Eating in Groups

A recent meal at Daniel Rose’s Spring reminded me that one of the most frequent questions I field has to do with where 6-7 or 10-12 or 25 or whatever can eat to celebrate an anniversary, birthday or other occasion.  I think it’s best to think of the answers to this question in several categories.  The first is to buy out, e.g. reserve, the whole place.  This is what happened at Spring.  Last month, after having another splendid meal there I asked the owner/chef/bottle-washer and public relations expert if I could reserve for 6-8 in a couple of weeks.  He said “why not take the whole place?”  My friend said “I can probably come up with the rest,” and it was done.  And indeed, we had 16 (his max) and it was terrific; we were able to shout, joke, schmooze and change places without worrying about the impact on others.  Obviously this option only works for small groups in smallish places, but I’ve been at La Grande Cascade and the Jules Verne when they were booked for large groups and it worked quite well too.  The second strategy is to book a private room within a bigger place.  A few years ago my wife Colette and I booked a room upstairs at Le Petit Colombier in the 17th that fit 10-12 and was again just right for our event.  While it’s known for game and it was game season, I can see it working year round.  My favorite place for décor, so long as everyone likes brasserie food, is the Tiffanyesque-ceilinged private room at the Terminus Nord, which seats about the same number and is really a calm oasis in the midst of the noisy bustling place.  Smaller and thus more intimate is the room off the main dining area at Restaurant W in the Warwick Hotel. The Red Michelin is a particularly good resource for scoping out such rooms (salons particuliers).  A place I’m entranced with is the Restaurant le Club: Maison des Polytechniciens where politicians book one of several rooms off the side of the restaurant in which I imagine they plot and plan amidst smoke and wine.  And then there are the semi-secluded alcoves or areas such as the alcove at the Bon Accueil or the raised platform at Thierry Burlot.  While not as insulated, since the big rooms do not tend to get super-noisy, they work pretty well too.  Another strategy is to spy around one’s favorite place; often you’ll find (on the way to the bathroom, bien sur) a room upstairs (such as that at the Bastide Odeon) or downstairs (e.g. Les Papilles) that is pretty big and insulated pretty well from the sound of the mother restaurant by the stairway itself.  Finally, just recently, I saw a new twist on the barrier issue when a restaurant in the country put up a velvet curtain between the big reserved table and the rest of the room/restaurant; it afforded the celebrants visual isolation and the resto’s patrons auditory calm.  My recommendations this week for private parties include:  Spring 28, rue de la Tour d’Auvergne, 9th, (Metro: St Georges or Pigalle) T: 01.45.96.05.72 Open Tuesday-Friday for dinner with one seating at 8:30-9 PM   Lunch Thursday and Friday at around 1 PM, seating is very limited (8-10)  Cooking classes and private parties on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Menu du jour 36 €  La Bastide Odeon 7, rue Corneille, 6th (RER: Luxembourg, Metro : St Michel) T : 01.43.26.03.65 Closed Sundays and Mondays Menus at 29.50 and 35.50 €.  Restaurant le Club Maison des Polytechniciens 12 rue de Poitiers, 7th (Metro: Solferino) T: 01.49.54.74.74 Closed Weekends A la Carte 35-60 Les Papilles 30 rue Gay Lussac, 5th (RER: Luxembourg) T: 01.43.25.20.79 Closed Sunday and Tuesday and Thursday nights Menu 28.50 €.  Terminus Nord 23, rue de Dunkerque, 10th (Metro : Gare du Nord)  T : 01 42 85 05 15 Open everyday Menu 25 €, 40-55 € a la carte  Thierry Burlot 8 Rue Nicolas Charlet, 15th (Metro: Pasteur) T: 01.42.19.08.59 Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. Formula 26 €, menu-carte 32 €, degustation menu 52 €.   Correction and retraction: in my article on eating in the 12th arrondissement, I recommended Les Grands Marches as a place to go.  As an alert reader and my own eyes revealed a few days afterwards, it subsequently closed, then this spring, reopened, to lukewarm reviews, under the aegis of the Bernard Group, who already run places ranging from the venerable Brasserie Lipp to the hip Mood and the themed Toastissimo to the fast-food chain Quick.  ©2007 John A. Talbott