Ridwan the Wantagh Clay Oven

HOLYYYYY CHAT. This place was so friggin good and the reviews actually held true, spot on...

I'm no indian food pro and I brought my friend that has never had it before ... We opted for the lunch special that The owner, Ridwan, had gone over with us.. Coconut curry chicken! Juicy, tender cubes of chicken swimming in curry sauce, it was piping hot just the way I love my food to be and extreme flavors .. Came with rice and veggies... All delicious... I was stuck on the samosa chat, so we ordered it and oh my god I'm obsessed.. It was a samosas chopped up in a bowl and some veggies with this yogurt sauce which was amazing... We wanted to drink it! So good! The flavors in all of these dishes really are like a spice party in your mouth and the cooling of the yogurt sauce really amplified it all for me as I had a bite of the samosa chat between my other bites of everything!

This place is amazing and used to be an old pizza place ? I'm not from around this area but also not too far, I will definitely return here and I highly recommend that you pop on in here!

Honestly, if you want a freshly prepared, piping hot meal while chatting it up with the most stand up, kind owner then def come in here.. My friend and I spoke with him and he explained on how he only prepares some things bc it's better to have this food more fresh especially for these hearty chicken dishes.. There is no way if this were prepared in advance would it maintain its juiciness factor ... Yes, it took a bit of time but honestly not that long, no longer than I usually wait for dining out and it really was an experience ...

I see amazing things ahead for this place .. With food like that using minimal amounts of oil and maintaining its freshness... You're going to draw a crowd.....Only good things to come, especially since the owner also seemed like a super humble dude that puts his heart and tradition into his dishes. We loved this place.

After reading all the positive reviews, my husband and I had to try this place. Definitely worth trying if you live in the area or are heading home from the train... If we lived closer we would be ordering from here quite often.

We ordered the Samosa Chaat 4.50
Combination of vegetable samosa, chickpeas, chopped onions and potatoes tossed with mild spices and yogurt.
It was very tasty. The only negative was the chick peas were not hot. But very tasty....
We also got Full Meal Chicken Tikka 11.95
Roasted boneless chicken marinated in aromatic spices.
This was the best chicken tikka we ever had. Moist, juicy and tons of flavor.
and Palak Paneer Dinner 11.95
Cubes of cottage cheese cooked with a spinach gravy.
I have had this many times at other places... This version was slightly different, a little watery, and not as flavorful as I have had in the past, but the Paneer (cheese cubes) was heavenly, fresh and delicious. When we come back I know to ask for it spicy to give it some more flavor.

We packed half of it to go home and I enjoyed it for my lunch the next day.

The owner is super nice. Spent the end of the night telling us his history and about his family.
he also gave us the ricotta milk balls in honey for dessert. It was tasty!!!

Can't wait to come back next time I am in the area!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 4.5 STARS

Although it took me several months, I finally got around to scheduling a dinner for my group at Ridwan's exceptional Indian restaurant on Wednesday, May 25th.When I confirmed the reservation for our eight members, Ridwan graciously gave me a choice of seating options. I left it up to him to select our seating arrangements based on his view of what would be most comfortable. When I arrived, I was pleased to see that some early arrivals were already seated at a comfortable private large table in the back of this small restaurant. Thank you, Ridwan.

The restaurant is BYOB, a very attractive feature since I brought along a nice Pinot Noir. The meal started with communal platters of Ridwan's awesome Vegetable Samosas.They were light, not oily, savory and extremely well seasoned. I chose Lamb Vindaloo & Roti. Ridwan brought over two large dishes of his moist, savory and perfectly cooked Basmati Rice. The Lamb was tender and tasty, but a little less incendiary than I would have expected. It was delicious nevertheless. The Roti was fresh and tasty, a perfect foil for the Vindaloo sauce.Other dishes which the group enjoyed, and which I can recommend without reservation, were the Chicken Vindaloo, Coconut Chicken Curry, Lamb Rogan Josh, Tandoori Chicken and Cauliflower Fritters(especially awesome!).

