By Caroline Grogan By Caroline Grogan | November 25, 2021 | Food & Drink,
Everyone knows the holidays are supposed to be enjoyed with family and friends, but cooking and organizing a holiday gathering often brings more stress than cheer.
Leave it to the experts this year and book a private dining experience at one of these stunning NYC restaurants. Whether you are looking for an intimate gathering or a large cocktail reception, these restaurants will take the stress out of the holidays and leave you to celebrate with your loved ones.
See also: Gotham Guide: New Tastes From Bentos, All’Antico Vinaio, Sereneco & More
611 Hudson St / Website
Chef Einat Admony opened Balaboosta, a Yiddish term meaning “the perfect housewife or mother,” with the goal of bringing her lively food, inspired by Israel as well as her family’s Persian and Yemenite background, to New Yorkers. Balaboosta’s private dining area seats up to 20, while a restaurant buyout will accommodate 50 guests. There are two different four-course menu options as well as two beverage package options.
Guests can book via email [email protected].
Multiple NYC Locations / Website
Contemporary Japanese restaurant Chikarashi ISSO brings a modern perspective to traditional Izakaya cuisine. For an elevated yet relaxed and intimate experience, the restaurant’s private dining area is ideal. Chikarashi ISSO’s private dining room seats 30 guests seated, while a full restaurant buyout can accommodate forty guests seated or 75 for standing receptions. The restaurant offers a family-style menu as well as a chef’s tasting menu.
Guests can book via email [email protected].
13 E 1st St / Website
Baar Baar, a first of its kind Indian Gastro Bar, takes a modern yet rustic approach to contemporary Indian cuisine. The restaurant features two private dining rooms that are perfect for larger parties as each seats up to 25 guests, and the restaurant is also available for full buyouts. Baar Baar offers three prix-fixe menus including one vegetarian option.
Guests can book via email [email protected].
127 E 27th St / Website
Sweetbriar, known for their upscale American comfort food, offers diners a menu focused on farm-fresh seasonal vegetables as well as sustainably-sourced fish and meats with an emphasis on the live fire cooking method. Guests looking to enjoy private dining can book the Vine Room, which can accommodate 12 seated or 20 for reception, or the Music Room, which can accommodate 30 seated or 50 for reception. There is a prix-fixe menu available for seated gatherings and a reception menu for larger groups.
Guests can book via email [email protected].
330 W Broadway / Website
For intimate dinners of up to 6 guests, A Pasta Bar, formerly known as Sola Pasta Bar, is your go-to spot. The SoHo-based restaurant has created custom winter greenhouse-style “villettas” (“cottages” in Italian”), festive red and fuschia floral arrangements, hanging electric firefly speakers and curated music via Bluetooth.
For their first artist collaboration, A Pasta Bar has partnered with acclaimed artist DAIN NYC to display eight custom artworks inside the villettas. Dain’s work is available for purchase online or on-site at $5,500 each.
65 E 55th St / Website
Located right in the heart of Midtown, two-Michelin starred restaurant Aquavit is the ideal gathering place for holiday dinners in the city. The restaurant offers three unique spaces to choose from, all of which can be enjoyed with banquet menus of Scandinavian fare. The Linné Salon seats up to 32 guests while the Nobel Room sits up to 80, and both feature their own dedicated kitchen. For a semi-private option, Aquavit’s Bar Lounge can seat a group of up to 12 guests or 20 standing.
Guests can book via Aquavit’s Private Dining department at 212-957-9045 or email [email protected].
Multiple NYC Locations / Website
Carmine’s Times Square restaurant is the ideal space for large gatherings, as the Jimmy Durante Room seats up to 200 guests and can accommodate cocktail receptions of up to 175. The room is located on the second floor and has its own private entrance, bar, restrooms and coat check. Semi-private dining options ideal for 20-60 guests are also available.
At the original Carmine’s on the Upper West Side, guests can dine in the Bellini Room, an intimate private dining experience that accommodates up to 42 guests, or semi-private areas that seat up to 50. Both restaurants are also available for full buyout.
2454 Broadway / Website
For a truly unique dining experience, enjoy Dagon’s mod, 70s-inspired decor complete with glazed Moroccan tiled floors and a buzzy central bar decorated seasonally with Tel Aviv style in mind. Dagon’s private dining area, set in the back of the restaurant overlooking the main dining area, can accommodate up to 20 guests. Guests can enjoy a prix-fixe menu that sticks to the soul of Levantine food while incorporating seasonal ingredients.
54 Carmine St / Website
Below Market Table’s bustling restaurant lies an intimate private dining room, formerly a wine cellar. The room features vaulted ceilings lit by candlelight, creating a special atmosphere for any private gathering, especially around the holidays. The room can accommodate up to 20 guests for a seated brunch, lunch, dinner or cocktail party, and guests will have access to a dedicated service team, their own bar, chalkboard wall, sound system and private washroom.
Guests can book via email [email protected].
126 W 18th St / Website
Chelsea-based Italian restaurant Portale offers guests private dining in the Etna Room, located on the second floor and able to accommodate up to 36 guests seated and 45 for a standing reception. Guests will be able to customize their private dining experience with full access to the built-in speaker system as well as temperature and lighting control. Portale also offers semi-private dining in the main dining room as well as full and partial restaurant and outdoor patio buyouts.
Guests can book via email [email protected].
Multiple NYC Locations / Website
Socarrat Paella Bar serves up classic Spanish dishes tapas-style, the perfect experience to bring a group of people together for meetings, holiday parties, rehearsal dinners and other special events. At each of their locations in Chelsea, Midtown East and Nolita, Socarrat offers a private dining room that seats 25, or guests can rent out the entire floor to seat up to 65. For parties of 10 or more, Socarrat offers a variety of family-style options including their signature paellas and tapas-style dishes.
Guests can book via email [email protected] or on their online form.
99 Bank St / Website
The Mary Lane, the newest addition to Blackfoot Hospitality Group (known for the Little Owl, The Clam and Market Table), is set in the heart of the West Village and features a vegetable-driven menu of seasonal American fare. The restaurant offers a completely separate downstairs private dining area that seats 20, made even more special with an interactive mural by artist Steven Fragale. The Mary Lane’s private dining room can be curated by Blackfoot’s events team complete with a custom menu from Chef Mike Price and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Sutin.
Guests can book via email [email protected].
Photography by: A Pasta Bar