How delinquent we’ve been with our blog posts! It’s been a hectic, but incredibly productive and a fulfilling couple of months at Shiraz Events NYC and Miami. With exciting clients left and right, including The American Ballet Theatre, Microsoft Windows 7 launch, Rocco Dispirito and SNL, Absolut, ELLE Magazine and many more, we’ve been quite busy!
Otherwise, to kick off the Fall season, check out this great entertainment advice from Shai, as well as his recommendations for venues that set aside space for smaller private parties.
Check your local newsstands for this piece, as it’s published in The New York Observer, page R10 in ‘The Observer Guide to Restaurants & Party Planning’!
With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s time to start planning your party. There are some great places in the NYC that offer great pricing for your budget friendly needs.
“Right now, everyone is a little more flexible, so you can ask for more.” For example, if you come with a big group, you can ask for a prix fixe menu, and you can negotiate adding some dishes to the main menu as well as different wines. “And you can do the same thing with service,” Shai says, “ in galas or dinner parties, ask for at least a server-and-a-half per table of ten people to make sure that you have really great service.”
For larger parties, you can even ask them to decorate the table, “even if they won’t do it as part of the package, they can probably apple the special rate that they get from their florist.” You can also ask the restaurant to print the guests’ names on the menu in lieu of place cards, “…it looks a little bit more custom made and more invested.” If you’re using a private room you can always bring your own music as well to set the mood.
Shai’s venue picks that cater to smaller parties too:
1. Aquavit 65 East 55th Street (bt. Park and Madison Avenues) Special Events 212-957-9045
2. Buddakan 75 Ninth Avenue (bt. 15th and 16th Streets) Special Events 212-989-7049- Manager: Deborah Yeom
3. Eleven Madison Park 11 Madison Avenue (at 24th Street) 646-747-2583 (Dana Kane)
4. Bottino 246 Tenth Avenue (bt. 24th and 25th Street) 212-206-6766 ext 6 for Danny Emerman
The Art of Entertaining 