Where to hold a catered event in Rochester, NY?

March 13, 2009 7:01 PM

Where's a good place to hold a casual, catered event for about 30 people in Rochester, New York?

My fiancee and I are getting married in Rochester, NY this August. We've got the wedding venue picked out, but we need to help my parents find a venue for the rehearsal dinner.

We want to keep things casual and inexpensive (no more than $15 per person), which basically rules out every restaurant we've found so far. We're thinking of just having BBQ delivered and buying a few cases of beer. We just don't know where.

Any ideas?

posted by dehowell to Food & Drink (3 answers total)

You'll have to talk to Artisan Works to find out more about their pricing, but they can definitely host events. Along the same lines space-wise & you'd need to look into the costs/catering setup, the Rochester Museum & science center, where friends of mine had a large wedding reception. At first blush, those are probably out of the price range you've suggested, but maybe they could work out.

If you're looking for really casual, you could reserve a shelter at one of the local parks after getting Dino to cater and beer from Beers of the World or direct from Rohrbach.

(More helpful thoughts will come in the morning, and probably from other RocMeFites who've actually HAD events around here.)
posted by knile at 7:37 PM on March 13, 2009

Have Dinosaur BBQ catered to the Sunken Gardens in Highland Park (scroll down to Warner Castle - there's a history of the castle and garden at the bottom of the page also). It's a really beautiful place, and their online reservation system will help you decide if it's too expensive. If it is too expensive, you can rent a lodge or shelter at one of the many parks in Rochester like knile suggested - they also have an online reservation system to help you plan out prices. Ellison Park is a beautiful park and it's fairly centrally located. I've been to events at the Pavilion Lodge at Ellison and it's a very nice lodge. I'm sure that you could check a few of the places out in person before reserving one if you are in the area.

Dinosaur BBQ has a variety of catering options, including one where you can pick it up yourself that is fairly inexpensive, and the food is really excellent.
posted by k8lin at 9:06 AM on March 14, 2009

On town parks - the new Buckland Park Lodge in Brighton is beautiful. Has a patio and space to BBQ your own, kitchenette, nice indoor baths, footpath to playgrounds if that appeals to you. Indoor location would take away weather concerns. It's in the back corner of the enormous new Park and you'd feel private and secluded from the general public.

http://www.townofbrighton.org/index.asp?NID=261

"Fee Schedule
Half Day / Full Day
$80 / $160 - Residents
$95 / $190 - Non - Residents
Facility hourS
9:30 am - 3:30 pm
4:30 - 9:45 pm "


If you are willing to go outdoors, there are several picnic pavilions inside Seneca Park near the ponds and ducks there. Makes an interesting location with views of the gorge, High Falls, and easy to add a visit to the Zoo for your guests. This would be park of the Monroe County Parks department - link to reserve in above post.
posted by Mrs_Eep at 11:28 PM on March 14, 2009