Proper Attire

What is the proper attire for restuarants such as River Cafe and Becco. We were planning on bringing only business causal. Acceptable?

Proper Attire

That%26#39;s fine for Becco. River Cafe requires that men wear jackets after 5:00.

Proper Attire

New York dresses up a bit. The easily spotted tourists wear jeans, parkas and white tennis shoes. Business casual will likely cover all your needs as long as you include a sports jacket and one shirt and tie to feel comfortable in some places or just in case you bump into a dress code. Enjoy your trip. Hey, it%26#39;s kinda fun to dress up a bit!

You%26#39;ll probably find that Chicago restaurants are more formal than New York%26#39;s! I think it%26#39;s because there are so many types of people who have money here (writers, dancers, actors, film makers, artists, politicos, musicians, ad and PR people, magazine editors) that dress codes have gone out the window. It%26#39;s not uncommon to see guys in Dockers and sweaters, or women in expensive jeans and funky blouses in very expensive, formal restaurants even on Saturday nights. ';Business casual';--whatever that means--is fine for 99.9 percent of the places you want to go. As far as those places that want a ';jacket,'; if you have the cash to dine in those inflation-priced places, they%26#39;ll happily supply the duds!

I%26#39;m sorry but, I have to respectfully disagree with: ';New York dresses up a bit. The easily spotted tourists wear jeans, parkas and white tennis shoes.'; If you walk the streets and ride the subways during rush hours and only eat in places that require business casual or more, then it is easy to draw that conclusion. That said, jeans and tennis shoes alone won%26#39;t identify you as a tourist. I know plenty of New Yorkers who dress that way when not at work. In fact, my husband and I in our jeans and comfortable shoes often have tourists asking us for directions!

So, if you want to wear your jeans and tennis shoes, go ahead and do so. That alone won%26#39;t identify you as a tourist. What will identify you as a tourist in NYC (or in any city) is standing on the sidewalk with a map wide open trying to figure out where you need to go. If I need to look at a map, I stand to the side and look discreetly.

Also, if you are into casual dining, you will have many choices.

So basically, dress in what%26#39;s comfortable for you. New York City has so much variety that if your idea of a vacation is wearing your jeans or if you prefer to dress up, you will find plenty of things to do and see.

SueFee, you%26#39;re right that New York is more casual than you think it%26#39;ll be. But he was asking specifically about the River Cafe, which won%26#39;t seat a gentleman without a jacket after 5:00, and jeans/sneakers aren%26#39;t acceptable.

(They do have loaner jackets, though.)

Yes, I was specifically asking about the River Cafe and Becco as I wanted to try each of these on this trip. I appreciate Bettina%26#39;s prompt response. I am from Chicago and business causal works for most, but not all, restaurants. Of course as a long time resident here, I am aware of where it is necessary to dress up from business causal. Thanks to Bettina, I will not be embarrassed when I arrive at the River Cafe for dinner. Now if anyone could get me Wicked tickets at a decent price :)

You%26#39;re quite right, Bettina. This thread is about the River Cafe. It had gotten off track and I felt I had to correct the misconception about tourists being the only ones in jeans and tennis shoes. That said, Steve, enjoy your dinner at the River Cafe!

I had dinner on Monday at the River Cafe, and I must say their loaner jackets aren%26#39;t too bad!

Steve, this might help you...here%26#39;s a link to playbill.com%26#39;s info page on rush and lottery policies:

playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/82428.html

I%26#39;ve gotten lottery tickets to Wicked the only time I tried, and a friend has gotten lucky two out of the three times he%26#39;s tried. While the first row is pretty horrible at most theaters, the orchestra pit at the Gershwin is quite deep, so you don%26#39;t have to crane your head way back to see the show. And, if your name is drawn, the tickets are only $25. You can enter both your names, as each winner can buy one or two tickets.

Thanks for the information regarding Wicked. Maybe I%26#39;ll give it a try. Already have my tickets to the Met and thus I will bring some formal wear for that as well as the River Cafe. Thanks for all the help that you provide to people on this forum.