The best restaurant buyouts in New York City

On a picturesque corner of the West Village is Little Owl, a neighborhood bistro with Meditteranean-inspired dishes. It may be where Central Perk is supposed to be, but you won’t find that orange couch here. You will, however, find a Joey – Chef Joey Campanero that is, who has curated a menu overflowing with seasonal ingredients, hand-caught local seafood, and treasured recipes from his childhood (the bone-in pork-chop and gravy meatballs are standouts). Prix-fixe menu options are available for groups over 7, and for more elaborate affairs, the Little Owl Townhouse event space a block over offers multi-course lunches, dinners, and passed hors d'oeuvres.

The Little Owl restaurant accommodates up to 30 guests for a sit-down meal, and the Townhouse space can host up to 40.

No one can evoke the atmosphere of a New York City diner better than lifelong New Yorkers themselves, and that’s exactly what Sunday to Sunday is. More than anything, it’s a community affair – in this corner of the Lower East Side, you’ll find girls catching up over brunch, lifelong lovers smoking cigarettes at the sidewalk tables, and families enjoying a comfort meal at the end of the day.

On the menu, you’ll find childhood favorites like grilled cheese and tomato soup, milkshakes with sprinkles, and spaghetti and meatballs. The space is small enough to feel local, but big enough to host a full buyout of up to 75 guests. A blend of contemporary, trendy design and all-American retro decor gives the space a funky edge. There’s a 25-person private dining room downstairs if you want to to split an event between floors.

The rustic decor of Juliette evokes the atmosphere of a countryside garden party: draping greenery hanging from the ceilings, vines climbing up the walls, and vintage-inspired signage hanging above bistro tables. Bifold doors lead out onto the Winter Garden, a skylight-covered dining room that can expand into the main dining space. The full restaurant can accommodate up to 110, including the elegant rooftop space –weather permitting.

Juliette’s menu offers brunch and dinner. Ingredients are sourced locally and seasonally for French onion soup, Parisian steak tartare, and diver scallops with ratatouille. For events, you can choose from two prix-fixe menu options, passed hors d’oeuvres, or buffet-style raw bars and charcuterie boards. Open bar options begin at $36/guest, with plenty of French wine, obviously.

*ilili *means “tell me” in Arabic, and if you’re having trouble hearing what your friends are saying over the hum of city diners, you may as well book the entire restaurant. This Lebanese-Meditteranean restaurant is in the heart of the Flatiron District and offers dining options for up to 150 seated guests (or 210 standing). A full buyout includes exclusive use of the ground floor Dining Room & Mirrored Room, the second floor Bar Room & Tented Room, and the main Bar & Lounge. Each smaller room can also be rented out for private dining.

The decor is elegant but the meals are encouraged to be family-style, with hot and cold mezze options and main plates like lamb chops, whole roasted chicken, and a mixed grill plate with a little bit of everything. There’s plenty of space, but each table will echo the intimacy of Middle Eastern family meals, so it’ll never feel like too much.

You didn’t think we’d skip out on an Italian option, did you? La Pecora Bianca is a NYC chain that doesn’t feel like a chain – each location’s decor varies, but the food remains consistent. Pastas are made daily in-house, and family-style menus are offered for lunch and dinner, with highlights like whipped ricotta and truffle honey, rigatoni with vodka sauce, and branzino. The menu isn’t over-complicated and the setting is relaxed, making it an ideal spot for casual and elevated events.

The Upper West Side location has two floors, including a main dining room, and a 38-seat mezzanine space. A full buyout accommodates 100 seated guests (130 reception) and the interior boasts French doors, high ceilings, and curved windows letting in plenty of natural light and a touch of greenery. Just steps away from Central Park and across from the Natural History Museum, you’re right by what makes the neighborhood so special.

The old New York sitcoms always have that classic third place – somewhere for the friend group to go on dates, watch the football game, or grab a meal together. It’s a reliable corner of the city that feels exclusively yours. That can be hard to find these days, but Bernie’s seeks to be that versatile neighborhood spot in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Behind the vintage luncheonette facade, you’ll find vintage hanging faux Tiffany lamps, booths with red checked tablecloths, and the classic tile and tin ceilings of NYC joints.

