Step into New York’s most inspiring and enchanting restaurant. Sip a cocktail in our Italian marble lounge, framed by French doors and settees, Mahogany details, and Turkish carpets and tapestry. Descend our grand staircase to the cool, inviting palazzo, or cozy-up for a romantic evening on the balconies. Our dishes will permeate your senses with aromas and flavors from around the world, requirements in a setting such as ours that evokes thoughts of foreign travel. Hemingway would have dined here. Bring an adventure novel, have a seat, and escape with a glass of Rioja!

For the oenophile, our wine list is growing, and represents selections and rare varietals from all over the world. Perhaps you will join us for one of our evenings devoted to regional wines and cuisines. Every night our tables are full of France, Spain and Italy, but don’t leave out the savories of the Pacific Rim, even exotic Morocco. A grand, steaming bowl of Bouillabaisse: hearty, aromatic and exciting with garni of garlic and Brie batons is enough to capture your imagination for the entire evening. A pour of Pernod is added to the broth, but only if it suits your pleasure.

Make it a Spanish mesa, instead! Our Paella Valencia with succulent chorizo sausage, tender chicken, sea mussels, clams, shrimp and scallops is served in traditional fashion—with a Spanish beer on the side. Salud! Thinking of Tuscan hills? A thick grilled veal chop with wild mushrooms and rosemary-wine reduction will take you there, and, of course, a bottle of San Lorenzo, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Have some veal spring rolls and refreshing ginger-mint chutney. Our lamb tajine of stewed apricots, figs, pears and grapes, all draped on a bed of Moroccan couscous, may well inspire you to drop by Blockbuster and pick up Casablanca on your way home.

Saffron, clay-potted herbes de Provence, fresh citrus zest, ginger root, fennel, and lemongrass adorn our plates. Crunchy nuts, wild berries, grapes and liquers galore are equally at home alongside rich and earthy cheeses and broths. Market lettuces are crisp, and the vegetable du jour explodes with color and the sublime use of spice. Our cuisine is as beautiful, sensual and elegant as our environment.

If you prefer a romance novel, you can write your own here. In fact, the Renaissance serves unlimited romance and fine international cuisine in our restaurant every evening, Wednesday through Sunday. Our tables are well spaced apart and layered in glorious linens. Our glassware is generously sized, perfect for lingering over wine and great conversation. After all, we dine to slow down from our busy lives, to restore our spirits, to get to know one another better and to celebrate life, not just to nourish it. If you are looking for that special evening, may we propose the five chapters of our Candlelit Dinner for Two, which opens with a creamy red pepper and fennel bisque, and closes with—well, you will have to read to the happy ending here.

If you forget the obligatory poetry, don’t worry! We have a red velvet volume to loan you.

The Renaissance is also a beautiful, unique place for celebrations of any size. Groups as small as ten may wish to arrange for a special prix-fixe menu for the occasion. You will be surprised to see how many cost-effective yet lavish menus we have from which you may choose. Perhaps, a wine or beer-tasting dinner would fit your celebration. Below is just one example of a menu we customized for a recent christening.

We invite you to join our mailing list at Dining@RenaissanceOfAstoria.com, so that we may inform you of our exciting culinary and wine themes, or world-class musicians featured on our stage. Let us not forget our pianist Robert, who graces us with Beethoven and Billy Joel at the foot of the stairs every Friday and Saturday night.

The Renaissance features fine a la carte dining Wednesday through Sunday, and is the perfect location anytime for both intimate gatherings and grand social occassions. Whether you want to talk business, propose, try a great sauce or host a formal event, there is a table waiting for you. Let the adventure begin!