Hi. Can anyone recommend a great restaurant for my 40th birthday with the girls. 8 of us, all real foodies, love to cook and eat. Somewhere lively, variety, cocktails etc

Visiting NYC from uk, so somewhere for Saturday night, dressed up and in a 'treat ourselves' mood...

Thanks very much

Kathryn

If you've got the budget, Per Se is the place. Have a read here. http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/1...s.html#photo=1

bump

The key questions: How much do you want to spend? What type(s) of food?

Agree tht Per Se is a real treat - but reservations can be very dificult to get - esp on a Saturday night - and the prices can be very high.

Agree that type of food and budget is important. For upsacle places figure $200 and up per person including a decent (but not special) wine, tax and tip (20% of check).

Agree with the Per Se recommendation, we had a great meal there earlier this year and we think it's the # 2 restaurant in the USA, behind only Alinea in Chicago. The owner, Thomas Keller, is also the owner of the famous French Laundry restaurant in the California wine country.

Would also suggest Eleven Madison Park as a good alternate, which is a bit more avant-garde and "foodie" in the presentation dishes. EMP recently received a Michelin 3* rating, one of only a dozen restaurants in the US to achieve this, and are a bit easier to get into than Per Se, and a bit less expensive (note that the Per Se charge includes the tip though, while at EMP you'd be expected to fork over 20% extra for the tip).

I think the full-blown tasting menu at EMP is getting into Per Se's price range but they offer four courses options for less. At Per Se the minimum menu has nine courses, period, and there are limited options (usually at an even higher price) within those courses (like foie gras for an extra $40 or wagyu instead of lamb for an extra $100 when we dined there, for example).

Note that for large groups like yours Per Se has two private dining rooms set aside, so you will likely find it's easier to get reservations.

To give you an idea of how well-thought of these two places are, Pellegrino sponsors a list of "The Top 50 Best Restaurants" in the world (which is admittedly to some extent a popularity contest among chefs) and for 2011 Per Se was ranked 10th and EMP 24th. England's The Fat Duck was 5th, in case you're familiar with Heston's restaurant. Here's the list:

http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners

I would hardly call Per Se "lively." True, it's a great place, but the service has a sort of formulaic, mechanical, scripted feel to it. Keller's creations are unique the first time, but there's a sameness to them if you've experienced them more than once.

We definitely prefer Eleven Madison Park these days, not to mention Le Bernardin.

Neither, though, are "lively." Perhaps you could define more precisely what you mean, and the type of place you're looking for. To me, "lively" and "cocktails" equals "loud."

Were I dining in one of these temples of gastronomy, and a group of eight looking for "lively" were to be seated nearby, I might not be particularly thrilled.

Sorry to point of view, but we had a terrible experience a number of years ago at The French Laundry because of this sort of circumstance.

p.s. Nor could any of these places possibly be called "cool."

Maybe you're looking for a trendy sort of place, of which there are many such.

Churascarria Plataforma

Make that "Sorry to post this point of view, …."

bspielman, how about making some suggestions?

BSpielman beat me to the punch, cool is a relative word as is lively.

A middle of the road choice would be the Spotted Pig. It is a hip gastropub with wonderful seasonal dishes including some of the best burgers and fries.

Cacio e Pepe produces Romano cooking.

Not cool, not lively but always exceptional Gotham or Tocqueville.

Oh, sorry. I see that you mention a couple of places. Any others?

It's true they said "lively". But they said also real foodies and a place to dress up for on a Saturday night. I'm not saying this isn't possible - - but usually very lively focuses on the drinks as much as the food and isn't really a dress up place. (I'm thinking this doesn't mean really casuale and great burgers.)

If the OP returns perhaps she can clarify - including if they like or dislike specific cuisines. (Variety could mean something like Asia/fusion - or it could mean something very traditional with a broad variety - some sea food, steak, lamb etc.)

My first thought was a momofuku restaurant -- perhaps even the fried chicken dinner at the noodle bar (definitely more upscale than, you know, KFC or something) Otherwise, I've heard amazing things about ssam bar and ko. The restaurants are in the East Village, so I would think are more lively. The format for some of the restaurants encourage/require parties of 4-8 (such as the family style bo ssäm at ssam). http://www.momofuku.com/

Suggestions:

Morandi
Commerce
Minetta Tavern
Scarpetta

many others

I'm not a new Yorker and not cool, definitely a foodie so I'll recommend Boulud Sud. My daughter and I went there in November before the martathon and loved it. Got to see Daniel that night as well so that felt "cool" to me. The food was fabulous-so tasty, interesting flavors. The service was impeccable especially considering we were not really drinking that night, so I know we were a cheaper table. I'd go back in a heartbeat or try one of the other Boulud restaurants.

Also The Modern, especially the bar room. Great food and great cocktails, and since there are small plates you can eat as much or as little as you like.

I'd actually avoid restaurants like Spotted Pig or Minetta Tavern, where it's unlikely you'll be seated after 5:30 or before 11.

Unless you make a reservation, of course.

I think that you need to give a budget before getting any meaningful responses.