Buddakan Friendsgiving Dinner in Chelsea: Set Menus From $90

Buddakan, at 75 9th Avenue inside the Chelsea Market building, has a menu format that solves the hardest part of a Friendsgiving dinner: deciding what to order for a big table. Its family-style set menus are available to parties of 4 or more, priced per person, and every dish is served to the center of the table for sharing. The four menus run from $90 to $130 per person, so the host can pick a tier in advance and split the bill evenly.

Menu I is $90 per person, Menu II is $100 and Menu III is $110. Menu IV, at $130 per person, adds Peking duck and a whole sea bass, which makes it the most celebratory option and the one that most resembles a holiday feast. For a group of eight, the jump from Menu I to Menu IV is $320 total, and the duck alone is a strong argument for spending it.

Think of Menu IV as the Friendsgiving version of a turkey dinner. The whole sea bass and the duck arrive as showpieces in the middle of the table, and they give the meal a centerpiece moment that a run of small plates does not. For a group that has never eaten together before, that shared moment is often what people remember.

The set menus also take the awkwardness out of a mixed group. The friend who eats everything and the friend who orders the same dish every time both get a full tasting without anyone negotiating at the table. Ask about dietary restrictions when booking, since the menus are fixed and the kitchen needs notice for any changes on a busy November night.

Smaller Friendsgivings can build their own spread from the regular menu. Peking Duck for Two is $80, Lobster Egg Rolls are $28, and Black Pepper Beef is $43. Crispy Roast Pork Dumplings are $19, Spicy Dan Dan Noodles are $21 and Dungeness Crab Sticky Rice is $30. A table of four that orders the duck, dumplings, egg rolls, noodles and the sticky rice eats generously and stays under the price of Menu II per person.

The Dim Sum Tasting is $45 for two or $65 for three, a fair way to start the night while everyone arrives. For dessert, the Crying Chocolate is $17, and it is the dish that gets photographed most at this restaurant. An honest call: skip ordering both the dim sum tasting and the dumplings, because they overlap, and spend the difference on a second order of duck pancakes.

Restaurateur Stephen Starr opened the New York Buddakan in March 2006, after the original in Philadelphia, according to Philadelphia Magazine's coverage at the time. The restaurant describes the space as combining the opulence of 16th-century French grandeur with the artistry and traditions of Asia. Expect soaring ceilings, ornate chandeliers and gilded details throughout, with a vibrant communal table on the lower level that turns a party of strangers into one long dinner.

That lower-level hall is the best seat in the house for a group that wants energy. The bar and lounge have a busier, cocktail-party feel than the dining room. If the Friendsgiving includes older relatives or friends who want to hear each other, ask for a table on the quieter side of the main dining room rather than near the bar.

Regular reservations go through OpenTable, and larger groups use the event inquiry form on the restaurant's site or email the events team. The menus apply to parties of 4 or more, so a table of six can book online and order a set menu without any special arrangement. For groups over a dozen, the inquiry form is the faster route, and it lets the events team plan seating and menus together.

Buddakan is open Monday to Thursday 5 pm to 11 pm, Friday 5 pm to 12 am, Saturday 4 pm to 12 am and Sunday 4 pm to 11 pm. Saturday and Sunday service starts an hour earlier, at 4 pm, which gives a big group the option of an early Friendsgiving that ends before the late crowd arrives. On weekdays, a Dim Sum Hour runs Monday to Friday from 5 pm to 7 pm at the bar and lounge only, a good meeting point before the main dinner.

The A, C, E and L trains stop at 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, about two blocks east of the restaurant. The building sits in the old Nabisco factory complex that now holds Chelsea Market, and the entrance to Buddakan is on Ninth Avenue rather than inside the food hall. Tell the group to meet at the restaurant door, not inside the market, where it is easy to get lost among the stalls.

Before dinner, walk up to the High Line at Gansevoort Street and Tenth Avenue for the sunset over the Hudson. In late November the light is gone by about 4:30 pm, so time the walk for the last hour of daylight. Afterward, Little Island in Hudson River Park, at West 13th Street, makes a short stroll to settle a big meal, with views back toward the Meatpacking District.

Plan B for a group that cannot get a table: the bar and lounge are walk-in friendly earlier in the evening, and the dim sum hour works as a smaller Friendsgiving for four. Another option is to move the dinner to a Monday or Tuesday, when the 5 pm start gives a group of coworkers time to finish dinner and still catch an early train home.

Buddakan, 75 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10011, in the Chelsea Market building. Monday to Thursday 5 pm to 11 pm, Friday 5 pm to 12 am, Saturday 4 pm to 12 am, Sunday 4 pm to 11 pm. Family-style set menus at $90, $100, $110 and $130 per person for parties of 4 or more. Peking Duck for Two $80. Reservations through OpenTable, groups through the events team.