Informal reception for 30-40 people in Boston

March 15, 2017 7:39 AM

Boston-area people: Please suggest public houses within a mile of the Prudential/Hynes Convention Center that can informally accommodate a gathering of 30-40 garrulous geographers.

I have been tasked with planning a post-conference get-together for a group of 30-40 faculty, grad students, and alumni who are attending a conference at the Hynes Convention Center. They will gather for a two-hour period between 6-9 p.m. (on a Thursday, if that matters), so I'd like to narrow it down to a few nearby, not-exceedingly-loud places that take large group reservations.

posted by obscurator to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

Lir is right across Bolyston St and they have an upstairs & downstairs event space that works quite well for groups of that size. I've been to a couple of events there -- political fundraisers & holiday parties, etc.
posted by Jugwine at 9:52 AM on March 15, 2017

Hampshire House, the venue above the famous Bull & Finch (aka "Cheers") pub?
posted by Melismata at 9:52 AM on March 15, 2017

Dillon's is also right near the convention center and has a back room that would work for that size group.
posted by gideonfrog at 1:20 PM on March 15, 2017

Sonsie on Newbury, right around the corner from the Hynes T stop, has a nice room in the basement that would probably accommodate a group of that size.
posted by Sublimity at 4:42 PM on March 15, 2017

There's a bunch of hotels in the area who probably have function rooms. Usually those rooms can be subdivided into whatever space you need.

Do you need food or drinks?
posted by wenestvedt at 1:03 PM on March 16, 2017

Thanks everyone, but I'm somewhat relieved to report that this task has been handed over to my coworker. I was at work on Friday trying to wrap this up before taking this week off (wohoo!), and it suddenly occurred to me that we were trying to communicate with bars in Boston ..on St. Patrick's Day.
posted by obscurator at 4:45 AM on March 20, 2017