Christmas Day Dining in NYC
 

Help!!! We will be in the city over the Christmas holiday and are trying to find a good to great restaurant for Christmas Day. I had posted an earlier message asking about Tavern on the Green (I discovered that they will be open) but many of the Fodorites who replied said that TOTG wasn't worth it - in fact the food bordered on awful! Our hotel doesn't have a concierge (it's a small botique hotel in midtown), so I don't know who to ask. Any ideas?? Your help is always appreciated! Thanks

Gracie: Check out the Sea Grill and the Rock Center Cafe. Both overlook the skating rink and Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. If you want something more rustic, Fraunces Tavern is a colonial style restaurant (George Washington ate there) in downtown Manhattan.

How about An American Place, Larry Forgione's (sp?) really excellent American food with exciting twists. Because it is in the Benjamin Hotel, I am pretty sure they will be serving on Christmas day. <BR>Incidentally, I'd be hard pressed to recommend Sea Grill over Tavern on the Green for food quality, or to eliminate the "tourist element". I still believe that if the "experience" is just as important as the actual food for this Christmas dinner, you still wouldn't go wrong at Tavern on the Green -- the restuarant that New Yorkers love to hate.

Having just had Thanksgiving dinner at Tavern on the Green with my family, I can say only one thing: DO NOT GO!!! It's not worth the money or the aggravation.<BR><BR>The place was like a zoo - it took at least 15 min. just to reach the reservation check-in desk. So many tables had been squeezed in it was difficult to get in and out of your chair. Too many people and way too expensive for the conveyer belt food service (and 20% gratuity automatically added to the bill). Any elegance or specialness was completely lost by the cattle car atmosphere of the holiday meal.

How about the Water Club or the River Cafe...both have good food, nice atmosphere...you can get a chocolate dessert at the River Cafe that looks like the Brooklyn Bridge...