Review: Banjara in Bethpage
Jhol momos topped with nori seaweed at Banjara in Bethpage. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
A server pouring mango curry out of a seashell, or setting down a steaming vase of Indian ice cream. That's all part of the show at Banjara, a stunning Indian spot in a Bethpage strip mall.
Its five owners are longtime friends that hail from different parts of India, representing Kolkata in the east, Kanpur in the north, the capital New Delhi and Punjab in the northwest. With their backgrounds in high-profile NYC Indian spots, they're taking the trend of genre-pushing Indian to Long Island, albeit in a more humble but chic setting.
Banjara
Range of entrees: $18 to $32
Accessibility: No stairs
Attributes: Celebrations, date night, dine at the bar, family-friendly, new for 2026, vegetarian-friendly
Reservations: Not required but a good idea
390 N. Wantagh Ave., Bethpage
Some of the dishes aren't interactive, but they're just flat-out good, like the deeply spiced goat curry laal maas, which hails from the northwestern state of Rajasthan. The succulent chunks of goat are smoked over charcoal and added to a sauce of Mathania chilis sourced from Rajasthan.
Credit: Emma Rose Milligan
Notable dishes
The nalli biryani ($32) with lamb shanks is cooked in a bread topper and ceremoniously carved at the table. From the appetizer menu, the chicken seekh kebab ($20) was incredibly delicate and arrived with flavorful sauces.
Tip:
Don't be afraid to engage the servers about Indian food, as they're extremely knowledgeable about history and preparation techniques.
The restaurant also makes Long Island's most memorable biryani, baked in a dome of bread, pierced tableside. This variety of dum biryani is already hard to find, but Banjara's is even more distinct as it's cooked in the Awadhi style (with rosewater and saffron) rather than the more popular Hyderabadi style (which is typically bolder and spicier). When the server cuts open the bread top, a plume of fragrant steam envelopes the room with the smell of saffron, rosewater, vetiver and ittar perfumes. It's less spicy, but twice as aromatic and delicate. Get it with lamb or chicken; both are great.
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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.
