Looking for a Steakhouse that could accomodate a group of about 25 near the New York Hilton on 6th Ave. Gallagher's was recommended by a resident and looking at some reviews we are thinking twice about this one. Ben Benson's, Del Frisco's ?? Too expensive and not great steaks? Any thoughts and suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

There are a bunch of steak houses in that area - if you look at menupages.com you can see menus, prices and reviews.

Not sure what's wrong with Del Frisco's - always heard it was fine (I'm not a big meat eater). And any decent steakhouse in NYC is going to be expensive. (If it's cheap - believe me - you won;t want the food.)

I'll say this. Our worst steakhouse experience was at Frankie and Johnny's. Simple awful. Next worst was Gallagher's where are steaks weren't good, filled with gristle, and we had horrible service.
So far my favorite is Smith and Wollensky's but we prefer the atmosphere of the bar rather that the stodgy dining rooms.
Bobby Van's is on my list to try next.

Ben Benson's is closest and while I haven't been there in a while, I always thought it was good (not outstanding). I wouldn't do Gallaghers. Ruth's Chris is an option. The Palm has a westside location on 50th & 8th. If you want a private room, I've been to a party of about that size at Keen's and it was terrific.

Sparks Steakhouse is very good.

I think it depends on if you need a private room or not. If you do, then I think you'll be limited by who has that kind of space.

DelFrisco's is insanely priced. In terms of locacation, it does work for where the Hilton is as it is just a few blocks South. But, the standing order at my firm is that DelFrisco's is banned as our CEO had a meal there and he found it to be exorbitantly priced for what it was. It is good, but if this is a corporate event, you may have budget issues.

I like Gallagher's, but not sure I'd have a group of 25 there.

In terms of an all around good NYC place and one that works for a business crowd, I still think Smith & Wollensky's is a good spot. That said, given it is cross-town from the Hilton, location may be an issue if you're asking people to head out in January.

If this is a more casual occassion and you're looking for something a bit different, you might want to think about Churrasscaria Plataforma. It's a Brazilian Riodiozio (sp?) that can be a really fun place. Not a traditional steakhouse but they serve about 17 different meats per night.

Went to Del Frisco's in June and had the $35.00 price fixe. I think it's the early bird special since we did get there at 5:30. It was an excellent meal at a decent price.

Sparks is very good. Also the Post House which is in the Lowell Hotel.

Ryan..why would you not want to have a group of 25 eat at Gallaghers? Is it the service for a large group, or can they not accomodate that many? I think my husband is set on going there after talking with someone who has been there and likes it. Thanks for everyones comments. JulieR

Well, Gallagher's certainly couldn't handle our group of 4. We ordered drinks and waited and waited. Finally the waiter came to take our food order, and we asked where our drinks were. Ooops. He'd go get them. We waited and waited. Then he took our food order. We waited a lot, hoping to get his attention for another drink, finally one of us got up and went over to the bar and asked if we could get more drinks, the bartender made them and someone else brought them to us; we think our waiter had gone on a smoke break as that's what he smelled like when he finally returned -- WITH OUR STEAKS. Ooops. He had forgotten our salads/appetizers -- no wonder it took so long. He offered to get them. We said to forget it as we felt our steaks would probably be put on hold. The steaks were cold, very tough and filled with gristle (the four of us had a total of three different cuts -- the filet was not tough, but tasteless). Then we waited for our bill, and waited. It was a disaster!

We had a great meal at Gallaghers. We were with our two young kids, and they served son's coke in his NBA cup we just bought, brought free potato chips for an appetizer, split a chicken for them. We were really happy. But, maybe we were lucky. Didn't think it was really ultra special, but very accommodating.

Patrick, thanks for your input, we might just have to look elsewhere.

I should have also mentioned, our waiter was not a kid. He was a career waiter and he must have told us a dozen times that he had been working there for something like 20 years. I think that was the part that bothered us the most. We could have possibly forgiven him if he had just started there.

I also vote Sparks. Just keep your head down and you'll be alright.

OK, woodrob, that calls for an explanation.

It used to be a mob hangout. Gotti orchestrated a hit on the previous boss of the "family" as he stepped out onto the street after eating at Sparks.

Darn. I knew that. Gotcha.

Actually, Big Paul's last meal wasn't at Sparks as he was hit as he exited his car. The very well worn joke about Spark's was "ask for a seat in the no shooting section."

Should have probably added it to my recommendations. Definately one of the cities best and good for groups. I had my bachelor party there. In trying to keep the cost per person down, ask the Sommeliar for some wine suggestions that are better value.