Croton Reservoir Tavern takes private groups from 8 seated or 10 standing up to 300 guests, on one floor or on both. The tavern stands at 108 West 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan, one block from Bryant Park, and has operated there since 2003. For a corporate dinner, an office party or a reception, the room can be set aside for your group alone.
Seminars and company events
The venue lists corporate events, holiday parties, business meetings, fundraisers and cast parties among the groups it hosts. The lower level, called The Speakeasy, works as a private room with its own bar and suits presentations and corporate dinners. Built-in screens and an AV system are installed on both floors, and WiFi covers the whole building. Seating is reset to the shape of the evening, from one long table to an open floor for mingling. The location helps groups that travel: Grand Central, Penn Station and Port Authority are all within walking distance, and the Broadway theaters are five minutes away.
Weddings and receptions
Wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners are on the list of events the tavern hosts, alongside birthdays and retirement parties. A reception for up to 100 standing guests fits in The Speakeasy. Taking both floors gives you the whole building, with two rooms and two atmospheres, for up to 300 guests at a cocktail reception.
Rooms and capacities
The main floor offers three semi-private areas. The Point is the front window space just inside the entrance. The 20s sits beneath the hand painted reservoir mural. The Rear Bar is the back section, with banquette seating, high tops and its own access to the fifty foot oak bar. These areas take 10 to 40 guests standing or 8 to 35 seated.
The Speakeasy covers more than 1,000 square feet, with its own bar, leather banquette booths, exposed brick and polished concrete floors. It seats 50 for a plated dinner, 75 for a buffet and holds 100 for a cocktail reception. With both floors, capacity reaches 300 for a cocktail reception or 250 for a buffet. Each floor has its own full bar, so guests do not queue.
The main floor is wheelchair accessible. The Speakeasy is down a flight of stairs with no elevator, so tell the team early if anyone needs step-free access and the event can be planned upstairs.
Catering
Food and drink come from the tavern itself. Open bar packages run by the hour, from beer and wine through standard and premium spirits, with signature cocktails available. Food formats include platters for grazing, passed hors d'oeuvres, a dinner station or a seated menu. Vegetarian options run throughout the menu, vegan dishes are available on request, and the kitchen plans around allergies. Packages are priced per person. Outside wine is not permitted.
History and setting
The name refers to the Croton Reservoir, a four acre lake that sat behind fifty foot granite walls on Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets. It held the city's drinking water from 1842 until 1899, and New Yorkers walked a promenade along the top. The public library and Bryant Park stand on the site today. The tavern is two blocks west on the same street, and a hand painted reservoir mural of 150 square feet covers part of the dining room wall. Upstairs, the dining room is built around a fifty foot oak bar and leather banquettes.
Getting there
The tavern is on West 40th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, closer to Sixth. The B, D, F and M trains stop at 42nd Street Bryant Park. The N, Q, R, W, 1, 2, 3 and 7 trains stop at Times Square 42nd Street. Two garages are nearby: GGMC Bryant Car Park at 13 West 39th Street and ICON Parking at 143 West 40th Street.
