NYCGuide

14 Cool Restaurants That Are Quiet Enough For Your Parents

Fun places to take your parents that won't be too loud.
14 Cool Restaurants That Are Quiet Enough For Your Parents image

Getting dinner with your parents is tricky. Parents like places that aren’t too loud, and you like places that aren’t lame. Sure, your parents deserve some consideration because they technically raised you - but they didn’t raise you to be lame. So, on a deeper level, you’d really just be letting them down if you chose a boring, quiet place to eat dinner. Try one of these restaurants instead. They’re cool, and they aren’t too loud for old people.

The Spots

American

West Village

$$$$Perfect For:BreakfastBrunchCelebrity SightingsQuiet MealsVegetarians
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If your parents have ever worn matching ensembles involving khakis, fleece vests, or both, Cafe Cluny is perfect for them. It also isn’t terrible for you. For starters, the West Village location is convenient for an after-dinner outing with friends, and the restaurant is classy and comfortable in a timeless (and non-age-specific) way. You probably aren’t going to feel compelled to start a Tumblr in order to express how the food made you feel, but it’s good and solid and there’s something for everyone. And if you need a not-insane place for brunch in the Village, go here.


photo credit: Noah Devereaux

If you can get your parents out to Brooklyn, take them to Olmsted. They’ll love the urban-farmhouse vibe, and everyone will be into the food that’s weird (in a good way). Try a carrot crepe, the scallops with creamed corn, or a savory Japanese egg custard called chawanmushi. The food is fun to eat, and some of the ingredients are grown in the backyard. Get a drink out there before dinner, and your parents will be somewhat more convinced that you’re a functioning adult person.


These guys specialize in udon, but you they also do stuff like sushi, tempura, and rice bowls. TsuruTonTan is a small, successful chain in Japan, and this location on 16th Street is their first outpost in the states. The dimly lit dining room has a dark, modern, streamlined vibe to it - but this is still Union Square, and it’s calm enough that your parents won’t feel like they’re at a party past their bedtime.


The whole concept of Atoboy is cool, and the fact that the food is actually good is an added bonus. There’s only one choice here - and it’s that you have to make three choices. Pay $36 and pick three dishes. They’re modern-Korean small plates like octopus with kimchi or green beans with smoked eel and grapes. Unless you’re really into concrete, this isn’t the most attractive space, but there’s a good amount of distance between tables, so your parents will be able to hear everything you say (for better or worse).


Where To Have A Family Dinner In NYC image

NYC Guide

Where To Have A Family Dinner In NYC

At Narcissa, your parents will feel comfortable and fun will remain a possibility. Narcissa is in the bottom of the Standard East Village, so it’s reliably lively but still a lot tamer than the restaurant at the Standard across town. It’s also easy enough to get a table here, and there’s always a good energy to the place. Grab a booth in the main dining room for maximum privacy and optimal people watching. There’s a slight emphasis on vegetables, but a carnivore can still have a great meal here.


If your parents watch Top Chef and bought a sous vide machine they never use, take them to High Street on Hudson. Breakfast and lunch are straightforward (and excellent), but, at dinner, you can get some original, ambitious cooking without having to deal with a long wait or a host whose first assumption is that you’re lost. Go eat some interesting food, and talk to your parents. Ask for the wine list first, if that helps.


Houseman has special sound-absorbing panels on the ceiling, and it’s on a block of Soho that not a lot of people wander down - so it doesn’t get annoyingly busy. For dinner, there are some reasonably priced small plates that wouldn’t seem out of place on a tasting menu, and they serve a pretty great burger as well. Come here for relative peace and quiet in a restaurant that would be five times busier if it were in Nolita.


Hearth isn’t trendy, but it’s good - and a lot of people know it. It draws a steady crowd, but it doesn’t get too crazy. The menu is mostly healthy stuff like vegetables and whole-grain rigatoni that your parents (with their inferior metabolisms) will enjoy, but you can always get some gnocchi or a pork chop. Also, the East Village location means there are plenty of after-dinner options, and it’s just pricey enough that you’ll actually prefer going with your parents.


Deviled eggs, fluke crudo, steak tartare, and octopus. You’ve heard this song before - but Tuome plays it a little differently. This is a little, Asian-influenced restaurant in lower Alphabet City where the deviled eggs come crispy and the chicken liver mousse has a pool of maple syrup on top. Come here for high-quality food in a neighborhood setting that won’t overwhelm your parents’ delicate earbuds. And be sure to get their signature feast of pork belly and sesame noodles.


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