Americana Eatery & Bar opens in Great Neck
Seafood orzo at Americana Eatery & Bar in Great Neck. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
First it was a diner, then it was an upscale Greek fish restaurant, now it’s all of that and more. Americana Eatery & Bar, which opened in Great Neck on April 27, doesn’t want to be put into a box.
"People ask, ‘What are you?’ " said chef-partner Gregory Zapantis. "I tell them that we are not a diner, not a Greek restaurant, not fine dining, not the neighborhood place on the corner." Or, more positively, "we are a family restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch."
Zapantis and his partner, front-of-house manager Stephanos Frangos, have come up with a menu that is wide-ranging but certainly no match for that of the Seven Seas Diner that occupied this corner spot from 1979 to 2023. Customers looking for breakfast will find all the traditional eggs, omelets, pancakes and French toast that a diner serves, plus a French "croque-madame" sandwich with Black Forest ham, Gruyère cheese and fried eggs, shakshuka (eggs poached in a spicy tomato-pepper sauce) and pancakes studded with Valrhona chocolate nuggets and grapes. Prices range from $7.95 for an egg sandwich to a lobster Benedict ($28.95) whose meat is still in the shell.
Lunchers can still avail themselves of most of the breakfast menu, plus burgers and sandwiches ($17.45 to $21.95), salads ($16.95 and up, depending on add-on proteins that include chicken cutlet, rib-eye steak, grilled salmon, turkey and shrimp). There’s a small selection of pinsa ($15 to $19), Roman-style flatbreads made with prebaked shells. Small plates ($12.95 to $14.95) include adobo-roasted chicken wings, spanakopita rollini, truffle mac-and-cheese and Wagyu meatballs.
Americana Eatery & Bar in Great Neck has a central bar-lounge area flanked by two dining rooms. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Diners will find plenty of seafood as Zapantis is also chef-partner of Great Neck’s Sea Bar. He was also the chef at Glen Cove’s short-lived Vilai, before which he worked at the Manhattan restaurants Estiatorio Milos, Trata, Kellari and Thalassa. Among his piscatory offerings at Americana are seafood with orzo ($39.95), broiled flounder ($27.45), char-grilled tiger prawns ($35.45) and Icelandic salmon with saffron pilaf ($29.75). From the land come Amish roast chicken ($28.95), dry-aged New York strip ($45.95) and Berkshire pork chop with bourbon apples and garlic mashed potatoes ($28.75).
The owners of Seven Seas, Jimmy and Peter Tsolis, completely renovated the old diner when they turned it into the short-lived Paros Grill (2023-2024). Zapantis and Frangos have kept most of the new decor — lots of blond wood and Mediterranean baskets — including the large central lounge, which boasts a bar, high-tops and a communal table. You could enjoy a craft cocktail here, but there’s also an extensive list of fresh-squeezed juices, smoothies and wellness shots as well as coffee drinks and milkshakes.
Americana Eatery & Bar, 607 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, 516-467-0017, americanaeatery.com. Open Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
