Birthday Dinner Deposits and No-Show Fees at NYC Rooms

A birthday dinner deposit in NYC runs from a card on file to 50% up front: Tarallucci e Vino at 15 East 18th Street asks for a card from 6 guests, Da Andrea a 25% non-refundable deposit at 26 to 30 guests, Tony’s Di Napoli 20%, and Via Trenta, Gramercy Tavern and Ci Siamo 50%. Tarallucci’s $35 per person is the only per-guest no-show fee printed among the eight rooms below. Terms come from each restaurant’s own website and from two government agencies, checked in October 2026.

Which NYC restaurants take a card or deposit for a birthday group?

Eight restaurants publish a card, deposit, cancellation or gratuity term that touches a group booking, as printed in October 2026.

Via Trenta and Tony’s print a deposit and no refund terms. Via Trenta’s prices are in prix fixe birthday dinners and Tony’s in family-style birthday dinners.

What is a no-show fee on a group reservation, and what does it cost?

A no-show fee is a charge the restaurant says it will apply to the card or deposit it holds when a booked party does not arrive or cancels too late. Only Tarallucci e Vino prints a per-guest amount: $35 per person, applied to a no-show, a cancellation less than 24 hours before the reservation or a same-day reduction of three or more guests. For a table of 8, where its prix fixe turns mandatory, a full no-show comes to 280 dollars.

The same-day line is ambiguous. If ten guests become seven, a fee on the three who dropped is 105 dollars; on the whole reservation it would be 350 dollars. The page does not say which.

Patsy’s gives a window and no number. Its contact page asks for cancellations at least 48 hours ahead and says later ones, and no-shows, “will be subject to fees”, as a general reservation policy rather than a group rule.

How do refund deadlines work on a private-room deposit?

Gramercy Tavern’s event PDF and Ci Siamo’s (file name: 2026) print the same ladder for the private dining room. Gramercy Tavern’s file shows no year, so confirm it.

• More than 28 days before the event: the deposit is “fully refundable”.
• Within 28 days: no refund “unless we are able to rebook your contracted room”.
• Within 3 business days: “the full contracted food and beverage minimum charge”.

For an invented Saturday, December 19 dinner, the last refundable day is Friday, November 20. Gramercy Tavern’s December dinner minimum of $6,000 sets the 50% deposit at 3,000 dollars; Ci Siamo’s December Monday-to-Saturday minimum of $11,500 sets it at 5,750 dollars, against 1,500 dollars on its $3,000 Sunday minimum.

What happens to a deposit when the guest list shrinks?

Three pages say how the count locks.

• Tony’s Di Napoli: a final count is due “one week prior to your party” and the host is “charged for the number of guests you confirm, plus any additional guests”. For the December 19 example, that is Saturday, December 12.
• Via Trenta: the final payment covers “the guaranteed number of guests, additional guests and any other extra charges”.
• Tarallucci e Vino: a same-day cut of three or more triggers its fee.

Gramercy Tavern and Ci Siamo set a minimum for the room, not a per-guest floor, so a smaller party spreads the same minimum over fewer plates. At Gramercy Tavern’s $4,500 January-to-November dinner minimum, 20 guests carry 225 dollars each before gratuity and tax, and 15 guests carry 300 dollars. The Private Room covers the contract side in its guide to headcount changes and guaranteed counts.

How do these rooms word a large-party gratuity?

An automatic gratuity is a percentage the restaurant adds to the check for a party or package. Five pages name 20%, under three labels: gratuity, discretionary gratuity and service fee.

• San Marzano (117 2nd Avenue): its $58 dinner prix fixe comes “plus tax and 20% gratuity”.
• Pappardella: “20% gratuity will be added to parties of 6 and more.”
• Via Trenta: “plus Tax & 20% Gratuities” on party menus. Twenty percent of the $70 three-course menu is 14 dollars a guest, or 350 dollars at the 25-guest Tuesday-to-Thursday minimum.
• Tony’s Di Napoli: a “20% discretionary gratuity” for all parties; the planner does not say how a host would adjust it.
• Tutto Apposto (31 Page Avenue, Staten Island): a “20% service fee” on every party beside a 20% deposit, policies revised 1/26.

