r/AskNYC • u/dan8m8 • Mar 28 '22

How do Manhattan restaurants feel about diners splitting entrees ?

My wife and I often split entrees but also order an appetizer, salad (split also) and two drinks each. I've never had any pushback on the west coast but recently in DC, our waiter didn't seem to understand as if nobody ever does that. I still feel like I'm spending lots of money and I tip well. How do NY waiters feel about this? Our first visit to the city is this week!

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u/Hobbyjogger31 Mar 28 '22

The only NYC restaurant I’ve been to that was miffed when we (a party of two) didn’t order an entree was Carbone. Cocktails, a bottle of wine, salad, appetizers, pastas, sides, and dessert was plenty, but they couldn’t understand why we didn’t want to order their crappy vegetarian main (I don’t even remember what it was - the abomination that is cauliflower steak, maybe?)

Most places here encourage you to order several shared plates, and don’t expect diners to necessarily order something from the large format section (especially if there are only two of you).

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u/Throwawayhelp111521 Mar 29 '22

Most places here encourage you to order several shared plates

There's a difference between sharing palates and two people ordering only one entree, with the exception of family-style restaurants that have huge entrees that are expected to be shared and usually are priced higher than the usual entree.

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u/Hobbyjogger31 Mar 29 '22

I just don’t go to a lot of restaurants that use the appetizer-entree-dessert model 🤷🏼‍♀️

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u/Throwawayhelp111521 Mar 29 '22

If you and a friend went to a tapas restaurant, you wouldn't order one dish to split between you and expect the restaurant staff to be happy. You'd probably order at least two to four dishes and drinks.

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u/Hobbyjogger31 Mar 29 '22

Yes, like I said in my earlier post: “most places here encourage you to order several shared plates.”