Dear ESB:
We've been engaged for 10 months. During that time my fiance has lost his job, relocated to LA for work, I quit my job, packed up our crap and moved myself and our two cats from Chicago to LA to join him and now I'm studying for the bar exam.
I'm ready to just marry the guy, but with his lay-off earlier this year and my "studying housewife" status, I can't stomach the idea of spending a lot on a wedding.
From my research, LA weddings are $$$. I'd like to forgo the traditional ceremony/cocktail hour/reception/first dance/dj/bouquet toss/etc. and instead have a small wedding at an LA restaurant with some DANK food and then whoever wants can hit the town after dinner. My guest count can be limited to 30 people [if necessary], but I really want to keep it under $10,000.
Any suggestions for restaurants in the LA area?
I am eternally grateful!
*****
I'm throwing this one out to you guys…. I have not a clue.
p.s. wtf is DANK food? sounds nasty.
Some Pig by Donna McKenzie on etsy
Leave it to stoners to call good food, dank.
ReplyDeletehttp://dankfoods.tumblr.com/
We're in NYC, not LA, but we did exactly that and it came out to around $7K (40 people). I don't know LA so don't have advice on where to hold your dinner, but NYC can't be too different in terms of price so I'm just chiming in to say it's totally doable (and it was great). Fantastic food, decent open bar, happy guests. It's the way to go.
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ReplyDeleteSorry there were some technical difficulties...
ReplyDeleteWe had our wedding at TraxxRestaurant which is located in Union Station in downtown LA. The food was pretty great, the staff was awesome and the location was perfect. The restaurant leases/owns this lovely outside patio that served as our site for the ceremony. We had a lot of out of town guests and we wanted our friends to have the opportunity to stay within walking/metro distance from our wedding celebration. Which is actually pretty hard to do in LA. Virtually all of our friends stayed downtown for the weekend and we ended up having a leisurely weekend prior to the wedding, eating french dip sandwiches , relaxing by the pool at Hotel Figueroa and drinking fine cocktails and good beer at the many good bars all around downtown.
Also a delicious place to cater/have welcoming party in downtown LA is <a href="http://www.homeboyindustries.org/what-we-do/homegirl-cafe/welcome/> Homegirl Cafe which is part of Homeboy Industries - a non-profit job training program for ex-gang members. They have the best vegan tacos made out of braised hibiscus flowers.
Braised hibiscus flowers!!! I didn't even know this was a thing. Amazing!
DeleteWhen we were planning our LA wedding a couple years ago this is what we wanted to do--although ultimately went a different route.
ReplyDeletePlaces to look at:
The Parish (downtown) - this didn't exist a couple years ago or it would have been our first choice - great food, atmosphere, space, etc.
Lucques (west hollywood) - has a nice courtyard, pricy.
Animal (west hollywood) - delicious food, no separate area for ceremony.
Hotel Figueroa (downtown) - not the best food, but fun, great atmosphere, bar areas. the owner is not super responsive though.
Gjelina (venice) - don't know if they do special events, but delicious food, nice space, also has a courtyard.
Luques is a great suggestion, as is Gjelina.
DeleteGood call kcha.
One more:
ReplyDeleteHeirloom LA catered our wedding--they recently opened up their own space also, called the Salon, where they do private events.
And one more:
ReplyDeleteA-frame (culver city) - owned by roy choi of the kogi food truck - great food, drinks, etc., courtyard, and the space inside almost feels like a scandinavian chapel or something (it used to be an ihop).
Absolutely check with Heirloom LA! Also Cortez in Echo Park might be a great option. It is simple and clean, small and romantically lit, I would be you could rent it out for your guests.
ReplyDeleteI would *Bet you could rent it out (damn auto correct!)
ReplyDeleteI would try Mohawk in silverlake - beautiful beautiful back room that they may rent out to large parties. insane beer & spirits selection, and the food is incredible. eveleigh in west hollywood is another one where the atmosphere and decor is beautiful & romantic.
