Where to eat at Roosevelt Field mall

Long before Cubanos, edamame dumplings, and Wagyu burgers arrived at the Garden City mall, though, generations of teenagers made do with Mr. Pibb, oil-slicked regular slices and food-court teriyaki chicken. While forms of these things still exist, indulgent eats (some from celebrity chefs) cluster around the edge of the mall. The concentration of great food here rivals that of many Long Island downtowns. Here’s a rundown of some of the places worth seeking out.

ROOSEVELT FIELD RESTAURANTS

Nomiya

Poised, petite and serene, this is one of the mall’s newer fine dining spots, one that falls somewhere between a sushi bar, izakaya and Korean restaurant. The dishes are easy on the eyes, such as a “bomb” of avocado wisps sculpted around more bluefin tuna. Besides sushi, Korean dishes pepper the menu, such as galbi, or succulent marinated beef short ribs served with rice. Sake and soju serve as the base for a handful of mixed drinks and there are also housemade sodas. More info: 516-605-5097, nomiyastation.com

Small Batch

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio’s sole Long Island restaurant (a FeedMe Top 50 dining spot) is a relaxed but still sophisticated spot. Start your meal with Peconic Bay oysters served on the half shell or roasted with Calabrian chilies and lemon. Both the highly recommended braised chicken thighs (the ultimate comfort food) and Long Island bouillabaisse (with shrimp, squid, mussels, local fluke and grilled bread) are served in Le Creuset casseroles. Pastas — pappardelle with wild mushrooms, bucatini with spicy pork ragu — are the equal to any found on Long Island. More info: 516-548-8162, smallbatchrestaurant.com

True Food Kitchen

Clean eating drives this Arizona-based chain, which opened its Roosevelt Field location in 2020. Much of the experience is Instagram-friendly, from the airy decor to avocado toast, excellent edamame dumplings and butternut squash flatbreads. The burger is composed of grass-fed beef, of course (and comes on a flax-seed bun) and the delicate cocktails sport plenty of freshly squeezed fruit juices and herbs. More info: 516-559-4728, truefoodkitchen.com

NM Cafe (Neiman Marcus)

This elegant hideaway is tucked away on the second-floor and worth seeking out for composed salads, orange soufflés, crab linguini, and other lunch plates, some of which haven’t changed much since the department store chain began serving in 1953. The floor-to-ceiling windows and neutral tones lend the space a relaxed vibe, and as soon as you sit down, warm popovers with strawberry butter and exemplary chicken broth arrive to the table. Follow them up with a glass of Champagne and Seafood Louie, a wildly colorful chilled salad of shrimp, lump crab and romaine. Note: This spot closes by late afternoon. More info: 516-368-0471, neimanmarcus.com

Olivos Mediterranean Cafe & Grill

A wood-burning pizza oven stands at the entrance to this trattoria, the workhorse of sit-down places in the mall. The kitchen reps myriad cuisines at once, combining pizza, panini, wraps, gyros, tapas, and some Caribbean and central American food on the same menu. The Cubano sandwich is a winner, and the martinis are respectably sized. More info: 516-265-7400, olivosristorante.com

Seasons 52

This cozy, dim dining room comes into its own in the cold weather. The oval bar is comfy spot for a quick drink and the booths encourage lingering over dishes that change seasonally and seek to strike a balance between comfort food and healthy eats — think flatbreads, crab polenta, cedar-plank salmon or wood-grilled filet mignon. More info: 516-248-5252, seasons52.com

Capital Grille

The clubby luxe steakhouse chain is a longtime anchor of the cluster of restaurants on the mall’s western edge, and patrons get gussied up indulgent dinners of seafood plateaus and dry-aged NY strip steak. Lunch is a more casual, sometimes keto-friendly affair, with an array of salads — such as chilled salad over arugula and avocado — as well as a hefty cheeseburger with truffled fries. More info: 516-746-1675, thecapitalgrille.com

Havana Central

Decked out in party lights and faux palm trees, this fesstive restaurant is usually bringing the party ( literally — some nights, mambo and salsa draw crowds). Tapas such as empanadas, chicharrones de pollo and street corn meet the needs of mojito-sipping shoppers, but there’s also ropa vieja, pernil, garlic shrimp, tres leches cake and other Latin-Caribbean classics for multi course dinners. More info: 516-739-7900, havanacentral.com

Grand Lux Cafe

There may not be a Cheesecake Factory at Roosevelt Field, but the imposing Grand Lux Cafe covers some of the same crowd-pleasing dishes, drinks and portion sizes, from pot stickers and pizza to fettuccine alfredo, baby-back ribs and miso-glazed salmon. The mini-cheeseburgers are especially tasty, and this boisterous spot is known for its epic desserts, from beignets to red-velvet cake. More info: 516-741-0096, grandluxcafe.com

ON-THE-GO SPOTS

Dining District

The dining district is the modern form of the mall food court, and indeed it feels like its own neighborhood, tucked away from the shopping with standalone kiosks, tons of seating and an outdoor terrace. That shopping staple, a regular slice, is repped here at Bleecker Street Pizza, and grab-and-go Asian food spots still abide (such as Asian Chao). The variety is impressive, though, from ramen and dumplings at Kung Fu Kitchen to healthy salads from The Little Beet, poutine and other riffs on loaded fries at New York Fries and a recently reopened Wahlburgers. Just like its drive-through brethren, the Chick-fil-A here almost always has the longest line.

Le Pain Quotidien

The longstanding bakery chain has its only Long Island location here, one that somehow conjures a sidewalk-cafe vibe while being fully indoors. Expect the usual breakfast plates, Viennese pastries, turnovers, tartines, sandwiches, salads, juices and coffee and lattes. More info: 516-243-8814, lepainquotidien.com

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

Van Leeuwen’s French-style ice cream is made with double the number of egg yolks as standard ice cream, producing a custard-like treat that’s richer than your run of the mill scoop. Their vegan ice cream, made with oat milk, cashew milk and coconut cream, is equally smooth. With over 30 flavors as well as inventive seasonal ones, Van Leeuwen is also known for wacky collaborations like those with Hidden Valley Ranch and Kraft macaroni and cheese. More info: vanleeuwenicecream.com

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels

It’s hard to pass by Auntie Anne’s without having an instinctive draw to the aroma of baked pretzels, salted caramel pretzel nuggets and, especially, paper cups piled high with mini pretzel dogs. The sweet lemonade is a classic mall sipper. More info: 516-741-4813, auntieannes.com

Gong Cha

This Taiwanese-based bubble tea chain trades in brown-sugar milk tea, matcha tea lattes and passionfruit smoothies all day long. More info: gongchausa.co

Compiled by Corin Hirsh, Erica Marcus and Marie Elena Martinez.