Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

cluelessbride Posted: Jun 26, 2003 02:30 PM

Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

There goes my 'oh, we'll just go out to dinner at the River Cafe' idea.

You do get a private room for that price, so I guess it's kind of understandable.

Sonicstef Posted: Jun 26, 2003 02:37 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

The River Cafe is one of the best restaurants in NYC. I think if you having a wedding/party there, its well into the $250/pp range so you are getting a great price at $180 for the private room. I think they have a prix fix of about $125 or something without alcohol if you are just coming for dinner.

Food is absolutely top notch as is the view and the service.

fallin04 Posted: Jun 26, 2003 02:58 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

We went to dinner there after we got engaged. The food was amazing, so was the service, and the prix fixe dinner was $75. This was a friday night also. If you get the 6 course meal it is more than that, but i think it was only $75, it was definitely no more than $100 for a dinner that night. It's definitely worth it though!!! Although 180 probably isn't worth it. The view, service and food were AMAZING.

ETA: It was no more than $100 per person. Our bill was definitely much higher with drinks and desert added on. It was in April, so maybe it wasn't 'peak season.' They might price different at different times of the year.

mv1003 Posted: Jun 26, 2003 03:23 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

We went there for dinner one night and it was gorgeous! View- food- everything!!!

How many people does the private room hold? Was that for a Sat. night? What about a Fri/Sun? just suggestions if you really love it there, it would be great! But... it'll be great no matter where you have your reception!!!

Sonicstef Posted: Jun 26, 2003 03:27 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

I guess we went on the wrong night b/c our bill was over $300 for just the two of us!

Sassy Posted: Jun 26, 2003 03:28 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

Hmmm do they have a website?
That would be a great suprise for Len.

Lunatrek Posted: Jun 26, 2003 03:31 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

www.rivercafe.com

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

cluelessbride Posted: Jun 26, 2003 04:38 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

50 people minimim and you get the Terrace room which is the one nearest the water (I think).

$180 pp includes a cocktail hour but after that the liquor is added on to the bill.

So for 50 people it would be about 10k. Not bad for a great place.

Maybe this is a good idea after all.

butterfly20 Posted: Jun 26, 2003 04:41 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

oh my... for 10k i am getting 130 guests on a saturday night...

Sonicstef Posted: Jun 26, 2003 09:13 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

If you can swing the costs, the place is amazing. The views alone are worth it...really gorgeous!

Not sure if you already have your ceremony planned but you can marry at the landing right under the bridge for less than $100 fee!

Terrier412 Posted: Jun 26, 2003 10:15 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

The River Cafe is amazing -- that's where we got engaged!! They have a little balcony right passed the bar, and the view is unforgettable!!!

The food and service can't be beat!!!! Definitely worth the money!

cluelessbride Posted: Jun 27, 2003 11:13 AM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

If we do this, we'd have to really, really cut back on flowers and music.

For those who have been there, do you think small centerpieces would be ok?

And I'm not sure how we'd handle the music, I'd like to hire a piano player which I think would be great for the cocktail hour, but then I don't know if it would be weird if we just had music playing for the rest of the night, something light and soft from cds.

Ronnie&Theresa Posted: Jun 27, 2003 11:15 AM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

If I would have known this place was $180. I should have had my reception here.

OMG don't tell Ronnie...

But I didn't want to get married in NYC!!!

Sonicstef Posted: Jun 27, 2003 11:18 AM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

If its the room off to the left, small centerpieces would work beautifully. If you were really pressed, I would say that a bunch of votive candles would look just as great as they play off the lights on the bridge and in the trees outside.

Make sure you find out how much the total bill will be. $180 is a great price...but if you add on the liquor and then tax and gratuity (if its not already included) you are probably looking at closer to $250/pp again. Its completely worth it but I dont want you to be shocked at the end of the night.

One note: this is at night, correct? The place doesnt look 1/2 as nice during the day.

Theresa: Its way more than $180 when you add liquor.

Ronnie&Theresa Posted: Jun 27, 2003 11:21 AM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

Oh..
That is for food only..

Wow.
I know when we told Ronnie the pp at Russo's I thought he was going to pass out!

cluelessbride Posted: Jun 27, 2003 11:29 AM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

Thanks Stef - yes, the Terrace room is available at night, from 6PM - 11PM and the $180 includes liquor only for the cocktail hour and wine through dinner. Any alcohol after the cocktail hour that's not the specified wine gets added on to the bill. Plus it's 20% gratuity and 8.65% tax. So it will be more like $250 pp. BUT, if I can keep the list to 50-60 people it won't be too too bad.

The music thing is a puzzle. And photog too - if I get photos of getting ready (1 hour), ceremony (1 hour) and then family (1 hour) and cocktail hour (1 hour) maybe I can cut back on photo also, but what good photog would be willing to work on a Saturday night for just 4 hours?

Argh.

Sonicstef Posted: Jun 27, 2003 11:35 AM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

Please dont cut back on your photographer! IMO, most brides (even if you dont think you are sentimental) will regret that. You are paying so much for a fabulous reception, you want someone to document it!

You could cut flowers out entirely (except for bouquets but even there you can get creative) if you do the candle thing.

You can play CD throughout the entire thing. The terrace room is a pretty small area, so a good sound system will do an adequate job. Plus, the view is the real entertainment so you dont need to add more if you can't afford it.

Where is your ceremony being held?

Anyway - its a beautiful place. Have you been to dinner there? Its really good and might be fun to go before you make a decision.

Ronnie&Theresa Posted: Jun 27, 2003 11:39 AM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

Wow..

250.....

I guess Russo's can hold its own in Queens..........

LOL!

cluelessbride Posted: Jun 27, 2003 02:16 PM

Re: Excuse me?? The River Cafe is $180 pp for a wedding

I haven't been to dinner there but I'm thinking we'll go at the end of the summer when work quiets down a bit.

The ceremony will be at St. Mary, Star of the Sea on Court Street. Cool St. Mary's fact: Al Capone got married there.