Holiday Party Venues in NYC: Restaurant Rooms for 2026
Holiday party venues in NYC: eight restaurants whose rooms seat 6 to 200 guests, with the published capacities, December minimums and hold terms.
Eight Manhattan restaurants can serve as holiday party venues and publish their room sizes, from the 6-to-10-seat Capri Room at Bucatini to a 200-seat full buyout at Il Gattopardo, with the 20-guest private dining room at Gramercy Tavern in between. Choose by headcount first (up to 20 guests, 21 to 50, or 51 and up), then compare December minimums and hold terms, which differ by restaurant.
Hours, prices and policies below come from each restaurant’s own website, checked in October 2026.
At a glance: eight rooms and the sizes they publish
| Restaurant | Address | Best for | Capacity the restaurant publishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gramercy Tavern | 42 East 20th Street | One table of up to 20; buyouts | Private Dining Room 20; buyout 120 seated |
| Union Square Cafe | 101 East 19th Street | 40 to 45 guests | Alcove 10; Park & Irving Room 40 seated or 45 standing; buyout 100 seated or 200 standing |
| Pete’s Tavern | 129 East 18th Street, corner of Irving Place | Up to 65 guests | Speakeasy Room 44 sit-down, 65 cocktail-style; 3-hour limit |
| Tarallucci e Vino | 15 East 18th Street; 873 Broadway | 38 to 135 seated | Mezzanine 10-38 seated; Fifth Floor Loft 90; Third Floor Loft 135 seated |
| Bucatini | 2 East 45th Street | Midtown, 6 to 60 | Capri Room 6-10; Private Dining Room 36; Mezzanine 60 seated |
| Il Gattopardo | 13-15 West 54th Street | 16 to 200 | Alcove 16; Cellar 30; Atrium 70; buyout 200 seated or 300 standing |
| Ci Siamo | 440 West 33rd Street, Suite 100 | 50 to 75 near Hudson Yards | Private Dining Room 50 seated or 75 standing; buyout 100 seated or 250 standing |
| Little Owl | Townhouse: 55 Grove Street, at Seventh Avenue South | West Village, 24 to 80 | Chef’s Room 24 seated; Townhouse 40 seated or 80 cocktail-style |
Where can I host a holiday party in NYC, by headcount?
Best for up to 20 guests
Gramercy Tavern’s Private Dining Room seats up to 20 guests for lunch and dinner daily, and its page describes a single table. Union Square Cafe’s Alcove (10 guests) and Il Gattopardo’s Alcove (16) are both billed as semi-private, one overlooking the main dining room and one on the main dining room floor, so ask what separates the party from the room. Bucatini’s Capri Room takes 6 to 10 seated.
Best for 21 to 50 guests
Seven of the eight have a room seating 21 to 50, the most crowded band: Little Owl’s Chef’s Room (24), Il Gattopardo’s Cellar (30), Bucatini’s Private Dining Room (36), the Tarallucci e Vino Mezzanine (38), Union Square Cafe’s Park & Irving Room (40), Pete’s Tavern (44) and Ci Siamo (50).
- Bucatini names holiday parties among the uses of its Private Dining Room, which overlooks the open kitchen.
- Union Square Cafe can add the adjacent Parlor Bar to a Park & Irving event for cocktails, charged hourly.
- Pete’s Tavern seats 44 for a sit-down meal or holds 65 standing. The room is up a 17-step staircase with no elevator, so raise access early.
- Ci Siamo puts its room on the third floor, reached by elevator. The terrace comes with the booking, but its furniture season is May to November and tents and heaters are not permitted, so December plans should not count on it.
- Little Owl calls both the Townhouse and the Chef’s Room completely private.
Best for 51 guests and up
Bucatini’s Mezzanine seats up to 60, with larger standing receptions. Il Gattopardo’s Atrium seats 70 or holds 90 standing, and with the adjoining Cellar it takes 110 seated or 175 standing. Tarallucci e Vino’s lofts at 873 Broadway run 90 seated (Fifth Floor), 100 (Fourth Floor) and 135 (Third Floor), the largest seated figure here outside a whole-restaurant buyout.
Can you buy out a restaurant for a holiday party?
Six of the eight publish a buyout size, from 33 guests to 200 seated: Little Owl (33), the Tarallucci e Vino NoMad restaurant (48 seated, 70 standing), Union Square Cafe (100), Ci Siamo (100), Gramercy Tavern (120) and Il Gattopardo (200, or 300 standing). Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe and Ci Siamo each send buyout pricing to an inquiry.
Two details follow from the numbers. Gramercy Tavern’s page lists a 20-guest room and a 120-seat buyout with nothing between, so a party of 21 would need to ask about the buyout. At Little Owl the restaurant buyout (33) holds fewer guests than the Townhouse (40 seated), and buyouts there must be secured at least a month ahead. Restaurant buyouts in NYC tabulates 13 whole-restaurant capacities and what each page says about price.
