Think of it like the Middle Eastern version of Sweetgreen — a growing NYC chain serving Lebanese salad bowls and wraps has opened in Oceanside, its second Long Island location. Originally a spinoff of a Manhattan Lebanese restaurant, the fast-casual spot Naya has been around since 2010, and boasts 39 locations in surrounding states.
Owner Hady Kfoury, who grew up in Lebanon before moving to New York and interning with fine dining chefs Daniel Boulud and François Payard, said Lebanese food fits nicely with the bowl concept, and that’s why he was inspired by scale up the operation.
Naya is a Lebanese build-a-bowl chain that has opened in Oceanside. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
“The way Lebanese food is served — the big dining table — you would order all those mezze plates in the middle that you’re sharing,” he said. “So even when you are dining at a high-end Lebanese place, you end up serving yourself a mini version of a bowl. You have your hummus, your tabbouleh, your grape leaves.”
The first Long Island Naya opened in 2022 as a kiosk inside Roosevelt Field mall. The new Oceanside shop has been the hardest to staff, Kfoury said. He still plans to open stores in New Hyde Park and in Holbrook at The Shops at SunVet within the next six months.
The shiny, well-designed Oceanside space has the clean look of a Sweetgreen, but with a menu that’s most comparable to the Mediterranean bowl concept Cava. (And for a high-quality local option, there’s also the Turkish-inspired Wild Fig.) Choose a wrap, bowl or salad and pile on the fresh veggies and Lebanese dips, like hummus, cucumber yogurt and toum, a creamy garlic whip. They also sell packages of this to go, and it’s worth bringing some home and spreading on everything in sight.
Proteins like chicken and beef shawarma are scooped from troughs rather than being prepared to order. During a recent visit, the salad with roasted cauliflower ($11.99) turned out to be a better option than the wrap, which was packed loose. The healthy meal felt like something you’d grab on the go, and was a nice option for a neighborhood lacking in Middle Eastern flavors.
NAYA, 3199 Long Beach Rd., Oceanside, eatnaya.com. Open 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.