Bernie’s menu is familiar, featuring a loveable classic cheeseburger, chicken parm, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks. Desserts are reminiscent of the 50s diner: choose a root beer float, lemon ice-box pie, or Bernie’s brownie sundae while you wait for your cute neighbor to come and flirt with you at the bar.

This venue exclusively offers full buyouts for a minimum of 40 guests (max. 85), and offers various bar packages to adapt to your event.

Ask any seasoned New Yorker foodie to recall their first meal at Gramercy Tavern, and they’ll likely be able to recount every detail. A Michelin star and three decades in, this Union Square staple remains one of the most consistently loved in the city, a pioneer in NYC hospitality since its 1994 opening. Nowadays, a 30-year-old restaurant is an old one, and the atmosphere is laced with the comfort and wisdom of a mature establishment. Robert Kushner’s iconic produce murals line the space, while the dark mahogany details and square tables with white tablecloths add a timeless charm. Menu highlights include its infamous Tavern Burger and a grilled flatbread with seasonal dips.

A full buyout of the restaurant can allow multiple layouts, from a 150-person standing cocktail reception to a 120-person seated dinner. Add-ons include florals, beverage packages, passed and stationary snacks, and bespoke cakes. You can even give your guests a Gramercy Tavern goodie bag, with chocolate chip cookies, homemade seasonal jam, or a cookbook signed by head chef Mike Anthony.

There are plenty of British restaurants in NYC, but many can be… well, tacky. Let’s face it, the Brits aren’t known for their cuisine (do beans really belong on toast?) but perhaps they’ve not been given enough credit. English-born chef Ed Szymanski is singlehandedly improving their reputation on this side of the pond with Lord’s, a modern homage to traditional hearty British cooking. The decor pays tribute to the traditional racing greens of 60s and 70s Britain, and you’ll find floral wallpaper that seasoned London tourists will recognize from House of Hackney.

The meat-heavy and rich menu highlights nose-to-tail cooking made famous by London legend St. John. This isn’t one for vegetarians – you’ll find everything from crispy pig’s head and lamb scotch egg to Szymanski’s famous duck pie. Finish off with the sticky toffee ice cream and thank us later.

Full buyouts are available for seated dinners or cocktail parties of up to 60 guests.

In an upscale, flashy area, Greywind is a breath of fresh air – understated and elegant, with an interior straight out of a West Elm showroom. The no-nonsense menu lets the ingredients talk, with a collection of locally sourced seafood, meat, and chicken dishes enhanced with vegetables like fennel, squash, sprouts, and beets. But there’s still a bit of fun to be had: if you’ve ever had a Cheez-It and thought wow, I wish this was twenty times bigger, you’re in luck. The housemade “cheese-its” are crispy, enormous, and deliciously cheesy – you’ll almost wish they were bigger.

A full restaurant buyout at Greywind incorporates the usage of both event spaces, so you can start with a cocktail hour with passed hors d’oeuvres in the bar area followed by a multi-course seated dinner in the main dining room. If you want to keep the party going after hours, you can add on the Spygold speakeasy beneath the restaurant for a moody fire-lit nightcap.

Greywind accommodates 120 standing guests for a restaurant buyout, and the Spygold speakeasy accommodates up to 60 guests.

On the menu at Llama Inn, you’ll find classic Peruvian dishes with a bit of NYC twist: think manfredine pasta with gochujang and Peruvian pepper, snow peas with cancha pesto, and churros with black sesame. This fusion of flavors is what Chef Erik Ramirez, who has Japanese-Peruvian roots and was raised in New Jersey, wanted to bring to his restaurants. You’ll find this creativity extended to the cocktail menu, which highlights funky combos like grapefruit tonic and olives in the Yayo Hipster or palo santo, honey, and lime in La Santa.

The restaurant is, of course, set in a corner building in Williamsburg, with walls of windows allowing a plethora of natural light. The interior is plant-filled with pops of deep greens and pinks, highlighted by scandi-inspired beige tones elsewhere. For buyouts of the main dining room, Llama Inn can host up to 80 guests for a seated dinner. In the summer, you can also rent the seasonal rooftop, which accommodates an additional 40 standing guests – ideal for pre-function drinks.