Lavagna and Gramercy Tavern say gratuity is excluded without naming a percentage; Lavagna’s group page is undated (footer: 2015), so confirm its dinner from $70. How a table pays a charge like this is covered in splitting the check at a birthday dinner.

Is automatic gratuity legal in NYC, and how is it different from a service charge?

Two public documents address the wording. This is a plain reading, not legal advice.

City rule. The restaurant-surcharge rule of NYC’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is adopted, effective April 19, 2026. It defines a “bona fide service charge” as a fee for services requested by a consumer, “over and above what is included with the consumer’s purchase of a menu item”, and says a seller may impose one if the charge is conspicuously disclosed to the consumer before food or beverage is ordered. The rule text lists “a mandatory gratuity for parties of eight or more” as one example, and DCWP’s notice of adoption adds that “the examples set forth in the rule are not exhaustive.” Restaurants print their own thresholds, such as Pappardella’s 6; this post does not judge any restaurant’s charge.

State sales tax. New York State’s Tax Bulletin ST-320, issued February 23, 2012, makes the label one of three tests for sales tax: a mandatory gratuity is untaxed only if “the charge is shown separately on the bill; the charge is identified as a gratuity; and the business gives the entire separately stated gratuity amount to its employees.” By contrast, “service charges or other charges not specifically listed as gratuities on a bill or invoice are subject to sales tax.”

Which questions should you ask before paying a birthday deposit?

1. A percentage of what, and refundable until when? Six rooms above print a deposit percentage. Gramercy Tavern and Ci Siamo say what it applies to and give a refund deadline. Da Andrea calls its 25% non-refundable without saying what it is a percentage of. Via Trenta, Tony’s and Tutto Apposto print neither.
2. When does the count lock? Only Tony’s prints a count deadline, one week out. Booking windows for the table itself are in how far in advance to book a birthday dinner in NYC.
3. What will the gratuity be called, and does a card add a surcharge? Via Trenta states 3% on all credit card payments. On the 25-guest Tuesday-to-Thursday minimum at the three-course price (1,750 dollars), a 50% deposit would be 875 dollars and 3% of that 26.25 dollars, if that is the base; confirm it.

What if the restaurant prints no deposit terms?

John’s of 12th Street books parties by phone “After 3PM” with a “Minimum 20 people” and prints no deposit, cancellation or gratuity terms. Via Carota sends event inquiries to an email address and prints no terms on its Gatherings page. Ask either for terms in writing.

How these rooms were chosen

Rooms are listed when their own pages print a card, deposit, cancellation or gratuity term that touches a group booking, apart from the two in the last section; reservation platforms and reviews were not used. Terms change, so confirm before paying. Figures written as “dollars” are arithmetic on printed numbers.

Frequently asked questions

What is a no-show fee for a group reservation?

A no-show fee for a group reservation is a charge a restaurant applies to the card or deposit it holds when a booked party fails to arrive or cancels late. As of October 2026, Tarallucci e Vino prints $35 per person for parties of 6 or more, and Patsy’s prints a 48-hour window with no amount.

Is automatic gratuity legal in NYC?

New York City’s restaurant-surcharge rule, effective April 19, 2026, says a seller may impose a bona fide service charge if conspicuously disclosed before food or beverage is ordered. Its examples, which DCWP’s notice calls not exhaustive, include “a mandatory gratuity for parties of eight or more”. This summarizes public documents and is not legal advice.

Do you still tip on top of a mandatory gratuity?

None of the pages checked says whether a table should add more. Tony’s Di Napoli calls its 20% “discretionary”, San Marzano and Pappardella call theirs a gratuity, and Tutto Apposto a service fee. Ask what the line on the check covers first.

What is the difference between a service charge and a gratuity?

Under New York State Tax Bulletin ST-320, a mandatory gratuity is untaxed only when shown separately, identified as a gratuity and paid entirely to employees; service charges not listed as gratuities are subject to sales tax. The bulletin ties tax treatment to that label.