Rehearsal Dinner location suggestions

jsrosewedding

I am looking for suggestions on where to hold a Friday night rehearsal dinner.  Wedding is in Pontiac in May, so something down Telegraph, Woodward or M-59.  Would need to host 30-40 people and prefer to be on the relaxed end of the spectrum, as opposed to formal.  I think I prefer buffet style, but that is based on how the couple I have been to were done.  A restaurant would probably work if it had a party/banquet room.  I would appreciate any thought starters you ladies could share, I am feeling kind of brain dead overall this and in need of some inspiration.  Thanks!

Sue-n-Kevin

Most of the restaurants in Birmingham are going to be higher end. Troy might be your best bet, or Telegraph Rd north of 15 mile. Max & Erma's in Birmingham might be reasonable, but I don't know if they have a private area for a party that size.

Andiamo's has a location on Telegraph, I think it's in Bloomfield, I could be wrong. It's just south of 15 Mile I believe. They have a private room downstairs, but not sure if they do buffet, or how much it is.

I do know the national chains (ie Bahama Breeze, Buca de Beppo) upcharge for larger parties and have a per person cost, similar to a wedding banquet facility.

Check out www.tripadvisor.com for the cities you want to look in. Enter the city and restaurant, then see what comes up.

Katherine&George

Pasquales in Royal Oak is amazing and it is not that expense.  We have had a lot of family functions there, baby showers, wedding showers, etc.  They have several rooms downstairs that are used for larger parties.  They are on Woodward between 13 and 14 mile rd.

sopraffina

We tried to make reservations at The Moose Preserve on Woodward, but they wouldn't allow reservations after 6pm, which was too early for us. The Iroquois Club, which is part of The Moose Preserve, was already booked for our date, so I don't know their pricing. We ended up going with the restaurant at Centerpoint Marriott since our hotel room block is there anyway. They sent me info on having a buffet through the banquet department, but it was $30 pp (even kids!) and that didn't include drinks. The restaurant pricing was better, and we could provide a limited menu so that people couldn't order over our budget. They have a little terrace too, so if the weather is nice, we might be able to eat outside.

Are you getting married at Lafayette Grand? They might be able to do your rehearsal dinner for a good price if you're getting married there. If not, it might be worth it just to check with them anyway.

You might also want to check out the restaurants on Opdyke. I really have no idea about pricing, but there's Papa Vino's (Italian), Alfoccino (Italian, their banquet menu is on their website), O'Brien's Crabhouse (Seafood), and there are a bunch of restaurants near Great Lakes Crossing, if you don't mind driving up I-75 a bit.

*After writing this all out, Alfoccino's seems like a pretty good deal. I might switch my RD! 

jsrosewedding

Thank you for the suggestions!  They really helped out as great thought starters.  We went to dinner last night at Rochester Mills and ended up checking out their room.  It was available so we booked it.  It is a little further away than I was initially going for, but it fits what we want and was available. 

Our wedding is at Goldner Walsh Greenhouse in Pontiac.  Good to know about Centerpoint Marriott. That is where our guests are staying, so it did cross my mind to host it there.  I didn't know about some of these restaurants in the area.  Something fun to check out for a date night!