Need Help on a Rehearsal Dinner Location

ghost

ghost

500+ Posts
So I have kinda let the ball slip on getting my rehearsal dinner location. I know my fiance isn't that pleased with me even though she won't admit it. I had looked into some places real early in our enagagement but put them on hold while my woman was studying for the bar.

Now that we are way past the bar, we are back into the wedding planning more seriously. Of course, at this point all the spots we wanted for our rehearsal dinner are taken. We were trying to do something very unique to Texas since most of our guests are out of towners. We looked at The County Line and Z Tejas inititally and now they are booked (both locations for County Line and 6th location for Z Tejas). We have tossed around Salt Lick, but think it might be too far of a drive?? The plan was to rent a charter bus and take everyone down there, but there are some elderly people coming to the wedding and we don't know how well they will fare. The bus company said that on a Friday afternoon around rush hour, the trip would take about 1.5 hrs. Is that accurate??

Does anyone have a suggestion on where we should look? We estimate our dinner party to be around 75 people. So far, I have contacted Old Pecan Street, Pappasitos, Iron Works BBQ, and Iron Cactus and have only heard back from Old Pecan Street thus far.

Another possibility was to just have a location for the dinner and then cater in food - like Salt Lick or whatever. If you all have any ideas, please let me know. Thanks so much. Oh, the dinner would be April 21, 2006 - in case you need that info.
 
Salt Lick would be cool (assuming it's not too laidback for what you are looking for). I'd be shocked if it was 1.5 hours, even during rush hour. I do think a charter bus would be the way to go.
 
El Mercado on S 1st street can handle HUGE crowds, and while it's not the top-of-the-line texmex, they do alright for themselves. Plus, it's in a neat part of town, and certainly not too much of a drive.
 
Take a look at Coupland Inn just north of Elgin.

They are online and have steaks and Bar BQ with a loft and large private room next door. Keg or long necks were very reasonable and the owners were very friendly and easy to work with.

Texas honky tonk next door for the CW dance crowd.

Been to two rehearsal dinners there and both worked out fine and much less expensive than Salt Lick or County Line.

Think Broken Spoke on small town main street.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the info thus far. I will look into the places that have been mentioned. We are looking to keep it casual and not very formal. The wedding is going to be formal enough.
 
ghost, i just got married in august. one of my few duties/responsibilities was doing the rehearsal dinner.

i booked it at Nuevo Leon on east 6th street. great choice. they have a private room that can hold 50-70. best option is fajita buffet; they do not offer separate menus, you have to choose in advance. but i got half chicken/ half beef. price was reasonable plus we had open bar on house margaritas and beer (my parents paid for the entire thing but the prices were reasonable).

they also have a 35" tv with a dvd player which was great because i put together a dvd slideshow presentation with pictures of both of us growing up and grown up. they also have mariachis on friday night so i paid the mariachis to come into our private room and sing.

i have been to many rehearsal dinners and my big deal is i want a private room. makes the event much more enjoyable. that limited the number of places in austin. and Nuevo Leon really rocked.

i highly recommend them. there is a big patio area outside the private room and they roped that off for us as well.

i had several people tell me it was the best rehearsal dinner they have ever been to.
 
I went to a rehearsal dinner at the Salt Lick in March and really enjoyed it. All of the guests enjoyed the casual atmosphere. A lot of the relatives were from out of states and they seemed to really get a kick out of it.
 
Think of a few places that you might like to have cater your dinner. The County Line may already be booked, for example, but they'll cater offsite. Call a few caterers and ask them for location suggestions. They've been to all the coolest places and might have some great ideas.
 
for what it's worth, we had our rehearsal dinner at Old Pecan Street. We loved the space (upstairs). During the day it's not much to look at, however they do wonders with it at night. Lights, plants, barriers to make the space seem the right size, etc. Food was good, not great, and bar service was excellent. Price was also reasonable at the time (4.5 years ago). Everyone was very professional and we had no hiccups.

Easy access to downtown bars afterwards and walking distance to plenty of hotels for out of town guests.

Worth checking into more, IMO
 
We rented a boat and spent 2 1/2 hours on Town Lake. We got lucky with the weather given that it was June yet not too hot. April should be pretty comfortable. Our out of town guests really enjoyed getting to see Austin from the water.

If you look into it, make sure you can serve dinner to everyone on the same deck - you wouldn't want to split up the group.
 
Nuevo Leon -- EXCELLENT suggestion. Very Texan, has character, and not overly pricey.

Salt Lick 360 -- not a bad idea either.

Another suggestion -- Moonshine. Nice food (a bit more upscale than bbq or mexican), and I hear they have a very nice room. Plus, it's downtown.

But I'd lean towards Nuevo Leon. Gotta show the yankees something unique.
 
I don't understand the big deal about Nuevo Leon. I went there with a big group of friends Labor Day weekend. The margaritas were the suck. I think they were lemon-lime gatorade with tequila. What is so good there that makes it worth going too?
 
food-wise, i think nuevo leon was better in their old digs (from like 5 years ago). that said, they have excellent carne guisada and very good fajitas.

for me, i wanted a private room. they offered that. and the additional bonus of the mariachis that came in the private room and sang 3 song (entire band) made it even more special. get this, i only paid $20 for the 3 songs. they charge $10 for 3 but tipped an additional $10. so not even that expensive for a sweet touch.

nuevo leon is also where my wife and i had our first date 5+ years ago so it was also special in that regards.

regardless, they offered buffet, were very timely, were not overly expensive and offered a private room. they nailed it for what i wanted.
 
Texas97 nailed it, foxy. The texmex is good -- not great, but good. The drinks are cold. But the upsides are the price, the private room, and the east Austin "slice of life" that may not impress locals nearly as much as the out of towners.

For mexican food, I recommend at least 10 other places ahead of Nuevo Leon. But none have a private room, etc.
 
Try Dave and Buster's. They have private rooms, 10-250 people. You can order a buffet or have a plated dinner. Go check it out.
 
if they are out of towners and you want to show them something austin, don't do dave & busters. do nuevo leon or county line.

BUT the city of austin really lacks on private rooms so d&b might be a good option.

i definitely owe my parents a huge thanks. we had 50 people with the fajita buffet & open house margaritas and beer. it was not cheap and they paid for it all (they had an amazing time too). now it could have been much more expensive but with the open bar & beer (i limited it ahead of time and announced it to only free house margaritas and beer) it got up there.
smile.gif
 
A buddy of mine had his at Jaime's over a few years back. It was great. Fun time, decent food, good margaritas and somewhat unique for those out of towners. I don't think it was that pricey and since it was in April we booked the outdoor area there, and had a great time. MIght not be a bad place to check out, but Nuevo Leon sounds like it would fit he bill as well.
 
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