Barack Obama Dines with Robert De Niro and Tim Cook in NYC

Barack Obama, Tim Cook and Robert De Niro likely all have a spot on the list of celebs people want to have dinner with ... and the trio was seated at the same table Monday night in NYC.

The former U.S. Prez, the Apple CEO and the movie star met up at Yves restaurant in the City's Tribeca neighborhood for a meeting of the minds ... and we're told they dined for several hours.

So, the big question here -- other than who picked up the check -- is what the heck did they talk about? Politics? Technology? Movies? Streaming services? De Niro's appearance on CNN last month?

Gotta think they reminisced about that last one for sure.

Anyway, Obama's New York visit's been pretty low-key other than the power dinner -- no big speeches or fundraising galas on the books -- and he's even crashing at a friend's place.