Visiting Westbury? A South Asian Traveler's Food & Culture Guide

TL;DR 🎉

• Westbury, NY sits minutes from Hicksville — Nassau County's South Asian food and culture corridor 🏮
• Patel Brothers anchors the South Broadway grocery strip that serves the entire region
• Dakshin covers South Indian dosas and uttapams; Rajbhog Cafe handles mithai and chaat
• Temples across Nassau County run open-door celebrations during Navratri, Diwali, and Janmashtami
• The Long Island Rail Road connects Westbury to Hicksville without a car

Understanding Westbury's South Asian Geography

Westbury, NY sits in the western half of Nassau County on Long Island — close enough to Queens to feel the pull of New York City, far enough out to have developed its own character over decades of suburban growth. The village itself has long been home to a diverse mix of Caribbean, Latino, and South Asian residents, but the density of South Asian businesses and institutions lands a few miles east, along the South Broadway corridor of Hicksville.

That distinction matters for travelers. If you are staying in Westbury for a weekend, planning a longer visit to the area, or simply passing through Long Island's Nassau County, the South Asian infrastructure around you is concentrated and accessible — but it requires knowing which direction to point the car or which LIRR stop to use. This guide lays out what you will find, where to find it, and how to get the most out of your time in this corner of Long Island.

Nassau County's South Asian community grew substantially from the 1990s onward as families moved outward from Queens, drawn by suburban space, school district options, and housing that was larger and more affordable than what the city offered. That migration created a dense cluster of grocers, restaurants, and temples within a 15-minute radius of Westbury. The South Broadway area of Hicksville became the commercial anchor of that community and has remained so ever since.

Where to Eat

The South Indian segment is the most distinctive part of the restaurant scene in this area. Dakshin leads this corner of the market with a full spread of dosas, uttapams, idlis, and sambar, all prepared to a standard that diaspora visitors who grew up eating this food will recognize. The menu skews heavily vegetarian, which makes it equally useful for Jain travelers, sattvic households, and anyone managing dietary preferences within a mixed group. The portions run generous enough that one visit tends to become a habit.

Rajbhog Cafe operates as a hybrid: part sweets counter, part snack station, part sit-down lunch spot. The name is well known across the Indian-American diaspora from its outposts in several metro areas, and the Hicksville location brings the same mithai-forward menu to Long Island. Ladoos, barfis, kaaju katli, and seasonal sweets fill the display case alongside savory chaat and prepared snacks. This is a logical first stop for anyone arriving before a family gathering or a festival celebration who needs to show up with something in hand.

Kiran Palace rounds out the North Indian side of the equation, anchoring the more formal dinner end of the market. The menu focuses on tandoor dishes, dals, and curries that constitute the mainstream of North Indian-American restaurant dining, executed with enough consistency to have built a loyal local following over years of operation.

Grocery Run: Patel Brothers and South Broadway

No visit to Nassau County's South Asian corridor is complete without at least a walk through Patel Brothers on South Broadway in Hicksville. The chain, which describes itself as the largest Indian grocery operation in the United States, has made this location a regional institution. The store carries the full range of Indian pantry staples — atta, dal, lentils, spices, pickles, ghee, frozen parathas — alongside fresh produce sourced with South Asian cooking in mind: curry leaf, drumstick, bitter melon, and chutneys that most general supermarkets do not reliably carry.

Weekend mornings draw the heaviest traffic. If you are shopping with a list, Saturday mid-morning means company: other families making the same weekly run, the mithai counter doing brisk business, and parking filling up early. For a quicker experience, Sunday afternoon offers more breathing room. The surrounding stretch of South Broadway has grown up around the Patel Brothers anchor: clothing shops, spice vendors, bakeries, and prepared-food counters fill in the gaps, so a single trip often covers multiple errands.

Temples and Cultural Life

Nassau County's South Asian population built out its religious infrastructure starting in the 1990s, as families migrated from Queens and other parts of the city. The temples that resulted — spanning Shaivite, Vaishnava, and Swaminarayan traditions — typically hold open-door celebrations during Navratri, Diwali, Janmashtami, and other major festivals. These events range from small puja ceremonies to large parking-lot gatherings with live music, food stalls, and cultural performances open to the public.

Travelers who arrive during a festival window and want to participate in community worship are generally welcomed at these institutions. Event schedules tend to be posted on community websites, regional Indian newspapers, and the temples' own social media channels in the weeks before each festival. For South Asian visitors who are not local, reaching out to a temple a few days in advance usually surfaces a gathering that welcomes newcomers.

Family Travel Notes

Long Island is well-suited for Desi families making a weekend trip. The beaches, parks, and museums of Nassau County complement the South Asian food and cultural stops without requiring a city-style itinerary. Children who have grown up with mithai from Rajbhog Cafe or dosas from Dakshin will find familiar foods in a quieter setting than Queens or Edison can offer on a busy weekend.

The LIRR makes the area manageable without a car for most of the food and shopping agenda. Westbury and Hicksville are adjacent stops, and the South Broadway corridor is walkable from Hicksville station. For temple visits, a car is more convenient, as the institutions are spread across different Nassau County towns rather than concentrated on one street.

Insider Tip

South Broadway in Hicksville runs a parallel economy of South Asian media: regional-language newspapers, Bollywood magazines, Hindi DVD shops, and streaming-device vendors are scattered among the grocers and restaurants. If you have elders in your group who enjoy vernacular-language content, the strip often has materials unavailable at standard retail — worth a slow walk down the block after the grocery run.

FAQ

Q: Is Westbury itself a South Asian neighborhood? A: Not primarily. Westbury has a diverse population but its South Asian community is smaller than neighboring Hicksville. Most Indian groceries and restaurants are a short drive east along South Broadway.

Q: Can I find halal South Asian food in this area? A: Yes. Nassau County's South Asian corridor includes Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants and shops alongside Indian ones, and several grocers stock halal cuts alongside standard provisions.

Q: Is this area accessible without a car? A: Hicksville is on the Long Island Rail Road, which makes the area reachable from Penn Station without driving. South Broadway is walkable from the Hicksville station.

Q: What is the best time of year to visit for community events? A: Navratri in autumn and Diwali in late October or November tend to draw the largest public celebrations. Summer months bring outdoor festivals at temples and parks.

Bottom Line

Westbury works best as a base rather than a destination for South Asian travelers. Its value is geographic: it places you within easy reach of one of Long Island's most established Desi corridors, anchored by Patel Brothers, Dakshin, Rajbhog Cafe, and a growing ring of temples and cultural organizations. If you are passing through Nassau County — for a weekend on the North Shore, a family visit, or a conference in Garden City — adding a Hicksville detour to your itinerary is worth the extra few miles.