Caroline

We'll be in NYC in a little over a month and would like to make reservations for dinner in advance. I understand that it may already be too late to reserve for some of the more popular places. Our budget is around $50 per person (plus tip and tax) and we don't drink so our budget is for food only. We're very open as to the type of cuisine. What do you consider the best restaurant in NYC within our budget?

Statia

We really enjoyed One if by Land, Two if by Sea in Greenwich Village.

new

Try Becco, near the theater district.

lawren

$50/person without drinks would be cutting it close but if you desire romance and fabulous food, try the Sign of the Dove.

Howard

$50 before tax and tip means that you're will spend about $65 per person, right?
That being the case, One If By Land would just about make it.
For that price, however, you also have a lot of other good ones to choose from as well--Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Gotham Bar & Grill, Balthazar, Sun Lee Palace, Babbo, just to make a few of the many, many options.
What type of food do you prefer?
As for some previous recomnmendations....The Sign of the Dove is closed, and while I'm a fan of Becco, if you're talking about spending that much money, you can certainly to a lot better than Becco!

thereuare

Becco gets rave reviews, although i was very UNimpressed when i was there.

I think that Blue Water Grill is a great restaurant with good atmosphere and good value, which should be well within your budget.

Mike

I've been to several of the above named restaurants and have a hard time agreeing that you can eat there for $50pp and get more than just an entree. There are many places where you can share an appetizer, get 2 cokes, 2 entrees, and maybe share a dessert with 2 coffees for $50 pp. One I was going to suggest has already been mentioned and that's Blue Water Grill, great if you love seafood.

I think some places would be much underappreciated if you only spent $50. For example, I can't imagine going to Grammercy Tavern and not getting the octopus salad, a cheese plate, and a press of their great coffee, and this along with an entree will be very tough if not impossible at $50pp. they also have an awesome cocktail list.

Amazon.com now has an extensive list of NYC restaurant menus so you can check and see what the actual prices are but keep in mind that a $50 meal is different things to different people. No offense to anyone's suggestions, they are all great restaurants, I just know that I'd walk out with a much greater bill at most of them; maybe I just eat too much

Judy

I just wanted to clear something up here. I'm one of the posters who has often recommended Beccos. However, the recommendation is given when someone asks for a decent value priced meal in the theatre district. You can get a very nice full meal there for under $25 dollars, not counting tax, tip & beverage. But Beccos was never meant to be compared to the likes of Grammercy Tavern, Babbo, One if By Land, etc. Nor should it be, since it's not in their price range.

a

Considering her alternatives, surely you jest about Blue Water Grille

Frank

Judy makes a very good point.

I for one prefer to sample the menu at a restaurant and therefore if I were on a $50 per person budget, would prefer Becco. You can order the Pasta special, which includes appetizer, then you can add wine(if you drink), dessert, coffee and a meat entree (to share) and still get away for $50.

Places like Union Square can't really be enjoyed for $50, you have to order carefully and skimpily. Although some people would rather say they "went" to a name restaurant regardless of how little they order. As they say, to each his own.

Owen O'Neill

You could have a very nice meal at L'Ecole. It's a French restaurant run by the French Culinary Institute at Broadway and Grand. Service is not as polished as the "destination" restaurants in NYC because the students are the servers but it's a nice room and I've had great meals there. Their price fix menu is $29.95 at dinner and there are usally two entrees (rack of lamb and steak if I recall correctly) for which an $8-9 surcharge is added. You could add in a large bottle of mineral water, a couple coffees or teas and have a surcharge on one of the two dinners and still come in at about $100 WITH tax and tip. I won't claim that it's as godd as the major hotspots but it's pretty darn good and IMHO the best value in the city. Weekend nights are booked solid many weeks in advance which should be an indication that they are consistent.

Howard

A lot of your posters are forgetting that the original poster said $50 NOT COUNTING tax and tip! Plus, they don't drink. With those factors in mind, you can have a decent meal for around $50 per person at the restaurants previously mentioned.
PS: Once again, Judy, we agree!

Mike

I'm not forgetting anything and I don't see how you can enjoy Gramercy Tavern for $50. The prix-fixe is like $55+. Assuming you eat in the Tavern Room (where you can't get a reservation and may have a long wait), I think that's still a stretch. Why not suggest restaurant that aren't among the more expensive in Manhattan but are very good. There are many good eats with entrees in the $12-18 range which is about where you should be to enjoy a meal at $50. Chowhound.com is a much better place to look for this kind of info.

Howard

To me, $55 is in the ballpark of the original poster's "around $50," and I wouldn't bypass a quality place like Grammercy Tavern because it was $55 rather than $50.

Valda

How about Foley's Fish House in the Hyatt hotel - it affords an excellent view of Time Square and I beleive you can get by on 50.00 per person exclusive of tax, esp if you do not drink.

Ellen

I agree with Mike. I would not want to go to Babbo and have to order chicken because all the other entrees are over $30. The apps can run pretty high as well. I would go for a place with less of a high profile, but has more of a 'best kept secret' reputation. Some suggestions: 1st choice: Beppe. Apps run $8 - $9 and entrees from $15 - $29. The rest of these have a similar price range: Cub Room, Ecco, I Trulli, L'Ecole (the french cooking school restaurant), Lupa (more casual, not sure if they take reservations).

Judy

To Caroline: You've received some really good suggestions that should at least give you a start. The bottom line will, of course, be what type of diner you are, and if you're willing to make any compromises.

As an example, we have a local place that we frequent for dinner and that usually doesn't cost all that much. One night we went with some friends, (who we always just split the bill with) and ended up spending 50-75% more! Whereas we usually just got 2 entrees, 2 soft drinks, 2 coffees and split a dessert (and sometimes a salad), our friends ordered salads, appetizers, 2 rounds of drinks each, and everything was a "special" that night. Moral of the story, within the same restaurant, you can come out with varying degrees of expense.

To Howard: This is getting scary!

Owen O'Neill

I'm thinking of taking my GF to Gramercy tavern for her birthday late this month - the three course price fixe is now up to $65 and the cheapest tasting menu (the one without wine) is $90. I haven't seen their al la carte prices but would agree that although you could probably squeeze in an appetizer and an entree each and stay under the $50 mark (no incl tax and tip). It would be a shame to visit a great restaurant and not get dessert and perthaps coffee or tea or a cheese course. Although L'Ecole comes in well under their budget I still consider it to ba an excellent choice (unless having a higher more polished level of service is an important issue).

Judy

Just had another thought. If you will be in the Greenwich Village area, you might want to try Lupa on Thompson Street. It's part of the Batali empire of Babbo fame (or at least it used to be) and is sort of a bargain version. At one time the tasting menu of 5 courses was only $35, which is probably the lowest price I've ever seen for a tasting menu. And even if it's gone up, it would still be well under your budget.

Caroline

Thank you all so much for your replies! There are many great suggestions that I didn't realize were in our price range.
Someone in my office mentioned Il Mulino, but didn't know whether we could do it within our budget. Any thoughts on that restaurant?