Friends from Spain...good restaurant to show them NYC.
 

Hello...used to live in NYC but its been 7 years so the restaurants have changed alot. I have good friends from Spain who are in NYC for a week on business. I am meeting them on Friday night and want to take them out to dinner to a great place to give them a good flavor of NYC. I was thinking Little Italy but am open to thoughts. I don't want anything too trendy or too loud (I want to be able to catch up with my friends over dinner). Thanks for your help.

type of food? neighborhood? price range? These will help us give you some advice.

type of food: pretty open but probably not sushi or other seafood.
neighborhood: they are staying in Murray Hill but I'll take them anywhere and give them a good subway experience!
price range: entrees up to 25 bucks

does that help?

Our European friends (not SPanish), always enjoy a good steakhouse when they visit. This most recent visit we took them to CHristo Taverna in Astoria (where they've never been,they come to NYC a 2-3 times a year). This is a greek steakhouse and worth the trip across the E. River. In NYC there are dozens of good steakhouses (Old Homestead, BLT, Ben Bensons, Strip House, etc.).

For good Italian, Babbo is a real treat.

If you don't want to travel too much, take them for a drink at the rooftop bar at the Shelburne Murray Hill. I haven't been, but I hear it's a nice view. Then Artisanal, right in the neighborhood is a fabulous bistro that specializes in cheese. They also have a prix fixe dinner for $30. Or,have a drink and head down into the Gramcercy Park/Flatiron/Chelsea area just south for dinner, and if you want, go to Little Italy or Veniero's for dessert and coffee.

You could try eating at the bar at Gramercy Tavern. THAT'S NY.

I'd either take them to the meatpacking district (which is trendy for sure) or maybe the village.

Artisanal is a great idea.

I like Olives in the W at Union Square. Not sure if that will meet your budget.

One of my favorite restaurants is Les Halles about 10 blocks north of Olives.

NYC is an interesting town in that most of the great places to eat are foreign cuisines. Les Halles is very french. And I'm sure your Spanish friends did not come all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to dine in French or Italian restaurants.

Try some American-style restaurants. Or a restaurant with spectacular views.

Also, from past experiences, most Europeans and non-NYers are not very adventureous eaters. They tend to stick to familiar choices and don't like anything too foreign.

That said, ask your friends specifically what kind of food they want to try. Are they willing to venture outside their comfort zone or do they want good Italian/French? There are some great Turkish/Moroccan or Etiopian restaurants around town.

My Swiss friends come to NYC every other year and they always want to eat at the same Italian restaurant and watch the same Disney-themed Broadway shows. Then I learned from talking with people that Swiss are very, very repressed and not adventureous at all. Now, I don't even bother to try impress them when they are in town. They are here to eat the same food and watch the same shows, which is totally okay with me.

Another vote for Artisanal -- fabulous food, great interior. And very close to Empire State Bldg which might be fun for them to visit at night.

Wow...great suggestions. My mouth is watering. And now that I think of it, my friend's wife is French. Maybe she would love Artisanal or she might hate it. Oh and I should have probably mentioned that my friend is in town marketing his family's wine. They own a vineyard in Spain. That makes this harder, doesn't it?

Not at all, easier. Take them to Morrells, probably the largest wine merchant in the city who now have 2 restaurants. I haven't been to either, but the one on Broadway is fancier. They have a trillion wines by the glass.

morrellsrestaurant.com

I think Union Square Cafe would be a good choice. It's very "New York" and always reliable.

www.menupages.com

Some of the above recs have been pretty bad...this allows you to select for your self (complete menus plus reviews)...

runnsally, I'm curious. If "some of the recs above have been pretty bad" why don't you mention which ones and why they're bad? How would looking at menus on a website, tell anyone which of the above recommendations were bad? Am I missing something here?

Cibo at 767 2d ave (at 40th) would be great - close by but away from tourist throngs, nice menu and wine list, the atmosphere is white tablecloth proper but not stuffy, service is attentive but not intrusive, and prices very reasonable. They have a prix fixe dinner menu that is one of the best I've seen in Manhattan. Check online at www.cibonyc.com

Yeah, I'm with Patrick, where are the bad recs here - Gramercy Tavern? Artisanal?

McLaurie's dead on with Morrells, but the downtown Morrells closed last month - the midtown one is still open. If your friends are in the wine business they are most likely very interested in food - you might try Veritas,which specializes in wine/food pairings and has a fantastic list - a bit pricy, but very New York. A good American place in Murray Hill would be Black Duck in the Park South Hotel . . . or how about a "real" American experience and take them to Danny Meyer's BBQ place, Blue Smoke?
Check out the menus on www.menupages.com

For instance, Gramercy Tavern is fantastic of course, but out of their price range (unless you eat in the front part), as is Babbo, etc. For instance #2, there are a lot of place like olives or venieros mentioned which are pretty lame in my opinion. Menupages not only provides menus, but ratings which generally are pretty good. Moreover, you can break it down by neighborhood, then cuisine or vice versa. Perhaps the view from LI is a little hazy.

Even though it would run more than $25 per person, I think American steak restaurants, with hearty American cocktails to start and a bottle of California red, are the finest expression of a great cuisine which is unavailable in Europe. Maybe your Fodors friends could suggest which NY steak house is least outrageous in price, but offers the classic aged steak, huge lobsters (another wild extravagance for Europeans), and usual accompaniments. Forget Little Italy. When in New York, they should live it up. As a second choice, go for a place which showcases American cuisine, such as Gramercy Tavern; only problem is there there is such demand for tables there that it would be hard to linger after dinner.

runnsally, just curious, what's "perhaps the view from LI is a little hazy" supposed to mean?

Sorry. I was cutting and pasting and didn't realize that got tacked on to the end of my response...