Recommend a family friendly restaurant in NY for a special occasion

54and56

Hi all,

2 Adults and 2 kids aged 10 and 14 heading to NY next weekend.

We have a great itinerary lined up and lot's of funky options for food from Katz diner, Johns Pizza to Papaya Hot Dogs etc but whilst there we'd like to mark a special family occasion with a nice evening meal and I'm looking for recommendations but it has to be Manhattan as we're not going to be venturing out of Manhattan at night.

If it was just the two adults we'd probably have a blow out in one of the up market steak houses like http://www.keens.com but having done something similar 5 years ago we came away disappointed. The food was good but the experience was meh relative to the high cost which if I remember was not much short of $300 and we didn't go crazy i.e. standard starter, main (steaks of course), deserts and a fairly entry level bottle of red wine. I can only imagine that for 4 of us the cost would be up around $500 and that's way OTT.

We're into all kinds of food particularly places with character and atmosphere but for a meal like this something steak/American is probably what we'd prefer to do.

Any suggestions from this list? http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurants-g60763-c37-New_York_City_New_York.html

willowthewisp

Rosie O'Grady's, just off Times Square.
Very family friendly and reasonable, 800 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019, United States.

notdarkyet

O'Lunney's is excellent for food and isn't an Oirish bar in that sense. Ellen's Diner should be a must for everyone visiting New York but maybe isn't what you're looking for as the food is just burgers - a great experience though. Both are within 100 metres of Times Square.

54and56

Great suggestions, thanks. All three locations look very good for easy/fun family food etc and are now firmly bookmarked in Google Maps as options when we are out and about but we want something a bit more special/memorable for this particular dinner. Any other suggestions?

Dave1442397

This may be too much of an experience, but could be fun - http://www.jekyllandhydeclub.com/

There's also a Groupon for it - https://www.groupon.com/deals/jekyll-and-hyde-restaurant-and-bar?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_dt_sea_ggl_txt_ttt_sr_cbp_ch1_nbr_k*jekyll%20and%20hyde%20menu_m*b_d*new-york-rtc-kwservice_g*rtc-kwservice-jekyll-and-hyde-restaurant-and-bar-broad_c*80944095883_ap*1t1&gclid=CPTKsJGR1sgCFYcSwwodHqMALA

notdarkyet

The Harlem Gospel Choir in BB King's Blues Club with an all you can eat buffet was an unforgettable experience. Some of the jazz clubs are pretty cool and offer a memorable dining experience.

coylemj

willowthewisp wrote: »

Rosie O'Grady's, just off Times Square.
Very family friendly and reasonable, 800 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019, United States.

+1 OP, you won't do much better than Rosie O'Grady's with a 10 and 14 year old whom I'm guessing will have a low threshold of boredom when they're eating out with adults. There's a good buzz about the place, you can see the world passing by on 7th Ave. out the window and if you're sitting right next to the window you can even see down to Times Square.

I respect the fact that you know your kids better than we do but what's 'special' and 'memorable' for you and your partner could be dead boring for the kids.

54and56

coylemj wrote: »

I respect the fact that you know your kids better than we do but what's 'special' and 'memorable' for you and your partner could be dead boring for the kids.

You are so right, like Sunday afternoon drives with my own parents years ago

The event is a special wedding anniversary so the emphasis is to err on the side of something which will be special for us more so than the kids but it does have to be enjoyable for the kids and not too stuffy hence not keen on Keens, Smith & Wollensky etc

BTW, just to clarify we do make these family trips very inclusive so lots of things on the to-do list are chosen by the kids themselves which sometimes requires the adults to put up with some experiences which are less than "special" or "memorable" but dinner that night is to mark an important adult occasion. Don't know why I feel I have to assert that point but I do!!

54and56

coylemj wrote: »

+1 OP, you won't do much better than Rosie O'Grady's with a 10 and 14 year old whom I'm guessing will have a low threshold of boredom when they're eating out with adults. There's a good buzz about the place, you can see the world passing by on 7th Ave. out the window and if you're sitting right next to the window you can even see down to Times Square.

