Brooklyn Blues Restaurant, new to Gulf Gate, calls itself “a place where traditional European cuisine meets contemporary trends.” The description is accurate.

“We believe that good food is the foundation of a happy life,” its website proclaims. For those who share that belief, a meal at Brooklyn Blues is a sturdy foundation and a happy experience indeed. Sturdy because the portions are generous, and happy because the offerings are both authentic and delicious.

Brooklyn Blues is a family affair. Brother-and-sister owners Leo Golfeld and Marina Polischuk-Rasin, who were born in Ukraine, are joined by their spouses and mother in the kitchen and on the restaurant floor.

Adding another flavor to Gulf Gate’s multinational dining scene since opening in May, Brooklyn Blues specializes in the cuisines of Russian-speaking, Polish and other Eastern European cultures.

Walk in, and you’ll immediately be tempted by the sights and aromas of many of the restaurant’s signature dishes, displayed in a long, buffet-style row of steam trays: stuffed cabbage and peppers, pierogies, kebabs, meatballs, plov, bulgur, or kasha, sausage, roast chicken, fish, chicken and cheese pie, stews and plenty of potatoes.

Choose two meats and two sides — fresh salads are among the options — for the daily $12.99 lunch special, or add soup for $15.99. Borscht is served daily, along with a rotating soup of the day. Everything also is available a la carte and for takeout.

The hearty menu includes beef and lamb shashlik, a type of kebab, rack of lamb, chicken Kyiv, halibut, branzino, salmon, a seafood platter and more.

The restaurant’s name has nothing to do with the Barry Manilow song — or even much to do with the New York City borough itself. Golfeld, who was born in Ukraine and raised in Israel, lived in Brooklyn for a few years but didn’t particularly like it.

His sister, Marina, however, has operated a similarly themed North Port restaurant called Little Brooklyn for several years, and the pair decided to play off that name.

“Marina knows everything about the business,” Golfeld said.

For Golfeld, it is his first venture into the restaurant business. He previously worked as a food wholesaler in the Philadelphia area.

“It was time,” he said, to move on to a new chapter in life.

He sold his house and moved to the area earlier this year.

“It was an easy decision,” he said.

While operating a restaurant is hard work, Golfeld said it is “more comfortable” than his previous career.

“We know this cuisine,” he said. “We are not a burger restaurant. We are not a steakhouse.”

Marina and Golfeld’s wife, Lana, do much of the cooking themselves, aided by the restaurant’s staff. Golfeld limits his culinary duties to grilling kebabs.

The owners extensively remodeled the space, formerly home to a Thai restaurant, creating a large area for parties and live entertainment that can accommodate up to 90 guests.

The restaurant has hosted singers, comedians and several large gatherings for holiday parties and social events. Live music, including a piano and vocal duet, is expected to be part of the dinner scene most nights.

The banquet space has its own distinctive decor. Musical instruments — saxophones, guitars and trumpets — are mounted on the walls and ceiling, along with dozens of vinyl records.

So far, about half of the restaurant’s clientele has been Russian-speaking. There is a sizable Russian and Ukrainian population in North Port, while the Sarasota area has a visible but more scattered community.

On a recent afternoon, patron Stu Rothbaum was back for his second visit.

The borscht, he declared, “was close to my mother’s.”

He wasn’t there just to eat. Rothbaum was considering hiring the restaurant to cater an upcoming gala at his synagogue.

The arrival of Brooklyn Blues is another in a recent string of local eateries with New York-area connections. Carvel, the Northeast-born soft-serve ice cream chain, opened a location on Tamiami Trail in May. Before that, Bungalow Bagels opened on Siesta Key in the Southbridge Shopping Center, advertising ingredients flown in from a prominent New York City bagel shop.

Brooklyn Blues, 2238 Gulf Gate Drive, is open daily. Hours are noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday. Call 267-456-9012 or visit the restaurant’s website (brooklynbluesfl.com) for reservations.