stotz

My two college aged kids and I arrive NYC this Saturday and I was wondering what suggestion you may have for a fun restaurant for dinner that night that they would like. Our budget is about $75 pp.

lovesublime

What kind of food? Where are you staying? Id say check out TAO in midtown (asian, but nothing too crazy) or Carmines for family-style Italian. You can do both of these under $75pp. This is a popular pre-theater spot near Times Square.

lovesublime

Remember dinner in the city doesnt usually start until at least 8pm..for maximum "people watching" plan on arriving in your chosen restaurant around then. They might also like Buddha Bar which is very similar to TAO in the trendy meatpacking district.

mclaurie

I'd head downtown-Chelsea, meatpacking district, Soho, the village, the lower east side. Depends on what kind of food you/they like. Spice Market and Buddakan for Asian, Pastis is a French brasserie in the meatpacking, Nero is Italian in meatpacking, or more casual, Stanton Social on the lower east side. Have a look at the restaurants on hipguide.com and look at reviews on menupages.com

You may have a hard time getting a reservation for next Sat. night. Worth checking on opentable.com to see what's available there although there are plenty of restaurants that don't use opentable.

lizziea06

Unless you want to eat at 6 PM or 11:30, it will be difficult to get a reservation at Stanton Social, Buddakan, Buddha Bar, or Tao. There are plenty of places where you can walk in, but you might have to wait for a table for a bit (1 hr - 90 minutes) if you come during peak dinner time (8-10 PM). Spotted Pig, Extra Virgin, Blue Ribbon, or Pearl Oyster Bar are places that fit this descriptoin. THey are all located in the Soho/W. Village area, and well within your budget. Great neighborhood to walk around in before or after dinner.

oceankayaker7

Buddakan is a great idea. Its has a great bar and the food is gone. Spice Market isn't the it place anymore.
The Beatrice Inn of the Waverly Inn in the west village would be another suggestion. They are very popular now.

oceankayaker7

Buddakan is a great idea. Its has a great bar and the food is great. Spice Market isn't the it place anymore.
The Beatrice Inn of the Waverly Inn in the west village would be another suggestion. They are very popular now.

mdn

Also, if they are meat lovers with big appetites, I would strongly recommend Churrascaria Plataforma (316 W 49th street). Waiters keep bringing out various cuts of meat (chicken, pork, beef, sausages etc etc) & keep circulating around the room & slicing the meats onto your plates. It's a funplace where they serve good drinks like caiparinhas.
Buddakan,Buddha Bar, Pastis, Waverly Inn etc. are all restaurants with a "scene". But if I were in college, I'd go to a churrascaria for dinner and then head to the "scene" places for drinks.

poodle13905

I had some middle-aged ladies in from the mid-west this weekend. I took them to this very tasty restaurant called Freemans, at the end of Freeman Alley in the Bowery. You can't get a reservation and the place was packed (1 to 1 1/2 hour wait) but we put our name in and then went to the New Museum (www.newmuseum.org) in the Bowery that opened 2 weeks ago.

Anyway, it was only $60 for all THREE of us! (we didn't drink much and didn't get entrees, instead getting several appetizers and 1 dessert to share) but entrees were all under $30 and very hearty. The place was packed with beautiful 20 and 30-somethings. It would also be a great date place, but there were lots of lively groups, too.

here's the website but it's only 1 page:
http://www.freemansrestaurant.com

here's a photo of the VERY cool alley it's at the end of- it feels sort of like a speak-easy!
http://famousankles.files.wordpress....n-alley-04.jpg