Hapina Restaurant

Pleasantly surprised. My bf and I stopped for here for dinner when we had some time to kill in Cedarhurst. The servers were extremely pleasant and stopped by often enough to make sure that we were happy, but not too often that we felt bothered. It was a very busy night yet everyone was courteous and helpful. Immediately upon being seated, a basket of different kinds of bread and six different dips were deposited on our table, free of charge.
My bf is vegan and he found plenty to choose from on the menu. He went for a falafel and sweet potato fries, which he found delicious. I went for the duck salad and I loved it! Portion sizes were generous and everything tasted amazing. For dessert, we had a chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream which was the perfect end to our night.
The vibe was very casual yet the service was amazing. The only complaint my bf had (which is not enough to lower it from 5 stars) is our seating. Because the place was so packed, they seated us near the door and he was cold every time someone walked in. When we were seated, there was another table nearby and my bf asked if we could sit there instead, and we were told that it was a table for 4. Right after we were seated at the cold table, another couple walked in and were seated at the table for «4.» As someone who previously worked as a server, this did not bother me as I know about maximizing capacity and how difficult that can be, but my bf was upset about it.
The best part of the evening is the bill, which was just $ 40! We have spent a lot more at other restaurants that didn’t come close to this. We are not exclusively kosher and have been to some nice non-​kosher restaurants, yet many of them didn’t come close to this simple, casual, delicious place.
Very impressed!

Hapina is a Kosher restaurant in the village of Cedarhurst. Went with a few associates for a light bite, and was pleasantly surprised.
Casual vibe, eat in restaurant with table service, the size of two store fronts, one side with tables, counter and a semi open kitchen, the other with more tables and toward the back a buffet table with mostly salads in it.
What we tried, and liked. Matzo ball soup all around was top notch with light matzo’s, fresh carrots and a few vegs and what tasted like homemade broth. Ben’s has nothing on Hapina for soup.
Everyone had different items, I went for the middle eastern falafel which I can’t resist trying in most places. The dryish paste that is made from chick peas and fried into a few round balls put into a pita with tsatzik sauce. In the city they have hot sauce on all the tables in the falafel joints on the lower west side. With or without its good.
I think I tried a nibble of the other items and found them ok. But what I liked was what I ordered and the salad bar. Chilled chick peas, cold beet salad, coleslaw, pickles are what go best with kosher lunch.
The people took their time to make menu suggestions, and brought it with a real smile. I’d not come in here and try to rush it, I’d just take some time and enjoy lunch or a casual dinner.

One star, but that is simply for portion size, which was very generous. The home made onion rings were so overly slathered in batter that the onions were essentially not there, the chicken was seriously overdone, the French fries were both greasy and limp, there was only one beer selection (a tasteless «light») and they didn’t even have coffee. Considering we spent over $ 100 for three people, it was a most unpleasant experience.

One of my favorite restaurants in the Five Towns. Very low key setting, cozy, and great food.
I will agree that the service used to suck but they became much better at it.
The salad bar is amazing and so are the Moroccan cigars.

Was a Okay restaurant, I really liked the Falafel sandwich I got, even though was kinda dry. The falafel balls were really good. The buffet was pretty good as well, but the service… I have my complaints. SLOWWWWW, Desorganized… etc etc

Hapina has potential but alas there’s something missing. The food isn’t bad but the service is very disorganized. I hate to write this because they are a pleasant bunch but I was here once over the summer and now again in the fall and witnessed the same issues. I was there with my aunt. She ordered a steak and I needed exactly two more minutes to figure out what I wanted. In the meantime I ordered a can of soda. It was not that busy so I figured they’d bring the soda and I’d give them my order. I was wrong. He never brought the soda. I had to flag him down and even though I put my order in about five minutes later my Aunt’s steak came out about two minutes after I ordered. I then waited about fifteen more minutes for my order which was a Schwarma platter (one of their signatures which you’d think would be prepared rather quickly??). As I said, the food is fine (albeit it is not served piping hot and the fries were not cooked well but I did not complain and I’m sure they would be willing to address this). When they give you a can of soda, they just put down a can of soda… No glass, No ice, No straw. No extra napkins with your meal. things that other establishments do instinctively. The waitstaff is just not looking around to see if anyone wants anything. They never scan the room. They’re barely twenty feet away at all times, yet its hard to get their attention. Lastly, when you use the
certificate there is an automoatic 18% tip added to your bill but it is incumbent upon the customer to remember this. If one is paying by credit card, as I do, they give you a receipt with an area designated for a tip. The first time I was there (less than two months ago, on August 19^th) I didn’t notice this and wound up tipping an additional $ 18 fir a total of $ 29 on a $ 42 bill. I meant to leave a tip not pay the mortgage lol) If they are adding a tip shouldn’t they close out the receipt and just ask you to sign it? Prior to this visit, I was there only 7 weeks ago. I didn’t notice a single employee that was there the first time. Maybe they also notice the disorganization? I don’t think they do it on purpose. They’re a nice group of people. They need one of those experts to come in and show them how it is done. There were a few other issues I could point out but really and truly my intention is not to beat these folks up here, rather, I think they should tighten things up a bit and it’d bring them more business… I feel it in my bones. Hapina, you’re ok but you could be great… call in an expert!