Our eight members enjoyed an exceptional meal, served promptly and efficiently by a very friendly and hospitable host for $165 after tip, less than half of what our typical outing costs. I know I speak for my fellow diners when I say that we look forward to enjoying Ridwan's great home-cooked Indian food again.

Based on the great reviews and living in Bellmore we were very excited for our first visit but I don't understand the hype. The food was very average, nothing had a ton of heat or flavor. Staff was very friendly and I think the prices are fair but I was looking for a new Indian go to but for me this is not going to be it. I'll stick with Lazzat in Bellmore or head up to Hicksville.

On the recommendation of Tom C. , Bonnie G. and I braved the cold and ice to have Saturday dinner at Ridwan. I called ahead and spoke to Ridwan and asked if 9pm rezzy was ok as his listing says he closes at 10. His response..please come and I will take good care of you. We arrived around 8:45 and tip toed across the snow and Ice at the curb and sidewalk to enter his establishment.
There was only one other couple there and they were just finishing their dinner.
As the only patrons in the place Ridwan gave us a large table in the rear and took the time to introduce himself and give us his history and that of the restaurant. He is from Nigeria and has restaurant experience from there and other locales and is more than worthy of The Clay Oven. Unfortunatly for me, I forgot to bring our wine as this is a BYOB!! was in a rush and just my bad...Had to drink alcohol free beer...was cold and did the job! bonnie G. had a wonderful freshly made Mango Lasse...was so smooth!

Ridwan offered to serve us a Tasting Menu, so we could try several dishes and we took him up on it. We started with a Samosa Chaat for 2 which tantalized our taste buds and got us ready for what came next. We next had Veggy Pakura with a very tasty coating that was served with a sweet sauce and white sauce and a wonderful Cottage Cheese with Spinach dish..
Getting to the small plate entres, we first had Chicken Tikka with Grilled sweet onion. I found the Lamb to be the best and tastiest of the mains...We had Lamb prepared 2 ways and they were tender and delicioius... We were stuffed by now and Ridwan brought out dessert for us...Galub Jamun...milk soaked balls in honey syrup...made us warm and fuzzy after finishing that....

Ridwan is a standup guy with lots of history in the restaurant business and the fact that he has brought it to us on Long Island is marvelous. He has lots of plans for the business and we will be visiting him every step of the way. Thanks Ridwan for a great evening!!

I ordered the Lamb biryani and the Qeema aloo. The biryani was flavorful. The lamb was soft and tender. The Qeema Aloo is a minced beef dish with potatoes. I opted for it because I've never seen beef at an Indian restaurant before. It was flavorful too. Each dish came with a potato samosa. The Qeema aloo came with side of spiced vegetables. Overall, I felt the dishes were simple, tasteful, and an excellent value.

The staff was very concerned with my experience. Ridwan has a warm mom and pop feel to it. It's a pizzeria converted into an Indian restaurant. The space still has the pizza oven as well as the pizza display case.

Delicious food. Excellent service! You can byob or buy a bottle of wine just down the block. Mango coconut smoothie, yummy. Coconut curry chicken and chicken vindaloo awesome!
I love thiis place. Nothing fancy but the food speaks for itself. We had a groupon and the meal was amazingly inexpensive.

My wife and I went here after seeing all the great reviews on Yelp. We got a Groupon online $20 worth of food for $10.
We walked in and there were a few people in the place. The place used to be a pizzeria and it looked like it. This threw me off a little bit but didn't let it bother me because the food got good ratings.
For some reason I decided not to get what I normally get at other Indian restaurants (I.e. Chicken tiki masala, lamb vindaloo, lamb rogan josh, etc.) I ordered the chicken biryani and my wife ordered the beef kabobs. We shared a mango lassi and samosas which were both good. The chicken biryani was ok but the beef kabob was way too SPICY!!! My wife couldn't eat it. I like spicy food but it was too spicy for me. I had to drink two glasses of water to cool down.
The owner asked how was everything and we told him the chicken biryani was OK but the beef kabobs were too spicy. He apologized and explained that red meat and lamb need a little bit more spicy so as not to be dominated by the taste of the meat. We had a long conversation on how they prepare and cook the food and how they cook everything fresh. They cook halal which is a better way to prepare food. He also explained how he picks just the right fish for their fish curry ( nome perch imported from Nigeria. It took him months to find just the right fish). He definitely takes pride in cooking. He said next he will make sure the beef kabobs are not too spicy.
Even though we did not have a great experience, we will probably be back because of the way Ridwan takes pride in his restaurant and how he respects his customers input. I just wish they changed the decor and the tables in the dining area.

