We will be in New York next week and need some suggestions on where to have our daughter's 16th birthday dinner. There will be 4 teens and 3 adults. Want it to be fun & memorable. Any part of the city is fine.
Thanks for any suggestions you can give me.

There are more than 6,000 restaurants in NYC. Price range per person including drinks would be helpful to pinpoint suggestions. Food preferences, and expectations about atmosphere (say from pizza parlor to white tablecloth formal) would go a long way toward narrowing your search.

We don't need white tablecloth formal. Price per person up to $40.00. She likes steak, seafood, Italian. Since we will have 4 teens with us we don't want it to be stuffy. Don't want chain or theme restaurants. Maybe something unique to New York. Thanks.

I really love Carmine's. It will be crowded and lively. The food is delicious and family style and pretty reasonable. Then pop over to ESPN Zone they have really great games upstairs.

You might want to repost this with NYC in the title to get more suggestions, but here are a few off the top of my head (as the NYC parent of a pre-adolescent who loves to eat I'm going to recommend reasonably priced places).

Many people will recommend Carmine's on W. 44th St., which is good for groups because they serve large portions family style. IMHO It is a loud, boisterous experience with just OK traditional Italian food.
Virgil's BBQ also in the Times Square area serves pretty good BBQ and is fun for teens.

Once you leave the Midtown area, you can find some more interesting places. They might like the French Mediterranean bistro Nice Matin, on W. 79th St. which has a terrific upscale burger and fries, good pasta and seafood in a bit more upscale, but still very comfortable and friendly atmosphere.
Downtown, Crispo on W. 14th St. is really good Italian food, reasonable prices and a lively scene.

Check out the menus and prices at www.menupages.com Also do a search here for NYC dining with teens, there have been several recent posts about that.

Every teenage girl I know loves Pastis. Glam, but not too challenging.

Many locals pan it in terms of authentic city dining, but check out Ellen's Stardust Diner. Great location, young, singing waitstaff (cute, broadway star hopefuls) and a fun, teen-agey vibe.
When they know its a b-day, they'll likely give the girls the mics and feature them in a song

The food is most definitely secondary to the experience. In terms of fun and memorable, it might just be perfect.

http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/"...dustdiner.com/

Have a great time.

Thanks for your suggestions. They all sound good. Now if I can get my daughter to make a decision!
I did repost with New York in the title, thanks for the suggestion mp.

To me perhaps the most obvious choice would be Tavern on the Green. Weak food but a lovely setting in Central Park. Should be memorable.

Becco in theater district but go after the theater crowd. It's fun to have the pasta assortment with refills and the reastaurant has a lively atmosphere. Carmines is "gross".

If you want to keep it to $40 per person total you need to forget steak or seafood. The decent (not upscale, but decent) places are not in that price range.

Neither is Carmine's - unless you order only a few dishes and share the all around. This place is "fun" - loud, lots of groups - and incredibly enormous portions of red sauce Italian. And you do need to share - no one could possibly eat all this food. But - I still don;t know if you'll do it for $40.

Becco you can - if you stick with the multi-pasta special. Roberto Passon wopuld also fit your budget.

DO NOT do Tavern on the Green. the food is awful - and again - not a chance of being under $40 per person. If you want Central Park the Boathouse is a much better choice, better food and lower prices (you might be able to stay within $40 if you don;t do wine or drinks).

You might want to check menupages.com before reserving anything - since it has not only diner revieww but also actual menus AND prices - so you can see if it fits your budget.

Having just returned to the UK from NY and other places, I would highly recommend Beccos. We found it after reading Zagat's fixed price recommendations - it certainly lived up to it too.
The atmosphere is great, the pasta menu excellent with plentiful servings (brought around all evening rather than being given a huge plateful) with three varieties, all excellent and tasty. Helpful and friendly staff too.

We think you'd all have a great time there! We did, so we went back a second time!
It was always full when many others on the same street were empty - that must mean something?!
Have a great time!

Thanks eveyone for the info. I can't wait to get to New York!

I live in nyc and have a 16 yr old daughter. if your girl is as grown up as most teens these days, she is way past the Carmines giant family dinner trough and the games, etc. imho Tavern on the Green is just awful and you'll see nothing but tourists. 16 year olds want to feel a bit grown up, like young women. I find that the teens of our out of town friends love Soho and Nolita, and the Meatpacking District too, although that might be a tad bit older.

I have a suggestion that would be very unusual and fun. Bette Middler has a restaurant in Ft. Tryon Park up in Washington Heights. You could arrange for a service car to pick you up and take you there, or subway up to 191st St and walk up through the park (not far) to the restaurant. Another idea would be to visit the Cloisters in the afternoon with the gang and surprise them with a dinner at the restaurant on your way out of the park. Then arrange for a service car to pick you up after dinner and take a little tour of the city on your way down the West Side Highway. See how many sites you can find.

1. Riverside Church
2. Columbia Univ.
3. Grants Tomb
4. GW Bridge
5. Time Warner Building
6. Empire State Building
7. Cruise Ship docks
8. Riverside Park (all the way down)
and alot more that I can't think of right now, lol.

BTW, several friends of mine have seen Bette at the restaurant when she is in town.

Have a GREAT time.

I'd hit a hotspot, a 16 year old would enjoy that - some suggestions: Tao, Buddakan, Dos Caminos, Pastis, Balthazar...
also, New yorkers may not consider it a hotspot since its been awhile but the setting at the Hudson Cafeteria in the Hudson Hotel on 58th street is guaranteed to blow away a 16 year old! she will love it, Food is good, service so-so, but i really think the kids would get a kick out of the hotel lobby and restaurant, and is down the block from Central Park and the aol/time warner mall.
Lori

We really liked Pastis--it's chic and cozy, it appeared in Sex and the City, the menu is varied but not too challenging for teens and kids, and the 'rents will like it, too. I believe it's near some of the other hotspots mentioned in the meatpacking, so it would be fun to go have a (yes, virgin) drink at one of them afterward. Enjoy!

Thanks everyone, we leave for NY tomorrow bright & early! We will be there for 4 days so will try and eat at more than one of the suggestions.
Thanks again.