Restaurant for birthday lunch near Glastonbury, CT?

[Hansel]

Philly Chowhound looking to organize an 80th birthday lunch for father-in-law who lives in Glastonbury. It needs to be fairly regular (not ethnic) food to accommodate relatives. A private room would be nice, but perhaps not essential. Doesn't have to be fancy, but we'd like something nice where the food is decent and people can comfortably socialize.

Thanks very much for any thoughts anyone might have!

[geminigirl]

J.Gilbert, Pazzo, 2 Hopewell...

[JayCT]

I do not know if I agree with Pazzo or Gilberts since they tend to be noisy. I would also add Piatti to the list which has a small room or will section off the bar if needed. Jay

[geminigirl]

You can get a more private room at both I believe, depending on party size.

[kattyeyes]

I love J Gilbert's, but it's not open for lunch outside of holiday time. Or did this change recently?

[dennisl]

J Gilbert's is not open for lunch.

I second 2 Hopewell, and have been to Max Amoré twice in the past two weeks,
great both times.

[geminigirl]

hmm, didn't know this...thanks

[sbxstr]

Neither J Gilbert's or 2 Hopewell are open for lunch.

[Hansel]

Thanks everyone for all these helpful suggestions! 2 Hopewell did look nice, but too bad about no lunch.

I have provided all this information and the siblings are engaged in debate! (fortunately, I am just an in-law, who likes to think about restaurants.)

[kattyeyes]

Let me add one more IF you don't mind heading south to Middletown: Luce. The food is great, parking is convenient (they have their own lot). We celebrated my mom's 75th there with a birthday lunch two years ago. It's one of my favorite restaurants in the area.
http://www.lucect.com/

You'll find reviews of it on this board if you're interested.

[kattyeyes]

I drove by 2 Hopewell at noon today and noticed people sitting at the tables outside. Am guessing it must have been a private party--which your birthday party could be, depending on size. My curiosity got the better of me since I realize they're not usually open for lunch. :) If they can accommodate a small business meeting, I'm sure a birthday party would be an option, too.

http://www.2hopewell.com/Pages/Partie...

I only ate there once, but it was delicious and I hope to get back there sometime soon.

[Hansel]

Thank you for everyone's help. We had the birthday lunch a few weekends ago. I didn't get back to the discussion board to notice the last entry suggesting we might be able to book 2 hopewell specially for a lunch. But we were only about 12 people, so I doubt we would have been enough people.

We booked a private room at Max Fish - nice big room, attractive and very comfortable. They were nice enough to allow us to order off the regular menu rather than restrict us to a special limited menu with a set price. All in all, worked out quite well, and toddlers to octagenarian (including a vegetarian!) were satisfied.

Thanks again!

[sbxstr]

Can't go wrong with Max Fish, Max Amore, or Bricco. All have private rooms.

[Hansel]

Thank you! Those names all came up when I started to research this afternoon.