Any suggestions for a restaurant to have our rehearsal dinner in NYC? My brother is getting married at St. Patricks and is looking for a reasonably priced restaurant within walking distance of the church. Possibly Italian food.
Thanks.

What is reasonably priced (how much per person), how big is your party, and are you looking for a private room?

A private room would probably be best. We will be having about 40 people. Any moderately priced restaurants...I know NYC is very expensive, so I don't even know what to say as far as price per person would be.

Michele, we're not being pests, but there are 100s (1,000s?) of Italian restaurants in NYC. And, the prices vary quite a bit. We can be much more helpful with some price guidelines from you. Just keep in mind, however, that the prices in the mid-Manhattan area around St. Patrick's will not be cheap! And, I assume you'd want some place that you wouldn't have to travel too far to.

I have a suggestion. There is a little known restaurant called Giovanni, which is conveniently located on West 55th between 5th and 6th Aves - very convenient to St. Pat's. (also between 2 more known restaurants, La Cote Basque and La Caravelle) There are separate areas of the restaurant, but no separate rooms exactly. However, there is an upstairs which you could probably arrange for. I've eaten there only once, but the food was good. The restaurant also has an Italian chef in the kitchen (which lots of Italian restaurants in NY don't have). The decor is nice, although I would not know how to describe it. It is not the trendy rustic Italian look you see everywhere. It is not cheap, but definitely not outrageous compared to the neighborhood. Check out their website www.giovanni-ristorante.com where they give sample menus, and I'm sure you can work out more if your group is big enough for them. The phone # is 212-262-2828. And whatever you end up doing, please let us know, I'm curious about what you find! Good luck.

Bringing this up for Michele. If you can't be really specific about cost, I can't help you by suggesting something in the St. Patrick's vicinity. But please peruse the web site for the restauarant that Hamlet posted, specifically the photos and the party menus section. I've not been there, but it looks like what you're looking for, and the per-person prices are about what you'll find is "moderate" for a full dinner in that neighborhood someplace with some atmosphere that can accommodate a large party.

The Zagat rating for Giovanni is 22 out of 30 ("very good to excellent"), and the review reads, '"Nice-all-around" Midtown Italian dispensing "dependable" fare backed by a "surprisingly good" wine list, "friendly" service and an "outdoorsy"ambiance; it's a bit "pricey" but a good "pre-theater secret."'

Thanks for your input. My brother just reserved the Florintine Steakhouse for the rehearsal. Anybody heard of it? He says its about $30-$35 per person w/out alcohol. Do you think he could do better than that? Sorry, I didn't realize there were so many restaurants in close vicinity to St. Pats. I will check out Giovanni. Thanks.

I have never heard or eaten at Florentine, but I just looked it up in Zagat's. The food and service ratings are rather low with scores in the teens. However since money is an important factor I will say that it would be hard to beat $30 or $35/pp. Of course it all depends on what you're getting for it, and if you're happy with it.