Lunch for large group in Durham?

[hastac0708]

Hi folks,

Next month my office wants to have a weekday lunch for about 12 people on our staff. Cost is not really an issue. To give you an idea of what we've done, we had a holiday lunch at Chamas in Brightleaf Square (which was great), last year did a dinner at Lantern (also great), and 2 years ago did this same sort of thing at Papas Grille and the service was atrocious. We are adventurous eaters and willing to try most anything. The most important thing is a place that can feed a group relatively quickly. What would you recommend?

Has to be in Durham as we'll need to head back to the office afterward.

[PeterB]

I would see if Piedmont or Watts Grocery could accommodate you. Can't go wrong with either of those. Blu Seafood could also be a good one to try. Parizade is certainly skilled at seating large groups but I think the food would be more interesting at the other places.

[TSQ75]

I'd say piedmont, their mezzanine area would be perfect for calling ahead and reserving

[winedine]

I would also consider Piedmont. We had dinner there Monday night and it was the best it has ever been. I believe you can view it on line piedmontrestaurant.com

[hastac0708]

I have had dinner there once, and lunch or brunch a few times, but hadn't thought of it for this. Thank you!

[dubedo]

Parizade was the first restaurant that came to my mind. I know that they are used to handling large parties and special reservations, and have a nice space. That said, I haven't actually eaten there in a long time - perhaps someone else can speak to the food?

[Jeanne]

I saw this post yesterday and was going to suggest Parizade. I was there last week with a group of 30 - we had a private dining room and a pre-set selected menu (see web site) that included appetizers, choice of salad, entree and dessert for a set price. The service was great - the food excellent. I chose the Parizade salad with strawberries, spiced pecans, blue cheese and baby greens with a raspberry vinaigrette - delicious. My entree was the seared crusted tuna with sauteed spinach - large portion of tuna and cooked to order - rare for me, just like I like it. Was excellent.

I'm now planning a dinner party for 50 there - we have used Parizade's many times over the years for departmental functions, and I think that they have gotten even better than they used to be. The pre-set menus have a wider choice of entrees - something sure to please everybody.

http://ghgrestaurants.com/parizade/me...

see link for pre-set menus

[hastac0708]

Thanks! I ate at Parizade's once a while back and liked it. Definitely an option.

[hastac0708]

Okay, I went ahead and made a resrvation at Parizade. I'll report back on how the meal goes. Thanks for the rec!