Where to Eat Before Knicks or Nets Games in NYC

Going to a Knicks or Nets game with friends usually means the night starts well before tipoff. Someone is coming from work, someone is taking the train into the city, someone wants a drink first, and someone is already asking where everyone should meet. That is where dinner quickly becomes part of the plan.

If the group is heading to a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, there is no shortage of places to eat nearby. Midtown, Koreatown, Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and the streets around Penn Station give you everything from pizza and burgers to Korean barbecue, sushi, steakhouses, and quick casual options.

The problem is usually not finding a restaurant. The problem is getting five or six people to agree on one.

That is where Pixx fits naturally into game night. Instead of one friend searching restaurants, sending links, and waiting for everyone to respond, the group uses Pixx to look at choices together and vote. The restaurant decision becomes something everyone participates in rather than another planning job for one person.

This works especially well around Madison Square Garden because groups often arrive from different directions. Friends might be coming from New Jersey through Penn Station, from downtown offices, from Brooklyn, or from Queens. Once the group agrees on a restaurant, that restaurant becomes an easy meeting point before everyone heads into the Garden.

Knicks fans are not the only groups dealing with the same question around MSG. Hockey nights create the same challenge. If your group also attends Rangers games, read our guide to choosing where to eat before a Rangers, Devils, or Islanders game.

As Pixx adds more New York event guides, our Madison Square Garden restaurant guide will also help groups decide where to eat before concerts, basketball games, hockey games, and other MSG events.

The same situation happens with Brooklyn Nets games at Barclays Center. The arena is surrounded by neighborhoods with very different dining options, including Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Prospect Heights, and Park Slope.

One person might want cocktails and dinner. Another wants pizza. Someone else cares mostly about getting somewhere close to Barclays Center before warmups begin.

With Pixx, the group does not need to settle the decision through a long text thread. Everyone gets to take part in choosing where to eat, which is especially useful when the group has different budgets, food preferences, or schedules.

Brooklyn also has far more happening around Barclays Center than basketball. Concerts, shows, college basketball, and other events bring groups into the neighborhood throughout the year. Our upcoming Barclays Center restaurant guide will give groups another way to plan food around those nights.

Pixx also makes sense because basketball games are rarely isolated events. For many people, the game is only one part of the evening. Friends meet for dinner, go to the arena, then decide whether to get another drink or something to eat afterward.

A restaurant that works at 6 p.m. might make no sense at 10 p.m., so the group often has to make another decision once the game ends.

That second decision is where Pixx becomes useful again. Maybe everyone wants to stay out after a Knicks win. Maybe the Nets game went late and half the group needs something close to the subway. Maybe someone wants dessert while someone else wants a full meal.

Instead of standing outside the arena comparing restaurant listings, the group uses Pixx and makes the choice together.

The same idea works across New York sports. Baseball groups heading to the Bronx or Queens face almost the exact same restaurant problem. If baseball is also on your calendar, see our guide to choosing where to eat before a Yankees or Mets game.

Dietary preferences make group dining harder too. One friend might be vegetarian. Another might want gluten-free options. Someone wants a cheaper meal. Someone else wants a more upscale restaurant because the game is part of a bigger night out.

Pixx helps bring those preferences into the same decision rather than forcing the group to follow whoever picked first.

Knicks versus Nets games make this even more interesting because groups often include fans of both teams. Friends might travel from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, New Jersey, or Long Island and meet somewhere before the game.

The basketball disagreement is part of the fun. The dinner disagreement does not need to be.

Let everyone vote.

For restaurants, game nights also represent an important moment. People searching for food before Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center are already close to making a decision. They are not casually browsing restaurants for some future date. They want somewhere their group will eat that night.

Restaurant owners interested in reaching groups during that decision can learn more through Pixx for Advertisers.

The next time your friends are heading to a Knicks or Nets game and someone asks where everyone should eat, open Pixx before the group chat fills with restaurant links.

Let everyone have a say, pick the place together, and make dinner part of the night instead of part of the planning.