sweet plantains, but don't skip the famous shredded chicken and avocado arepa that goes by the name reina pepiada or the empanadas. The kitchen also makes a mean cachapa, a sweet corn cake stuffed with gooey fresh cheese.

Trini Street Food, Valley Stream

This Trinidadian food truck parked outside the Green Acres Mall makes up for its utilitarian location by serving intensely flavorful dishes like spicy corn soup and curry chicken with roti. The truck is owned by Long Island resident Tiffani Sahai, who grew up at her father's restaurant Trini Delight in South Richmond Hill, Queens. Trinidadian food draws from a diverse tapestry of influences, including India, West Africa and Latin America so many of the dishes are vegetarian, the most popular being the doubles. Similar to an overstuffed taco, doubles are so named because it takes two fried bara flatbreads to hold the mixture of curried chickpeas and sweet chutneys on top. 

Lucas II Dominican Spot, Oceanside

Father-and-son team Hipolito and Francisco Rosario follow up their first Dominican takeout deli, Lucas, in Baldwin, with a larger space in Oceanside that doubles as a nightclub on the weekends. Hipolito's menu is large and almost diner-like, with multiple varieties of each meat. There's grilled chicken, garlic chicken, rotisserie chicken and Francese chicken. There's skirt steak, pepper steak, breaded steak and steak with onions. The last page of the menu is more obviously Caribbean, with classic dishes like stewed goat and stewed hen, as well as a section of mofongos made from mashed plantain.

Mamá Rosa Mexican, Great Neck

Puebla-native Carlos Axilote, who worked his way up from a dishwasher to operate two El Coyote restaurants, named his new Mexican restaurant in Great Neck after his mother, who developed many of the recipes, including the scratchmade mole Poblano, with chunks of juicy chicken thigh in a rich chocolaty sauce. The menu has Mexican American classics as well as crowd-pleasers like an appetizer platter with hot wings and nachos and dishes unique to Central Mexico, such as the mixiote Poblano with slow-braised pork shank braised in a parchment paper wrapper. Drinks include the pepino mezcal cocktail, a cold and limey drink with fresh cucumber and just a hint of smoky mezcal.

Via Cuma, Valley Stream

Chef-owner Luca Schiano Di Cola of pizzeria Via Cuma is bringing "contemporary Italian" to Valley Stream with an imported Izzo oven and artisanal dough maintained with Italian-style sourdough. There are almost a dozen varieties of 12-inch pizzas, from the simple Margherita, to more elaborate specimens such as the Capricciosa, a Margherita gussied up with ham, olives, artichokes and mushrooms, and the Patate, Porchetta e Provola, a white pie topped with cubes of roast potatoes and pork. Beyond pizza, there's eggplant Parmesan, braciole and a selection of specialties from the Campania region.

Talina, Babylon

Fresh pasta is the star at Talina, a new restaurant in Babylon Village focused on the flavors of Romagna, the southeastern portion of Emilia-Romagna on Italy's Adriatic coast. Choose from strozzapreti, a long, lean pasta, rolled and twisted by hand and served with sausage ragu and arugula or speck, spinach and cream; potato gnocchi, doused with Taleggio cheese, arugula and radicchio; hand-stuffed spinach ravioli that shines bright red covered in a chunky, flavorful Pomodoro sauce and more. There's also grilled meat boards, a changing roster of nightly specials and cocktails.

The Granola Bar, Woodbury

The Granola Bar is elevating daytime meals to a higher standard in a swank space that feels more like a sexy downtown Manhattan bar than an all-day brunch bar. The health-conscious, modern comfort food menu includes all-day breakfast, parfaits, loaded salads, hearty sandwiches and an equally robust cocktail menu. The Woodbury shop closes by 4 p.m. daily, an intentional play to support the chic space's catering business in the evenings.

Plado Tasting Bar, Glen Cove

It's been a long culinary journey for German Rizzo from his native Italy to Glen Cove. Along the way Rizzo developed a global repertoire that is reflected in the name that he and his wife-partner Kristen O’Donnell chose for their venture: Plado Tasting Bar. The menu offers a few big-ticket meat items (Angus beef sirloin, Berkshire pork chop, bone-in rib-eye) but, otherwise, it is composed of small plates dominated by vegetables. There's also meat-based small plates, seafood and pasta. 

Dolce Bella, Oceanside

Dolce Bella got its start as a gelato cart serving weddings and other special occasions, and that's reflected in the line of gelato they source from a vendor. The big draw here are the flavored cannoli, really tasty and not too sugary. Flavors include Nutella, dulce de leche, rainbow cookie and birthday cake, rubbed with different cookies and sprinkles. The shop also serves ices.

