Can anyone recommend a good pre-theatre (Saturday matinee ) restaurant near the Barrymore on West 47th St.? Thanks.

lunch or early dinner after the matinee?

And, are you amenable to walking a little bit? Several better places are not in the theater district, but only a short walk away.

Sorry. I should have been more specific. Pre-matinee lunch.
Walking is fine. Thank you.

If you like Cuban food, try Victor's Cafe, West 52 Street.

Budget? Cuisines you like/dislike? (There are dozens of choices.)

Moderate budget. My friend is not a big seafood fan. Anything else is fine. Maybe not Italian. There are a lot of Italian restaurants near my home.

Could you be a bit more specific about budget? Don't forget that, wherever you have lunch in New York, you'll be adding almost 8-1/2 percent sales tax, plus another 15 to 20% tip (usually). Thus, your budget needs to take that extra 25% into account.

Many good places have, for example, a prix-fixe lunch in the $25 to $40 range, but that usually doesn't include beverages, tax or tip. Is a $35 to $60 lunch within your budget?

On Sat. most places serve a brunch menu. Roberto Passon is a favored place on this forum and while it's Italian, they have a decent and inexpensive brunch menu with lots of options. http://www.robertopasson.com/media/robertopasson.html

Bar Americain is a more glamorous (and pricier) option. http://www.baramericain.com/pdf/BRUN...march%2009.pdf

If you like Chinese and don't mind walking several blocks.

The camphor tea smoked duck, the orange beef and the eggplant dish are quite good.

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/wu_liang_ye01/

Sounds great mohan. I'll have to try it!