Upscale Private Dining For A Wedding

[JuneBacon]

Hello,

Forgive me but I have not come across any such list. We are getting married next March and are looking for some intimate private dining rooms in a nice trendy/up scale restaurant in either Alexandria or Washington.

For some intro info, we are having a small dinner before a larger "after party." The dinner will just be with family for 13-15 people and the "after party" will be for about 40 people. We are semi interested in combining the two events at one venue, but for now, we are just looking for securing the private dining.

So far we have looked at:

Brabbo / Lorien Hotel and Spa (Alexandria): Has a nice private room in the hotel which is fed by the restaurant kitchen. They also have an indoor/outdoor patio option for our after party. The prices are reasonable for either a 3/4/5 course meal, can accommodate cocktails / antipasti for arriving parties.

Citronelle / Latham Hotel: Extremely disappointing, stuffy, outdated private dining rooms in The Latham. The food menu is very reasonable and flexible, but the rooms are neither intimate or modern. For the quality of food coming out of Citronelle, I would have liked to see much nicer private dining.

We have also looked at The Gibson for our after party. This space is really very nice and cool. We really hope to have our after party here, but need to find a private dining experience to match.

We have also contacted the following and hope to see (some of) their spaces;

Proof - No private dining.

Estadio DC - Estadio offers a beautiful semi-private dining room for parties of 9 – 26.

Blue Duck Tavern - Semi private dining.

Oya - Semi private dining.

Central - Private dining room.

Corduroy DC - Corduroy offers two private rooms, seating up to 40 guests. The entire restaurant can be made available for larger events. Parties of 9 or more require special arrangements.

Zola - Can accommodate a variety of dining options in conjunction with Spy Museum.

We would graciously appreciate other suggestions or recommendations! Thanks!

[DonRocks]

This post is why I'm going to die penniless (but content) in a nursing home.

[SeanMike]

Augh, I don't want to make Don broke(-er?)....

PS7? They have a private dining room. It could handle the first part, at least.

I don't know how ready Jack Rose is yet...

[monavano]

Check out the Morrison House in Old Town. Also a Kimpton hotel.

[goldenticket]

Not Alexandria or Washington, but not too far from either: 2941.

We had a very nice DR.com dinner there. I've also attended a lovely wedding there. The private dining rooms open on to the waterfall and pond area.

And yet another Kimpton property in Alexandria: Hotel Monaco has some very nice meeting/event space. Chef Dennis Marron heads up the kitchen at both the Morrison House and Jackson 20 at the Monaco.

[JuneBacon]

Thanks very much. All are options we haven't come across.

[Pete]

Restaurant Eve's "Sunflower" room holds up to 20 people. Then move on to PX for the afterparty!

[JuneBacon]

Restaurant Eve's "Sunflower" room holds up to 20 people. Then move on to PX for the afterparty!

Yeah, we contacted them. The minimums at PX are a little out of our budget ($3500 min.). As is the Sunflower room. Eve has a minimum of $111pp including a min. wine requirement. We have several people that don't drink in our dinner party, so that's a little much.

It's a shame that most restaurants are treating us like a "wedding party" when we only have 13-15 people. We can pretty much get a reservation anywhere for this many people, but it won't necessarily be private.

So far Central is the only place that will charge us essentially for what we consume, with a reasonable minimum that we would be spending anyways, in a private room (no room charge) with the option to customize menu, how d'oeuvres / cocktails etc..

Thanks!

[goldenticket]

Not sure if it's upscale enough for your needs, but A la Lucia has a private room that might work. The minimum is for 20 people, but the info on their website says they will work with smaller groups, but will charge for a specified minimum. Might be more budget-friendly than some of the other spots mentioned. You may also want to look into the Grape + Bean - they have space on the 2nd floor where they hold classes, as well as seated dinners.

[JuneBacon]

Thanks!

Yes, we are very budget minded. We have had to cross some of these choices off of our list.

Went and took a look at Central's private room yesterday and it is sufficient. I like Central and to food is very good, but the menu could be a little more refined for what we are looking for. They have a $1000 requirement for you to spend and you have to room the entire night. A pretty good deal.

Just found out that Corduroy has the same minimum w/ no room fee. I think the food there is more of what we are looking for! It is becoming a top contender, going to look at the space next week.

[Anna Phor]

Not sure if either would meet your needs but I know both Poste and Firefly have private rooms.