5 great East Village birthday restaurants

Flirting with the edges of East Village on Bowery, Bar Primi is a popular Italian corner restaurant and one of our top contenders for an uber-casual birthday spot. We write with complete sincerity when we say everything about Bar Primi is charming – from its brick building, red neon sign, streetside seating among potted plants, and downright delicious pasta and wine.

Inside, Bar Primi looks like an old-school brasserie, harkening back to the East Village of the early 20th century and its vaudeville days. It’s welcoming, and relaxed, and has a menu that everybody loves – come on, it’s really hard to dislike pasta and wine. Bar Primi is no stranger to hosting birthday parties, and if you wanted something completely casual that wouldn’t break the bank for all involved, we can’t think of a better place.

1970s East Village giving rise to the punk rock movement feels half a century away when sitting within the cool, contemporary, and poised elegance of Saint. Located on 2nd Ave, the brasserie and its streetside café, pergola, and “secret garden” patio epitomize the quaint street corners of the East Village. Inside, guests are treated to rustic exposed brick and statement chandeliers that tip a hat to the decadence of Art Deco.

Saint’s dedicated team will help you to organize the ultimate low-key birthday party. Somewhere among two levels of brasserie, patio, and streetside café, there’s the perfect space for your party. Sit back, relax, and let the professionals take care of the little details so you can enjoy a bespoke curation of drinks and dishes with Saint’s events and group dining program.

Located on 1st Avenue, Rake Wine Bar is one of our top East Village recommendations for birthday parties on the more intimate side. It’s also one for wine lovers but that pretty much goes without saying. It feels like classic East Village on the outside, with graffiti and potted plants drawing in the eye, and a quaint European wine bar on the inside, with exposed timber beams and dim lighting.

The wine bar can accommodate up to 28 seated guests and 40 standing guests, small enough that it’s not uncommon to see the place closed for private events and parties. The good folks at Rake will set up the space for your birthday party and tailor wine and food menus for something truly bespoke.

Rake’s Wine Bar operates a rate of $75 per person party packages (note that it’s $110 per person for Fridays and Saturdays).

Cathédral restaurant at the Moxy East Village is the granddaddy of birthday restaurants in the area, the crème de la crème, the pièce de résistance – we just wanted to throw in as many acute and grave accents as possible in keeping with Cathédral’s high drama.

The stylish French-Mediterranean fusion restaurant boasts triple-height ceilings and a monumental wire-mesh sculpture by Italian artist Edoardo Tresold; in other words, you and your guests should dress to impress and expect your birthday bash to be closer to that of the MET.

The Cathédral can accommodate 125 seated guests in the main dining area and 270 seated guests in the full venue. For a smaller East Village birthday restaurant setting, don’t worry, there’s also a private dining room and a dedicated special events team to help you plan and organize.

With interiors that feel a little more down-to-earth and relaxed, Downtown Social is part of a successful chain of event bars offering American pub fare and fully stocked bars to good folks after a place to party. Located on 2nd Ave, you’ve probably come across one of Downtown Social’s other locations in Manhattan or maybe in Chicago or Charleston, and if not, there’s only one thing to be said really – it's a good, old-fashioned place to throw a party.

With Herringbone wood floors and shaker interiors that lie somewhere in between modern industrial chic and old-timey, the State Room is a great private events room for an East Village birthday celebration. The space can accommodate up to 50 seated guests and 80 standing guests and comes with a ton of craft beer, American pub classics, and a fully stocked bar with an alcohol license that lasts until the sweet hour of 4am.

Downtown Social East Village operates on a minimum-spend basis for food and beverage.