I will be taking a flight out of Laguardia aiport in late May and need a special resturant to celebrate with my family before I go. Can you recommend an nice place to eat in the surrounding area? thank you

Where will you be before your flight? If in Manhattan, dine in Manhattan.

If on Long Island, dine there.

The LGA "surrounding area" does not offer "special restaurants."

I actually quite like Jackson Diner, which is in Jackson Heights, perhaps 15 minutes by cab from La Guardia. But it's not fancy, and the food is Indian. In general, I'd have to agree that there are no "special" places in that area.

If you want to eat someplace in the airport itself, Figs is pretty good. It's in the main terminal on the lower level. Not "special" but pretty good. Bu the menu is mostly pizza and hot sandwiches.

Are you kidding, there's tons of fabulous restaurants not far from LaGuardia. Try the Parkside in Corona, or in Astoria, there's Ponticello, plus numerous other Italian/Greek nice restaurants to choose from (check Zagats), all a 10-15 minute cab ride from Laguardia.

What do you mean by special? There's nothing right near the airport- but there are a lot of interesting ethnic places with reasonably good food within 20 minutes or so by cab.

But - if by special you mean fine dining - you'll need to stick to Manhattan

I agree that there are no 'special restaurants' around Laguardia.

I would suggest going somewhere in the Upper East Side, maybe in the 80's-90's along 1st or 2nd Av. You should be able to get to Laguardia in 20 minutes or so. If you really want to celebrate, I'd recommend Etas Unis on 81st. http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/etats-unis/

Sorry it took me a few days to get back to you all. We are coming from the Bronx needed a place for a family celebration before I fly off from the airport. We were planning on dinning in the Fordham area but since it is graduation day the good places on Arthur Ave are booked. I think I will try the Queens areas you mentioned. thanks

In Astoria,which is no more that 20 minute cab ride to/from Laguardia, there are 2 very good Italian and many Greek restaurants to choose from. These restaurants have made it worth our while to make the trek up to Astoria from Manhattan for some good dining experiences.

Trattoria L'Incontro is our favorite for the extensive menu choices that changes weekly. Many in Manhattan make the trek to this part of Queens for the, at times cutting edge, Italian which others swear rival those of Roberto's at Arthur Avenue. It's a very busy restaurant and reservations are a must.
http://www.trattorialincontro.com/main.html

For one of the best red-sauce Italian int he 5 boroughs, you can try Piccola Venezia, also in Astoria. This restaurant turns some of the basic red-sauce dishes into fine-executed stuff that, again, gets a lot of NYC clienteles very satisfied. Very good wine list. Again, call to reserve.
http://www.piccola-venezia.com/

For some good Greek seafood, kebabs and delicious salads and tzadziki dips, Astoria IS the place to go to in the 5 boroughs. Here are some suggestions:

Taverna Kyclades is very popular among locals, i.e. Greek immigrants, that there's always that 15-30 minute wait even when one has reservations. BTW, in case you are fuzzier than me, some say that the food here is really Cypriot, not Greek, but what do I know.
http://www.tavernakyclades.com/

Elias Corner (you can Google the address if it intersts you) is known for the fresh grilled fish and good salads.

There's a great restaurant in Astoria called Just Arthur's. It's great for family get togethers and you are always treated special. It's about 20 minutes from the airport, closer than Manhattan, easier getting to the airport. It's on Steinway Street and Ditmars Blvd. Food is wonderful.

wow so many ideas. I'll look at the websites. thanks so much.