Recommend a restaurant

Le Bernandin

A nook of a restaurant, but a special one, especially for V-day:

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

It is BYOB, if that makes a difference to you.

At the risk of being overheard in this crowded cafe and having too many others pour into one of my favorite restaurants, Nocello on 55th.

ali

Bouley

Ed's Chowder House, which is nearby. (You need to make reservations far in advance). Dovetail, a little farther north, but on west side, is also very good.

David Burke Townhouse - have only been there for lunch, but setting is really pretty (though a little tight) and the food was delicious.

i haven't yet been to the new location (which sounds more glassy, less romancy), but i've always loved aureole.

La Luncheonette or Union Square Café.

Or Picholine in the neighborhood.

What's your favorite restaurant? Do you like a quiet romantic spot, or a glossy banquette in a room with high ceilings and giant floral arrangements?

For big and glam, I love Del Posto. It feels like a special occasion whenever you're there. Food's as good as Babbo, but there is a lot of room between the tables and the service is lovely. Also Bar Americain, if we're sticking with Iron Chefs on the westside.

I had a phenomenal meal at Casa Lever, super romantic in a sophisticated and fun way.

Incidentally, I had bad fish at Ed's Chowder House! Actually spoiled. Yuk. I'll take Shun Lee for Lincoln Center adjacent food any day...

Tina

Best meals I've ever had: Morimoto and Stanton Social ... Bouley ranks up there too ...

i like bar americain, it's fun. haven't tried del posto, shall have to do so.

if you're willing to travel, eleven madison park is beautiful in all respects.

thanks all. these are great recs.
gosh, i love to eat so its hard to pick a favorite. i've never been to most of these places. Somewhere low key would be nice. Not having people sitting right on top of us would be fabulous. I didn't mind it when hubby and i ate out every weekend before the kids, but now that our nights out are less frequent i'm finding myself less tolerant of other people's conversations during my precious date time.

Jean Georges?

Don't know it's zagat rating these days but 11 Madison Park remains my fav restaurant.

Address for those who haven't had their coffee today is 11 madison ave.

I second 11 Madison Park. My favorite restaurant in New York, and by extension the world.

seconding picholine, which beats the sh*t out of del posto

I'm down with Jean Georges, either formal or casusal dining both are great and you can walk to Lincoln Center. Last time I was at Jean Georges formal dinning, foam and shot glasses of bacon soup were all the rage and quite good. My wife and I just boycotted V-Day and treated ourselves to lunch on President's Day at Blue Ribbon Sushi on 58th and 8th in some small boutique hotel. Lunch was $160 and fantastic.

Enjoy UWSMom, concur on not wanting to hear adjacent convos. let us know how the evening went.

I think Daniel Boulud's flagship "Daniel" is about as good as it gets. If you want something really upscale and a WHOLE lot of fun--I mean food that makes you smile because the flavors not only blow your mind but it is kind of funny--WD-50 is awesome. Wylie Dufresne (I probably massacred the spelling) is the king of "molecular gastronomy" and this downtown restaurant is outstanding and yet not like all the others in its class.

One of our favs is a little west village gem called The Place.

http://www.theplaceny.com/html/index.htm

Assuming you would like to be near Lincoln Center, how about Gabriel's 11 W. 60th St. between B'Way & Columbus. gabrielsbarandrest.com

Where ever you end up, I hope you have a wonderful evening!

A few steps down from Daniel is Bar Boulud on 63rd & Broadway. I found it to be casual, fun, somewhat romantic, and really good food. There is a large Lincoln Center crowd so be mindful of the time of day.

http://danielnyc.com/barboulud.html