party for 50 in Culver City...

[fdb]

Please help me find a place in Culver City (or Palms/Westwood) area to hold a party of 50 people. Budget is max. $40 pp (including tips and tax). No Mexican or Cuban or anything too adventurous. Thanks.

[feedthebelly]

26 beach is a bit pricey and only beer and wine. just went there on friday. heard its better for brunch.

[Burger Boy]

26 Beach pricey? Burger and fries or salad $12-14, their salads, which are huge, $13-16 for the shrimp caesar? 8 rib rack of lamb $30 complete with mashed potatoes, veggie and their caesar salad.

[feedthebelly]

entrees are all 24-30 bucks. not worth the food served. and sitting on a park bench inside the restruant the whole time.

[Burger Boy]

26 Beach in Venice might be able to work with that budget, depends on what day and time, probably not friday or saturday at 6pm, but if it is saturday from 2-4, in a dead zone, you might be able to get a better selection of places.

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26 Beach
3100 Washington Blvd., Venice, CA 90292

[New Trial]

Cucina Paradiso might work for your needs and I think it has a private room. You could also ask someplace like Ford's Filling Station or Fraiche but I think the latter at least would likely exceed your budget.

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Cucina Paradiso
3387 Motor Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034

[fdb]

I love Cucina Paradiso, both food and ambiance, when they first opened. How's the food right now? If I remember correctly, CP may not work for our budget. This is for a non-profit organization so I have to keep the cost down.

[New Trial]

I have not been in a while as there are other Italian places I greatly prefer; however, it still gets good comments on this Board from others. I think, with a set menu (which you would have to do anyway for a party that size), $40 pp should be doable there [choice of salad or soup, simpler mains such as pasta or chicken, and dessert/coffee]. The problem will come if they have a room charge on top of the food costs but some places will waive that for a non-profit. At least worth a call or e-mail.

[ElissaInPlaya]

I second this recommendation. Great food; private room; reasonable prices, not "too adventurous."

[bulavinaka]

Personally I don't have an issue with Cheesecake Factory (CF) being an option if the group that you're entertaining won't do Mexican, Cuban, or anything too adventurous - DF would be a very safe and respectable choice. You might not be thrilled by this choice, but it sounds like you're more concerned about accommodating everyone else (and rightfully so). As much as CF gets bashed on this site, most folks who aren't houndish really like the place - probably in their top five choices to eat. I don't know what CF charges for an event of 50 - you'd probably have to sit down with whoever is in charge of handling large parties, figure out a budget, and pick a menu based on that. Brentwood, Marina del Rey, and Redondo Beach are the three that I know of - I think their Redondo Beach location is the nicest - unfortunately not the closest of the three...

[fdb]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am trying to stay away from chain restaurant, but I would take it into consideration if all else fail.

[FoodObsessive]

The only place I can think of where you can dine well on that budget is Double Dutch - they're usually only open for lunch, but I arranged a dinner there last year and it was just under $40 a person. Owner Jennie Cook will be closing the place in a few months to concentrate on catering, but while she has a place to serve groups, it's a great option.

http://www.cooksdoubledutch.com/

[fdb]

DD sounds interesting. How is the food and ambiance?

[FoodObsessive]

Interior is modern and colorful, with original oil paintings, and there are odd modern light fixtures and mobiles hanging from the ceiling. It's a pretty, upscale casual space. As for the food, it's modern American using a lot of farmers market produce. We were very happy with the event we had there.

[bulavinaka]

Totally forgot about this place - yes, very worth checking out - they do things very different in a lot of great way. If Double Dutch can do this event, you'll hit a homerun with your associates...

[goldangl95]

I think your request may be impossible: basically you're looking to rent out a whole restaurant in culver city (as there's no big chains like Cheesecake factory) that's either american/californian or italian for under 40 pp?

Have you been to culver city? I don't mean to be harsh, but there's not even that many restaurants to pick from: you could try Ugo, but they normally don't take reservations at all so...

If you expand outside of that there's lots of subpar places: C& Os (venice), cheesecake factory (brentwood), bucca di beppo (santa monica)

EDIT: Sorry didn' t see palms/westwood: Olive Garden, Chilis, or maybe Sprazzo. If Chinese isn't too adventerous, you could try Hop Li.

[fdb]

We've done it with similar budget at Tokyo Table in Beverly Hills, and Cafe Bizou in Santa Monica, so I am thinking of similar venues. I'm not familiar with restaurants in Culver City, as you can tell, but thought to explore any possibilities.

[fdb]

How's the food at Sprazza?

[Servorg]

Sprazzo's food is quite good but I don't think the could accommodate a party of your size. This is a pretty small restaurant.