The Quiet New York City Restaurant thread

This thread is for all of us who long for restaurants where you can talk to your tablemates without raising your voice. After far too many meals where I wished I could just walk out to the serene quiet of a NYC street (latest was Edi and the Wolf) I decided to start this thread. It doesn’t have to be a mausoleum, the only requirement is that someone doesn’t have to sitting right next to you to hear you at a normal conversational tone.

I’ll keep it updated with people’s contributions and attributions, agreements and disagreements.

Marea - Jay
Jungsik - Jay
Grand Sichuan St. Marks location - Jay
North End Grill - Jay
Daniel - Jay
Racines so long as you aren’t seated at the center table - Jay, Peter K
Maialino - Jay
Mangeoire - not the quietest but I can hear the people across the table - Jay
North Square - Dan Hammer
Freud - Rachel
EMP (very high ceiling does it IMO)–Peter K
Bouley (downstairs, at least) --Peter K
Barney Greengrass (for lunch, anyway)–Peter K
Wallflower (we sat in the window)–Peter K
Boulud Sud - Peter K
Annisa - Diane
Vaucluse - DavidZ
Morini - DavidZ
Café Boulud is up and down, but on its good days its very good - DavidZ
The Mark is obscenely overpriced even by UES standards but its good - DavidZ
Orsay is no better or worse than a million other brasserie; - DavidZ
Antonucci’s is really good - DavidZ
Taste at Eli’s is good - DavidZ
Sandros is up and down but when he feels like cooking, its spectacular - DavidZ
The Simone is excellent - DavidZ
Sfoglia is good - DavidZ
La Grenouille - Merrill
The Clocktower - Julius L

Jay, have you tried Freud, which if I remember correctly is the same folks as Edi and the Wolf? We had a Sunday night dinner there several weeks ago and I remember thinking how calm and “grownup” it felt.

Good idea, Jay! Resto reviews in NYC really should include a decibel rating!

Agee re Racines–Peter K
EMP (very high ceiling does it IMO)–Peter K
Bouley (downstairs, at least) --Peter K
Barney Greengrass (for lunch, anyway)–Peter K

Excellent!

Just remembered
Wallflower (we sat in the window)–Peter K

Slightly more affordable > North Square. http://northsquareny.com/ I believe BYO is $15.00

I haven’t but I’ve added it to the list. The food and wine at Edi were good and the service was really excellent, but I was trying to catch up with friends who were visiting NYC and I could barely hear a word they said.

I hadn’t been to Annisa in a couple of years, and went last night. We had an exquisite dinner and the noise level was low.

Thanks Diane! It’s been 3 years for me but had an excellent meal back then.

Either no one is reading this thread or there really are almost no quiet NYC restaurants. I’m sad either way.

Jay, north of 59th street and east of 3rd Avenue, nearly every restaurant is quiet.

Are any of them worth eating in though?

Sure. Vaucluse and Morini, obviously. I’m interested in that new chef from southern Italy that took over the ex-Rosi restaurant on Madison. Café Boulud is up and down, but on its good days its very good. The Mark is obscenely overpriced even by UES standards but its good. Orsay is no better or worse than a million other brasseries; Antonucci’s is really good, Taste at Eli’s is good. Sandros is up and down but when he feels like cooking, its spectacular. The Simone is excellent. Sfoglia is good. Etc etc.

Now, all this stuff is way more expensive than many places downtown, but you’re paying in part for the lower density of tables.

I asked about the noise level at l’Altro Paradiso in the other thread, but nobody heard me

La Grenouille.

Thanks! I’m almost never eating out on the UES so the area is a bit of a black box to me in that regard. The only one of those I’ve been to is the Mark and that was nearly 20 years ago. I’ve been thinking about Cafe Boulud since the last Fete du Champagne where they were serving a fantastic app, knowing it’s not noisy makes it an even more attractive option.

Boulud Sud (dinner about a year ago). The bar was very noisy but our table (near the bar, not too far from the door) was reasonable

The Clocktower. Easy to have a conversation at your table and the food and service are excellent. I highly recommend it for a special occasion dinner. (also reasonable corkage for byo)

This thread has been very quiet lately–are we all getting numb from the excessive noise in those NYC restos?