Barack Obama,Tim Cook and Robert De Niroli kely 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 -- iswhat the heck did they talk about? Politics? Technology? Movies? Streaming services? De Niro's appearance on CNN last month? Gotta think they reminisced aboutthat 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.

Okay, he's staying at The Greenwich Hotel -- which is owned by De Niro -- but still pretty chill for a former POTUS.