Where to have reception lunch/dinner?

[Vayleen]

Our wedding will be at 10:00am.

I originally wanted to have a reception at the Biergarten, but now I want to have a nicer reception AND be able to continue wearing my dress.

However, since we are having an escape wedding, it seems like having a reception at Ariel's or CG would bump up our costs big time. I don't want to have to pay for tables and chairs that will only be used 2 hours max.

Not many places serve lunch... Where should I have it?!

 

[hmgolden]

How about one of the restuarants in Downtown Disney? I believe Fulton's serves lunch and has a private rooms.

 

[JaxTeach]

I second the DTD restaurants. I think people have had nice receptions at Portobello's, Raglan Road, and Fulton's. I think they are fairly lenient with wearing your dress to eat.

Since I'm having my reception at CG I'm a big fan of the private dining rooms. The minimums before 4pm are less. The Sonoma Room is $1000++ and the Napa Room is $1000++ for events ending before 4pm (I think). There isn't a setup fee or anything associated-- you are paying for your food and beverages.

 

[Lisacope]

If you are considering Fultons - I had a not so great meal there and I have heard several other negative reviews of this place.

 

[scootert]

"Fresh" at the Dolphin has a very nice buffet luncheon and I think I saw someone post on the board that they have private rooms available. The Kona Cafe at the Poly also serves lunch but I don't think there are private rooms.

 

[hiwaygal]

How many guests are you having?

You can wear your dress at any resort restaurant...

I found a list that gives all the resort table service restaurants and whether they serve lunch. Here's the LINK. You can also check out the menus at that site and maybe ask for some reviews on the Restaurants board.

Maybe one of those can be an option for you...I don't know if any of them would have much in the way of private dining at lunch, but I'm sure they can seat you all together!

 

[purplegirl247]

We had our luncheon "reception" at Portabello's, which is next door to Fulton's. We originally wanted to eat at Fulton's, but they pretty much only serve seafood, which we didn't think was quite fair to our guests. Anyway, Portabello's was very accomodating. If you call their sales manager, she can talk you through whether you want everything to be a la carte or if you want a restricted, personalized meny. We went with a la carte and everyone enjoyed their food. OK, they didn't dig the potato salad, but everything else was great.

Our wedding was on a Monday and at noon, so it was about 2:30 by the time we arrived at Portabello's. It was empty, like a private dining room would be. There were only one or two other families and they were seated in a different part of the restaurant altogether. We had lunch there a few months earlier (to check it out and make sure we like it) on a Saturday around 12:30 and it was similarly empty. So it might be a nice option for a decent meal, fairly low-cost (no minimums, for example), where you can wear your dress. I think our total for 16 people total was right around $400, which was way less than we thought it would be.

I would still check the dining reviews though. I've heard some people aren't fans of the food, but we all thought it was great! GL!

 

[Vayleen]

I have been looking at the different resorts and DTD restaurants. Still not sure yet.... Perhaps I will stick with the Biergarten and just deal with not wearing my dress.