My wife and I will be hosting a memorial service for my wife's grandmother in a few weeks. We have about 18 out of town family members coming. We would like to take everyone to dinner but don't know many restaurants that can accomodate this many people.

Does anyone know of any good restaurants in the Dallas metroplex that have a private dining area, or are capable of having all of us in one area, not at separate tables?

We have thought about Magiano's but prefer something different. We would like a restaurant in the price range of $10-$20/entree. Any type of food will work. Thanks for any suggestions!

sjb

guidelive.com has a listing - for party rooms, and list lost of restaurants that have separate rooms for large parties.

Also several Indian and chinese restaurants
have private rooms if you like ethnic food.

We have gone to several places from work - Osaka(Plano), Texas Land And Cattle, Bangkok City, Razoos etc - we just call ahead and let them know hat we need and ask if they can fit us all on one table.

Mario and Alberto's at LBJ and Preston Rd now have a private room although I think they could accommodate you in their beautiful dining room as well. They have wonderful Mexico City type food besides Tex-Mex. Their Pollo con Crema and Filete de la Casa are wonderful.

Lavendou on Preston north of Frankford also has a dining area separated from their main room by brick arches. We've never been disappointed there.

Lavendou has a web site with menu listed.

WHERE in Dallas will the service be held? What day of the week, and what time of day? Any cuisine preferences? These are VERY important questions! You don't want people to have to drive from East Dallas to North Dallas in 5:00 rush hour on a Friday night just to eat at a certain restaurant when they don't really like that kind of food after all.

Once you've narrowed the area down, then we can all make better recommendations for you. There are LOTS of restaurants that can accommodate a group of 18 with a little advance notice.

Thanks Indie and Mollie for the recommendations. I didn't realize there was a section for parties in Guidelive.

The service will be on a Saturday in Hillsboro. So traffic shouldn't be bad. We are the only family members close to Hillsboro (Plano), so most of the out of town guests will stay around the Plano area. But driving into Dallas isn't a problem. I would not want to go to Ft. Worth or Arlington area.

We mainly want to have a nice evening at a place that has experience in serving large parties like ours, preferably in a private setting.

Hello sjb,
Do you really mean Hillsboro, TX?
That's about 85 mi S @ the junctions of 35E and 35W. Sorry, I know little or nothing about Plano, 'tho Lavendou is good for lunch - pricey wine list and for dinner as I recall.
The very private wine room downstairs @ Beau Nash in the VG Crescent Court Hot is nice and may do 18 - prob still in your price range.
Watel's on McKinney @ Worthington just N is VG and very quiet and civilized: they may be an option.
I'm sure Van @ Lola's would do a magnificent job, but more upscale.
Regardless, you'll need to make reservations immediately for any of the "better" places as things fill up as TX football season approaches.
I'm sorry for your loss, but I was the executor of both my parents' estates and our family had life changing remarkable "remembrance" dinners for each in Sept '98 and April '99 with ancient wines from their cellars ('64 Ch Cheval Blanc was my fav). Also, if G'M had a significant estate, the memorial "celebration of her life" dinner may be paid for directly with those/her funds and deducted from her estate (taxes).
If I think of anything else, I'll repost.
M

Mikemo is very correct that Hillsboro is about 85 miles SOUTH of Dallas! The drive from there to Dallas is about an hour and a half. Even on a Saturday, I can't imagine driving all the way from Hillsboro to Plano to eat!

There is a wonderful restaurant in Waxahachie called The Dove's Nest that is open on Saturdays and does private parties: http://www.thedovesnest.cc/index.htm
Their food is very good, and the only catch is that since Ellis County is dry, they are BYOB.

To me it looks like sjb is probably headed to Hillsboro in the morning for the service then back to Plano or whatever since it appears no one else lives closer to Hillsboro.
He is asking for dinner restaurants...
So ChristieP, what is your suggestion for something North of Woodall Rogers.
I know you do more in Dallas than I do so your advice would be better.
10-20 dollars is not a big budget, though.
That was my budget for my daughters graduation lunch and I took 25 people to On The Border... woo-hoo.
They did a good job, though. It was really very good and we had a separate area for our group.

For $10 to $20 each, I'd stick with a chain. Any of the restaurants along "Restaurant Row" at I-35 and NW Hwy would be fine. There are several of the Pappas restaurants (steak, BBQ and seafood, if memory serves). Personally, I'd say Maggiano's would be perfect for this sort of occasion, but SJB says not...

The Dove's Nest would work for Saturday lunch at that price, but not dinner.

Patrizio on Park between Preston and Ohio is also very good and reasonable with entrees under $15. Although they don't have a private room, there is an alcove area in the dining room that may work. The noise level is fairly high at this restaurant however.

By the way, Mario and Alberto's entrees are all under $15. And check out Lavendou. They may be able to work something out with you since some of the entrees are above $20 It's one of Dallas' top 100 restaurants.

If you are upto it driving further north, there's an italian place called Terrilli's in Frisco - they section off a portion of the dining area for larger groups. Blue Mesa on the intersection 121 and the tollway, Abuelo's on the park and the tollway also I think have private rooms.

Agree with Molly Patrizios' and Lavendou(pricier) are nice choices as well.

sjb,
Your's is not an uncommon question, so do let us know where you decide to go.
M
PS As in Europe, the quality differential between one and three Michelin starred restaurants is beyond my and most folk's comprehension, but the price is certainly not.
My recommendations are based on "unique" places with best "bang for the buck".
do check www.guidelive.com

There is a Pappasito's on Central near Beltline that might be a good choice due to convenience. For a chain, it's pretty good and would most likely please out-of-towners.

my favorite restaurant is sevy's grill on preston just south of northwestern hwy., a few blocks east of the tollway. lovely place with a separate dining room for parties. great food and modest prices. valet parking.

That jogs my brain...what about Blue Mesa?

One restaurant just off the Dallas Tollroad on Lover's Lane in Highland Park is Hoffsteader's, German food (not just wurst & sauerkraut but schnitzels, etc.) and excellent. It is small and the owners are very nice.