Rehearsal Dinner Location?

Our son will be getting married in Chicago in July. We need to host a rehearsal dinner, but we are unfamiliar with Chicago. Any suggestions for a restaurant or other location would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Rehearsal Dinner Location?

It would help to know more information

How many people would be attending?

What is the cost per person?

What kind of place do you want? casual/fancy?

In the city of Chicago? In the suburbs?

Rehearsal Dinner Location?

There are so many great places, and a huge variety of styles, that it really does depend on your details, as has already been said.

If you do an Internet search using ';chicago bride';, you%26#39;ll get quite a few resources, including the actual magazine, Chicago Bride. Their web site is www.chicagobridemagazine.com . These web sites have all sort of links, including great venues. Perhaps you could look on there and come back here for recommendations.

Some other helpful tidbits would be:

-In the city itself or suburbs?

-Where are the guests staying?

-Budget?

-Food preferences/sit down/buffet/etc?

Thanks for the input. We will be looking for a place in the city. Would like a sit-down dinner for approx. 30 people. Semi-casual dress. Budget is not as important as atmosphere and quality of food and service.

Someone had recommeded a dinner cruise.... Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I got married last November downtown. We had our rehearsal dinner at Lalos (Mexican) downtown on LaSalle. They have a big private upstairs. This place used to be the old Michael Jordan%26#39;s steakhouse, so it%26#39;s a fun space.

I want to say the minimum $1500 for the room (after gratuity). We had a fajita buffet for around $25/person and a hosted bar with margaritas and Mexican beers.

http://www.lalos.com/forms/banquet_500.html

Ask for Diana. She was really helpful. Everyone had a great time. The food and drinks were terrific. They even had the mariachi band stop up and play a few songs for us. We looked all over for a venue and this was by far the best space.

Our party was a little bigger than yours, though. Another place we had looked into and liked but couldn%26#39;t fit into was the Mambo Grill.

http://mambogrill.com/

Here is a previous post on rooms. Take a look:

…tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g35805-i32-k10238…

I would think the dinner cruise might be a bad idea.

People would want to come and go at their leisure.

A cruise would force people to be there the entire time. And if they had babysitters, etc... might be inconvenient.

Crofton on Wells has a private dining room

http://www.croftononwells.com/cw/pd/index.php

Gibsons has a private dining room

www.gibsonssteakhouse.com/restaurant/dining/

You could also look at www.metromix.com

and search for a specific type of food, etc...

and then call to see if they have a private dining room.

Several restaurants in Greektown have private rooms.

http://www.greekislands.net/index.html

http://www.costasdining.com/index.htm

Weber Grill has a nice private room that seats 20-30 people, as does Italian Village (also has a nice intimate bar on the same level), and Kinzie Chop House has a nice one as well. I planned a birthday party at Weber Grill in January and it was quite nice.

Here are a few restaurants with private rooms that are worth checking out:

Reva%26#39;s on Navy Pier

Mrs. Murphy %26amp; Sons Irish Bistro on Lincoln Avenue, between Addison + Irving

Fulton%26#39;s on the River (Clark @ the Chicago River)

Tymo (fka Thyme) located @ Grand/Milwaukee/Halsted intersection

Parking is easy (cheap or free) for Mrs. Murphy and Tymo, if that%26#39;s a consideration.

If budget is not so much a consideration, I would go a little more upmarket. Many of the restaurants listed as higher star dining actually do have private dining rooms. Again, go to Metoromix or the Zagat web site. Also, all of the big hotels have private dining facilities which are great,

I was at a private dinner at Butter last year which was great, although it%26#39;s a little west of where most things are happening. Quite trendy (although I%26#39;m not a 20-something) and classy.

Zagat list of private dining rooms, that I know and like =

Cafe Spiaggia - 980 N Michigan.Very nice

Crofton on Wells - 535 N Wells. (Already mentioned - Suzy Crofton is extremely friendly and will work with you. It%26#39;s more like two rooms so you would have to make sure the seating would work.)

Le Colonial - 937 N Rush - great and reliable

Mon Ami Gabi - 2300 N Lincoln Park West. (A favorite up the ';coast'; in Lincoln Park. French inspired,and in the Belden Strafford building which is also a hotel. Less than a mile from Michigan Avenue- in July it would be a fabulous walk down the beach to wherever your accommodation is.)

If you know where most people will be staying, and whether you want them to walk or taxi, that could influence your choice. If you really want to make an impression on the bride%26#39;s family, that%26#39;s another matter altogether and I%26#39;d be happy to give you more options.

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