Cantonese with private room

Hi, everybody. I have friends who are getting married on a Friday in June. They want a Manhattan location with a separate room or area where they could have the ceremony and might hire a keyboard player. They might have around 30 people and might want the room for about 3 hrs. Bonus for a liquor license, though as long as they can have some bubbly poured, they’re cool with bringing it themselves.

I should say they’re not definitely set on Cantonese, but they want a cuisine that’s not primarily spicy, so I think Cantonese (or Shanghainese, if there were any really good Shanghainese banquet places in Manhattan, but I don’t know of any) would work well. Italian would undoubtedly please them, too, but I know it’s more expensive. The groom doesn’t love seafood, but he’s not too particular, otherwise, and I believe the bride does like seafood. So I think anyplace that’s primarily non-spicy, serves good food (even if he’s not particular, some of his guests will be) and serves a good variety of items will do nicely, providing their other criteria are met. Unfortunately, they’re not very familiar with private room costs, and I don’t have a clear idea of what their budget is, but money might be somewhat of an object.

What about those Cantonese restaurants in Manhattan Chinatown? I often see wedding or birthday banquets there. They can either look for a small restaurant, or a large one – and only block off a certain section for the 30 people (3-5 tables). 30 guests or 30 people? 30 guests would imply more than 30 people.

Golden Unicorn has three floors, so it is possible that they reserve one floor. Bite of Hong Kong… has a back area, and some small private room there… they may able to work out a plan. Of course, there are many other choices. They should call around and just to get an idea of the cost. This will give them a handle.

I think 30 people. I’m familiar with Golden Unicorn, at least as a dim sum place (are they better for dinner?), but not Bite of Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, they may go with Carmine’s, instead, so I’m hoping to get good recommendations for them. I would consider Congee Village if I were in their shoes.

BTW, if the party is still considering Cantonese, most Cantonese banquet restaurants have readily available banquet menus. Charge is for each table of 10. Dependent on how expensive the seafood are and how fancy the restaurant is, it usually ranges from $400-$600 per table. They don’t charge for venue.

I’ve had Cantonese banquets before myself, though not that recently (I used to have birthday banquets at places like Cantoon/South China Garden and Oriental Garden), and the last one I went to that someone else held was a good one in Flushing. My friends aren’t willing to go outside of Manhattan.

Hi Pan. Golden Unicorn is indeed great for dim sum. The main reason I recommend it is because it has a floor setup which can mean a little more privacy – even then 30 people will not occupy the entire floor. Bite of Hong Kong is pretty good for dinner. The thing I was considering is that you have mentioned private rooms, and I don’t know how private your friends want. Many people would go to a large restaurant and simply has the restaurant setup curtains or movable wall to isolate the banquet area, but if they want a private room as in an actual room with 4 real walls, and only 3-4 tables, then it is a more specific setup. I would definitely start calling if this is the case. This would be the bottleneck 30 people mean about 3-4 table (each table usually can max out around 10 or 12).

In term of cost, it really depends on the foods they are going to order. Congee Village is great too. I don’t believe they have private rooms and I don’t think I have ever seen they have setup curtains for banquets. The place is very tight, and has a lot of up and down area, so I don’t think they can setup.

Joy Luck Palace and Royal Seafood are also restaurants which can setup the curtain style (I have seen this especially Joy Luck), but they don’t have private rooms.

I would strongly encourage the happy couple to visit and eat at carmine’s before committing to celebrate such a wonderful moment of life there.

That’s a good point, but I don’t know if either of them has the kind of discriminating taste in food that we do. I’m encouraging them to check into Otto and Supper before committing to Carmine’s. I really hate Carmine’s, but I told the groom that it’s their wedding and if having it at Carmine’s is what they really want to do, I’ll come because it’s for them. He asked me what the problem with Carmine’s was, and I said that the food doesn’t taste good.

Oh, Otto would be perfect! They’re awesome for reasonably priced group meals and the food is fantastic. I’ve been to a number of group dining dinners there and have been favorably impressed each time.

I really like Otto, and they are an excellent value.

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As I told you on your thread on the FTC site, I haven’t been to Otto. But I have been to Lupa (same restaurant group) and found the food to be very delicious. Perhaps they could investigate that as well to see how it compares with Otto as to cost and the space in which private functions are held.

I prefer Otto to Lupa, and it’s cheaper and much easier to get into.