Paprika Kosher Restaurant Opens in Great Neck

A new traditional Mediterranean kosher restaurant, Paprika, serving Israeli cuisine, opens in Great Neck in the old premises of La Rotonda Ristorante.

Owner David Zaken says the restaurant will open on February 1st. His wife, Roni Zaken, is a chef.

The couple already owns a restaurant called Paprika Kosher in New York City and plans to move their meals to Long Island.

The room at 8 Bond Street has a new decor and has a capacity of 60 seats. According to Zaken, the restaurant will be divided into two types of locations. One room will be reserved for gourmet meals, while the other half will become a deli with typical window displays so customers can see what they are ordering and serving sandwiches.

“It suits both types of customers,” he said.

Zaken told LongIsland.com that the restaurant will have a pizza oven to cook Moroccan dishes.

Like Tajine cooked right in the oven.

“This is the traditional way of cooking in the past,” he said. “Lamb with couscous, a comfort food you would have on a Friday night with your family.”

They will also have a special Sunday brunch with various offerings from Yemini such as hard boiled egg shakshuka, Yemeni malawa bread served with salad and dips, warm buttery puff bread. They will also have a Mediterranean calzone called sambusac filled with beef and vegetables and sprinkled with lots of sesame seeds. Mediterranean style with other influences.

“It’s basically Moroccan food, but it’s Israeli cuisine with different flavors,” Zaken said.

They plan to work from 11:00 to 22:00 from Monday to Thursday and on Sundays. Friday night when they close early. Zaken says he expects to sell deli on Fridays for takeaway so families can bring them home in time for Shabbat — the Jewish Sabbath — with 20 different salads to choose from, mains and side dishes.