It's definitely on the list of places to eat, particularly the day we are up round Times Square. It's only a mile from our Hotel on Lexington so well within walking distance at any time in fact.

54and56

Like the look of this place as an alternative to Keen's, Smith & Wollensky etc http://www.westsidesteakhousenyc.com. We can walk to it in 10 minutes from the Intrepid Museum and then meander back to the hotel in about 30 minutes afterwards. It'll tick the box for a special steak dinner without breaking the bank and without all the stuffiness of the old fashioned steak houses.

Spanish Eyes

Ellens Stardust Diner. Kitch but a great experience. The extras from the Broadway musicals sing while you eat.

Family friendly, 51st and Broadway.

Not to be missed for a great bit of (kind of expensive but what the heck) FUN!

http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/

54and56

Ellen's is definitely on the list, the kids would love it.

Bummer1234

Would Ellen's be suitable for older kids? (21-27)

54and56

Bummer1234 wrote: »

Would Ellen's be suitable for older kids? (21-27)

Sounds like it. It looks like an Eddie Rockets Mega Store on a very happy vibe!! Can't wait to embarrass my kids by singing out of tune and half the words at the top of my voice, they'll be morto!!

yew_tree

PJ Clarkes 915 3rd Ave - delicious food especially the Skirt Steak. Have a great range of burgers too.
Great history to the place too with people like Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy and her kids among former regulars.

They have another restaurant at the Lincoln Center too. (A bigger venue which may be more suitable for kids. The original one is the one on 3rd.

toadfly

What about Fogo de Chao, we went there and the food was amazing. Loved it.

http://www.fogodechao.com/location/new-york

54and56

yew_tree wrote: »

PJ Clarkes 915 3rd Ave - delicious food especially the Skirt Steak. Have a great range of burgers too.
Great history to the place too with people like Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy and her kids among former regulars.

They have another restaurant at the Lincoln Center too. (A bigger venue which may be more suitable for kids. The original one is the one on 3rd.

PJ Clarkes looks really nice. We're staying on Lexington so it would only be a 15 minute stroll straight up. Good option to have, thanks.

54and56

toadfly wrote: »

What about Fogo de Chao, we went there and the food was amazing. Loved it.

http://www.fogodechao.com/location/new-york

Thanks, I've added it to the list. Probably a little expensive for four of us and not really what I'd prioritise in terms of a NY experience but I do like Brazillian food having spent time in Sao Paulo many years ago.

We've 4 days and lot's of options. A great problem to have!!

knockoutned

If you like your steaks, (and going by your posts, i think you do!) you could try Maloney and Porcelli on 50th between Madison and Park. It would be a typcila New York steakhouse, but they have an offer at the moment for a 3 course dinner with unlimited wine for $79 pp. I cant post the link, but if you go there website and click on Nightly Wine Dinner.

I know you will have the kids with you, but they can order off the a la carte menu!

54and56

knockoutned wrote: »

If you like your steaks, (and going by your posts, i think you do!) you could try Maloney and Porcelli on 50th between Madison and Park. It would be a typcila New York steakhouse, but they have an offer at the moment for a 3 course dinner with unlimited wine for $79 pp. I cant post the link, but if you go there website and click on Nightly Wine Dinner.

I know you will have the kids with you, but they can order off the a la carte menu!

Jaysus!!! This could be a disaster. Myself and the Missus LOVE our wine (and our steak) and could easily polish off 3 bottles in a long dinner sitting if we were out on our own. Not sure it would be PC for the kids but it's seriously tempting!! Looks good http://maloneyandporcelli.com/wine-dinner

upandcumming

Plataforma on Times Square is great fun. Kinda buffet like place, salads, sushi etc in the middle, but lads go around with the meats on massive skewers. Like huge! You have a coloured beermat - green for more meat and red for no more. They'll keep coming up on rotation if your mat is green with a huge assortment of different meats. They also have people going around with Cachaças - a Brazilian drink which is unreal! Can be expensive, but just don't get any sides!