Philia Greek restaurant opens in East Meadow
Lamb chops at Philia in East Meadow. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Philia means friendship in Greek and it’s an apt name for East Meadow’s newest Greek restaurant. Owners Luis Pesantez and Diego Vintimilla are longtime friends who have spent the better part of two decades toiling in the dining rooms of some of Long Island’s high-end Greek eateries.
"We know what to do — where to get the food, how to prepare it," Pesantez said. "And we were ready to open our own place."
They found a spot in East Meadow that had been Casa de Queso, a "glow-in-the-dark Mexican-American-Indian-Italian" concept that lasted less than a year, and set about transforming it into an elegant spot that belies its location along the Hempstead Turnpike south service road.
The menu offers Greek classics (village salad, spanakopita, grilled halloumi, avgolemono soup, whole branzino, lamb chops, roast chicken) along with Hellenic adjacencies (linguine with "Santorini" clams, lobster ravioli with Greek vodka sauce) and non-Hellenic crowd pleasers (fish and chips, Wagyu burgers, lobster fried rice). Proud of their Ecuadorian heritage, the owners also serve a dish from their homeland, grilled bacon with hominy. Starters are $16 to $24, mains from $25 to $55 (for the 22-ounce Cowboy rib steak).
Many menu items show up on the dinner prix-fixe, three courses for $35, which is offered Sunday and Monday from 4 p.m. to closing, Tuesday through Thursday from 3:30 to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. A two-course lunch prix-fixe ($25.99) is offered every day.
Philia, 2564 Hempstead Tpke., East Meadow, 516-960-0254, philiarestaurant.com. Open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday noon to 9 p.m., Thursday noon to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8:30 p.m.