ReplyDeleteJust in case you change your mind and decide to do this in Chicago, you can buy out The Publican (!!!) for under $10k. We ended up at an Andersonville restaurant due to capacity issues but I would get married again in a heartbeat at The Publican.
ReplyDeleteWorried little piggy.
ReplyDeleteI did this too but in SF. We rented out the restaurant on a day they were closed which brought the price down. This is a little hard from afar but as a restaurant/food obsessed individual these were some LA jaunts I loved.
ReplyDeleteBaco Mercat
Eveleigh
Lukshon
Gjelena
Lucques or any of Susan Goin's restos
wolf in sheeps clothing
Maybe Pali hotel?
I would guess quite a few food trucks would also be willing to cater an event but then you would have to figure out a bar.
Kelly, what restaurant did you use in SF? We'd like to do something similar here.
DeleteHello Rachel... sorry I missed this in case you came back we worked with Erin at Serpentine. She also owns Slow Club but Slow Club was slightly smaller. At the time Chris Kronner was the Chef so we really lucked out!
DeleteDo you care what part of town? I third Heirloom LA - very very delicious.
ReplyDeleteOne of my LA friends had her wedding at Campanile. It was beautiful!
ReplyDeleteFYI Campanile closed.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Dominicks near Beverly and San Vincente?
I plan a lot of large dinners for my job and they have a back courtyard area that I'm sure can be rented out and it's really pretty.
Check out pics HERE
Campanile closed?! How did I miss that? I'll be in mourning for grilled cheese night.
DeleteMy friend had a small wedding (25 people?) at A.O.C and it was AWESOME and apparently they were great to work with and not as crazy expensive as you would expect given their menu prices.
ReplyDeleteThat said, A.O.C. just moved locations so I'm not sure if they still have a private room. Bummer, because the old one was lovely and above the restaurant.
If you're into Mexican food, we did a party at Mas Malo recently and it went great. It definitely feels like a bar, but they have a completely private room downstairs that is gorgeous and again, the prices are reasonable given the food you get.
Suzanne Goin's other restaurant, Tavern, has a gorgeous enclosed patio but I'm guessing it's $$$$ to rent out because it's the bulk of the restaurant.
I'd highly recommend doing some searches on the LA Chowhound boards. There are tons of people with really good insight on private party locations in the city with excellent food.
Oh, and after the A.O.C wedding it was fairly easy to barhop, although the places in that area (we went to the Churchill) veer towards douche-y. Luckily, when you travel with your own party, it doesn't really matter what's happening at the bar before you get there.
DeleteAnd if you find a downtown location like Mas Malo, the barhopping could be great afterwards! They have so many great bars there and I think the restaurants tend to be less busy on weekends so it might be easier to book a private party.
DeleteMy bff did her rehearsal dinner at the private Mas Malo room and it was super. You won't need to barhop because the required tab means you end up drinking for hoursssss.
Deletealso, that thing they do with mezcal + bourbon? the rooster? KILLER.
Delete@esb SO KILLER. it's what i drank for the first time in june 2011 at a highly inappropriate hour with said bff's now-husband, right after helping him pick out a ring. so good i can never bring myself to order anything else.
DeleteOh, weird that they gave her a required tab! We didn't have a minimum tab, just a minimum guest count of 25. But that might be because we only used the space for 2 hours.
DeleteI just checked and it looks like their buyout for the private room is $5K on weekends (may have gone up slightly in the new year). Meals were in the range of $40 pp for amazing food so you'd have plenty left for drinks and still hit your budget.
do you Rachels like the food there? i've only dabbled. pickle taco = amaze but the rest didn't blow me away.
