Restaurants to patrons: Let's make a deal

Photo credit: Urbanite

Eleven Madison Park and other upscale restaurants are making prix-fixes cheaper.

By Stefanie Arck

Special to amNewYork

Being more fiscally prudent does not necessarily mean you need to stop dining out in 2009. Thanks to some recession-friendly deals by many of the city’s top restaurants, the tough economy translates into dining offers you can’t refuse.

Even top spots such as Tabla and Eleven Madison Park are trying to increase sales with real deals. Katy Leibold, public relations and marketing manager of Union Square Hospitality Group, which owns the two restaurants, explained that the drop is predominantly due to their banking clientele who don’t entertain like they used to. Both restaurants are tenants in the MetLife building near Madison Square Park, with financial companies such as Credit Suisse.

To keep sales steady, Tabla will continue its Restaurant Week lunch deal year-round, both in its more formal dining room and downstairs Bread Bar.

And while Eleven Madison Park had been offering a two-course lunch for $38, they recently reduced the cost of this special by $10.

“In these times,” says Leibold, “we’re looking to add more value and hospitality to our guests.”

Laura Shea, co-owner of Applewood Restaurant in Park Slope, says she has also seen a revenue drop — about 11% — since last quarter.

“We see the same people and they’re spending less; getting a glass of wine instead of a bottle, an appetizer instead of entree, and lots of sharing.”

So to ensure customers return, she dropped the price of the $55 dinner menu to $45, and decreased the wine pairing by $5 to $20.

The price decrease was “a necessity — what [we] can do for people who have already shown an allegiance to us.”

Megu, a high-end Japanese restaurant with a location in TriBeCa and one in midtown, introduced a three-course, $55 dinner menu since seeing a 10% drop in business since last year.

The prix-fixe was introduced in November for those who can’t afford the more extravagant seven-course, $125 tasting menu.

Hiro Nishida, president of Megu, says it was “a direct response to the customer’s demand for a more budget-friendly tasting course in light of the current recession.”Even top spots such as Tabla and Eleven Madison Park are trying to increase sales with real deals. Katy Leibold, public relations and marketing manager of Union Square Hospitality Group, which owns the two restaurants, explained that the drop is predominantly due to their banking clientele who don’t entertain like they used to. Both restaurants are tenants in the MetLife building near Madison Square Park, with financial companies such as Credit Suisse.

To keep sales steady, Tabla will continue its Restaurant Week lunch deal year-round, both in its more formal dining room and downstairs Bread Bar.

And while Eleven Madison Park had been offering a two-course lunch for $38, they recently reduced the cost of this special by $10.

“In these times,” says Leibold, “we’re looking to add more value and hospitality to our guests.”

Laura Shea, co-owner of Applewood Restaurant in Park Slope, says she has also seen a revenue drop — about 11% — since last quarter.

“We see the same people and they’re spending less; getting a glass of wine instead of a bottle, an appetizer instead of entree, and lots of sharing.”

So to ensure customers return, she dropped the price of the $55 dinner menu to $45, and decreased the wine pairing by $5 to $20.

The price decrease was “a necessity — what [we] can do for people who have already shown an allegiance to us.”

Megu, a high-end Japanese restaurant with a location in TriBeCa and one in midtown, introduced a three-course, $55 dinner menu since seeing a 10% drop in business since last year.

The prix-fixe was introduced in November for those who can’t afford the more extravagant seven-course, $125 tasting menu.

Hiro Nishida, president of Megu, says it was “a direct response to the customer’s demand for a more budget-friendly tasting course in light of the current recession.”

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Delicious
• Digg
• Stumble Upon