Taylor Swift hit the Big Apple in a big way with her A-list friends to celebrate her 34th birthday Wednesday night ... but her boyfriend Travis Kelce couldn't be by her side because of the whole mandatory football practice thing.

The 12-time Grammy Award winner galavanted around Manhattan with BFF Blake Lively, first grabbing some grub at Freemans before heading over to The Box nightclub to party.

At Freemans, Taylor and Blake were photographed exiting their SUV and walking hand-in-hand inside the restaurant. Both were dressed in all black and looked absolutely stunning.

Taylor was in a mini dress accentuating her legs and Blake was sporting a leather ensemble with knee-high boots.

After their meal, the two made their way to The Box nearby ... and that's when all the fun really kicked off as Taylor's famous friends dropped in for her Bday bash.

Celeb attendees included ... Gigi Hadid, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, his wife Keleigh Sperry, sisters Este and Alana Haim and Antoni Porowski.

But, one person was glaringly missing from the soiree -- Taylor's hunky boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

Travis had a very good excuse for skipping out ... the Kansas City Chiefs tight end had mandatory football practice for his upcoming game Sunday against the New England Patriots.

As we previously reported ... the couple got in a pre-celebration with his mom, Donna Kelce, and his QB, Patrick Mahomes Sunday night.