Whether you’re celebrating your best friend’s upcoming wedding or helping your sister get ready to become a mother, you’ll need a unique space and some great food to host a memorable daytime affair (assuming your closet-size living room doesn’t cut it). Fortunately, the city has plenty of options: Here are some of our absolute favorite private and semi-private venues for the perfect baby shower or bridal shower in NYC.
13 Great Places to Host a Bridal or Baby Shower in NYC
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Published Aug 11, 2021
Courtesy of Milk and Roses
1. Milk And Roses
If your ideal shower includes bottomless mimosas and brunch alfresco, it doesn’t get better than this Greenpoint mainstay. Walk through the restaurant adorned with library-style bookshelves and lipstick-red booths to the shady back patio and you’ll probably forget you’re in Brooklyn entirely. Some highlights of the Italian-leaning brunch menu are the refreshing salmon tartare with watermelon radish and cucumber sauce and the PB&J French toast garnished with berry jam and almond butter.
1110 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn; milkandrosesbk.com
2. Palma
What could be a more picturesque shower venue than your own private West Village carriage house? Set on quiet Cornelia Street, the intimate space is basically begging to be Instagrammed, with an interior filled with candles and flowers. We love the brunch menu, which features Italian-inspired dishes like poached eggs with prosciutto and burrata and cacio e pepe ravioli.
28 Cornelia St.; palmanyc.com
3. Brooklyn Winery
An event at Brooklyn Winery feels like an escape to a bucolic Sonoma farmhouse by way of Williamsburg. The venue offers both brunch and afternoon lunch and can accommodate anywhere from 20 to 100 guests in a stylish space decorated with reclaimed wood tables, bistro chairs and antique china. The best part: Your meal is accompanied by red and white wines made right at the urban winery with grapes from all around the country.
213 N. Eighth St., Brooklyn; bkwinery.com
4. Maman Soho
The Soho outpost of the popular French café with locations all over the city is exceptionally photogenic, especially the garden, a bright and airy space with wooden farm tables, bistro lights, a covered roof and plenty of leafy decor. The enchanting and meticulously decorated space can be reserved for up to 16 people. The family-style brunch menu can be customized, but think decadent platters of mini pain au chocolat, veggie-filled quiches and multigrain bread topped with avocado and smoked salmon.
239 Centre St.; mamannyc.com
5. Pisticci
The food at this lovely Italian trattoria in Morningside Heights is made from local ingredients that are grown at the restaurant’s very own farm in Hudson Valley. Choose between the intimate den and the larger, more secluded wine room, which can hold up to 50 people. The team will work with you to design your perfect menu—just make sure to include some of the fresh pastas like the light and summery penne tossed with ripe tomatoes, basil and house-made mozzarella.
125 La Salle St.; pisticcinyc.com
6. Sotto 13
Set in an adorable West Village townhouse, Sotto 13 boasts a sun-drenched atrium and can accommodate up to 80 people without a full buyout. Food is served family-style starting with bombolini—doughnut holes filled with Nutella—before moving on to main courses like avocado toast topped with smoked salmon and focaccia French toast coated in brown butter, rosemary and vanilla crème fraîche. There’s also a handful of festive add-ons, like a champagne toast or DIY mimosa bar.
140 W. 13th St.; sotto13.com
7. Sunday In Brooklyn
They say you can’t have your cake and eat it too, but at Sunday in Brooklyn, you actually can. With a private dining room, a covered rooftop garden and a larger second-floor sunroom, the restaurant can accommodate gatherings for up to 150 people. Each room boasts its own unique feel (think light and bright versus wood-paneled and moody), but all are equally stylish and comfortable. Plus, the menu runs the gamut from healthy oat-milk chia bowls to lavish biscuits and gravy with poached eggs.
348 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn; sundayinbrooklyn.com
8. Uva
The rustic and cozy private wine cellar at this adorable Upper East Side locale can fit up to 32 people. You can take brunch here in one of two directions: a more traditional breakfast spread of blueberry pancakes, frittatas and egg scrambles, or go for an Italian meal filled with antipasto, bruschetta, eggplant lasagna and decadent pastas. In either case, keep the Aperol spritzes and mimosas flowing (or a tasty mocktail if you’re hosting a baby shower).
1486 Second Ave; uva.com
9. Grand Banks
If you’re searching for a uniquely nautical experience for a summer or early fall shower, look no further than Grand Banks. This stationary sailboat docked at Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 has a Captain’s table, a semi-private space at the bow of the ship that can be reserved for up to 16 guests. Your seafood-centric meal (think: caviar hash browns, lobster rolls and more) comes with panoramic views of the Hudson River and downtown Manhattan skyline.
Pier 25 Hudson River Park; crewny.com/grandbanks
10. Gertie
This all-day cafe in Williamsburg boasts a partially covered backyard and light flooded private dining area, which holds anywhere from 30 to 50 guests. The vibe is casual and laid back yet trendy, and the menu features riffs on classic Jewish deli staples like bagels, smoked fish, and shmear, turkey pastrami clubs, chicken schnitzel and more.
357 Grand St., Brooklyn; gertie.nyc
Vinegar Hill House/Trip Advisor
11. Vinegar Hill House
It doesn’t get much cuter than Vinegar Hill House in Dumbo, a New American eatery just a stone’s throw from Brooklyn Bridge Park. There’s a quaint dining room complete with a fireplace, an adorable carriage house and a leafy backyard that can be reserved for 8 to 36 seated guests.
72 Hudson Ave.; Brooklyn; vinegarhillhouse.com
Root & Bone
12. Root & Bone
This East Village eatery serving farm-to-table Southern fare is the ideal place for a cozy yet chic shower. There are different options for your private or semi-private event, from the covered outdoor patio which seats 28 to a whole restaurant buy-out that can accommodate almost 100 guests. The vibe is farmhouse chic, and Root & Bone will work with you to customize your perfect menu of elegant southern comfort foods like deviled eggs with pickled beets and sweet tea-brined fried chicken.
200 E. Third St.; rootnbone.com
13. Bottino
A hidden gem in the heart of West Chelsea's gallery district, Bottino combines the comfort of Tuscan cooking with the vibrancy of an upscale eatery. With multiple private event options, from a 12-person brunch to a 150 guest buyout, there's something for everyone, no matter the affair. At the center of it all is the North Garden, a recently remodeled year-round outdoor space surrounded by lush trees and quintessential New York City buildings (as if it were plucked right out of a Nora Ephron film). The prix fixe menus are completely customizable to fit your taste and dietary restrictions, but we don't suggest skipping out on the brunch favorites like eggs in purgatory or the Italian classics like cacio e pepe and cavatelli alla norma.
246 Tenth Ave.; bottinonyc.com
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