ALLGuide
These Are The Perfect Restaurants For Big Groups In America
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
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Organizing a big group dinner can be as stressful as cooking one. You don’t want to cram 15 people into your studio apartment, but getting a whole family reunion into a restaurant takes time, coordination, and a whole lot of prayer. Also, trying to split the check will probably end a few relationships that night. We’re no strangers to the need for big spaces and simpler receipts either, so we got you covered.
Across the U.S. we found restaurants that are perfect for big groups, as well as the digital solution for settling the bill. Whether it’s a steakhouse in Chicago, a sushi counter in New York City, a revamped parking lot in LA, or a Korean BBQ joint in SF, these spots have the trifecta of space, menu, and experience to handle any crowd you’re bringing in (and apologizing for.) With Zelle®¹ in the Chase Mobile® app², paying the tab and splitting the cost is also as simple as a few taps. So go ahead and put down that drink order for 12 or share that surf-and-turf with your friends. No more dealing with cash and IOUs.
The next time you’re considering a special dinner, skip the stress and savor the moment with our guide to the best big group restaurants. Afterwards, use Zelle to send and receive money for a perfect night’s end. Eating out has never been easier—visit https://www.chase.com/personal/zelle for more.
THE SPOTS
NYC
photo credit: Kate Previte
You have better odds of getting elected mayor than you do of snagging a reservation at Torrisi. But you can always rent out the back room. This Nolita spot from the Carbone team has a private dining space with a table that can seat the starting lineups of two baseball teams. You’ll have to arrange a multi-course meal, and it won’t be cheap, but it will be exceptional. Options from a sample menu include tortellini pomodoro, dover sole, and the restaurant’s signature platter of hams and zeppole.
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
Need to have a fancy meal in Midtown with your coworkers, some clients, or a bunch of family members who only eat within walking distance of Grand Central? Try the private dining room at 53. One of the Best New Restaurants of 2022, this “contemporary Asian” spot is big and glitzy, with impressive architectural touches like a rainbow-colored ceiling. Menu highlights include the Hainanese chicken and xiao long bao with Burgundy truffle.
Sushi On Me in Jackson Heights doesn’t have a private room—but the restaurant is only about the size of a studio apartment, and you can book the whole place with a group of your friends. For $99 per person, your group can sit at a counter and eat a 15-course omakase with bottomless sake. It’s a good time—just remember to plan at least a month in advance. This place is popular.
LA
Loreto is an upscale Mexican restaurant in Frogtown that reminds us a lot more of a spot you’d eat at in the Arts District. The stunning warehouse space has a large wrap-around bar, an outdoor bar, two indoor dining rooms, and a patio that looks out over a park-like courtyard. Which is to say, bring as many people as you want. The menu is almost entirely mariscos, including a very shareable whole grilled fish of the day, which comes with a spread of salsas, beans, rice, and unlimited quesadillas.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
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This outdoor restaurant in Santa Monica is located in a Bergamot Station parking lot, making it an ideal dinner spot when your group suddenly balloons from four people to seven. Snagging a reservation is definitely a smart move here, but with a set-up that includes large picnic tables and giant Santa Maria grills cooking meat, fish, and vegetables in front of you, the energy is very go-with-the-flow. If you want dinner to feel more like a neighborhood block party, head immediately to Le Great Outdoors.
photo credit: Jakob Layman
When it comes to finding a place for really big group dinners, Korean BBQ is always a good place to start. There are tons of options in Ktown, but you should go to Park's BBQ. The price point is a tad higher than others in the neighborhood, but the quality of meat is fantastic, and the atmosphere is festive without feeling like an off-the-rails college house party. The menu can be a little overwhelming at first, but as long as you stick to any of the combo platters on the back, no one goes home hungry.
SF
photo credit: Erin Ng
Good Good Culture Club is a tropical party in the Mission, and one to get rowdy at any time you want to gather up a bunch of friends and throw back cocktails made with edible glitter. Leafy green plants are everywhere, rattan lamps hang above, and hot pink and teal are splashed across the dining room. Just be prepared to bust out your outside voice—this place is loud. The long, communal “Ohana Table,” for parties of eight to sixteen, is in the middle of all the action. It’s $60 per person for a prix-fixe family-style spread of sinigang-spiced potato chips, spicy and refreshing crying tiger shrimp, and aromatic Lao sausage that land on your table like gifts.
At Um.ma, Korean barbecue is waiting for you—and the lucky people you brought along on this sizzling meat journey. This modern Sunset spot’s “mural room,” decorated with a striking woman in black and white, feels like a private nook and can fit between six and ten. Order as much flavor-packed citrus gochujang pork belly, crispy seafood pancakes, and unbelievably crunchy chicken wings as will fit on the table—you’ll want multiple rounds of each. The only downside to this room is there’s no tabletop grilling (that’s reserved for the patio only). But regardless, it’s still impossible to have a bad time.
We reserve La Mar for when we have a high-maintenance friend in town who wants to actually dress up for dinner, or when we need to keep a visiting client on our good side. But for the purposes of a group meal, the Peruvian spot on the Embarcadero has it on lock. There’s a patio right along the water, a lively dining room, and a bar to keep all the overflow cocktail-filled while waiting for a table. Adding to the photogenic space and waterfront location are the small plates that are worth coming here for alone, like tangy cebiches, Peruvian-style nigiri, and fantastic empanadas.
Chicago
Avec is one of our favorite restaurants in the city—the West Loop location has been around for 20 years, but the food is still interesting enough to keep us coming back. They do seasonal Mediterranean small plates with Midwestern twists, and keep long-time staples (like the chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates) on the menu. You can choose to have these dishes served family-style or as a buffet in one of three bookable rooms in the private dining space on the second floor of the restaurant.
For $150 per person, you can host a private dinner for up to 40 of your favorite people at Rose Mary, one of our go-to spots in the West Loop. If you no longer talk to every single person you graduated high school with, you can book the private dining space for 16 people at half size instead. There’s a set three-course menu (plus dessert) of excellent Italian and Croatian dishes chosen ahead of time. This means more wine and less debate about what to order.
Chicago is known for steakhouses, and there’s a 99% chance that someone you know will want to celebrate at one. RPM Steak is a solid choice. The food is great, and it’s moderately celebrity-adjacent since it’s owned by a former reality show star. The semi-private spaces are on the upper-level mezzanine and overlook the main dining room below—a perfect backdrop to toast your friend’s accomplishment of getting cast in the Real Housewives of Lincoln Park. Pricing starts at $95-$115 per person, and will get you things like oysters, broiled black cod, and some very expensive cuts of steak like wagyu tomahawk or a dry-aged porterhouse.
Disclaimer:
1. Enrollment in Zelle® with a U.S. checking or savings account is required to use the service. Chase customers must use an eligible Chase consumer or business checking account, which may have its own account fees. Consult your account agreement. To send money to or receive money from a small business, both parties must be enrolled with Zelle® directly through their financial institution’s online or mobile app experience. Funds are typically made available in minutes when the recipient’s email address or U.S. mobile number is already enrolled with Zelle® (go to enroll.zellepay.com to view participating banks). Select transactions could take up to 3 business days. Enroll on the Chase Mobile® app or Chase Online℠. Limitations may apply. Message and data rates may apply.
Only send money to people and businesses you trust. Neither Chase nor Zelle® offers a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle®, or provide coverage for non-received, damaged, or not-as-described goods and services you purchase using Zelle®, so you might not be able to get your money back once you send it.
Zelle and the Zelle related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.
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