Long Island has a lot to offer besides beautiful beaches and the Hamptons. There’s food, duh. Lots of it. Despite the island’s complicated racial history, black-owned businesses are maintaining. Through Caribbean flavors, smoked BBQ and fresh organic ingredients, these black-owned restaurants in Long Island are holding the black community together.
Check out the best of black-owned restaurants in Long Island.
Dunns River Lounge & Restaurant
93 N Park Ave, Rockville Centre, NY 11570
Regarded as a prominent Caribbean restaurant in the city, this upscale restaurant was named after the Duns River waterfall in Jamaica. Good Food. Good Friends. Good Reggae is their motto, offering signature drinks, authentic cuisines
LL Dent
221 Old Country Rd. Carle Place, NY 11514
You can expect American cuisine with a Southern flair at this family-friendly restaurant. Known for her Lemon Old Bay Pan Seared Catfish recipe, Chef Leisa Dent has spent the last 30 years mastering her cooking skills with northern influences and her
The Village Raw Bar
88 N Village Ave, Rockville Centre, NY 11570
Located in the heart of Rockville Centre is a fresh seafood dining experience, with high-quality seafood from the Cape Cod Islands, crafted beers and Caribbean-themed drinks and cocktails. Try one of their massive lobster rolls, Jerk Lobstah Roll, Lobstah Mac Lobstah Roll and the newly added California Roll with diced cucumbers, avocado dressing, and red onions.
Gingerbites Haitian Caribbean Bistro
730 East Jericho Turnpike, Huntington Station, NY 11746
Using locally grown organic vegetables, Gingerbites delivers Caribbean food at an affordable price to Long Island. Sign me up for one of their cooking classes. I’d love to learn how to make fried plantains, their Gingerbites sauce,
Bobby Q’s
447 N. Main Street, Freeport, NY 11520
Using six generations of family recipes of traditional southern comfort food to satisfy any southern appetite, you should make sure you make a stop at Bobby’s family-run soul food shack. Ran by Bobby Ford, a Freeport police officer, and his sister, the restaurant The menu offers a variety of dishes from chargrilled turkey wings to pineapple chicken and coconut rice.
Brother Robinson Genesis Soul Food
143 N. Franklin St., Hempstead NY
Skip the soul food and jump right to the dessert menu. Choose from your favorite specialty cakes, that will remind you of your grandmother’s kitchen. Banana Pudding, Carrot Cake, Peach Cobbler German Chocolate, you name it, they’ve got it.
Real Veggie Café
4343B Austin Blvd, Island Park, NY 11558
The fusion of Caribbean cooking and vegan style food makes for a satisfying meal. Enjoy drinks from a tropical bar, vegan-style Caribbean food and an assortment of vegan cakes. All meat and seafood items are made from vegetable, soy protein and/or wheat gluten.
Pretty Toni’s Café
759 W Merrick Blvd, Valley Stream, NY
Toni Clifton opened this restaurant with her husband Gary in 2009. You can be sure to hear jazz music playing during brunches and Motown hits at dinner and a rich ambiance. On Saturdays, try one of their famed waffle specials, Sweet potato waffle with fried whiting or their popular dish fried chicken and red velvet waffles.
Mobay Breeze
46 Gerard Street, Unit 1, Huntington Village, NY.
The newest restaurant in Huntington Village is Mobay Breeze. Grab a taste of some flavorful traditional Jamaican dishes. Chef/owner Roy Delroy Watson opened the restaurant last year, introducing a taste of his home to Long Island. You can enjoy jerk chicken, curry goat, oxtail pizza, veggie patties and more.
BackyardBarbeque
300 Woodcleft Ave, Freeport, NY 11520
Crafted with love, Backyard Barbeque offers decent-size plates, complete with six-hour smoked beef ribs, Collard Greens,
The Coalhouse Grill
844 Merrick Road, Baldwin, Nassau County, New York
The Cheesecake Spot
160 Walt Whitman Rd. Huntington Station, NY 11746
Brooklyn isn’t the only place for cheesecake. The only black-owned business in Roosevelt Field