Sparrow Kitchen & Cocktails opens in Garden City

The owners of Sparrow Kitchen & Cocktails are involved in more than a dozen crowd-pleasing eateries and bars in Nassau County. For their new Garden City spot, Sparrow Kitchen & Cocktails, the challenge appears to have been simple: How ambitious a restaurant can we make?

“Most of these guys have been friends for decades,” said executive chef-partner Michael Wydro. “They are fans of 2 Spring in Oyster Bay and Fauna in Westhampton Beach. They wanted to bring that kind of experience to Garden City.”

In addition to owners of Mesita (Rockville Centre, Garden City), Guac Shop (Garden City, Jericho, Wantagh, Freeport, New Hyde Park), ITA Kitchen (Garden City South, Bay Shore, East Moriches) and Salt on the Water (Merrick), the Sparrow team includes Joseph Sparacello, a local builder.

Sparacello took on the construction, replacing the barn-moderne décor of the former Mighty Quinn’s BBQ with a coolly elegant design. 

There's a seasonal fluke ceviche with rhubarb and spring onion; chilled lobster with tarragon and chives; linguine nero with shrimp, calamari and roasted chilies; bucatini cacio e pepe; spaghetti alla nerano (the zucchini pasta of the moment); and pan-roasted halibut with fennel pollen and spring succotash. There’s always a daily whole fish and recent candidates go beyond branzino with orata, brook trout and black sea bass.

Wydro also offers dishes in a more “eclectic New American” vein: Bone marrow with glazed cipollini onions on toast; chopped Cobb and Caesar salads; a half-pound burger with hand-cut fries; and a 14-ounce aged, prime New York strip steak with 1,000-layer potato and chimichurri. Most starters are under $20; most pastas under $25; and mains range from $24 to $59.

The cheapest thing on the menu graces most tables: Two popovers (each the size of a tennis ball can) served with Parmesan, rosemary and honey butter ($10).

At the bar — where all juices are fresh, infusions homemade — there’s a burnt-orange Negroni, a spicy watermelon margarita and “the St. Paul” with gin, elderflower, lime and thyme, designed by Long Island bartender-turned-consultant Doug Brickell.

Sparrow Kitchen & Cocktails, 829 Franklin Ave., Garden City, 516-475-3211, sparrowkitchenandcocktails.com. Open Tuesday-Sunday 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday 5 to 9 p.m. Closed Monday.