DeleteI think it's solid. Their chicken mole is really good. Their shrimp tacos are ridiculously good on a good day, and decent the rest of the time. They do something special to their bacon wrapped dates that makes them better than any others I've had. It's not my fav mexican food in LA, but that's a high bar. And no one wants to get married at El Atacor #11. (Or do they? I will go to that wedding.)
DeleteI will say that the service at the party was amazing. So much food and our guests were all in love with it. We sent everyone home with leftovers because we couldn't even eat everything they sent out, as hard as we tried.
@Rachel good good good! (the service in silver lake can be VERY CRAPPY)
DeleteService downtown can be terrible as well. We were amazed by the private party service, which was about a million times more attentive than we'd expected. I prob wouldn't have risked having a wedding there if I'd only eaten there for a regular meal. But we figured we'd survive a bday party with indifferent service and we were pleasantly surprised.
DeleteI'm going to be so uncool for saying this, but I think dank means Gross & Moist.
ReplyDeleteCliff's Edge in Silver Lake is gorgeous (outdoor patio + indoor bar space)and I know they save Sundays for private events...
ReplyDeletePerch in DTLA. Rooftop views, beautiful lights and french cuisine, plus it's super easy to bar hop.
ReplyDeleteWe had a full on wedding in LA for 35 people and it was under $10k. We had Canele cater a family style meal (including their famous Branzino) at the Women's 20th Century Club in Eagle Rock (which has a kitchen). Food and venue together were less than $5k. Didn't include drinks, though.
ReplyDeleteWe're going the same route too. I just discovered that OpenTable has a private dining section on their website (http://goo.gl/XlnR9), which has helped in the search.
ReplyDeleteI second Mohawk, pretty and budget friendly. Heirloom la is awesome but I think they start at $85/head
ReplyDeleteEdendale in Silverlake has a really nice patio space that can be reserved for private events.
ReplyDeletehaven't had the food in ages, but the space is LOVELY. and they make a mean martini.
DeleteI go to Edendale at least once a week. ALSO if it's raining they have their "seasonal tents" up. You can reserve the back courtyard but I'm not sure for how much. And not only are their martini's good - all the drinks are good.
DeleteWow, thanks for all the suggestions! HUGE help since I’m new to LA. Um, and I'm def making a special trip to get one of these Rooster beverages.
ReplyDeleteTry DOMA in Beverly HIlls, they are a new restaurant, wonderful Italian food. They have a gorgeous space. The chef is amazing & because they are new to the area you can probably negotiate for your needs. http://la.eater.com/archives/2012/11/08/doma_is_beverly_hills_newest_casual_italian.php
ReplyDelete"Dank" sounds like a load of wank.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was going to be an acronym for some stupid new dietary fad, like "dairy absent, no knives" or something.
"dank" means the writer-inner outed herself as an ex or current stoner
ReplyDeleteLe Bistro Figaro just opened downtown and it's HUGE and pretty in a glossy kind of way and it's hella empty at the moment so I'd check that out.
ReplyDeleteThere's a place called Nolas in the arts district downtown that has a cute patio, lots of live music and is very affordable. it's not gorgeous gorgeous but it would hold the price down significantly. Food's good too.
Sompun Thai in silverlake/sunset junction has a cute little patio and is also the sort of place that looks like it would love to be rented out to a private party for some steady cash
Alcove cafe and larchmont bungalow are seriously cute little places on cute or near cute streets. I think Home which is nearby is kind of eh on the food, but their space is nice.
Bestia, Little Bear, Eat Drink Americano and Church and State are all downtown with a swank comfort food vibe and big spaces.
And a secret hole in little tokyo would be the Blue Whale Jazz club. I think you'd have to bring the food in, but they have a mod little space and you could find some good jazz through the owner. They have a liquor license, so that solves that issue.
Elevate Lounge and The Bonaventure Hotel both have views of downtown, restaurants and would probably be cheaper than Perch, though less spectacular.
Oh also it's not a restaurant, but the Last Bookstore was closed for a wedding recently and that is a huge space.