My husband and I love Indian food. We saw all the great reviews on Yelp and have been trying to make it to this place for months but retailers as we are... We usually can't make it here by their closing. Tonight (Friday) we were so pleased to come and try their food. The owner served us as the waiter left around 9:00 pm. We ordered the whole wheat Roti and the Aloo Paratha whole wheat flat bread. We were okay with that. We shared chicken tikka and the chicken coconut curry. Both dishes were delicious and had excellent flavor. They brought us veggies which were mostly potatoes on the side and they brought vegetable samosas which were in a delicious pastry wrap.
The food was decent. The decor needs work. I would
Have rated this review 4 stars had it been better air conditioning and a nicer decor. I basically had to convince my husband to stay there at the table because he is not comfortable dining in a place like this one.
Service was fine. Food was very good although they could even try a little harder with their presentation...
I will be going to Hicksville next time I want great Indian food simply because we enjoy eating in a place that has ambiance or at least has comfortable seats.
The best suggestion to the owner is if you create a better experience your customers will appreciate their dining experience and will come back over and over again!

Our little dinning group was here last week after the glowing reviews on Yelp! Not sure why though.......but ...ah..um....well.......

The restaurant is a former pizza parlour that only feels like a donut shop--in decor and ambiance . Before I blast -- I have to say that the service (male server was kind and attentive and was like "Whatever you wish". Truly endearing and patient ! Checked back frequently. Super nice guy).

Restaurant was totally empty on a Sunday afternoon.
And I mean - no phones ringing to place take-out , no music playing--- just the owner/waiter (I think he was the man-of-many-hats but I am not sure) and me and my posse.
Not a single person walked in after us. Weird.

The picnic styled immobile seating was awkward and embarrassing! We are 4 larger people and were wedged into our seats. The server saw our pudgy discomfort and offered us a regular table with movable chairs in the back . (The view back there was even worse as now there were no windows and we felt down-graded somehow. The table we sat at was banged up and worn as well . Probably purchased at TSS in 1983 for $79.99 ).
Now- none of us is over 235 lbs...we are not gigantic Sea Lions -- If your waistline is over 38 inches you will not fit in their tables! (Like a sign was required from an amusement park that reads "You must be taller than 4 feet to go on this ride" LOL.)

Now on to the food:
Portions here are slightly smaller than a basic Indian restaurant. The main issue that most of us had was that there was a lack of sauce surrounding whatever dishes we had ordered. I had the Coconut Curry Chicken--it tasted very good but with all Indian dishes there is ALWAYS plenty of sauce left in the dish to dip your Naan bread or spoon over a little extra rice ......NOT HERE there isn't. Oddly scrimpy amount of sauces.....
The Naan bread was blah and smallish and chewy; I guess that Clay Oven is not doing it's job.
You get 1 free Simosa with your dinner --but it was equally blah. No flat bread & condiments/sauces (that I friggin' LOVE) were on the table as a freebie which was very unusual for an Indian restaurant.
P.S. I cannot stand square plates. I know I am now being a fussy douche now - but they always bothered me.

Sorry to say Ridwan--we will probably not return here.

Your customer service however was flawless. So this is a fond farewell and we wish you all the best.

The Indian food options on the South Shore are slim --so your best bet is to drive 18 minutes out of your way to Hicksville.
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And with like 99% of Indian Restaurants on Long Island ; DECORATE YOUR DAMN RESTAURANT folks! India is abundant with COLORFUL statues and tapestries and beautiful artwork ! Next time Uncle Naveed is coming here from the homeland- tell him to fill his suitcase with goodies!