Interesting quietish place nearish Washington Square?

[T. O. Martin]

Any suggestions for an interesting place nearish Washington Square (say within a 15 minute walk) for a group of 5 who want to be able to hear each other easily? We don't want a super high-end place, but we're not looking for a cheap place.

[nixienox]

There's ditch plains. You can look at photos and menus and see if it interests you. http://www.ditch-plains.com/photos.html
...not so sure about the coffee served in paper cups though. . . .

[monalisawoman]

Cafe Asean. Beautiful outdoor patio, delicious vietnamese food.
117 W. 10th St.

[CalJack]

I'd second the recommendation for Cafe Asean - the atmosphere falls nicely on the charming, comfortable side of quirky, while the Southern Asian fusion flavors are always fresh and pleasantly affordable ($10-$18 entrees).

Easily the quietest quality meal I've had in the West Village in the past 6 months.

[cricri7]

Bellavitae has had some good reviews and doesn't seem like a trendy place where everybody screams and dances on the chairs!

[Lucia]

I was thinking of Bellavitae as well.

[Campofiorin]

Would Blue Hill fit the bill? Maybe a little expensive I guess.

[T. O. Martin]

The NYT
http://events.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/...
says
SOUND LEVEL Varies widely with size of crowd; can become quite loud.
In your experience, has it been relatively quiet?

[Campofiorin]

I was actually just suggesting since I've read many good things about it lately. I'll be going for the 1st time next week.

[romafan]

North Square, Waverly & MacDougal

[bxgirl]

I second North Square. It was the first place that came to my mind when I read the original post.

[Lucia]

The food at North Square is very mediocre. I wouldn't recommend.

[elecsheep9]

I third the recommendation for North Square. I have never found the food to be less than excellent, and the atmosphere is exactly as you ordered.