Dinner for 16 in NYC

[littlechinagirl]

Hi - I've been a bit out-of-touch since becoming a mom recently (not to mention I live in Washington, DC), and my boss has tasked me with choosing a restaurant to celebrate a recent success with his team for next Friday (eek!). We will likely have around 16 people (so perhaps a private room?) with one vegetarian - I think we're tring to stay away from tasting menus. Budget is about $150 per person (food, drinks, tax, tip). Would be great if it was near the office (on the Avenue of the Americas, near the Diamond District, I believe), or easy to get to from there.

I'd really be grateful for any advice!!

Thanks!

[Pan]

Next Friday? Good luck! I think you'd better go to Open Table right now and see what's available for that number of people anywhere in Manhattan on that day, then come back to us for advice on what you come up with. It's true that not all available tables are listed on Open Table (and some restaurants don't use Open Table at all), but I don't think it's at all likely that a place showing no availability on Open Table would be able to produce a table for 16 for you if you call them, though I could be wrong. I'll add that if there's any way you can reserve for lunch instead of dinner, I believe that you are a whole lot more likely to find a place that's available.

P.S. I would have asked for some cuisine preferences, but that wouldn't be relevant unless they have room for your group.

[weinoo]

What about Beacon? Maybe they'll put together something special for you.

Insieme? Seasonal, which got some good write ups here and on other boards.

[ahr]

Try Tocqueville, an excellent French-New American restaurant just off Union Square, a couple of subway stops or a short cab ride from midtown. They're seasonally oriented, with the city's major Greenmarket just down the block, so the vegetarian shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty sure that there's a private dining room about the right size, if it's available that night.

Toqueville Restaurant

[gastrodamus]

for this friday in midtown, private dining might be the best way to go for a group that size. try adour alain ducasse, benoit also by alain ducasse, and alto.

all of these are walkable and should be within your budget all in. 3-course prix fixe will be the easiest. just inform the event planner that there will be a vegetarian. hopefully one of the above can accommodate your party.

[littlechinagirl]

This is great - thanks, all for the suggestions! I'm looking into them now. In the meantime, my boss had me look into Del Frisco's (near the office) and Beacon - both of which can take us. If it comes down to these two, is there an obvious winner?

[Sneakeater]

Del Frisco's is an obvious loser.

(Although part of the problem is that you're asking US, a bunch of people obssessively interested in food. Del Frisco's is VERY popular with the undiscerning business set. If that's what your group is, they'd probabably be HAPPIER at Del Frisco's than at the kind of place we'd all recommend.)

Edited August 24, 2009 by Sneakeater (log)

[littlechinagirl]

Del Frisco's is an obvious loser.

(Although part of the problem is that you're asking US, a bunch of people obssessively interested in food.  Del Frisco's is VERY popular with the undiscerning business set.  If that's what your group is, they'd probabably be HAPPIER at Del Frisco's than at the kind of place we'd all recommend.)

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Thanks, Sneakeater. Del Frisco's is apparently quite popular with our NYC office (and was recommended to us by a colleague up there). This is all very helpful, as neither my boss nor I are incredibly familiar with the current NYC food scene (and I think he's pretty interested in the food). This confirms my hunch.

[checkplease]

Might be too late for this post but here goes anyway: Oceana just moved to the same block as Del Frisco's--bright, roomy new space that looks like it could handle big groups. Just went for lunch the other day. Not sure what the vibe is like at dinner, but the seafood is terrific (great raw bar and cooked seafood, plus some steaks on the menu).