How much does a holiday party at a restaurant cost?
Three restaurants print minimums in their event kits: Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe and Ci Siamo. Each says it charges no room fee for its private dining room, and Pete’s Tavern says its banquet room carries no extra charge. Across the three kits, the dinner minimum runs about $4,500 to $8,500 from January to November and $6,000 to $11,500 in December, so December adds about a third to a half at each; private dining minimum spend in NYC explains why. Union Square Cafe and Ci Siamo list those dinner figures for Monday to Saturday; Gramercy Tavern’s kit gives one dinner figure with no day split. Lunch runs about $1,500 to $2,500 outside December and $1,500 to $3,500 in December. The rooms seat 20, 40 and 50, so the range mixes room size with restaurant.
Gratuity and 8.875% tax sit on top at all three, and Pete’s Tavern adds 20% gratuity and 8.875% tax to every invoice. These are benchmarks, not quotes; confirm the figure for your date with the events coordinator. Pete’s says its minimum “varies according to times & dates requested.” Little Owl says “Please inquire to request pricing.” The Bucatini, Il Gattopardo and Tarallucci e Vino event pages checked in October 2026 print capacities but no minimums.
What are cheap or affordable holiday party venues in NYC?
No page here markets a budget tier, but the published terms show where the numbers move:
- Midday. Union Square Cafe prints one $1,500 lunch and brunch minimum for every month, December included.
- Sunday. Union Square Cafe and Ci Siamo both print a Sunday dinner minimum of $3,000 for the whole year.
- Bar tab. Pete’s Tavern lists a beverage option where host and guests pay as they go or open individual tabs.
How far ahead should you book a holiday party venue in NYC?
Only Little Owl prints a booking lead time, and only for buyouts: at least a month. Everything else is a hold rule:
- Gramercy Tavern takes inquiries first come, first served and confirms nothing without a valid credit card and signed contract.
- The Gramercy Tavern kit (for dinner), the Union Square Cafe kit and the Ci Siamo kit each require a deposit of 50% of the minimum, fully refundable only for cancellations more than 28 days before the event. A cancellation within 3 business days of the event owes the full minimum.
- Pete’s Tavern takes a 20% non-refundable deposit at booking and a final guest count 4 days out.
- Little Owl asks for a 50% deposit and says the guest count need not be known at booking.
As of October 2026, the private dining pages at Gramercy Tavern and Ci Siamo each show only a limited list of open dinner dates in the private dining room for October through December and ask planners to inquire about lunches and later dates. Check each page for its current list; December private dining availability has the dates as read on October 22, 2026.
How these rooms were chosen
A restaurant is included when its own pages print a seated capacity and a way to reach an events team. Reservation platforms and review sites were not used, and the table runs from Gramercy and Union Square to Midtown, Hudson Yards and the West Village without ranking anyone. Of the eight, four state there is no room charge, three print December minimums, and two print open-date lists. Only Bucatini and Il Gattopardo (whose inquiry form lists Holiday as an event type) name holiday parties; the other six describe office, corporate or general occasions, though three of them price December separately.
Four lines for the first email
A first email to each events team needs four lines: the date with a backup, the arrival time, a headcount range with seated or standing, and any vendor or AV needs. Ask in the same message for the minimum on that exact date, the deposit date and the date the final count locks, and keep the answers in writing. Confirm every figure with the events coordinator before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I host a holiday party in NYC?
Restaurants that publish room sizes include Gramercy Tavern (a private dining room for 20), Union Square Cafe (40 seated), Pete’s Tavern (44 seated, 65 cocktail-style), Ci Siamo (50 seated) and Tarallucci e Vino’s lofts (90 to 135 seated). Il Gattopardo’s full buyout seats 200. Pick by headcount, then confirm the date and minimum in writing.
How much does a holiday party at a restaurant cost?
At the three restaurants that print minimums, a December dinner minimum runs about $6,000 to $11,500 and a December lunch about $1,500 to $3,500, before gratuity and 8.875% tax. Others, including Little Owl, quote on inquiry. Treat these as benchmarks and get your date’s number in writing.
How far ahead should you book a holiday party venue in NYC?
No restaurant here publishes a general booking window. Gramercy Tavern holds a date only with a credit card and signed contract, and the deposits at Gramercy Tavern (for dinner), Union Square Cafe and Ci Siamo are fully refundable only more than 28 days out. As of October 2026 the Gramercy Tavern and Ci Siamo private dining pages both show only a limited list of open dinner dates, so inquire early.
Can you buy out a restaurant for a holiday party?
Yes, at the six restaurants above that publish a buyout size, from 33 guests at Little Owl to 200 seated at Il Gattopardo. Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe and Ci Siamo send buyout pricing to an inquiry, and Little Owl needs a month’s notice.