Crave, Woodmere

Jerusalem-style smash burgers? People who have made the trip to Israel may have remember Crave, a popular burger vendor inside the Mahaneh Yehudah Market in Jerusalem. The restaurant owners of Crave in Woodmere were craving that experience again, so they opened a location on Long Island, on where the selection feels standard: burgers, Reubens, nachos and chicken tenders, all kosher.

Smash House, Cedarhurst

This Miami Beach export is dripping in '80s neon graffiti art. Together with the warehouse-style counter area and the loudspeaker ordering system, a trip to Smash House feels like eating at the snack bar at a roller rink ... but with better chicken strips. Owned by Cendarhurst residents, Smash House opened in August in the former home of Wok Tov, a kosher Chinese takeout spot. The menu riffs on the smash burger and chicken sandwich, along with decadences such as a "burger salad" and dirty fries topped with brisket.

NoFo Pot Pies, Mattituck

Located smack-dab in the middle of Long Island’s pumpkin trail, this shipshape shop is seasonally landscaped with gourds, corn stalks and rusting hydrangeas. Inside, the focus is on that most autumnal of dishes: pot pies. The shop sells up to 10 varieties (depending on the season) of small 6-inch pies, from traditional chicken, beef and shepherd’s pie to more out-there lobster-shrimp-scallop, jambalaya and chicken Marsala; large 10-inch pies come in chicken, beef and turkey.

Atithi, Bethpage

This fast-casual spot is serving elaborate Indian street snacks and vegetarian dishes from a nondescript perch in Bethpage. There are New Delhi-style snacks called chaatpati chaat, which consist of various crackers and puffed wheat doughs filled with bright, flavorful sauces. There are vegetarian dinner roll sandwiches from Mumbai, wraps stuffed with cheese or potatoes known as kathi rolls, Indo-Chinese food, biryani rice dishes and sizzling platters of mock meats that look like tandoori chicken.

Feta, Bellmore

Opened in the former Zorn's space in Bellmore, this create-your-own concept spot involves choosing a rice, bulgur or veggie base and loading it up with greens, spreads (tzatziki, harissa, feta, garlic or red pepper hummus, baba ganoush) and protein (grilled chicken, mildly spicy harissa honey chicken, lamb meatballs, steak, salmon, potatoes or falafel). Finish it off with a selection of Mediterranean toppers including stuffed grape leaves, Kalamata olives, sliced pickles, barrel-aged feta or crispy pita strips. The space is massive, so there should never be a run on indoor seating, but there are also shaded picnic tables for al fresco dining. 

Mangia E Bevi, Massapequa Park

This sprawling Italian spot is looking fresh as new nearly a year after the previous eatery, Il Vizio Park, was closed by the health department. Its new owners redid the interior of the building and installed a 400-bottle wine cellar. They're aiming for an upscale experience similar to restaurants they frequent in Miami. The menu includes imported fresh pastas and meat dishes and pizza-style flatbreads. On weekends the music gets louder and the lounge area has more of a nightclub vibe.

Aura Coastal Mediterranean, Island Park

Two childhood friends bring this lively Mediterranean seafood concept to Island Park, replacing Pearl. Fish is flown in daily from Europe, but there's also local-ish halibut from the East Coast, paired here with clams and bits of smoked chorizo in an oily tomato sauce. Pastas like the squid ink linguine hit high marks with an array of plump seafoods (clams, shrimp, calamari) and crunchy panko bread crumbs.

Peri-Peri Guys, Long Beach

This order-at-the-counter spot is one of the only places in New York serving peri peri chicken. The menu, the same as its Hicksville location, features flame-grilled chicken on flatbread with customizable levels of sauce, including mango lime and lemon herb, and organic halal chicken, plus housemade piri-piri sauces ranging from mild to "very hot." There's also chicken sandwiches, wraps, cheeseburgers and a small selection of milkshakes. 

Oak & Vine, Glen Cove

Rehan Alam owns five restaurants in Manhattan, but had long dreamed of one closer to his home on Long Island. His new spot features a semiprivate area off the main room for communal dining or small parties. Another room, completely separate, accommodates up to 40 people. Beyond the bar in the main dining room, a narrow space with a grand piano can be curtained off or, on Fridays and Saturdays, serve as a live music venue. The menu has an air of contemporary comfort: grilled octopus with preserved-lemon butter, braised pork belly with butter beans and carrot purée, double-battered fried chicken with black-garlic barbecue sauce, Basque-style chicken breast with potatoes and mushrooms, vegan and vegetarian selections, plus a few steaks. Its pastas are divided between those imported from Italy and those made in house.