The Best Large Private Dining Rooms in New York
Go big or go home
The Best Large Private Dining Rooms in New York
Go big or go home
Seeking a space for you and 40 plus friends to eat out en privé? Somebody’s popular! For you and yours (and presumably some of theirs), here are the places we trust for private dining when you’re rolling deep.
Since 1906, this landmarked brownstone on Restaurant Row has served both traditional Piedmontese and American cuisine, with a hefty Italian-leaning wine list that’s been praised by Wine Spectator. The parlor floor is reserved for private dining - this includes the Rose Room, the Wine Library, and the Mirror Gallery, and the Garden Room (the original dining room of the 1874 townhouse), each with its own original fireplace alongside restored woodwork and charming period details. Individually the rooms comfortably seat between 18 and 36 guests, but they can be combined to accommodate larger groups as necessary.
The OG red sauce joint from Major Food Group has become a bit of a spectacle in recent years, with clubstaurant-adjacent outposts in Miami, Vegas, and Hong Kong, but if you’re willing to throw down, Carbone will deliver an experience worthy of multiple Drake shoutouts. For the small cost of a buyout, you can ball out with 100 of your best buds over veal parm and spicy rigatoni.
The trek to Danny Meyer’s latest venture at Manhattan West brings you through what can only be described as an open-air mall, but once you arrive at the sprawling second storey trattoria, you’ll be rewarded with chef Hillary Sterling’s excellent house made pastas and live-fire cooking, alongside an extensive Italian wine list and enviable views of the Empire State Building. For a buyout, a group of 100 guests can dine in private, enjoying the full restaurant in all its glory.
Serving Carroll Gardens for more than twenty years, this neighborhood joint from Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo (commonly known as simply “The Franks”) has become a bonafide dining destination, offering a hearty menu of family style Italian American dishes in a homey atmosphere. A converted blacksmith’s stable in the garden, faced in rustic brick with a lighting installation by conceptual artist John Wigmore, offers a uniquely nostalgic dining room for 40; when combined with the attached garden, the full space seats up to 65.
Historically known as simply “the very famous restaurant in Brooklyn,” this fabled chophouse and seafood restaurant operated on Fulton Street for nearly 125 years, with the grand dame of Southern cooking, chef Edna Lewis, notably running the kitchen in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The gilded era dining room remains one of the only standalone restaurants in the city to receive both individual and interior landmark status from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. In 2021, Gage and Tollner reopened under the auspices of Chef Sohui Kim (of The Good Fork and Insa), whose menu thoughtfully reimagines the standout dishes of the past century for a new era. Two private dining rooms offer an air of Victorian elegance, including a marble-topped brass bar, custom wainscoting, and two ornamental fireplaces. The Edna Lewis Room and Dolphin Bar seat thirty and twenty respectively - the spaces can be combined to accommodate a group of fifty.
Hutong, an elegant Chinese restaurant with locations in Hong Kong and London, made its stateside debut in the cavernous Bloomberg Building space once occupied by Le Cirque. The room has been completely reimagined, inspired by visions of deco glamour and the swinging culture of 1920’s New York and Shanghai. Hutong describes itself as a Northern Chinese restaurant, though there is a fair amount of Sichuan cuisine on offer, alongside dishes from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong province, as well as extensive dim sum service. Four private dining rooms can be rented individually or combined as needed to accommodate parties of different sizes - Jinyu and Jiuwan each seat ten guests, while Mao’er and Liulichang each seat eighteen.
Tucked inside the Roman and Williams Guild boutique, chef Marie-Aude Rose’s La Mercerie is an ode to everyday French cooking, marrying classical training with a taste for seasonal ingredients. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the tableware - all of which can be purchased in the on-site shop - doubles down on quotidian (or shall we say, quotidien) Francophilia, including rustic stoneware, hand blown glassware, and subtly embroidered linens. A private dining room, outfitted with Roman and Williams luxury furnishings, seats up to 24 guests, while a restaurant buyout provides space to seat 50.
The sister restaurant to Bushwick’s Ops serves excellent naturally fermented, Neapolitan by way of New York pies, alongside a formidable natural wine list, plus a rotating flavor of seasonal soft serve - think kabocha squash and salted caramel for fall, and fig leaf and melon for summer. The main dining room is spacious if a little lacking in character, but we’re hard pressed to think of a better place in Brooklyn to kick back with up to 70 of your best buds over pizza and vino - the draft wines by the liter are a steal, but don’t sleep on the section of party-ready magnums.
Ignacio Mattos’ Rockefeller Center restaurant is inspired by Italian all-day cafes, reliable outposts equally outfitted for a quick morning espresso and pastry or a leisurely afternoon lunch. Later in the day, it’s all about aperitivo, whether you fancy a spritz or one of the finest martinis the city has to offer. Antipasti are the star of the show, but there are a few seconds should you crave something a bit more substantial. In case of a buyout, the handsome butter-yellow dining room with white marble countertops offers seating for 50 guests.
Both the menu and the interior design at Mel’s celebrate the hearth as the beating heart of the restaurant - shareable dishes from their wood-fired grill oven complement a color palette of warm reds and yellows radiating from their tile-clad pizza oven out into the dining room. A dining counter runs the length of the open kitchen at the center, separating the restaurant into multiple semi-private dining areas: The back half of the space can seat up to 50 guests.
Chef Thomas Allan’s contemporary American menu at the Modern has earned the restaurant two Michelin stars as well as a three star review from The New York Times, but the space is equally impressive in itself. The main dining room and a sizable private dining room both offer coveted views of the MoMA’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller sculpture garden, a calming reprieve from the cacophony of Midtown. The latter can seat up to 64 guests, while a restaurant buyout offers space for up to 100 seated. An expansive 2,800 bottle wine list, which has received Wine Spectator’s Grand award, is perhaps reason for celebration on its own.
Online bottle shop Parcelle’s brick and mortar location is tucked behind a hunter green facade with porthole windows just off Dimes Square. After business hours, the store turns into a cozy candlelit wine bar with a snazzy vintage furniture and a substantial menu of bar snacks, as well as a selection of dishes honestly described as “food that is hard to eat on the couch.” Should you and a group find yourselves up for the challenge, the space is available for buyouts and can seat up to 65 guests.
This sprawling restaurant from Sunday Hospitality offers creative takes on izakaya fare, from a seasonal selection of binchotan skewers, to a three course Buddhist duck feast, alongside a thoughtful beverage program with inventive cocktails and an extensive menu of sake, wine, and shochu. Rule of Thirds offers two spaces beyond their private dining rooms for especially large parties - the Atrium, replete with lush greenery and a sizable skylight, provides space for 100 seated guests, while the Corner Bar, which seats up to 150, features floor to ceiling windows and a dedicated full-service bar.
Much as the name suggests, Sunday in Brooklyn is perfect for brunch on Sunday in Brooklyn, with a commendable variety of well-executed sweet and savory options and a solid cocktail program. The same easygoing and welcoming ethos that characterizes the daytime service spills over into the evenings, with an approachable menu of New American comfort fare. Sunday in Brooklyn offers a couple options for larger parties: The sun room on the second floor comfortably seats up to 50 guests, while a restaurant buyout can accommodate 110 seated guests.
Situated on a busy Lower East Side corner, Lee's on Canal is a versatile event venue boasting a full chef's kitchen, complete with cooking equipment and table settings.