Upscale Greek restaurant Noema opens in Huntington

The tri-level structure at 7 Gerard St. in Huntington has a history of attracting ambitious culinary concepts (Porto Vivo, Jema and, most recently, 7 Gerard) and the latest one does not disappoint. Noema is, at its core, a Greek restaurant but one whose food and décor aim to transcend the expected.

Owner Lisa DiPinto has worked in the hospitality industry her whole life, from learning arithmetic behind the cash register at her grandparents' coffee shop in Cedarhurst to running the Manhattan nightclub Crowbar to doing operations consulting and public relations for restaurants. Now  comes her own project whose name means “meaning” in Greek.

“Everything you do in your life has meaning,” she said. “Every person that crosses your path, every experience, good or bad. The task is to find its meaning.”

Chef Nicholas Poulmentis crossed her path a few years ago and the two had an instant connection. Poulmentis, a Food Network "Chopped" champion, has cut a swath through metropolitan area Greek restaurants as well as serving as executive corporate chef of the Long Island’s Limani Group.

Poulmentis’s menu is a luxurious take on Greek standards: Swordfish is skewered and accompanied by green salsa, baby spinach and grape tomatoes; taramasalata (herring roe) gets an assist from salmon caviar and black truffle powder; grilled octopus is served with black-eyed peas; crabcakes, with seaweed salad and orange-yogurt rémoulade. In addition to whole grilled branzino, black sea bass, red snapper, Dover sole and Mediterranean fagri, there is orzo “paella” with tiger shrimp, scallops, mussels and clams; pan-seared scallops with saffron emulsion and squid-ink pasta plus steak, lamb chops and chicken. The chef deconstructs Key lime pie and serves his baklava with pistachio puree. Starters range from $15 to $35; mains, $28 to $70.

Since Porto Vivo, the first one, every restaurant at 7 Gerard has been a stunner. Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano, who owned Porto Vivo (2009 to 2016), scrapped its design when she opened its even-more-stunning successor, the short-lived Jema (2016 to 2018). That design was scrapped by the owners of 7 Gerard who opened in Jan. 2020 and closed last year. Now DiPinto has transformed the space with marble panels, wicker wall coverings and decorative accents that have all been imported from Greece. The stairway from the bar to the upper dining room hosts two life-size sheep sculptures and the restaurant’s foyer is the purview of a life-size donkey sculpture that has its own Instagram account (@guy_douris, a play on the Greek word for “donkey”).

DiPinto and Poulmentis are also collaborating on a second Noema that will open in Garden City in the old Gross Jewelers building at the corner of Franklin and Stewart avenues. They hope to be open before summer.

Noema, 7 Gerard St., Huntington; opening hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Mon.-Thurs, until 11 p.m. Fri.-Sat. and 9 p.m. Sun.; 631-629-7777, noemany.com.