Review: The Onion Tree in Sea Cliff

Indian food no longer needs to be put in a box, unless of course you're talking about a pizza box. Husband-and-wife team Jay Jadeja and Raquel Wolf Jadeja are among Long Island’s most accomplished pizzaioli, whose past projects include West East Bistro in Hicksville and Wild Side Bistro in Oakdale. This venture is a personal statement that draws from Jay's Indian heritage as well as his interest in New American fusion. (And judging by the paintings on the walls, Jimi Hendrix.) 

The cozy Indian bistro opened in 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the industry. Jadeja adapted to the takeout situation by bringing in an imported Forza Forni oven to prepare the Neapolitan pizzas he'd fallen in love with at his previous restaurants. Since then, Jay took home first prize in the Neapolitan division of the 2022 Pizza and Pasta Northeast competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

The Onion Tree's menu is a hodgepodge of upscale Indian fare, inspired by Jadeja's childhood memories across various regions of India, often with highly specific stories attached. Highlights include a fragrant, spicy chicken curry he learned from his grandmother in Gujarat. A fish curry from the southern state of Tamil Nadu features a wild-caught local striped bass in a tomato tamarind sauce garnished with flash-fried curry leaves.

Then there is the pizza menu, where flavors like chicken tikka masala and saag paneer sit alongside Margherita and wild mushroom. The assertively puffy crust creates a wall that hugs in the smattering of green cilantro and fried curry leaves that conceal the spicy chiles underneath. A fierce combination. 

Cocktails are interestingly savory here but the bar also is a rare purveyor of wines from Baja California, which often don't make it past the Mexican border. 

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