Down Town Rehearsal Dinner Location Help

broodc2

Do any of you have suggestions for a nice place to hold a rehearsal dinner in down town philly?  We are planning remotely so we will have to rely mostly on word of mouth/reputation to narrow our list and won't get a chance to eat at any place beforehand.  It would be helpful if you have eaten at the place you suggest and can personally endorse it.  Not sure if it's doable in the city but we'd like to keep it around $1,000 for around 30 people.  We'd be OK with beer and wine only.  Thanks for your help!

If it helps to know the location, we're getting married at Old Saint Mary's and the reception will be at The Downtown Club.  We're probably going to block hotels at the Omni Independence Park but we're not 100% on that yet.  Transportation won't be an issue and we won't be inviting all out of town guests.  We would prefer very safe areas of the city. 

jelybeancg

I would check out Spasso it is right in Old City and walkable from the Omni. I have not personally eaten there but maybe you can ask friends & family in the area to try it? They have a private room and several packages which seemed reasonable. I was going to have mine there since I am having my reception at the DTC and our hotel block is at the Omni but we opted to have the RD in the suburbs closer to the church.

If you might like BYOB a friend (and a knottie on here, actually the same who had been to the DTC when you posted before) highly recommends Bellini. But it is in Center City so not as convenient.

Also, I highly recommend blocking rooms at the Omni since it is only 1 block from the DTC and you won't have to worry about shuttles or anything.

saturninus

Downstairs at Han Dynasty - rent the space and do BYO
The best Chinese in Philadelphia

I would also check with Fork and Triumph.

lauren123455

BYO is probably going to be your best bet.  Maybe check out La Locanda del Ghittone in Old City?  I'm also getting married at Old St Marys and am trying to plan my RD right now.  I've looked at Fork and Triumph, but they're much closer to $50-60pp before tax and tip, so with 30 ppl that might go over your budget.  I'm also checking out Bridget Foys on South Street -- if you do open bar and a seated dinner it will also be close to $50-60 pp, but if you do stations and/or a "consumption bar" (if your crowd doesn't drink as much), it might be do-able.  Check out Open Table's list of private dining restaruants for some ideas - they have links to packages, photos, etc, where available: http://www.opentable.com/info/banquets.aspx?m=13

BlissPhilly

I don't really have any suggestions but I do second the opentable.com idea. Also I just wanted "say" Welcome!

PaigeBri712

Positano Coast has some really affordable options anda  variety of options. It would also be fairly close to the hotel. They also  have some great cocktails  

http://www.positanocoast.net/

Cackle6

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_down-town-rehearsal-dinner-location-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:105Discussion:6f492f27-2cbf-4297-aa94-1951c810125fPost:3c99bb7e-0f76-41b9-a2ce-47fafe0abf68">Re: Down Town Rehearsal Dinner Location Help</a>:
[QUOTE]If you might like BYOB a friend (and a knottie on here, actually the same who had been to the DTC when you posted before) highly recommends Bellini. But it is in Center City so not as convenient. 
Posted by jelybeancg[/QUOTE]

<div>Bellini is AWESOME. Very affordable. Yes, it's about 10 blocks from the DTC, but that's a short and cheap cab ride. :)</div><div>
</div><div>Also, Farmicia is right around the corner from DTC on 3rd st. It's a BYO as well, and they have amazing food. Not completely sure about the price, but worth checking out!</div>

jelybeancg

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_down-town-rehearsal-dinner-location-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:105Discussion:6f492f27-2cbf-4297-aa94-1951c810125fPost:f5c8275b-b567-4404-a990-d15314219b21">Re: Down Town Rehearsal Dinner Location Help</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Down Town Rehearsal Dinner Location Help : Bellini is AWESOME. Very affordable. Yes, it's about 10 blocks from the DTC, but that's a short and cheap cab ride. :) Also,<strong> Farmicia is right around the corner from DTC on 3rd st. It's a BYO as well, and they have amazing food. Not completely sure about the price, but worth checking out!</strong>
Posted by Cackle6[/QUOTE]

Yes, Famicia is awesome! I always forget they are BYOB.

broodc2

Thank you all for your suggestions.  This should be a good list to start calling on, thanks!

ysl1983

I'm having my rehearsal at Aqua.  It's a Thai restaurant. $25/pp + tip.  They've been awesome to work with and FI tried the restaurant and loved the food!

broodc2

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_down-town-rehearsal-dinner-location-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:105Discussion:6f492f27-2cbf-4297-aa94-1951c810125fPost:12aca2b7-22c2-4b1d-8846-f87901b29c52">Re: Down Town Rehearsal Dinner Location Help</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm having my rehearsal at Aqua.  It's a Thai restaurant. $25/pp + tip.  They've been awesome to work with and FI tried the restaurant and loved the food!
Posted by ysl1983[/QUOTE]

I would really like to have it at a place like that but unfortunately her family and some of her bridesmaids (sisters) are not very adventurous and so we're limited to American style or Italian, etc. 

MK&T

La Fontana is also a BYOB and they are awesome to work with and have a downstairs area, so you have a completely private space. I have rented it out twice and it's on my short list for RD places too!