rehearsal dinner brainstorming

twoitalians

My mom gave my FI a deadline of next week to pick a place for the rehearsal dinner cuz it's gonna be on New Year's Eve (yikes! holiday!) and we need to reserve someplace soon. Problem is, FI is in the restaurant biz and he's very picky about how good quality the food is. So... other than Grimaldi's or Tortilla Factory... what are some decently priced places that would be great for a rehearsal dinner? Preferrably not chain restaurants unless it's local.

Thanks!

MrsWeiner

Kokopelli's in historic downtown Chandler. It's off of Arizona Ave and Boston. It is a winery and they have great food! That's where I am planning to possibly have ours. Hope it helps.

mgumms

What part of town are you looking? There's an Italian place near the Sheraton San Marcos in Chandler that I used to host a pre-Bachlorette party that was delicious! We are thinking of having ours at Rula Bula in Tempe because we LOVE Irish Pubs and Irish Food. It's a little different, but it's fun because it's unique to us. I would consider using a place that you frequent or just really like. Most places will do large parties even if they aren't typical "Rehearsal Dinner spots." Good luck!

twoitalians

I really don't think it matters what part of town, but probably Tempe/Chandler area... maybe even into Old Town Scottsdale area. We have a few places in mind that we frequently go to, but they're so small that we aren't sure they'd want to shut down for a larger party like us.

NickDanielleB

4 Peaks on 8th in Tempe. We may be having ours there. 

1DestinationBride

LOVE 4 Peaks...that place rocks?

Macayos or Aunt Chilada's...local places that I always take out-of-town guests to.

Drift in Old Town Scottsdale, I think it's a block east of Mickey Hangover.

chiwawa

We're also looking into having ours at Kokopelli.  I've never eaten there, but the menu looks interesting and I'd love to give the out of town relatives a taste of the local wine.  My FI is calling today to get pricing.

ETA:  According to Mike at Kokopelli, if you do a buffet in their back room it is usually around $17 per person.  Full menu is usually $24-$28 per person.  They can deliver, which lowers the cost, but it all depends on the food you want.  Apparently you have to talk to the restaurant manager for the details.  Seems a little bit out of our budget, as there may be up to 40 people at our rehearsal dinner!

twoitalians

hmm... thanks for the info!

MrsWeiner

Last I checked Kokopellis also offered a cheaper deal where you pick one or two items and that is it. This is instead of a buffet.