North Carolina

Restaurant w/ private room for intimate reception - Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill?

Hey!

We've been engaged for awhile and have decided we want to get married in March of 2013. We were originally thinking of a wedding on the Outer Banks but the whole thing was too much of a hassle, so we're trying to go very simple. My partner lives in Durham while I (and our families) live in Canada; we'd like to get married in the Triangle followed by an intimate dinner at a nice restaurant.

Does anyone have any suggestions about good restaurants with private rooms to fit about 20 people? We're open to anywhere in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, and we're pretty open about the kind of food - we love anything, but our older relatives wouldn't be very excited about anything too interesting. We don't want to buy out a place as we'll be a pretty small group, so somewhere with a private, or even semi-private room would be perfect. I'm only down here for another few weeks so we'd ideally like to get this squared away before I go back home. We don't have a specific budget in mind, but probably between 40-60$ pp.

We've heard good things about Elaine's on Franklin (CH), Piedmont (Durham, but not sure they've got a private space), Zely & Ritz (Raleigh), Four Square (Durham). Any experience with these, or any great suggestions? We really love place that use local ingredients so that's a big plus.

Thanks!

Re: Restaurant w/ private room for intimate reception - Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill?

  • Hi Cassandra,

    There is a local restaurant called Ricks Diner & Catering Company. The link to their facility follows: http://www.ricksdiner.com. They have a private room that seats up to 100 guests. Although, I have not eaten there, the food looks pretty good on their website, along with the room that they have for rent. The room is also fairly new. 

    I see that you dont live in this area, but if you are in search of a wedding planner, please review my website at http://www.shereeamourweddings.com. I would be more than happy to assist you with your wedding planning. My contact information is also listed on my website. I would welcome the opportunity in working with you. I wish you all the best with your wedding.

    Aisha Garnett
    Owner/Wedding Planner
    Sheree Amour Weddings & Event Planning
  • I looked at the Sienna Hotel in Chapel Hill years ago. Very pretty with a few private rooms of various sizes.

  • Try Caffe Luna or Second Empire.
  • Piedmont doesn't have a totally private space -- they have an upstairs loft, but it's open to the rest of the restaurant (it may also only be accessible by stairs). Pop's in Durham has a small private party room that fits 14-15, and their food is great. Parizade (also in Durham, with plenty of free parking) has a variety of private rooms, or they can accommodate you in the main restaurant with heavy drapes to help block sound -- that's actually what we're doing for our rehearsal dinner, since we'll have about 26 people and their private rooms are already booked. Parizade has great food and very reasonable prices - no draft beer, but they have a nice wine selection and bottled beers. This far out, I'm sure you could book a private room at Parizade -- we were booking for Aug 31 this year, so not too surpised they're booked!

    I've been to a number of private dinners at Four Square in Durham -- their private rooms are upstairs, and it's literally a "Four Square" house, so those rooms are accessible only by stairs. It would be worth calling them, however, because they might have first-floor space they could commit to you if stairs are a problem, since it's in a house.... University Tower is another option -- the food is good, and it's on the 17th floor so it has as much of a view as you can get here. They have lots of private rooms of various sizes, free parking, and elevator access. Nana's in Durham also has a private room that sounds about the right size for your group. Price wise, they'd be about 40-60 pp -- without alcohol -- about the same as Four Square.

    For local food, Watts Grocery on Broad St. in Durham is a great choice -- no private room, though.
  • Thanks to all of you! I really appreciate the suggestions!

    @VBJoanna - I'm really glad to hear from someone who's been to some of the places we're considering; we have a young child and no babysitters in town so it makes it really hard to go for fancy meals while I'm visiting. How do you like the food at Four Square? It's our number one choice as friends of ours love it for special occasions. They have two great pre-fixe choices for private dinners that are 55-65$/pp which seems reasonable for the choices and (I hope) the quality of food. I also just came across Nana's as a possibility and was interested, but their website hasn't been updated in forever so I didn't have much to go on for private dining.

    We considered Parizade at one point but ruled it out for some reason, although I can't now recall why! I might have to put it back on my list.

    I wish like crazy Watt's had a private area or that we had a budget for a restaurant buy-out - they are my number one favorite restaurant in the Triangle and where I beg to be taken on every visit.
  • The food at Four Square is excellent. Living here, I tend to choose places with great food at lower prices (hence Parizade and Pop's over Four Square or Nana's) -- I can't get myself into a habit I can't afford! I've been to Four Square for work dinners, and every time I'm there I think that my FI and I should have a special occassion dinner there at some point, but we keep ending up at our old standbys. Four Square is nicely intimate because all of its seating areas, including its private rooms, are rooms in the original house. They are big rooms (say, 14 x 16?) but it's still very obvious that it wasn't originally a commercial building and so they have a very nice intimate atmosphere. They have an excellent wine list and are happy to select bottles based on your menu choices and price range, which is nice if you're like me and like pretty much all wine!

    I like Parizade a lot, and know it well since I lived less than half a mile from there for nearly 5 years! It's not a place I could afford to go to regularly, but the food is excellent and the service is quite good also. We would go for drinks or for special dinners. It's run by "George", who has a number of other restaurants in the same area (Vita and Vin Rouge, and George's Garage, which he closed a couple years ago because the building it's in is going to be repurposed and he was leasing). The service is also excellent at Four Square, Nana's, Pop's, and the other places mentioned. And while Parizade has a cool vibe in its main restaurant, the private rooms are quite "board-room-y", and that may have been what knocked it off your list. Good luck making your decision! I don't think you can go wrong with the choices you have.
  • Has anyone mentioned Parizade Cafe? They have 2 separate private party areas. There is one in the back that people use for receptions and it is attached to a good sized court yard that could be used for the entire reception/cocktail hour or just an extra hang out place as the wedding comes to an end.
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