Happy Hour For 100 People

[SkiBum]

Hi,

I'm new to DR.com and happy to have discovered it.

I'm hoping some of you pro's can give me some quick advice in choosing a restaurant / bar for an event. Or a venue with catered food brought in is also an option.

I've been asked to plan a Happy Hour style event (drinks and hors d'oeuvres -- not necessarily fancy ones) in late August for a gathering of abut 100 people, give or take 25. It would be a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening.

The ideal venue will be located in downtown DC -- Adams Morgan, U Street, Dupont Circle and south-of-Dupont would all be fine -- and not cost too much. Most of the guests are folks who work at nonprofits, and they are an informal bunch. So we wouldn't want anything too chic where we'd feel like we had to dress up or anything.

In the past we've used places like The Reef and Local 16 for these sorts of events. Those venues were fine, and offered pretty good value (especially The Reef). But since it will be an August evening, we were thinking it might be nice to find a place with a nice patio or roof deck for a function like this. I know The Reef has a roof deck, but I'm curious about alternatives.

One suggestion I've heard is Tabaq Bistro on U Street, since they reportedly have a roof terrace with a great view. But I'd like to develop some more alternatives in case the price there would be too high.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

[lizzie]

We recently hosted a happy hour at Perry's in Adams Morgan, with about 70 guests. They have a number of drink and other happy hour specials, which may help depending on what time you will be gathering. Most people came from work, so no one was necessarily "dressed up."

[Anna Phor]

I've been to events like this at Lauriol Plaza. Also, you might inquire at Marvin, also on U street. They have a nice rooftop bar.