Our favorite birthday restaurants in the Financial District

It's your big day, and that calls for a celebration with impressive views, which can be found at Manhatta. This FiDi birthday restaurant is a love letter to New York City, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows letting in natural light and making you feel one with the skyline. Executive Chef Justin Bogle offers a three or four-course dinner menu with dishes like lobster carpaccio, sweet pea dumplings, and dry-aged duck. This venue has various private rooms to accommodate different-sized groups, and a full buyout can hold 200 seated guests or 625 standing.

If you want to take your birthday dinner one step further, The Chef's Counter has a tasting menu with only twelve seats and is made up of ten courses. Additionally, the bar has an award-winning cocktail and wine menu where they put unique NYC-inspired twists on classics. The Chinatown contains Dicel rye, Averna plum wine, crispy duck, shitake mushroom, and cinnamon, and the Red Hook contains Toasted Coconut Redemption Rye, Punt e Mes, maraschino, and chocolate.

In 1972, Harry and his wife Adrienne opened Harry's at Hanover Square, and since then, it has become a FiDi favorite. In the basement of the India House building, this restaurant has dark brick walls and leather seating creating a sophisticated atmosphere. By sourcing ingredients from local vendors, Executive Chef Joseph Mallol highlights their New York roots through menu items like roasted corn and crab soup, squid ink linguine, Beef Wellington, and Driver sea scallops.

There is also an extensive drinks menu with wine, beer, and signature cocktails like the Saint Tropez, Hotel Nacional, and The Botanist. For something a little sharper, you’ll find unique spirits like the Irish Middleton Very Rare whiskey and the Nikka, "Days," Blended Malt whiskey from Japan. And if you are looking to host a private event for your birthday, there are three areas to choose from– the Conservatory (max. 20), the Pearl Bar (max. 40), and the Wine Cellar (max. 45)

Instead of hosting a birthday dinner like you do every year, head to brunch with friends at Tom Colicchio's The Bar Room, where live jazz music by The Kate Quartet or the Temple Court Quartet will be the soundtrack to your morning. You can start your meal with Scottish smoked salmon toast, share some cardamon sugar spiced donuts, and finish with the brioche french toast.

If brunch isn't your thing (come on, you live in New York), the dinner menu has plates like roasted red pepper dip, roasted bone marrow, TC's Wagyu burger, and Chatham cod. This FiDi birthday restaurant has signature cocktails named after cultural figures like Betty Smith, Emily Roebling, and Benito Antonio – better known as Bad Bunny. Classic cocktails are also on the drinks list, along with wines, beer, and cider in a can or on draft.

Most of us would want to spend our birthdays visiting the picturesque towns of Italy, but this dream is often not feasible. Serafina Vino E Cucina, near the New York Stock Exchange, can be the alternative, with a menu featuring wine pairings from different regions of Italy. Additionally, the orange walls, yellow curtains, and bottles of wine displayed around the room match the Mediterranean vibes you would hope for.

Bruschetta, calamari, burrata and prosciutto, and meatballs are classic antipasti dishes made to share family-style. And for your main dish, your options include comforting pasta like cacio e pepe, tagliolini al limone, fettuccine alla bolognese, and spicy penne alla vodka. We're hungry just thinking about it. But if you are not in the pasta mood, there's steak and fries, grilled salmon, and pizza.

When choosing a restaurant for your birthday dinner, you always look for something unique, somewhere you have never been before, and something that will impress your guests. Metropolis is a FiDi birthday restaurant within the Perelman Performing Arts Center, with a funky, fun lighting design and art pieces that match the vibrant menu and theatrical cocktails – admire the decor while sipping on The Corn Situation or a Highball.

Your meal may start with snapper tartare, temperature squash and crab blossom, or gravlax, followed by fried chicken, grilled short rib, or miso salmon. It’s your birthday, after all, so you need to get a sweet treat – pick from strawberry pavlova, fig cheesecake, serious chocolate soufflé, cherry cobbler, or ice cream.

Contact the venue for information on the private dining room and full buyout rentals.