I'm turning 40 next month and not doing the tasting menu thing. I got six people, Friday night, looking around DUMBO/Cobble Hill-ish. Wants: a place where you can split a bunch of pasta/apps without the server giving you the 'we don't really do family style' speech. Also not trying to shout over a DJ or sit under a heat lamp in a fake beer garden. Prefer a reservation so we're not doing the sidewalk shuffle for 45 minutes. Nothing against the bridge crowd, but I'd rather keep it neighborhood, not a spot that's only good for the photo. What's holding up lately?

I’m kinda new to Brooklyn dinners, but came from Dyker for a birthday once, so following. Does DUMBO still get that crazy on Fridays? I saw a place near the water but they only had a 'communal table' for six? I thought that meant sharing, but they meant sharing with strangers. Is that normal?? If you find a place that lets you split plates without the side-eye, please share.

Kingsbridge_K, if you can go a little farther into Cobble Hill, look for a spot on Court or Smith with a back room. The DUMBO spots by the park are weekend photo shoots—service craters, and yeah they don't love a six-top ordering like an Italian grandma. I've had decent luck with a couple of older red-sauce places a few blocks from the High Street stop; they know how to handle a birthday and don't blink at two pastas plus three apps for the table. If you're stuck on DUMBO, go early and take a place with no river view. You're paying for the view and the host gets all stressed about the two-hour table turn.

Flatbush_Fi, that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I don't need the river view if it means the server checking her watch while my aunt asks for a few more bread things. Court/Smith works—I was thinking around there but honestly stopped keeping track after half of them became 'seasonal small plates.' DykerNewbie, I will absolutely not do a communal table for that group. I'm not trying to hear my uncle explain crypto to a stranger while we wait for the panna cotta. Keep the names coming even if they're obvious. Sometimes the obvious answer is the one I forgot.

Sorry jumping in, but what is the 'side-eye' when you split plates? Is it because six people ordering less offends them? My crew does that at some sushi places and it's okay. Do you think a menu that says 'serves two' actually makes enough for six if you add apps? I tried one spot in Williamsburg with the small menu, and half of us left hungry. For DUMBO maybe the pizza places along Front St can turn a table? But that might be too casual for a 40th. Good luck.

DykerNewbie the communal table thing scared me too—I thought after covid we were done sharing chairs with strangers. Kingsbridge_K, if Court St is okay, my friend just did a party of five at a place near Bergen with zucchini flowers and cacio e pepe, said they put them in a quiet corner and didn't rush. I don't remember the name but I can ask. They split pasta into little white bowls? Is that family style or just the kitchen being nice? If a place plates the food for everyone, does that count as splitting plates or is it more 'we divided the portions so you don't fight over the last clam'? I need to know because I'm scared of ordering for a group.

big_city_beth, that's the kitchen being nice and probably the move. Real side-eye is when you ask to split one pasta between two and they bring it out on two plates but charge a split fee and make a show of it. Kingsbridge_K, if you end up on Smith, there's a corner place before Baltic with a green awning—I always blank on the name. They do family-style for the table if you ask when booking, and the back room handles a birthday without the music drown-out. OzoneParkOllie, I'd skip the Front St pizza at prime Friday—great for a slice, but six at dinner will feel like you're crowdsurfing for a table. My rec: lock one of the old-school Court St rooms and tell them it's a birthday.