Restaurant for post wedding dinner in NYC - any ideas?

[linspea]

Hello!

We from London U.K and are getting married in Central Park on tuesday 20th sept. Afterwards we are going to the Boathouse for drinks only but are struggling to find somewhere for dinner. We have chosen not ot eat at the Boathouse as it has poor reviews for the food and would like to venture into the city a little more.

Private dining would be good but not essential, but we would love to go somewhere that feels special but not pretentious. The ideal would be Soho House restaurant (not private room) but we are not members so that is out sadly.
At the moment we are looking at Asiate (Mandarin Oriental) for the views, Gemma Restaurant (Bowery Hotel, not the private room) for the New York feel. Does anyone have any other suggestions or thoughts on those?

Thank you!!
Lindsay

-----
Asiate
80 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

Soho House
29 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014

[mocozeke]

I would second Landmarc in the Time Warner Center if views are secondary to environment. It is not pretentious at all and the food is very good. The wine selection is also solid without being overpriced. Mark Murphy is there sometimes and he is a good guy trying to bring good food to the masses.

-----
Landmarc
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[linspea]

I have booked it!
RGR suggested Maialino as they have a private room so I had a look and it is just what we are after - great location, brilliant food reveiws, helpful staff and a nice private room. Thanks everyone for your help and advice, we are over there for a week so will certainly check out some of those suggestions when we are there.
I will make a post when we get back to give feedback about it all!
Thanks!
Linspeas

-----
Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[RGR]

linspea,

So glad my Maialino suggestion worked for you. :)

Best wishes on your forthcoming marriage.

http://thewizardofroz.wordpress.com

[shellfrett]

Hi linspea, I am in a similar situation currently, getting married in NYC in May, from UK. I am looking into Maialino, and was wondering what you thought about your meal there. Thanks, Shell

[gutsofsteel]

Soho house is indeed pretentious and the food is not good. You'd be better off at the Boathouse. Asiate has a nice view, but the food is not special occasion-worthy, in my opinion.

What is your budget, what types of cuisine are you interested in (and not)?

-----
Asiate
80 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

Central Park Boathouse
Central Park East Drive E 72nd St, New York, NY 10021

Soho House
29 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014

[ellenost]

You should call Bouley. They have a beautiful private room that should work for you.

-----
Bouley
163 Duane St, New York, NY 10013

[Barcelonian]

I hosted a small private dinner at Blue Hill and it was lovely - small private garden room in the back. I think your party would fit (it may hold 16 but 2 of yours are kids so it should work) but you can contact them to find out.

-----
Blue Hill
75 Washington Place, New York, NY 10011

[ChefJune]

Blue Hill's private room is serene, and the food there is just SOO good.

-----
Blue Hill
75 Washington Place, New York, NY 10011

[1uc7]

I've looked into small group tables for birthdays etc, and i thought there are actually a lot of restaurants that have private rooms, chefs tables, etc that would accomodate a party that size or less even. For an occasion like ths, the two that first come to my mind are il buco and keen's chophouse. Both have kind of a special old classic/ romantic feel -- check out their websites, theres private dining info on there with pix. You get the idea -- i know theres more, will post back if i think of any others in particular...

-----
Keens
72 West 36th St., New York, NY 10018

Il Buco
47 Bond St., New York, NY 10012

[linspea]

Thanks 1uc7! I like Il Buco and they have two options - wine cellar or chef's table that could be good.

Has anyone tried Aretsky's Patroon? they have quite a few rooms and roof garden for drinks after which would be nice? not sure how well the food is rated. Again quite masculine but that seems to be a New York look, I'm sure my bouquet will soften it up a bit!

-----
Il Buco
47 Bond St., New York, NY 10012

[shoepacker2]

Landmarc at the Time Warner Center can have big groups. They have a private dinning room but I ate there once with 15 people and it was really nice and not crazy expensive.

-----
Landmarc
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[Riverman500]

How many guests?

[linspea]

Ooh! good point! 15 adults and two children under 5yrs

[RGR]

It would also be helpful to know your per person budget for *food only* though keep in mind the 9% tax and a tip of 20%, which will automatically be added by the restaurant for a group your size.

That said...

Asiate with children under 5? I'd be hesitant... Never been to Gemma.

If you don't want a private room, it becomes a bit difficult to choose a place that has a special feel, i.e., fancier, because (a) you're a big group, so those kinds of places are not always willing to seat that large a party in the public dining room. and (b) there are two very young children invovled.

Btw, while we haven't been to the Boathouse recently, the food we had at two lunches a couple of years ago was actually really good. Surprised the heck out of me since it gets such a bad rap.

http://thewizardofroz.wordpress.com

[linspea]

Thanks RGR, we don't really have a specific budget as it really depends on what is available - sounds vague but we obviously want it to be nice so are happy to pay and the goal posts keep changing.

It would be great if we could have a private room but are finding it quite difficult to get one that seats the amount in our party - they are either too small or too big! the two points you made are good as we did not know what it would be like at Asiate with the two children. To make it more complicated we will have an 85 year old too, so somewhere not too noisy and busy would be ideal.
So you can see how we are in need of help with this one!

-----
Asiate
80 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

[Riverman500]

Look into Lincoln, Marea, and Cafe Boulud, which are close to the park and have a private rooms that would be the right size for your party.

I haven't tried A Voce at the Time Warner Center, but they do have a private rooms with a views of Central Park, though not as high up as Asiate.

-----
Cafe Boulud
20 East 76th St., New York, NY 10021

Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019

A Voce
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

Lincoln
142 W 65th St, New York, NY 10023

[linspea]

Great, I will have a look at those - thanks!

[linspea]

We were hoping to get two tables close together at Asiate but they have said they cannot seat us - boo. The search continues!

-----
Asiate
80 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023