Looking for authentic Greek food? For those living near Westbury’s Taste Greek Grill, a plane ticket is no longer needed.
Greek Astoria native Nick Ntzelves is bringing the flavors he grew up with from his family’s cooking in Nafdaktos and the city’s Greek neighborhood to his new Long Island spot.
“Going to Greece every summer and coming back, it was just never the same. I wanted to recreate those memories,” Ntzelves said. He said he visits his family in Nafdaktos almost every year and has kept his heritage alive in Astoria, finding roots in the Greek community there and teaching his two children the language.
Ntzelves said it’s important to share his culture and keep it alive. So, in Westbury, he’s trying to make authentic Greek food for the modern eater.
He offers customers the option to build their own Greek bowl, providing a choice of Greek rice or quinoa to be topped with a variety of gyro meats, spiced sweet potato or chickpea fritters and a range of spreads and vegetables, like hummus, an eggplant spread, tzatziki, feta, tomato, cucumber, roasted red pepper, pickled onions, olives, cabbage salad, chickpeas and avocado. Dressings, like Caesar, Greek, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and red wine vinegar, are also available.
“My vision is the future. That’s why I don’t have a pastichio or a moussaka, because, although those are probably my favorite foods to eat, I don’t see customers really eating that,” Ntzelves said. He said he wanted to make simple, Greek food he could share with as many people as possible.
His menu also includes a range of gyros, plates and salads, chicken, pork and shrimp skewers, a trio of burgers and a slew of fries with a Greek twist, like his street fries, which include Greek pico, gyro meat and feta.
For a more classic Greek meal, he cooks lemon potatoes, spanakopita, calamari, little meatballs, hummus, and homemade pita chips. For dessert, there’s baklava, kataifi, Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts, and classic New York cheesecake.
“The recipes here were made by me and tried by me, multiple times,” Ntzelves said. “I take notes along the way and I flip them into my own little concoctions.”
Ntzelves said opening up Taste has been a dream for years. He’s worked in dishwashing and serving roles at other Long Island restaurants like Morton’s Steak House in Great Neck, then in largescale food service with LaGuardia Airport, Compass Group at the Met Museum and St. John’s University, as well as Ardsley, providing school lunch to Manhasset’s school district and a district upstate.
But, he said his heart has always been with sharing his passion for Greek food with others.
“I was tired of being just a number,” Ntzelves said. “I was always in the food industry. I worked my way up from busboy, the director of food services. It was always in my plans, so I just took the shot.”
“I’m very excited,” he continued. “I’m Greek and I believe I can blow this out of the park.”
Those looking for a taste of Ntzelves’s cooking can visit him at 917 Merrick Ave. between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. every day of the week.
