I have made rervations for these four restaurants to celebrate our the anniversary of the day I met my husband. Wonderng what all you think of each to help me decide on one:

One By Land, Two By Sea 6:00pm
River Cafe - 10:30 pm
Gramercy Tavern 10:00 pm
Eleven Madison Park 6:00pm

We already have another reservation for Eleven Madison park so we could keep that one. It's before we see Spamalot and many of you think it would be a poor idea to have big meal before a show. Help from those who have been to any of these restaurants.

LOVE: Gramercy Tavern (have the wild mushroom ravioli with sage butter cream appetizer -- oh my gosh, my heart just skipped at beat )

LIKE: River Cafe -- fantastic view but a bit too touristy for me.

Eleven Madison -- I eat there often as it's in the area where I live. Good food, very good service.

DISLIKE: One if by Land, Two if by Sea -- In my opinion, terrible food (cold, tasteless) and slow, lackluster service.

If you're looking for traditional "romantic" I highly recommend March.

Sorry about all the typos...toddler son is on my lap helping me ;-)

I'm not sure why some of your resies are so early. Can;t imagine doing a big dinner (romantic no less) before a show (especially in 1 1.2 hours).

Agree the River Cafe and GramercyTavern are the best of these. I find RC more romantic. OIBYTIBS is widely held to be tired - I haven;t been there in several years so can;t comment personally.

I endorse all four, especially Grammercy Tavern. Unlike the previous poster, we've had good experience at One If by Land.
I wouldn't be overly concerned about dining before the theater. At least, it's never bothered us! (Besides 11 p.m. is too late for us to have dinner!)

I had planned on dropping OIBLTIBS as I keep hearing it's past it's prime.

I think some of the resies are early as it is Valentine's Day weekend and I took what I could get.

OIBL,TIBS has for some time been regarded as one of New York's most romantic restaurants. Personally, I find it to be a place that's become a bit too popular with the tourists who might be attracted by its reputation. It is a beautiful room, the food is good (though probably not nearly as good as similarly priced locations) and the staff is attentive. You won't go wrong here and it will provide the ambiance you're looking for. But, if it were me, I'd go to La Grenouille hands down for a romantic anniversary dinner. (Although, the 1994 Zagats comment on this place might still rank as one of the best one-liners in their history.)

Gramercy Tavern is excellant and don't worry, the restaurant will still be lively at 10.

>We already have another reservation for Eleven Madison park so we could keep that one. It's before we see Spamalot and many of you think it would be a poor idea to have big meal before a show.<

I'm a bit confused here. If you're saying these reservations you've listed are for the same night you're seeing Spamalot, I understand. Whether you eat before or after is a very personal thing. I don't like eating before a show. Somehow it always makes me sleepy and I miss parts of the show . Others say by eating late they wind up with heartburn or worse. So only you can make that decision.

I personally don't like eating a big meal either before or after a show. What I would do in your place is have a late lunch at River Cafe (2-2:30pm) You get to see the view in daylight, if you linger long enough, you get to see the view at night too, AND the price for lunch is "gentler" than dinner. You'd have plenty of time to get back uptown to the theater. Then after theater have a drink and dessert somewhere (Cafe Boulud, the Rainbow Room...) or go hear some music.

Either way, you will love the River Cafe. The views are terrific and while the food may not match Gramercy Tavern, for a tourist I think it's a far superior experience. One if by Land gets pretty negative reviews from most NYers who are jaded by newer, better options. I haven't been recently enough to offer an opinion.

Sorry mclaurie, we have the reservations for Eleven Madison Park on Valentine's Day before we see Spamalot. I was thinking of cancelling them and going on our anniversary, which is the day before (basically I have reservation on Sunday and Monday).

River Cafe and Gramercy Tavern are both appealing for the Sunday dinner...I guess I will have to flip a coin ;-)

I see. Because it's Valentine's day they can only offer you late or early?? There are so many good options rather than waiting til 10pm. I agree with Le Bernardin. The Sea Grill has great views of the skating rink at Rock Ctr. and good seafood. Asiate at the Mandarin Oriental? Bouley, Il Buco, Scalini Fedeli, La Grenouille?

I *strongly* recommend you go Gramercy Tavern -- do dinner. The food is just terrific. Try River Cafe for lunch.

Sunday brunch at River Cafe is just wonderful! We just loved the view, the food, the service - everything. We considered this meal our best out of quite a few during a week in NYC last year. We would pick R.C. anytime for a romantic dinner!

Flip a coin over Grammercy Tavern or River Cafe? I'd pray the Grammercy Tavern side to come up. There's no comparison, unless all you care about is the view.

The most wonderful special meal you could have in New York? Le Bernardin!!! And it is really great for a spectacular lunch too! Especially if you wanted to that on Valentine's Day then do something fun and light after Spamalot. I'm another of those who just doesn't like a big meal and drinks before a show! But a two hour or so grand lunch would be great! On the other hand it is probably getting late to get Valentine's Day reservations most places.

I vote for Gramercy Tavern. The food is spectacular. Other great restuarants I would recommend are Gotham Bar and Grill, March and of course, Aureole.

Parisandelle,

Whatever you decide please make sure to cancel the reservations you don't plan on keeping, to give someone else a chance.

Also, since it is Valentine's Day weekend there is a chance you'll encounter a meal/service that is less than what it normally would be. Many restaurants serve "special" menus during that time and end up doing millions of covers featuring a menu they aren't used to. This often leads to flaws in both service and food that are not typical of the particular restaurant.

I say this not to disappoint you, but merely to manage your expectations.

I sincerely hope you have a wonderful time!

AL

AL, don't worry - I have canceled Eleven Madison Park and OIBLTIBS for the Sunday. Still trying to decide on Gramercy Tavern or Rive Cafe.

With the exception OIBLTIBS, the menus will be the 'regular' for Valentine's Day. We have decided to dine at Eleven Madison Park as we could not get a reservation anywhere else on the 14th.

Oh Parisandelle.... I really hope you make it to Gramercy Tavern. It certainly is one of the TOP restaurants in NYC. I've *always* had incredible meals there.

FYI, Gramercy Tavern has a "front" room with a great menu and no reservation policy. You can also eat at the bar in this room, everything is first come, first serve. Less formal and much more reasonable, we've eaten in the back room and enjoyed the front much more. Also, Union Square Cafe, in my opinion is the best in NY, again, you can eat at the bar, or they have a few tables up front for "walk-ins". One more is Craft Bar (Craft is more formal, Craft Bar is another "no reservation" place w/fabulous food. Sometimes it's nice to do things less formal. If you go before theatre (around 5:00) you should have no problem w/seating (except for Valentine's Day). Good luck

I was wondering if the "front room" of Gramercy Tavern was just as good, so thanks for the tip.

Is Balthazar worth a reservation for breakfast one day? Menu looks nice. I think it might be baby friendly if we go early enough as well

Yes to Balthazar.